More Accomplishments
  • 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.    -Read more-
  • 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.   
  • 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.   -Read more-
  • 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.   -Read more-
  • Implementation of Landmark Settlement In Foresthill: At the end of last year, SMW’s clients’ Foresthill Residents for Responsible Growth and Friends of the North Fork reached a groundbreaking settlement of their CEQA and General Plan lawsuit challenging Placer County’s approval of the Foresthill Divide Community Plan. Implementation of that settlement has begun.   -Read more-
  • Farmland Mitigation Decision Sustained: On February 16, 2011, the California Supreme Court rejected an attempt by the Building Industry Association of Central California to overturn a court of appeal decision upholding the County of Stanislaus’s Farmland Mitigation Program. The Firm represented the County throughout the litigation.    -Read more-
  • Library Privatization Defeated: On February 8, 2011, San Joaquin County and the City of Stockton voted to keep the regional library system public. The Concerned Citizens Coalition of Stockton and Friends of the Stockton Public Library, both represented by the firm, led the opposition to the privatization proposal.    -Read more-
  • SMW Successfully Defends Mobile Home Rent Ordinance: In a major victory for government’s ability to make land use decisions on behalf of the public good, an eleven-judge en banc panel of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a three-judge panel and upheld the City of Goleta’s mobile home rent ordinance against a constitutional challenge. The firm was retained to represent the City after the court granted en banc review.    -Read more-
  • Schwartz Inducted in Lambda Alpha: On December 2, 2010, Andrew Schwartz was inducted into the Golden Gate Chapter of Lambda Alpha International, the honorary land economics society.   
  • Three New Partners: SMW is proud to announce that Winter King, Deborah Miller, and Gabriel Ross have been made partners in the Firm effective January 1, 2011. For more information, see their biographies.   
  • SMW Successfully Defends Farmland Mitigation Program: The Fifth District Court of Appeal unanimously reversed a trial court decision invalidating Stanislaus County’s Farmland Mitigation Program and established an important precedent for farmland protection in California. The firm represented the County in the litigation.    -Read more-
  • SMW Honored as Women-Owned Business: The San Francisco Business Times named SMW to its 2010 list of "Bay Area’s Largest 100 Women-Owned Businesses," an honor SMW also received in 2009. SMW is proud to be one of only three law firms on the list.   -Read more-
  • Fullerton Rejects Chevron’s Development Plans: In June, after a thirty-year long battle, the City of Fullerton rejected Chevron’s proposal to build a 760-unit subdivision in the City’s last remaining large open space, which is home to nearly 130 wildlife species. On behalf of Friends of Coyote Hills, SMW submitted numerous comment letters on the project.    -Read more-
  • Super Lawyers: Clem Shute, Rachel Hooper, Fran Layton, Andrew Schwartz, and Robert “Perl” Perlmutter were recognized as Northern California Super Lawyers for 2010.   
  • Sierra Club Mother Lode Chapter Award: In May, Rachel Hooper received the Sierra Club Mother Lode Chapter’s 2010 Outstanding Legal Representation Award. This award recognizes Ms. Hooper’s representation of the Club in successful litigation challenging the City of Stockton’s controversial water privatization project, and in negotiating a landmark settlement aimed at reducing GHG emissions in Stockton.  
  • Ninth Circuit Will Rehear Takings Case En Banc: In Guggenheim v. City of Goleta, a 3-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit held that a mobile home rent control ordinance was a taking. Following the court’s grant of rehearing, Goleta retained SMW to represent the City in all appellate proceedings. An en banc panel of 11 judges heard oral argument on June 22, 2010.   
  • Top Land Use Achievement: In 2009, the Sierra Club’s San Gorgonio Chapter and the San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society, represented by the firm, stopped an environmentally destructive highway project in Riverside County. Their success was recently recognized by Environment Now as Southern California’s top achievement for land use and smart growth for 2009.   
  • Partner Fran Layton Receives CCLT Award: In March, SMW Partner Fran Layton was honored by the California Council of Land Trusts for her work on state legislation addressing the threat to state conservation lands from condemnation. The California legislation is now regarded as a model for legislation in other states.  
  • California Lawyer of the Year: Based on her work opposing a bottling plant proposed by Nestle Waters of North America in the McCloud River watershed (see below), Rachel Hooper, a partner with the firm, received California Lawyer’s Attorney of the Year (CLAY) Award in March 2010.   
  • Stockton Climate Change Action Plan: In January 2010, the Mother Lode Chapter of the Sierra Club, represented by the firm, received PCL’s David Gaines Award for Non-Profit Work for its role in the City of Stockton’s General Plan update process, including prompting the City to adopt a rigorous Climate Action Plan.   -Read more-
  • Catherine Engberg Made Partner : SMW is proud to announce that Catherine Engberg has been made a partner in the Firm effective January 1, 2010. For more information, see Ms. Engberg's biography.  
  • Mark Weinberger Trail Dedication: In November 2009, the City of Livermore dedicated the Mark Weinberger Segment of the South Livermore trail system. Mr. Weinberger was instrumental in the adoption of the South Livermore Valley Specific Plan, which curbed urban sprawl and protected more than 4,200 acres of vineyards.  
  • SMW Honored as Women-Owned Business: The San Francisco Business Times named SMW to its 2009 list of “Top 100 Women-Owned Businesses in the Bay Area.”   -Read more-
  • Privatization Opponents Qualify Marin Referendum: As reported in the New York Times, the California Healthy Communities Network, represented by the firm, gathered enough signatures in October to qualify its referendum of a privatization contract approved by the Novato Sanitary District.   -Read more-
  • Nestle Withdraws Proposed Bottling Plant: In September, Nestle Waters of North America abandoned its proposed McCloud River water bottling facility. The Protect Our Waters Coalition, including the firm's clients California Trout and Trout Unlimited, worked tirelessly to oppose the unfair contract terms and inadequate environmental analysis.   -Read more-
  • Federal Funding Boosts San Francisco Transbay Program: The Transbay Joint Powers Authority, a client of the firm, recently received commitments from the US Department of Transportation for a loan of $171 million and a high-speed rail stimulus grant of $400 million for construction of the new multi-modal Transbay Transit Center this Summer.    -Read more-
  • Sacramento Levees and Mitigation: The firm recently prevailed in two eminent domain trials to acquire property for the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency’s project to improve the levees and preserve habitat for the Giant Garter Snake and Swainson’s Hawk in the Natomas Basin North of Sacramento.    -Read more-
  • Latest Tri-Valley Conservancy Acquisition Links Protected Areas: In August 2009, the firm’s client Tri-Valley Conservancy completed its $1.5 million purchase of 74 acres near Livermore protecting habitat for special status species, linking several trails, and providing a wildlife corridor for bobcats, deer and coyotes.  
  • Historic Alameda Theatre Renovation Lauded: In May 2009, after 30 years of disuse and years of hard fought litigation defended by the firm, the newly renovated historic Alameda Theatre reopened to rave reviews. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the theater renovation has served as a catalyst to revitalize the entire downtown.   
  • Lassen Forest Protected: In May 2009, in a settlement reached in response to a CEQA suit filed by the firm on behalf of Friends of Lassen Forest, the County of Lassen rescinded its approval of an application by Sierra Pacific Industries to rezone over 5,000 acres of timber land for development.   -Read more-
  • California Lawyers of the Year: Based on their work on the Tejon Ranch conservation agreement (see below), Richard Taylor and Bill White, partners with the firm, received California Lawyer’s Attorney of the Year (CLAY) Award in March 2009.  
  • Super Lawyers: Clem Shute, Rachel Hooper, Fran Layton, Andrew Schwartz, and Robert “Perl” Perlmutter were recognized as Northern California Super Lawyers for 2009. The San Francisco Business Times also selected Clem Shute as one of the Best Lawyers of the San Francisco Bay Area for 2009.  
  • Matthew Zinn Made Partner: SMW is proud to announce that Matthew Zinn has been made a partner in the Firm effective January 1, 2009. For more information, see Mr. Zinn's biography.  
  • Toll Road Rejected: In December 2008, the U.S. Commerce Secretary upheld the California Coastal Commission’s historic rejection of a proposed six-lane toll road through San Onofre State Beach, a victory for a coalition of major environmental groups represented by the firm.   -Read more-
  • Protecting Prime Agricultural Land in San Luis Obispo County: In December 2008, the firm prevailed in litigation to set aside a developer-sponsored initiative in San Luis Obispo County that would have allowed the development of 130 acres of prime farmland in violation of state law and the County’s General Plan.   -Read more-
  • Extension of Open Space Protection in Napa County: In November 2008, the voters of Napa County passed Measure P, a land use initiative drafted by the firm protecting important agricultural and open space lands through 2058.   -Read more-
  • SMW Earns Green Business Certification: In September 2008, SMW became a Green Business certified by the City and County of San Francisco.   -Read more-
  • Opposition to Diversion of McCloud River for Water-Bottling: In August 2008, in response to CEQA objections by the firm on behalf of California Trout, Inc. and Trout Unlimited, Nestle terminated its agreement with the McCloud Community Services District to purchase spring water from the McCloud River for its water-bottling operation.   -Read more-
  • Historic Agreement to Protect Tejon Ranch: In one of the largest conservation deals in California history, the firm represented a coalition of major environmental groups in negotiating the landmark Tejon Ranch Conservation and Land Use Agreement, preserving 240,000 acres (90%) of this ecologically significant property.   -Read more-
  • Marin County General Plan Recognized for Sustainability: SMW played a major role in the overhaul of the County of Marin’s General Plan, which helped the County earn the prestigious 2008 National Planning Excellence Award for Implementation from the American Planning Association.   -Read more-
  • Protecting the Gateway to Mount Whitney: In December 2007, the firm won a major victory on behalf of the Save Round Valley Alliance when the Court of Appeal ruled that Inyo County was wrong to approve a sprawling suburban-style subdivision near Whitney Portal without considering whether there was a better site for the development.    -Read more-