Parissh A. Knox

Attorney

Los Angeles
300 South Grand Avenue
25th Floor
(213) 787 2574

Parissh Knox has a rich history and significant experience advising elected officials, public agencies and community-based organizations. He currently serves as assistant general counsel for the Pasadena Glen Community Services District, South Montebello Irrigation District, and Valley-Wide Recreation and Parks District. He also provides specialized legal services to many other clients including the Town of Apple Valley and the cities of San Jacinto, Arcadia and Indian Wells.  Mr. Knox is a skilled transactional attorney with expertise in the Brown Act, Political Reform Act, Fair Housing Act, public contracting, election law, and complex zoning and land use law.

Over the years, Mr. Knox has staffed planning commissions for the Town of Apple Valley and the cities of Fontana and Maywood. In recent years, he has advised on group home ordinances, nuisance related activities associated with homelessness, medical marijuana, inclusionary housing policies, and towing ordinances. Since 2012, Mr. Knox has been teaching a graduate urban planning and law course at UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs, where he graduated with a Masters in Urban Planning.  In 2010, Mr. Knox was chosen as a Coro Executive Fellow in Los Angeles.

Prior to joining BB&K, Mr. Knox was a judicial intern for the Honorable Robert M. Takasugi, senior federal judge in the Central District of California. He also served as a law fellow for the Community Economic Development divisions of the East Bay Community Law Center in Berkeley, California and Public Counsel in Los Angeles.  During graduate school, Mr. Knox worked as a planning intern for the Strategic Planning and Zoning Division of the Community Economic Development Agency for the City of Oakland. Prior to graduate school, he worked as a senior account executive for a Democratic political relations firm in Seattle, Washington, where he also worked on two different neighborhood plans.

Mr. Knox continues to be active in the community. He is the recent past-president of the Board of Directors for California Youth Connection, a statewide nonprofit organization recognized as a voice for former and current foster youth.  He is also the recent vice president of the Inland Empire Latino Lawyers Association, Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides free legal aid services to low-income residents in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties.  In 2009, Mr. Knox served as an international observer during the 2009 presidential election in El Salvador.

Adopted from an Okinawan orphanage, Mr. Knox grew up in a military family. He has actively volunteered in and on behalf of various African American, Asian Pacific American and Latino communities for more than 15 years on a variety of issues including increased services for emancipating foster youth, affordable housing, jobs, consumer rights, community economic development, and voter protection.

Education

• University of California, Los Angeles, J.D., M.U.P. (2006)
• University of California, Berkeley, M.P.P. (2001)
• University of Washington, B.A. (1998)

Bar Admissions

• California (2006)

Awards

• Coro Executive Fellowship - Southern California (2010)
• IELLA's Rookie Pro Bono Attorney of the Year (2007)
• Recipient of a Service to the Community Award, UCLA Department of Urban Planning (2006)
• Graduate of UCLA's School of Law's Program in Public Interest and Policy (2006)
• Recipient of Howrey Externs for Legal Pro Bono Fellowship (2003)
• California Senate Fellowship (staffed Senate Budget Committee and Natural Resources Subcommittee) (2000)
• International Examiner's Community Voices Award (Asian Pacific American community award in Seattle) (1998)
• Public Policy International Affairs Fellowship (1997)

Community Involvement

• Board Member, California Youth Connection (foster youth advocacy non-profit organization) (2010 - present)
• Vice President, Inland Empire Latino Lawyers Association, Inc. (legal aid non-profit service provider) (2010)

Memberships

• Los Angeles County Bar Association, member
• City Attorneys Association of Los Angeles County, member