News & Information
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SMW featured in the Daily Journal:
One of the State's leading legal newspapers has featured the firm's history, diverse clients, woman-owned status, and unique culture. Read the article here.
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SMW Named Among “Best Law Firms”:
Best Lawyers,® the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession, has ranked Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger LLP as “Tier 1” among law firms in the San Francisco metropolitan area in the categories of “Land Use & Zoning Law” and “Litigation- Land Use & Zoning” in its 2011-12 Best Law Firms rankings. View the ranking here.
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Bay Area Ridge Trail Council:
Matthew Zinn has joined the board of directors of the Bay Area Ridge Trail Council, a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a continuous 550+-mile trail for hikers, mountain bicyclists, and equestrians along the ridgelines overlooking San Francisco Bay.
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SMW Honored as Women-Owned Business:
The San Francisco Business Times named SMW to its 2011 list of "Bay Area’s Largest 100 Women-Owned Businesses," an honor SMW also received in 2010 and 2009.
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Orange Community Groups Start Referenda Campaign:
In July and August 2011, the community group Orange Citizens for Parks and Recreation submitted three referendum petitions challenging the City of Orange’s approval of plans to build a luxury equestrian residential project on open space lands. SMW assisted the group by drafting the referendum petitions
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Super Lawyers:
Clem Shute, Rachel Hooper, Fran Layton, Andrew Schwartz, and Robert “Perl” Perlmutter were recognized as Northern California Super Lawyers for 2011. Matt Zinn was recognized as a Northern California Super Lawyer “Rising Star.”
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Supreme Court Leaves Standing Important Ninth Circuit Takings Decision:
On May 16, 2011, the United States Supreme Court rejected a challenge to a Ninth Circuit en banc decision upholding the City of Goleta’s mobile home rent control ordinance. The firm represented the City in the en banc and Supreme Court proceedings.
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Richmond Rejects Casino at Point Molate :
On April 5, 2011, the City of Richmond turned down plans for a large casino at Point Molate. The firm represented the East Bay Regional Park District in its six-year fight against the casino. SMW’s efforts included a successful lawsuit and numerous comment letters on the project’s environmental review.
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SMW Helps Agencies With Proposition 26:
In November, California voters passed Proposition 26 to impose voter approval requirements for many fees. SMW is advising many of its public agency clients on how the law will change the way local governments fund new environmental, public health, and social programs.
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Delta Plan, Environmental Impact Report :
The firm has been retained by the Delta Stewardship Council to assist the Attorney General’s Office in advising the Council regarding the preparation of an EIR for the Delta Plan.
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More SMW accomplishments
Recent Presentations & Publications
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Conference on Regulatory Takings:
On November 18, 2011, Andrew Schwartz moderated the 14th Annual Conference on Regulatory Takings sponsored by Vermont and Georgetown Law Schools in Washington D.C.
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State Bar Environmental Law Conference:
On October 23, 2011, at the annual conference of the Environmental Law Section of the State Bar of California, Matthew Zinn gave a presentation on recent cases regarding mitigation for the loss of farmland.
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League of California Cities Land Use and CEQA Update:
On September 22, 2011, Andrew Schwartz delivered the Land Use and CEQA update to the League’s annual Fall Conference at Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco.
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SMW Presents CEQA Workshop to Placer County Activists and Officials:
In June 2011, an attorney and a planner from SMW presented a workshop on the nuts and bolts of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to environmental activists in Placer County. The three-hour session, sponsored by the nonprofit Public Interest Coalition, included explanations of CEQA’s procedural requirements and fundamental principles.
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CLE International CEQA Conference:
Tamara Galanter spoke on General Plan EIRs at the CLE International CEQA Conference in San Francisco on August 25.
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League of California Cities Land Use and CEQA Update:
On May 5, 2011, Andrew Schwartz delivered the Land Use and CEQA update to the League’s annual Spring Conference at the Tenaya Lodge in Yosemite.
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AICP Workshop on Greenhouse Gas Impacts:
The 90-minute session taught participating planners the fundamental principles of preparing greenhouse gas analyses for CEQA purposes, and about recent trends and regulatory changes in this area, which has evolved significantly in recent years. The workshop was led by a SMW attorney and the firm’s two certified urban planners.
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California Land Trust Conference:
On March 1, 2011, Matthew Zinn spoke about recent cases addressing mitigation of farmland conversion at the California Council of Land Trust’s annual Land Trust Conference in Sacramento.
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Planning and Conservation League Annual Environmental Legislative Symposium:
Richard Taylor addressed the Planning and Conservation League’s Annual Environmental Legislative Symposium on January 29th. Speaking on the importance of General Plans and community involvement in local and regional planning he distributed a list of General Plan resources available here.
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Regulatory Takings:
On February 11, 2011, Andrew Schwartz presented at UCLA Law School on the firm’s recent victory in Guggenheim v. City of Goleta at a symposium entitled Emerging Challenges to Local Land Use Authority sponsored by the League of California Cities and the UCLA School of Law Environmental Law & Policy Program. To see a copy of the paper, click here.
More SMW presentations and publications