John E. Brown

John E. Brown is a public lawyer who represents a variety of California public agencies including cities, redevelopment agencies, special districts and school districts as both general and special counsel. He splits his time between Best Best & Krieger LLP’s Ontario and Riverside offices.

City Attorney
John serves as city attorney of Ontario and La Habra Heights, and town attorney of the Town of Apple Valley. He served as city attorney for cities throughout California since 1976.

General Counsel
John acts as general counsel for a variety of other public agencies. He served as general counsel to the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District for more than 30 years and also acts as general counsel to the Hi-Desert Water District. John is general counsel of the March Joint Powers Authority and the March Inland Port Airport Authority, the local reuse authorities for the former March Air Force Base in Southern California.

Public Agency Best Practices
With decades of experience working with public agencies, John continuously parlays lessons learned into best practices that he shares with public officials. Whether it’s presenting a panel about social media use at the California Special Districts Association conference or leading a discussion on being an effective board member at the Association of Sanitation Agencies conference, John makes helping the communities he serves a priority.

He joined the firm in 1975 and chaired the firm’s Municipal Law practice group from 1996 to 2008. He also served on the firm’s Executive Committee and as its marketing partner. John is admitted to practice in the State of California.

Education

• University of California, Berkeley Law School, J.D.
• Occidental College, M.A.
• Claremont McKenna College, B.A., magna cum laude

Awards

• The Best Lawyers in America®, Municipal Law, 2012-2016
• Martindale-Hubbell® AV Preeminent™ Rated, since 1995
• Southern California Super Lawyers, 2007, 2010-2012