ALESHIRE & WYNDER - Key Persons

Adrian R. Guerra

ag..@awattorneys.com

Job Titles:

Partner
Equity Partner

Adrian R. Guerra is an Equity Partner at Aleshire & Wynder. In his role as City Attorney, he provides legal advice on all aspects of municipal law including ordinance, resolution and contract preparation and interpretation, land use, planning, and CEQA, the Brown Act, Public Records Act, and Political Reform Act. In his roles as General Counsel and Special Counsel for housing authorities, he works extensively with the Housing Choice Voucher and Public Housing programs, defends complaints filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the California Civil Rights Department, provides guidance for compliance with housing and disability based laws, including reasonable accommodation procedures, and serves as a hearing officer in hearings to challenge housing authority administrative decisions. Mr. Guerra also represents public agencies in litigation. He has defended writ of mandamus actions challenging land use decisions and housing authority program decisions. He has defended actions alleging violations of due process, 42 U.S.C. §1983, and other equal protection laws, as well as general civil litigation matters, including breach of contract and unlawful detainer. He has represented public agencies in appellate proceedings before the California Court of Appeals and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Practice Areas Land Use & Zoning

Alex Lemieux

al..@awattorneys.com

Job Titles:

Associate
Member of the WESTLAKE VILLAGE TEAM
Associate / Westlake Village

Alex Lemieux is an Associate in the Westlake Village office. Mr. Lemieux's practice includes both litigation and general municipal law. Before joining Aleshire & Wynder, Mr. Lemieux was a private defense attorney, practicing in both state and federal courts, on matters ranging from administrative agency actions to felony prosecutions and post-conviction relief. Mr. Lemieux also has extensive experience in real estate and landlord-tenant law, helping clients navigate the maze of state and local laws. Mr. Lemieux has appeared before numerous courts and administrative agencies throughout the state of California. Practice Areas Code Enforcement

Alexis Hall

Job Titles:

Associate
Member of the ORANGE COUNTY TEAM

Alison S. Flowers

af..@awattorneys.com

Job Titles:

Member of the BAY AREA TEAM
Partner
Litigation Counsel for the Cities of Richmond
Managing Partner of the Firm 's Alameda

Alison Flowers is the managing partner of the Firm's Alameda office, handling state and federal court litigation at every stage through trial and appeal for cities, counties, and special districts, with a focus in labor and employment and civil rights matters. Her litigation experience includes wrongful termination and harassment; PERB charges and complaints; DFEH charges and complaints; excessive force/unlawful search and seizure; other alleged civil rights violations; and the many other areas which arise in representing public agencies. Ms. Flowers also handles labor and employment matters, and serves as labor negotiator for public agencies. Ms. Flowers serves as litigation counsel for the cities of Richmond, Chino, Lompoc, Rancho Palos Verdes, and Glendora, as well as Eastern Municipal Water District, Contra Costa Water District, and the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART). Alison further serves as labor and employment counsel for the Contra Costa County Superior Court, Alameda County Superior Court, and Humane Society of Silicon Valley. Additionally, Ms. Flowers serves as counsel for the Reimagining Public Safety Task Force for the City of Richmond. Practice Areas Labor & Employment

Anita Luck

Job Titles:

Partner

Anne Lanphar

Job Titles:

Partner

Anthony R. Taylor

at..@awattorneys.com

Job Titles:

Member of the INLAND EMPIRE TEAM
Partner
Board Member of the Beckman High School Lacrosse Booster Board
Equity Partner

Anthony R. Taylor is an equity partner of the Firm. Mr. Taylor previously served as the co-chair of the Firm's litigation group and as general counsel to the Firm. Mr. Taylor's litigation experience includes arguing matters before the California Supreme Court, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and California Court of Appeal, including numerous published decisions since 2001. Additionally, Mr. Taylor has handled numerous jury and bench trials. Mr. Taylor has handled business litigation matters, including prevailing in a four week jury trial for the defense of a hotel in a multi-million dollar real estate dispute. Mr. Taylor has handled plaintiff professional negligence matters and he has obtained multi-million dollar recoveries. Practice Areas Land Use & Zoning Mr. Taylor currently serves as a board member of the Beckman High School Lacrosse Booster Board.

Benjamin R. Jones

bj..@awattorneys.com

Job Titles:

Member of the ORANGE COUNTY TEAM
Partner

Ben is dedicated to public service and has spent nearly his entire legal career representing cities and other local public agencies. Ben is a partner in the Irvine office and currently serves as Assistant City Attorney for the City of Carson as well as Deputy City Attorney for the City of Rancho Palos Verdes. As Assistant City Attorney for Carson, he acts as primary counsel to the City's Planning Commission and Mobile Home Rent Review Board, as well as supporting the City Attorney in advising the City Council. He advises city clients on a wide variety of public law topics including open government (including the Brown Act, Public Records Act, and Political Reform Act), land use & zoning, environmental law/CEQA, contracts & procurement, community services, municipal fees & taxation, cannabis regulation, and telecommunications regulation. He is also knowledgeable and experienced in municipal code enforcement, contract disputes, public works, labor & employment, elections, housing, and mobile home park laws. Ben is the Chair of A&W's Cannabis Law Practice Group, and is a member of the Community Services Policy Committee of the League of California Cities for 2023. Prior to joining A&W in 2017, Ben worked at another municipal law firm for almost three years, where he served as Deputy City Attorney for the cities of Rancho Mirage, Desert Hot Springs and Moreno Valley. Practice Areas Code Enforcement

Bill Wynder

Job Titles:

Member of the LOS ANGELES TEAM
Equity Partner / Los Angeles

Mr. Wynder is one of two named partners who formed the Firm in early 2003 to be a full-service municipal law firm. Since those heady days, our Firm has tripled its client base making us one of the fastest growing public law firms in California. We now have more public lawyers than all but a handful of municipal law firms. Professionally, Bill has specialized in the fields of municipal governance, land use & zoning law, general public law, municipal litigation, constitutional torts, and election matters for nearly 40 years. Most recently, Mr. Wynder assisted the City of Rancho Palos Verdes in the acquisition of 96 acres of scenic coastal land to forever protect the Lower Filiorum and Plumtree properties from threats of development. Bill is a 1978 cum laude graduate of Pepperdine University School of Law. He served as Editor-in-Chief of the Pepperdine Law Review, and earned the Best Advocate award in its annual Vincent S. Dalsimer Moot Court Competition. Following graduation, Bill clerked for the Honorable Harry Phillips (dec.), then-Chief Judge of the Sixth Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals. Bill began his legal career in 1979 with the international law firm of Latham & Watkins. He later joined the firm of Rutan & Tucker to try the then-largest municipal law litigation in Orange County. (See, Golden West Baseball Co. v. City of Anaheim (1994) 25 Ca1. App. 4th 11.) Practice Areas Land Use & Zoning

Brian Wright-Bushman

bw..@awattorneys.com

Job Titles:

Associate

Brian represents and advises cities and other local agencies in all areas of public law with specialization in land use and planning, public works and prevailing wage law, housing (including SB 9 and ADU law), contracting and purchasing, CEQA, and open meeting and public records laws. Brian regularly attends public meetings and advises planning commissions and city councils. Brian enjoys working closely with elected officials, commissioners, and staff to provide legal solutions and practical advice on a wide range of issues. Brian joined Aleshire & Wynder in 2015 and is a senior associate in the Irvine office. During law school, Brian was a member of the Law Review and received the Conrad Kellenberg Award for outstanding public service and community involvement. Practice Areas Land Use & Zoning

Chris F. Neumeyer

cn..@awattorneys.com

Job Titles:

Partner

Chris F. Neumeyer is a partner in the Irvine office and serves as City Attorney for the City of Morro Bay. Mr. Neumeyer provides legal counsel on a broad range of local government matters, including the Political Reform Act, the Brown Act, conflicts of interest and the Public Records Act. He routinely advises on contract formation and negotiations, and he also provides AB 1234 ethics training for clients. He has a substantial background in drafting local laws, examples including permitting and regulation of vacation rentals, regulation of second-hand smoke and vaping, local sales tax and UUT measures, and purchasing ordinances. He counsels on land use, zoning, public works, Proposition 218 and formation of business improvement districts. He is a specialist in election law, including ballot measures, referendums and the CVRA. He advises clients on constitutional law, with an expertise in First Amendment law, and also on cannabis law. Litigation successes include published appellate decisions with colleagues in Costa Mesa v. D'Alessio Investments, LLC, 214 Cal. App. 4th 358 (2013), and Maddox v. Costa Mesa, 193 Cal. App. 4th 1098 (2011). Practice Areas Land Use & Zoning

Christine Carson

cc..@awattorneys.com

Job Titles:

Member of the LOS ANGELES TEAM
Partner
Partner / Los Angeles

Christine Carson is a Partner. She serves as general counsel and advises public agencies on a broad range of issues, including Water Law, civil litigation, Labor and Employment Law, the Public Records Act, CEQA, the Clean Water Act, land use, contract formation and negotiation, drafting and amending ordinances, resolutions, and personnel rules, conducting wage and hour audits, and management trainings. Ms. Carson provides advice and legal support on water, wastewater and MS4 issues for most of the Firm's clients, including water quality, infrastructure, and rate-setting. She has represented county and municipal water districts, irrigation districts, mutual water companies, investor-owned public utilities, State Water Project contractors, city water departments, and transportation entities. She has litigated and advocated water rights. In her litigation practice, Ms. Carson has successfully litigated many complex cases and obtained dismissals of numerous cases through motions. She also externed with Wm. Matthew Byrne, Jr., then Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court, Central District. Ms. Carson was a certified law clerk for the Riverside District Attorney's Office, handling jury trials and preliminary hearings. Practice Areas Public Contracts

Christy Marie Lopez

cl..@awattorneys.com

Job Titles:

Member of the ORANGE COUNTY TEAM
Partner

As a Partner with the Firm, Christy Marie Lopez provides a wide range of legal advice to her clients from land use issues to open meeting laws. Ms. Lopez assists her clients with all matters affecting local entities including drafting ordinances and resolutions, negotiating contracts including leases for city owned property, the Brown Act, Public Records Act, conflicts of interest, zoning, CEQA and a wide variety of other land use matters. In addition to a variety of municipal law matters, Ms. Lopez advises on communications technology law including the regulation and sitting of wireless communications facilities and the operation of Public, Educational and Governmental (PEG) channels. She has substantial experience with all aspects of code enforcement including public nuisances, administrative citations and procedures, abatements, receiverships, animal control including potentially dangerous or vicious dog proceedings, criminal prosecution, jury trial experience, cost recovery, permit revocation and ordinance drafting. Currently, Ms. Lopez serves on the Board of Directors for the States of California and Nevada Chapter of the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (SCAN NATOA) which promotes local government interests as they relate to telecommunications and cable matters. Practice Areas Code Enforcement

Colin J. Tanner

ct..@awattorneys.com

Job Titles:

Founding Partner
Equity Partner

Colin J. Tanner is a founding partner of the firm, Chair of the Labor & Employment Practice Group and Chair of the Personnel Committee. Mr. Tanner advises the firm's clients regarding their labor and employment practices, including addressing issues of preventive liability, insurance coverage, and risk management. Mr. Tanner has been admitted to practice before most of the courts and administrative tribunals in California. He has also been admitted to practice in the State of Colorado. In 1990, Mr. Tanner joined the general litigation department of Haight, Brown & Bonesteel. In 1993, Mr. Tanner joined the litigation group of Fainsbert, Mase & Snyder, becoming Chair of the litigation and employment practice groups. In 1999, Mr. Tanner joined Hart, King & Coldren as senior counsel, continuing his litigation and employment practices. In 2000, Mr. Tanner joined Burke, Williams & Sorensen as a contract partner, eventually being invited to be an equity partner, and participating in the firm's public law, labor & employment and business practice groups. In 2003, Mr. Tanner helped found Aleshire & Wynder. Practice Areas Labor & Employment

Danny Aleshire

da..@awattorneys.com

Job Titles:

Member of the LOS ANGELES TEAM
Partner
Partner / Los Angeles

Danny Aleshire is a partner in the firm's Los Angeles office, focusing his practice on real estate, land use, and environmental matters. He previously served as the Assistant City Attorney for Signal Hill and currently serves as Special Counsel for the City of Carson, the Carson Reclamation Authority, City of Morro Bay, City of Rancho Palos Verdes, City of Lompoc, and City of Bell. He is the Chair of the firm's Real Estate Practice Group as his work primarily involves major and complex land use and real estate projects for the firm's various clients. Danny joined the firm in 2018 after nine years of private practice representing a wide variety of real estate owners, developers, investors, institutions, nonprofits, and lenders on all aspects of real estate and project development involving large scale complex transactions, including trophy real estate assets across the country. During his time at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP and Latham & Watkins LLP, Danny successfully negotiated real estate transactions valued between $10 million to $700 million. He also assisted land owners and developers through all stages of the entitlement and development process, providing counsel to clients on local planning and zoning regulations and approvals along with related environmental matters. Danny now advises various of the firm's municipalities and agencies on development projects, real estate transactions, land use issues, state and local governmental regulatory requirements, and related environmental laws, including CEQA and the California Coastal Act. Practice Areas Land Use & Zoning