Best Lawyers Near You in Santa Monica, California for Leisure and Hospitality Law

With nearly 200,000 licensed attorneys across a state known for its massive industries, progressive laws and regional differences, finding the right legal help in California can feel overwhelming. Whether you’re facing a business dispute in Silicon Valley or a custody battle in San Diego, it’s critical to find a lawyer in California who not only understands the law but understands how it works where you live.

That’s where Best Lawyers comes in. Our platform is more than just a directory. Every lawyer listed has been thoroughly vetted through a rigorous peer-review process, so you can search with confidence no matter what practice area you need.

Using the Best Lawyers Directory in California

The Best Lawyers directory makes it easy to find top-rated legal talent across California’s many regions and industries. You can search by:

  • Practice area (e.g., environmental law, immigration, tech and IP, family law)
  • Location (city or county)
  • Lawyer name (if you’re researching someone specifically)

Each listed attorney has been recognized in the most recent edition of The Best Lawyers in America®, a distinction earned through extensive peer feedback and professional evaluation. That means every name you see has already earned the respect of their colleagues—and likely their adversaries, too.

If you need to find a lawyer in California without wasting time on unverified referrals or endless Google results, start here. Our listings provide clear, up-to-date profiles that help you narrow down your options quickly.

California-Specific Legal Needs and Practice Areas

California law can be tricky. You need someone who knows the ropes. The state is a national leader in tech innovation, environmental regulation and entertainment law—and its legal landscape reflects that. Attorneys here must stay up to date not only with federal law but with fast-evolving state statutes, administrative rulings and court precedents.

Some of the most common practice areas where Californians seek legal help include:

  • Real estate law, especially in high-cost markets like Los Angeles, San Francisco and Orange County
  • Family law, including divorce, child custody and support disputes, all governed by California’s unique family code
  • Tech and IP law, a major concern for startups and established firms alike in the Bay Area and beyond
  • Entertainment and media law, vital for clients in Los Angeles and surrounding creative hubs
  • Environmental and land use law, which is especially important in light of California’s extensive regulations on development, conservation and climate compliance

California also has strict state bar licensing rules, making it essential to choose an attorney who is not just experienced in the area of law you need, but also well-versed in local procedures and precedent. That’s why using a trusted directory like Best Lawyers—where every listing has local context and professional vetting—can make the difference.

How to Find a Good Lawyer in California

Finding a good lawyer in California feels daunting. With so many billboards and online ads, don’t feel bad if you don’t know where to turn. The best results come from approaching your search with intention. Here are key things to consider:

  • Know your legal issue. Attorneys often specialize. Make sure you’re looking within the right practice area.
  • Check credentials. Always confirm that a lawyer is licensed and in good standing with the State Bar of California.
  • Evaluate experience. Ask about similar cases the attorney has handled, especially in your city or county.
  • Ask the right questions. When interviewing lawyers, consider asking:
    • What is your experience with this specific type of case?
    • How do you communicate with clients during the process?
    • What outcomes have you achieved in similar matters?
  • Read peer and client feedback. While reviews can be helpful, peer recognition carries additional weight. Lawyers know the strengths—and weaknesses—of their colleagues better than anyone else.

Choosing the right legal partner isn’t just about skill. It’s about trust, communication and shared expectations. That’s why using a curated directory that highlights attorneys recommended by their peers can help you filter out guesswork.

Why Peer Recognition Matters in Your Search

The Best Lawyers selection process is rooted in peer recognition—a factor that sets us apart from other platforms. Here’s how it works:

  • Nominations come from fellow lawyers, clients and others familiar with a nominee’s work.
  • Peer review follows, in which top attorneys confidentially assess the legal skill and professionalism of their peers.
  • Analysis and vetting ensure lawyers meet strict ethical and professional standards before being listed.

This isn’t pay-to-play. Lawyers cannot buy their way into the directory and inclusion is never guaranteed. That’s why so many legal professionals and clients trust Best Lawyers as a reliable source of information.

In a field where reputation is everything, recognition from fellow attorneys carries exceptional value. It tells you a lawyer is respected not just by clients, but by those who face them in court or collaborate with them on deals.

Start Your Search with Confidence

Whether you’re seeking representation for a business dispute, criminal matter, estate plan or high-asset divorce, California’s legal market offers no shortage of options. But knowing how to find a lawyer in California—one who brings both credibility and local expertise—is the key to moving forward with clarity.

At Best Lawyers, we make it easier to connect with attorneys who have already earned the respect of their peers. You can explore by practice area, browse by city or search for a specific lawyer using our intuitive filters. No matter where you are in the Golden State, trusted legal help is just a click away.

Find a lawyer in California today and move forward with confidence—backed by a directory built on excellence and trust.

Practice Area Overview

Hospitality law is an area of practice related to the hotel, resort, golf, private club, timeshare, restaurant, and travel industries. Hospitality attorneys provide counsel to owners, operators, developers, brands, service providers, lenders, and investors on many industry-related issues, including:
  • Strategic planning
  • Development, acquisition, and disposition
  • Branding and licensing
  • Financing, refinancing, and restructuring
  • Operating and development agreements
  • Joint venture, partnership, and limited liability company agreements
  • Corporate, multi-, and single-asset transactions
  • Multi-state representations
  • Product and program structuring
  • Mergers and acquisitions
  • Dispute resolution

Additionally, hospitality clients require experience across many areas, including:

  • Corporate. Offering guidance on corporate governance and SEC requirements. Advising corporations, boards of directors, board committees, corporate officers, shareholders, limited liability companies, and others regarding best practices, composition, and procedures; oversight and self-evaluation systems; guidelines, and codes of conduct; fiduciary responsibilities; executive compensation and succession; financial reporting and internal investigations; and proxy statement preparation.
  • Securities. Assisting with all aspects of public equity and debt offerings, as well as growth strategies such as an IPO. Assist with a variety of securities related matters, including SEC and stock exchange regulation compliance.
  • Labor and employment. Providing training and tools for effective labor-management relations and helping develop policies for compliance with state and federal labor, discrimination, and wage and hour laws.
  • Privacy. Advising on compliance with applicable global privacy laws and regulations as well as on internal and customer-facing policies, procedures, and practices. Providing counsel on information management, data security issues, and regulatory requirements.
  • Consumer finance. Representing companies in matters such as state and federal consumer finance laws, money-laundering, and payment card laws relating to credit, debit, gift, and virtual cards.
  • Intellectual property. Assisting with trademark protection and maintenance; infringement enforcement issues; compliance counseling on advertising, sales, marketing, pricing, promotions, and sweepstakes; co-branding and strategic partnerships; and advertising terms and conditions. Providing strategic counsel on information technology matters, including software, licensing, technology outsourcing agreements, leasing, and maintenance.
  • Real estate. Representing developers and owners before local, regional, and state agencies on zoning, land use, impact fees; transportation; and infrastructure requirements, as well as financing and other development-related issues.
  • Environmental. Providing counseling on litigation, transactional due diligence, consulting and compliance services, and the effects of current and pending legislation.
  • Tax. Assisting with tax matters, from transaction planning, dispute resolution, and policy development, to real estate capital markets transactions, including the formation of real estate funds, real estate financings, joint ventures, recapitalizations, and dispositions.
  • Litigation. Providing support for all matters, including litigation, alternative dispute resolution, civil lawsuits, and criminal or government investigations.
  • ADA. Providing counseling on due diligence, compliance services, effects of pending legislation, transactional due diligence, and litigation.
  • FCPA. Providing counseling on overseas business practices and risk management.
William C. Guthrie, Partner Foley & Lardner
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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.