City Attorneys Spring Conference
May 7-9, 2025
Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport
1333 Bayshore Highway, Burlingame, CA
Designed for city attorneys, this conference provides attendees with in-depth information about the latest municipal law issues and provides opportunities to meet, and re-connect, with colleagues from around the state. Previous topics include emerging AI technology, risk mitigation, ethics, meeting decorum, legislative updates, and much more. MCLE credits are offered.
Save the date for our next spring conference, May 7-9, 2025, in Burlingame.
You can find more programming for city attorneys at our Annual Conference and Expo, Oct. 16-18,2025, in Long Beach.
For program questions, please contact Erin Wylder.
Conference Information
View the 2024 City Attorneys Spring Conference program here.
Complete the Spring Conference evaluation here.
View the full conference papers.
View the speaker bios.
Find papers and PowerPoints for sessions below in order of the agenda:
Land Use and CEQA Litigation Update
Speakers: Christine Leigh Crowl, Senior Partner, Jarvis Fay, LLP
John M. Luebberke, Of Counsel, Herum/Crabtree/Suntag
Paper | PowerPoint- Crowl, PowerPoint- Luebberke
Introduction to the New Surplus Land Act
Speakers: Jena S. Acos, City Attorney, Carpinteria, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP
Sydne Rennie, Associate Attorney, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP
(Not) Burning Down the House
Speakers: Rubin E. Cruse, Jr., Of Counsel, Renne Public Law Group
Jonathan Holtzman, Founding Partner, Renne Public Law Group
Kathryn Oehlschlager, Partner, Downey Brand
Mass Casualty Events: What Nobody Taught You and You Didn’t Want to Learn
Speakers: Vanessa Bechtel, President and CEO, Ventura County Community Foundation
Karl H. Berger, City Attorney, Bellflower and Monterey Park, Partner, Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP
Catherine Engberg, City Attorney, Half Moon Bay, Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger, LLP
Ascending the Organizational Chart – How to Get and Keep the Public Agency Job You Want
Speakers: Susana Alcala Wood, First Vice President, City Attorneys Department, City Attorney, Sacramento
Christina Burrows, Assistant City Attorney, Culver City
Valerie Gaeta Phillips, President and Owner, Bob Murray & Associates
Scott C. Smith, City Attorney, Aliso Viejo and Laguna Niguel, Parter, Best Best & Krieger LLP
The CBRT and Other Hot Topics in Municipal Revenues
Speakers: Michael G. Colantuono, Managing Shareholder, Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley, PC
Margaret Prinzing, Partner, Olson Remcho
Paper | PowerPoint- Prinzing, PowerPoint- Colontouno
Ethics Complaints Against a Council Member
Speaker: Steven Miller, Partner, Hanson Bridgett
Segmentation, Participation and Lots of Complications
Speaker: Kevin G. Ennis, City Attorney, Moorpark, Shareholder, Richards Watson & Gershon
Municipal Tort and Civil Rights Litigation Update
Speakers: Neil Okazaki, Senior Deputy City Attorney and Constitutional Policing Advisor, Corona
Alana Rotter, Appellate Lawyer, Greines, Martin, Stein & Richland LLP
Update on Open and Public Publication – A Focus on the Brown Act
Speakers: Javan Rad, Chief Assistant City Attorney, Pasadena
Sujata Reuter, Chief Assistant City Attorney, Santa Clara
Section 1983 Liability: Best Practices for Cities to Manage and Mitigate Risk in a Changing World
Speakers: Kevin Bibler, Senior Vice President, Alliant Insurance Services, Inc.
Michael W. Pott, Chief Operating Officer/Chief Legal Counsel, Public Risk Innovation Solutions and Management (“PRISM”)
Karen Rogan, Assistant City Attorney, Chula Vista
Labor and Employment Litigation Update
Speakers: Elizabeth Arce, Partner, Liebert Cassidy Whitmore
Jennifer Rosner, Partner, Liebert Cassidy Whitmore
General Municipal Litigation Update
Speakers: Mark J. Austin, Partner, Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP
Meghan A. Wharton, Senior Counsel, Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley, PC
Balancing Acts: Constitutional Rights vs. Meeting Decorum in California Cities
Speaker: David Mehretu, Principal, Meyers Nave
Are You Smarter Than an AI? (MCLE Specialty Credit for Technology in the Practice of Law)
Speaker: Marc Zafferano, Senior Counsel, Boucher Law
MCLE Credit
The League of California Cities1 is a State Bar of California minimum continuing legal education (MCLE) approved provider and certifies this activity meets the standards for MCLE credit by the State Bar of California in the total amount of
View the 2023 Officers Memo and Proposed Bylaws Amendment.
Complete the Spring Conference evaluation here.
View the full conference papers.
View the speaker bios.
Find papers and PowerPoints for sessions below in order of the agenda:
Land Use and CEQA Litigation Update
Speaker:
William Ihrke, City Attorney, Cerritos and La Quinta, Partner, Rutan & Tucker
“… and Other Duties as Required”: Talking to Non-Clients
Speakers:
Derek Cole, City Attorney, Oakley, Sutter Creek, Partner, Cole Huber
Joseph “Seph” Petta, Deputy City Attorney, Half Moon Bay, Partner, Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger
Zaynah Moussa, City Attorney,
Vernon
Deepa Sharma, Assistant City Attorney, Piedmont, Partner, Burke, Williams & Sorensen
Implementing Districts - Now That You Have Gone to Districts, What Next?
Speakers:
Holly O. Whatley, Shareholder, Highsmith & Whatley
Doug Johnson, President, National Demographics Corporation
Randi Johl, Legislative Director / City Clerk, Temecula
Housing Legislation and Status Density Bonus Law Update
Speakers:
Iman Novin, President, Novin Development Corp.
Patricia Curtin, Legal Counsel to Cities and Special Districts, Fennemore Wendel
Amara L. Morrison, Director, Fennemore Wendel
Preparation of Official Statements: Interplay between Disclosure Counsel and the Client
Speakers:
Jeffrey Massey, Senior Deputy City Attorney, Sacramento
Lawrence Chan, Shareholder, Stradling Yocca Carlson & Raut
The Unsheltered Residing in our Communities: Navigating Constitutional and Practical Concerns
Speakers:
Rene Alejandro Ortega, Partner, Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger
Eric Salbert, Deputy City Attorney, Chico, Senior Associate, Alvarez-Glasman & Colvin
Municipal Tort and Civil Rights Litigation Update
Speakers:
Alana Rotter, Partner, Greines, Martin, Stein & Richland
Neil Okazaki, Deputy City Attorney / Police Legal Advisor, Corona
Labor and Employment Litigation Update
Speakers:
Geoffrey S. Sheldon, Partner, Liebert Cassidy Whitmore
Elizabeth Tom Arce, Partner, Liebert Cassidy Whitmore
SB 1383: What it is and How it Impacts Every Jurisdiction
Speakers:
Dana Dean, Counsel, Hanson Bridgett
Beth Hummer, Counsel, Hanson Bridgett
Alene Taber, Counsel, Hanson Bridgett
DEIB, Microaggressions, and Decentering: A Path to Cultural Shift in Organizations
Speakers:
David Gonzalez, Associate, Aleshire & Wynder
Elena Gerli, City Attorney, Suisun City, Assistant City Attorney, La Cañada Flintridge and Rancho Palos Verdes, Partner, Aleshire & Wynder
Yecenia
Vargas, Assistant City Attorney, Perris and Cypress, Associate, Aleshire & Wynder
General Municipal Litigation Update
Speaker:
Pamela K. Graham, Senior Counsel, Colantuono Highsmith & Whatley
What to do When First Amendment Auditors Come to Town
Speaker:
Deborah Fox, Principal and Chair of First Amendment and Trial & Litigation Practice Groups, Meyers Nave
(MCLE Specialty Credit for Competence Issues)
Impaired Colleague? Addressing Attorney Competency, the Warning Signs, and Getting Help
Speaker:
Lita Abella, Sr. Program Analyst, Office of Professional Competence, Lawyer Assistance Program, The State Bar of California
MCLE Credit
The League of California Cities1 is a State Bar of California minimum continuing legal education (MCLE) approved provider and certifies this activity meets the standards for MCLE credit by the State Bar of California in the total amount of 11.25 hours, including .75 hours of Implicit Bias subfield credit and 1 hour of Competence Issues subfield credit.
1 Provider No. 1985
