Government Law
With a statewide reputation for serving the needs of governmental entities, we provide counsel, advice, advocacy, and litigation representation to the state as well as cities, counties, and public agencies across California.
Our matters within this practice range from groundbreaking public policy issues to ongoing compliance with the everchanging landscape of laws governing the public sector. Our attorneys bring with them decades of experience working in government and long-standing relationships with public bodies and agencies.
Ethics & Conflicts of Interest
We regularly advise local and state elected officials, public agencies, and government employees on ethical questions involving compliance with public integrity laws and policies. In addition to assisting clients navigate the complex set of laws governing conflicts of interest and financial disclosures, our practice has included representing clients before the Fair Political Practices Commission and the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission, as well as serving as an outside independent investigator.
Municipal Law
As outside counsel to cities and counties throughout the state, our municipal law practice frequently draws upon our expertise in elections and voting rights law, land use, and constitutional law. We have experience advising both charter and general law cities and counties, and are familiar with the unique issues affecting both. Our municipal law expertise is equally useful when advising and representing other clients in litigation against municipal bodies.
As detailed in other practice area pages, we have advised a general law city on the creation of a community police oversight board and another on the transition from at-large to district-based elections; advised a charter city on the First Amendment issues involved in its development of a recording policy for its public libraries; advised a school district on the applicability of city and county public health ordinances to school facilities; successfully represented a city in its constitutional challenge to a ballot initiative; and successfully defended a county against a charge that it infringed a blogger’s First Amendment rights.
Open Meeting Laws & the Public Records Act
Our attorneys have decades of experience advising cities, boards, commissions, agencies, and multi-member tribunals on compliance with California’s Brown Act, Bagley-Keene Open Meetings Act, and Public Records Act. As part of ensuring our clients are well-prepared to avoid common pitfalls, we regularly develop and present trainings on the complex set of issues that may arise under such laws.
