Lauren serves as city attorney for the City of West Hollywood, as interim city attorney for the City of Downey, and as land use counsel for the firm’s clients, including Lomita and Hermosa Beach.
 
Lauren’s practice consists of advising city clients on land use, zoning, environmental and housing laws (including Density Bonus Law, the Housing Accountability Act, the Housing Crisis Act (SB 330) and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)). Lauren also drafts legislation and contracts and advises on all other legal issues associated with Municipal Law practice, such as the Brown Act and California Public Records Act.
 
In addition to her land use and Municipal Law experience, Lauren is actively involved in creating and implementing cannabis ordinances for her city clients in response to Proposition 64, including West Hollywood’s cannabis business license ordinance and license selection program. She also is highly skilled in drafting other critical and complex municipal ordinances, including those that address density bonus and wireless infrastructure.  Lauren also handles litigation matters for her city clients. Lauren enjoys practicing Municipal Law, as it allows her to work on issues that are critical to the community and impact people’s daily lives — everything from safe streets to housing to the environment. Lauren focuses on building relationships with clients and consensus among all stakeholders to help cities run well and manage their issues. Before joining Best Best & Krieger LLP, she practiced at Jenkins & Hogin for 12 years.
 
Lauren is the chair of the League of California Cities City Attorneys’ Cannabis Regulation Committee, and has served on the Committee since 2011. She is also a member of the League’s Attorney Development and Succession Commission. She also regularly presents trainings and seminars on housing and land use issues, cannabis regulations and the Brown and Public Record acts. Lauren lives in Los Angeles, where she spends her free time gardening, cooking and exploring the City with her husband and daughters. 
 
Education

• Southwestern University School of Law, J.D.
• University of Arizona, B.S., business administration

Admissions

• California

Memberships

• League of California Cities’, City Attorney’s Department, Cannabis Regulation Committee, 2019-2020; chair, 2020 and Attorney Development and Succession Committee, 2019-2020

Awards

• Los Angeles Business Journal Top 100 Lawyers, 2022
• Daily Journal 40 Under 40 List, 2018
• Named a Cannabis Law Expert by Databird, November 2018