Our permitting attorneys bring together years of permitting experience and industry knowledge to help you navigate the maze of regulatory reviews to obtain permits in a timely fashion and impose only appropriate, reasonable compliance obligations. Some of our team members are former agency employees, engineers or scientists and bring these valuable experiences to your development team. With your development team, we will identify the authorizations required and the agencies or oversight bodies involved, review project schedules, and simplify application materials. Our attorneys negotiate permit conditions, draft permit language to ease implementation, and represent you before agencies, at hearings and at public approval meetings.
Our Services
- Permit application, project management and permit negotiation
- Permit appeals
- Implementation and compliance with permit terms
- Conservation plans and mitigation strategies
- Natural resource mitigation banks
Our stellar reputation in environmental law combined with community leadership has fostered a respectful relationship with regulators, public officials and other stakeholders. In some limited situations, local, state or regional agencies retain our team as special counsel, confirming the respect and reputation we’ve earned through our permitting work.
Permitting Litigation
Some projects cannot avoid challenge from local or national environmental groups, neighborhood groups, labor unions or project competitors. We provide strategic, proactive counsel on how best to develop an administrative record that can withstand challenge and litigation. When an appeal is initiated, our attorneys work to minimize delay and to ensure that the ultimate permit conditions are reasonable.
California Permitting
Permitting projects in California can be particularly challenging. Many local governments write their own regulations that layer complexity on top of state and federal reviews. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) can present significant obstacles for clients, and a substantial number of projects are challenged by local community groups. Our CEQA attorneys have deep experience handling these issues and strong relationships with agencies throughout California.