Insights
Firm News

David Lazerwitz and Steven Vettel Named Among California’s Top 50 Development Lawyers

August 15, 2014 Announcement

SAN FRANCISCO, August 15, 2014 – Farella Braun + Martel LLP announces that David J. Lazerwitz and Steven L. Vettel have been named among the Daily Journal’s Top 50 Development Lawyers in California.

Lazerwitz is co-chair of Farella’s Renewable Energy and Clean Technologies Practice Group and a partner in the Environmental Law Department. His practice focuses on federal and state environmental and natural resource laws, permitting and land use matters. He has extensive experience in all aspects of project and site development including orchestrating overall permitting strategies for several large-scale renewable energy development projects throughout California and Nevada. His compliance and permitting work focuses on water quality, wetlands, environmental impact analysis, endangered species, hazardous waste and federal public lands issues. In 2010, he received the California Lawyer Attorneys of the Year (CLAY) award for his pro bono efforts to secure a federal ruling protecting California deserts from off-road vehicle impacts and was recently named to Legal Media Group’s CleanTech 100. Lazerwitz earned his J.D. from Indiana University School of Law (1995).

Vettel is a land use partner in Farella’s Real Estate & Land Use Department, where his practice focuses on representing Northern California developers, property and business owners in land use, zoning, legislative and litigation matters. He has successfully represented several major developers in obtaining land use entitlements for the construction of some of the Bay Area’s largest residential, commercial and institutional developments. He serves as a director of the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR). Vettel is recognized in Chambers USA as a leading California land use lawyer and is listed in Best Lawyers in America in the Land Use and Zoning Law practice area. Vettel earned his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law (1984).

Farella Braun + Martel represents clients throughout the United States and abroad in sophisticated business transactions and high-stakes commercial, civil and criminal litigation. Farella lawyers are known for their imaginative legal solutions, dynamism and intellectual creativity. With an unwavering service ethic and interdisciplinary team approach, the firm is committed to advancing clients' objectives in the most effective, coordinated and efficient manner. Founded in 1962, Farella is headquartered in San Francisco and maintains an office in the Napa Valley focused on the wine industry. www.fbm.com

Contact:
Cheryl Loof
Farella Braun + Martel LLP
415.954.4433
[email protected]

Firm Highlights

Publication

Achieving Compatibility Between Solar Project Developers and Mineral Estate Holders

By Dirk R. Mueller , Alyssa Netto , and Will Russ Texas and California lead the country in terms of solar energy generating capacity while also maintaining major oil and gas production operations, which...

Read More
Publication

Trends Guest Editorial: Wildfires and Wineries

Link to the article in Gradient's Trends  Spring 2023 newsletter. Recurring wildfires in the Napa and Sonoma Counties of California have created a set of niche problems for the surrounding wineries, on top of...

Read More
News

Ashley Breakfield Elected 2024 President of CREW SF

Farella Braun + Martel is proud to announce that real estate and land use partner Ashley E. Breakfield has been elected president of the Commercial Real Estate Women of San Francisco (CREW SF) Board...

Read More
News

Lawdragon Names 7 Farella Lawyers Among “Leaders in Environmental Law”

Northern California legal powerhouse Farella Braun + Martel is pleased to announce that seven lawyers were selected to The Lawdragon Green 500: 2024 Leaders in Environmental Law . Farella lawyers selected for inclusion: Sarah...

Read More
News

Farella Braun + Martel Earns 2024 Best Law Firms® Rankings

Read More
Publication

Wind Energy Project Approvals and Tax Credits Look To Outpace Macroeconomic and Supply Chain Headwinds in 2024

A snapshot of the renewable wind industry on October 31, 2023, captures many of the current challenges and opportunities for the industry and regulatory agencies heading into 2024.  That day, the world’s largest offshore...

Read More
News

Farella Announces 2024 Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Pathfinders: Taylor Rottjakob and John Ugai

Farella Braun + Martel is proud to announce that senior associates  Taylor E. Rottjakob and John M. Ugai have been named 2024 Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Pathfinders. Pathfinders have been identified as...

Read More
Publication

Where Are We Now, Following Maui County, Sackett, and the Latest EPA Guidance?

The last few years have seen significant developments in our understanding of the reach of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA). (Indeed, “reach” here can be interpreted literally and figuratively.) The two issues plaguing...

Read More
Publication

AB 1633: The Housing Accountability Act

The Housing Accountability Act (HAA) requires local agencies to approve housing projects that meet objective zoning, general plan, subdivision, and design standards unless there is a specific, adverse impact upon public health and safety...

Read More
Publication

New PFAS Federal Drinking Water Standards Create Major Liability and Litigation Risk

The United States Environmental Protection Agency has released a final regulation setting individual drinking water maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for five per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). These MCLs are incredibly stringent due to EPA’s stated concerns...

Read More