Five BB&K Attorneys Named "The Best Lawyers in America"(R) for 2008

The California law firm of Best Best & Krieger LLP (BB&K) announces that five of its attorneys were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America(R) 2008 (Copyright 2006 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, S.C.). The honored attorneys are Arthur L. Littleworth for environmental law, natural resources law and water law; Michelle Ouellette for environmental law and natural resources law; George M. Reyes for corporate law; Roderick E. Walston for water law; and Greg K. Wilkinson for environmental law, natural resources law and water law.

Arthur Littleworth is one of the preeminent water law attorneys in the United States and senior partner of BB&K. In his fifty years of legal practice, he has participated in all aspects of water law, including transactional and litigation matters. In 2003 he was named as one of the “Top 100” lawyers in California. He is co-author of the book California Water, widely viewed as the definitive book on this subject. In 1987, he was appointed by the United States Supreme Court as Special Master to hear a water rights case of original jurisdiction between the States of Kansas and Colorado involving the Arkansas River.

Michelle Ouellette is a member of the BB&K’s executive committee. She represents municipal, district and private clients in environmental issues arising under the California Environmental Quality Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the state and federal Endangered Species Acts, and wetlands regulations. Recently, she assisted the County of Riverside in the development of the Western Riverside County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP), its Implementing Agreement and its Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement. The MSHCP is one of the largest conservation plans in the United States.

George Reyes’ practice includes general counsel work for privately-owned businesses, specializing in mergers and acquisition transactions. He has provided counsel and transactional legal representation to various types of businesses, from start-ups to well-established going concerns, in a broad cross-section of industries, such as steel, medical, hospital, printing and publishing, equipment rental, insurance, manufacturing, citrus processing, automobile dealership, plastics engineering, schools for the developmentally disabled, accounting and law.

Rod Walston is a recognized leader in natural resources and environmental law, and in appellate practice. He has particular expertise in water rights and water quality laws, and on issues arising under various federal and state environmental statutes such as the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act. Walston has argued several cases in the U.S. Supreme Court and other federal and state appellate courts addressing natural resources and environmental issues. His past experience includes serving as deputy solicitor/acting solicitor of the U.S. Department of the Interior; general counsel of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California; special counsel of the California Attorney General’s Office; chief assistant attorney general of the Public Rights Division, State of California; and deputy attorney general of the State of California.

Greg Wilkinson’s practice emphasizes water rights, water quality, endangered species and environmental impact reporting issues. He successfully argued before the United States Supreme Court for the petitioners in Bennett v. Spear (1997) , a case arising under the citizen suit provision of the Endangered Species Act. He also serves as counsel to the State Water Contractors in litigation and administrative proceedings relating to the San Francisco Bay-Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta Estuary. In 2006, he argued the landmark Bay-Delta water litigation that resulted in the decision in the State Water Resources Control Board Cases. Wilkinson also serves as litigation counsel to the Friant Water Users Authority in matters relating to the Federal Central Valley Project. For years, he has worked on natural resources legislation in some of the poorest parts of the world and, in 2001, completed a new National Water Law for Namibia, effectively ending decades of apartheid practices in the distribution of water.

The 2008 edition is the fourteenth edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Because Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey and because lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed, inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor. Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers "the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice."

Best Best & Krieger is a full-service law firm with nearly 200 attorneys in eight California offices. The firm offers unique experience in handling complex, multi-disciplinary issues and providing solutions of common interest to leaders of both government and business. BB&K’s legal service areas include bankruptcy; business; eminent domain; employee benefits; environmental and natural resources; estate planning, probate and trust administration; intellectual property; labor and employment; litigation; municipal law; public finance; real estate; redevelopment, economic development and housing; school; and special district law.