Cities’ Struggles to Meet Obligations Are Real — BB&K Municipal Law Team Grows to Help

For Immediate Release: Dec. 19, 2018
Media Contact: Denise Nix • (213) 787-2552 • denise.nix@bbklaw.com
 
LOS ANGELES —  Cities and counties are facing increased demands to remain compliant with ever-changing laws and regulations while still serving citizens quickly and efficiently. Every day, local government agencies are needing to do more with less, including handling a growing number of public records requests, code enforcement responses, infrastructure maintenance and technology challenges in the areas of telecommunications, transportation and the sharing economy.
 
In response to these needs, Best Best & Krieger LLP’s Municipal Law practice group experienced a year of remarkable growth — adding attorneys, municipal analysts, paralegals and other specialized staff to help public agencies address their legal needs. In 2018, BB&K added 30 attorneys and paralegals to the Municipal Law practice. Other ways BB&K bolstered the Municipal Law practice this year:

• Created the Advanced Records Center, headed by Director of PRA Services and E-Discovery Personnel Christine Wood, who is assisted by dedicated attorneys, paralegals and municipal analysts. The new service combines legal know-how with cutting edge technology to provide comprehensive and cost-effective support for records-related matters, including CPRA request processing.
• Hired Brandon Sanchez to serve as a second prosecution counsel, along with Denise Grimes, primary prosecution counsel, representing municipal clients in criminal and civil municipal code enforcement, Pitchess motions, gun confiscations and gun violence restraining orders and Health & Safety Code abatement and receiverships.
• Merged with well-known public agency law firm Jenkins & Hogin in April, creating a municipal law powerhouse and one of the largest public agency law firms in California. The merger brought Christi Hogin and Michael Jenkins, both of counsel, to BB&K, along with partners John Cotti, Gregg Kettles, Lauren Langer and Trevor Rusin.
• Additional partners and of counsels joining the Municipal Law group are: Megan Garibaldi, Mark Velasquez, Heather Lee and Brent Collinson.

 
Speaking of powerhouses, BB&K was one of eight law firms named a “California Regional Powerhouse” this year by the national legal publication Law360. In selecting BB&K, Law360 noted that the firm was hired by the Port of Long Beach to assist with its $800 million proposed railway expansion; its role in large transportation infrastructure projects — including the $1.7 billion I-15 Express Lanes Corridor Project for the Riverside County Transportation Commission, the $100 million, 50-mile CV Link for the Coachella Valley Association of Governments and the successful $1.1 billion public-private partnership deal for the Chula Vista Bayfront hotel and convention center on behalf of the Port of San Diego.
 
Also recently, some BB&K Municipal Law public contracting attorneys teamed up with attorneys from the firm’s Education Law practice to work as lead construction counsel to oversee the $3.2 billion overhaul of all the campuses in the Los Angeles Community College District — the largest community college district in the country. Meanwhile, a team of BB&K telecommunications attorneys is representing a coalition of more than 50 cities and counties in an appeal of an FCC order that takes local control away for the placement of 5G equipment in the public right of way. And, as city attorney to nearly 50 California cities, BB&K assists in disaster preparedness, response and recovery efforts — including the City of Malibu, hit so hard by the recent Woolsey wildfire.

We are especially proud that the faces of our Municipal Law practice mirrors the communities they serve. Known for its commitment to diversity, BB&K scores high marks for its inclusion of women and minority attorneys. In 2018, American Lawyer Media named BB&K as the number two California law firm with the most women in 2018. The firm also received two number one rankings from Law360 for Best Mid-Size Firms for Women and Minorities and for Minority Attorneys.

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Best Best & Krieger LLP is a national law firm that focuses on municipal, environmental, business, education, employee benefits and telecommunications law for public agency and private clients. With more than 200 attorneys, the law firm has 10 offices nationwide, including Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.bbklaw.com or follow @BBKlaw on Twitter or @BestBestKrieger on Facebook.