Best Lawyers in California, United States for Land Use and Zoning Law
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Cities
Marne S. Sussman is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Energy Law, Environmental Law, Land Use and Zoning Law and Litigation - Environmental. Marne S., who practices law in San Francisco, California, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Marne S. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Victor De la Cruz leads Manatt’s land use practice. He counsels developers, institutions, individuals, for-profit corporations and nonprofit organizations on matters at the nexus of law and government, including real estate development and land use entitlements, bid protests, and government contracts. In 2016, the Daily Journal named him one of the top 40 attorneys under the age of 40 in California, and in 2018, in recognition of his work in the area of land use, he received the Califor...
Beth P. Gordie is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Land Use and Zoning Law. Beth P., who practices law in Century City, California, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Beth P. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Matthew Francois is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Land Use and Zoning Law. Matthew, who practices law in San Francisco, California, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Matthew is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Christian H. Cebrian is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Environmental Law, Land Use and Zoning Law, Litigation - Environmental and Litigation - Land Use and Zoning. Christian H., who practices law in San Francisco, California, has been recognized since 2023. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Christian H. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Steven D. Hamilton is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Land Use and Zoning Law and Real Estate Law. Steven D., who practices law in San Diego, California, has been recognized since 2023. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Steven D. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Cecily Barclay focuses her practice on land use and entitlements, real estate acquisition and development and local government law. She regularly assists landowners, developers and public agencies throughout Northern California in all aspects of acquisition, entitlement and development of land, including land use application processing, drafting and negotiating purchase and sale agreements, negotiating and securing the approval of development agreements, general plan amendments, specific plan...
Letitia D. Moore is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Environmental Law and Land Use and Zoning Law. Letitia D., who practices law in San Francisco, California, has been recognized since 2023. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Letitia D. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Alicia Guerra has developed a multi-disciplinary practice focused on local, state, and federal land use entitlement and permitting and environmental review for a broad sector of private industry, developers, and public agencies. Ms. Guerra’s practice often involves complex and controversial projects at all levels of the administrative process including due diligence, land use entitlements, development agreements, disposition and development agreements, permitting advice, and counsel for...
Barbara Schussman, a partner in the firm's Environment, Energy & Resources practice, focuses on securing federal, state and local agency approvals needed to develop a wide range of private and public projects, including industrial scale solar facilities, university campuses, hospitals, research and development facilities, water supply and storage projects, oil refineries, maritime port and airport expansions, and numerous industrial, commercial, housing and mixed use developments. Barbara...
Alexander M. DeGood is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Land Use and Zoning Law. Alexander M., who practices law in Los Angeles, California, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Alexander M. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
John Ramirez is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Land Use and Zoning Law and Real Estate Law. John, who practices law in Irvine, California, has been recognized since 2022. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which John is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Ed Casey represents a variety of residential, retail and commercial developers in land use matters, including those arising under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). His practice encompasses every facet of the entitlement process, from pre-acquisition due diligence to permitting, and he has successfully prosecuted and defended CEQA and other land use lawsuits for a number of major development projects. Ed was listed in the 2015 and 2016 editions of The Best Lawyers in America &co...
Experience doesn't make us smarter, but it does steer us to solutions where the less-experienced might only see problems. Experienced land use counsel is particularly critical in California, for it is here that creative "been down this path before" thinking is needed to meet the challenges of an often-daunting convergence of federal, state, and local land use regulation. For more than four decades, Tim's insight has been shaped by work on some of California's most complex entitlement projects...
Douglas J. Dennington is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Land Use and Zoning Law. Douglas J., who practices law in Irvine, California, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Douglas J. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Winston P. Stromberg is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Land Use and Zoning Law. Winston P., who practices law in Century City, California, has been recognized since 2022. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Winston P. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.