Updates and Articles
Press Release: Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger LLP Celebrates 40 Years of Serving the Public Interest
Law firm specializes in government, land use, renewable energy and environmental law; 40th Anniversary website launched. San Francisco, Calif. – The law firm Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger LLP is celebrating 40 years of service as one of the nation’s preeminent progressive public interest law firms. Since 1980, Shute, Mihaly & Weinberg LLP has specialized in government, land use, renewable energy and...
Read MoreTribes look to expand cultural burning to restore traditional practices and address catastrophic wildfire threats
People indigenous to California have proactively ignited the landscape to manage plants and wildlife, provide community protection, control insects and disease, and engage in cultural and religious practices since time immemorial. Experts estimate that before 1800, between 4.5 million and 12 million acres of the state burned annually, through some combination of lightening and cultural burning.
Read MoreBlack Lives Matter as Government Speech
In June 2020, communities across California and the world protested and mourned the nationally recognized acts of violence against Black lives.
Read MoreKaruk Tribe Releases “Good Fire” Report, Addressing Barriers and Solutions to Increasing Cultural Burning
SMW Attorneys Sara Clark and Andrew Miller, together with cultural fire practitioner Don Hankins, authored Good Fire: Current Barriers to the Expansion of Cultural Burning and Prescribed Fire in California and Recommended Solutions for the Karuk Tribe. The report, which has been extensively cited in the media and by policymakers, examines the specific challenges faced by Native American Tribes in their efforts to restore...
Read MoreThe Public Trust – What Local Decisionmakers Should Know
The ancient public trust doctrine is as relevant as ever in today’s California, with implications for how local governments make decisions that could directly or indirectly affect water resources.
Read MoreBuilding Decarbonization Update: Local Governments in California Consider Strategies to Reduce Natural Gas Use in Existing Buildings
Following up on the October 2019 and February 2020 editions of In the Public Interest, this article provides an update regarding strategies proposed by several cities and counties to encourage or require existing buildings to go all-electric.
Read MoreSMW Attorney on Faculty of Land Trust Alliance Advanced Legal Symposium
On June 10, 2021, Tamara Galanter spoke on amendments to conservation easements and the use of building areas in conservation easements at the Eighth Symposium on Advanced Legal Topics in Land Conservation sponsored by the Land Trust Alliance. As a faculty member, Tamara joined seven other leading legal experts and practitioners to educate more than 200 attendees throughout the United States on emerging issues in land...
Read MoreDaily Journal Article: Restoring California’s Leadership in Setting Tailpipe Emissions Standards
Firm members Lauren Tarpey and Matthew Zinn outlined the historic rationale for California’s Clean Air Act waiver from federal preemption in a recent article for the Daily Journal: Restoring California’s leadership in setting tailpipe emission standards (paywall). Following the EPA’s announcement that it will reconsider a Trump era decision to revoke California’s waiver, the article outlines the history behind California’s...
Read MoreVerdict in Chauvin Trial is “First Step Towards Justice”
We breathed a sigh of relief on hearing the results of the Derek Chauvin trial in which he was found guilty of murdering George Floyd. But this verdict underscores the work that remains to be done to dismantle the systemic racism that perpetuates violence on Black and Brown people in this country. We agree with Minnesota Attorney General Ellison: "I would not call today's verdict justice, however, because justice implies...
Read MoreDesigning Cities with Birds and Stargazers in Mind
Cities across California are adopting measures to ensure buildings do not pose threats to bird safety, often pairing these measures with those that reduce sources of nighttime light pollution.
Read MoreOptimizing the Siting and Design of Distributed Energy Resources
Utilities provide integration capacity maps that can help customers and developers optimize the placement of distributed energy resources like solar generation and electric vehicle chargers. The California Public Utilities Commission recently decided to require improvements to the maps, which will unlock new uses that can aid public agencies’ decarbonization efforts.
Read MoreWhen Does Civic Discourse Cross the Line to Harassment?
Public agencies must walk a careful line in trying to police expressions of public opinion, even when members of the public target officials and employees as proxies for their frustration. This article discusses how to keep civic engagement constructive while protecting officials and employees from harassment.
Read MoreSMW Attorneys Recognized Among Top Environmental & Energy Lawyers in the US
Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger is honored to announce that twelve of our partners were recently named to Lawdragon News’ inaugural list of the top 500 environmental and energy lawyers in the United States. Kevin P. Bundy, Ellison Folk, Tamara S. Galanter, Ellen J. Garber, Winter King, Robert “Perl” Perlmutter, Gabriel M. B. Ross, Andrew W. Schwartz, Sky C. Stanfield, Richard Taylor, William J. White and Matthew D. Zinn...
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