practice areas |
public agencies |
community groups |
members of the firm |
hiring
Robert “Perl” Perlmutter
Mr. Perlmutter joined Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger in 1996 and is a partner with the firm. He received his law degree from Boalt Hall School of Law, where he was elected Order of the Coif and was editor-in-chief of the Ecology Law Quarterly, and his undergraduate degree from Harvard University. Before joining the firm, Mr. Perlmutter served as a law clerk for the Honorable Thelton E. Henderson, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California.
Mr. Perlmutter represents and advises community groups, public agencies, and environmental organizations on a wide range of environmental and land use issues, including local initiatives and referendums, CEQA, NEPA, the Clean Water Act, Federal and California Clean Air Acts, general plan and zoning laws, the Political Reform Act, and open meeting laws. His representations include:
-
Lead attorney representing plaintiff in San Francisco BayKeeper v. Tosco Corporation, 309 F.3d 1153 (9th Cir. 2002), which upheld the vitality of citizen enforcement suits against polluting companies under the federal Clean Water Act (case featured in The Plaintiffs’ Hot List, Twenty-Five Go-To Teams for When the Going Gets Tough, National Law Journal, July 21, 2003).
-
Co-counsel representing the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency in successfully defeating a challenge to the agency’s jet ski regulations in Lake Tahoe Watercraft Recreation Ass’n v. TRPA, 24 F.Supp.2d 1062 (E.D. Cal. 1998).
-
General counsel to a variety of public agencies including the Hearing Board for the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, the City of Concord’s Mobile Home Park Rent Review Board, and the Tri-City and County Cooperative Planning Group.
-
Lead or co-counsel in successful challenges under CEQA and the State Planning and Zoning Law to development projects throughout California.
-
Drafted and defended numerous initiatives and referendums on behalf of community groups and public agencies.
Mr. Perlmutter has authored or co-authored several publications regarding local ballot measures, including Chapter 75: Local Land Use Initiatives and Referendums, in California Environmental Law and Land Use Practice (Matthew Bender), and Ballot Box Planning: Understanding Land Use Initiatives in California (Institute for Local Self Government). He regularly speaks at conferences regarding land use and environmental issues.
Mr. Perlmutter is a member of the Bars of the State of California, the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Eastern and Central Districts of California.
portraits by Liza Heider