California Employment News: California Wage Compliance – Avoiding Legal Pitfalls
California Employment News: CA Local Minimum Wage Updates
(Podcast) California Employment News: CA Local Minimum Wage Updates
Adaptive Reuse: From Desks to Doorways
Law School Toolbox Podcast Episode 514: Listen and Learn -- Discovery (Civ Pro)
A Counterintuitive Approach to Winning Without Litigation: One-on-One with Haley Morrison
(Podcast) California Employment News: Creating the Report for a Workplace Investigation – Part 4 (Featured)
California Employment News: Creating the Report for a Workplace Investigation – Part 4 (Featured)
Law School Toolbox Podcast Episode 511: Listen and Learn -- Landlord/Tenant Law (Part 1)
From Permits to Penalties: A Deep Dive Into Coastal Development Law
California Employment News: Synthesizing Evidence in a Workplace Investigation – Part 3 (Featured)
Doc Fees Decoded: The Price of Paperwork in Auto Sales — Moving the Metal: The Auto Finance Podcast
(Podcast) California Employment News: Gathering Information in a Workplace Investigation – Part 2 (Featured)
California Employment News: Gathering Information in a Workplace Investigation – Part 2 (Featured)
Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 314: Listen and Learn -- False Imprisonment and Shopkeeper’s Privilege (Torts)
(Podcast) California Employment News: Starting a Workplace Investigation – Part 1 (Featured)
California Employment News: Starting a Workplace Investigation – Part 1 (Featured)
Feeling the Heat: Strategies to Keep Cool Under California's Consumers Legal Remedies Act — The Consumer Finance Podcast
The JustPod: Prosecutor-Initiated Resentencing: A Discussion with Hillary Blout
This is the fifth update in our series covering AB 130 and SB 131, two bills that work substantive changes to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and California housing law....more
Our firm is tracking a myriad of other pending state housing laws, most of which were proposed as part of the “Fast Track Housing” package. Those bills are briefly summarized below. The following summaries reflect the status...more
Various state housing bills are currently making their way through the California State Legislature that are expected to benefit mixed-income multifamily housing developers. The following summaries reflect the status of the...more
The San Diego City Council voted on March 4, 2025, to begin the process of revising its Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Bonus Program (ADU Bonus Program or Program), which has served, to date, as one of the state’s most...more
This year, over fifty bills were introduced in the Legislature that directly addressed a CEQA issue. Many died in committee, or failed to make it out of their respective houses. The vast majority of those that advanced sought...more
On May 14, 2025, Senator Scott Wiener issued a press release stating that, on that morning, “Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he supports the strongest ever reforms of [CEQA],” referring to Newsom’s proposal to include in...more
California’s drive toward a net-zero carbon economy by 2045 is sparking innovative solutions to harmonize environmental conservation with infrastructure development. Assembly Bill (AB) 550, sponsored by Assembly Member...more
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has released a rezoning plan to allow taller buildings along transit routes from the Marina to the Sunset and Richmond districts, changes he said would accommodate 36,000 new housing units...more
In California, the primary governing structure for condemnation suits is set forth within Title 7 of the California Code of Civil Procedure (CCP 1230.010, et. seq.), otherwise known as the Eminent Domain Act, which was...more
On March 19, 2024, Assemblymember Buffy Wicks introduced new amendments to pending Assembly Bill (AB) 2243, which would amend AB 2011 (operative as of July 1, 2023). As explained in our prior legal alert, AB 2011 provides for...more
Recognizing that Downtown San Francisco is “struggling” post-pandemic, State Senator Scott Wiener has announced new legislation to exempt certain projects in the area from California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review...more
Several modest amendments to CEQA took effect on Jan. 1, 2024. Our CEQA News You Can Use team summarized a few of changes to keep in mind in the new year....more
The 2023 legislative cycle saw another mixed-bag of legislation dealing with CEQA “reform,” with a particular focus on streamlining affordable housing development. While many bills died during the process, a few key laws were...more
The California Legislature’s laser focus on addressing the state housing crisis did not subside during the 2023 legislative session. While legislators proposed over 150 housing bills, only a fraction of those bills were...more
In downtown San Francisco, office vacancy has skyrocketed as hybrid work has transformed the way in which employers and employees use office space. This, in turn, has decreased activity downtown, negatively impacting the...more
In this alert, Brownstein outlines Gov. Gavin Newsom’s latest swing at the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and provides the updates (and potentially what to expect) regarding two new bills introduced by Sen. Scott...more
The land use entitlement process in California is notoriously complicated, lengthy, and fraught with uncertainty. Less attention is paid to the process of receiving building permits, post-entitlement. Generally, this process...more
A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team...more
Supporters of the Yes In God’s Back Yard (YIGBY) movement made a joyful noise this week when California State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) announced that he was reintroducing legislation to allow by-right development...more
The 2021–2022 California Legislative Session closed on August 31 and was dominated by further efforts to address the state’s continued housing crisis. The flurry of major legislation passed by the Legislature and now on the...more
The use of private covenants governing the use, improvement, and occupancy of real property has a long and sometimes checkered history in California, as it does throughout the nation. Beginning in the late 19th century, the...more