Jeffrey S. Ballinger

Partner

Ontario
3500 Porsche Way
Suite 200

TEL: (909) 483-6644
FAX: (909) 944-1441
Jeff.Ballinger@bbklaw.com

Comprehensive Code Enforcement
Special Districts
Zoning, Planning and Land Use

Jeffrey S. Ballinger is a Partner in Best Best & Krieger LLP’s Municipal Law Department. Mr. Ballinger’s practice areas include Municipal Law, Planning/ Zoning and Environmental & Natural Resources Law. Mr. Ballinger currently serves as City Attorney for the City of San Jacinto. He also provides legal assistance to cities and other local governmental agencies, including the Cities of Ontario, Fontana, Big Bear Lake. He also serves as legal counsel to the Chino Valley Independent Fire District and the Valley-Wide Recreation and Park District.

Prior to joining Best Best & Krieger LLP, Mr. Ballinger worked at the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office in the writs and appeals department. He also worked at the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office, gaining daily courtroom experience. In addition, while attending law school, Mr. Ballinger served as a judicial intern for Bankruptcy Judge Mitchell Goldberg.

Since joining Best Best & Krieger LLP, Mr. Ballinger has represented both cities and special districts in court, at public meetings, and in the course of complex transactions. He frequently advises cities and other local governmental agencies on the Brown Act, the Political Reform Act, and the Public Records Act. He also has expertise in housing and development-related areas of teh law, including the Planning and Zoning Law, the Subdivision Map Act, and state and federal housing laws. In addition, he has successfully defended land use and CEQA challenges to his public agency clients, both at the trial and appellate levels.

Mr. Ballinger received his undergraduate degree in Sociology/Law & Society from the University of California, Riverside. He received his Juris Doctorate degree at the USC School of Law. During his legal education, Mr. Ballinger also received the Order of the Coif, Trial Advocacy Awards for Best Opening Argument and Best Cross Examination, and the American Jurisprudence Award for Torts. Mr. Ballinger also participated in the Post-Conviction Justice Project and was a Staff Member and Article Editor for the Southern California Law Review.

Mr. Ballinger is a member of the American Bar Association and the Riverside County Bar Association where he twice served as an Attorney Evaluator in its High School Mock Trial Competition. He also teaches courses at the University of California, Riverside. Mr. Ballinger also provides Pro Bono legal representation to the San Bernardino Chapter of Habitat for Humanity. Mr. Ballinger also serves as Past-Chairman of the Valley Economic Development Corporation and as a board member for the Central City Lutheran Mission in San Bernardino. Mr. Ballinger has co-authored an article appearing in Los Angeles Lawyer magazine entitled, "When Attorneys Serve as Local Politicians" and is the co-author of the article, "Group Homes in the Neighborhood," which appeared in the September 2006 edition of the League of California Cities "Western City" magazine.

Bar & Court Admissions

• California, 1999

Education

• JD, University of Southern California Law Center
• BS, University of California at Riverside