Firm Profile

About CHW

Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley is a municipal law firm with offices in Pasadena, Grass Valley, Sacramento, Solana Beach, and Sonoma that represents public and private clients throughout California in municipal law, including public revenues, land use, elections, labor and employment, post‑redevelopment, housing, public works contracting, utility services, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Act regarding Local Agency Formation Commissions, sex offender and marijuana regulation and related public safety topics, and associated litigation. Our core commitment is to provide advice our clients find helpful, understandable, and fairly priced.

The firm was recognized as one of California’s Top Ranked Law Firms by Martindale-Hubbell in 2014 and Michael Colantuono, Terri Highsmith, Jenni Pancake, Michael Allderdice, Jeffrey Walter and Scott Howard have each achieved the highest AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell. Michael (2011–2013) and Holly Whatley (2013) have been listed as among the Top Municipal Lawyers in California by the Daily Journal newspaper. Michael was awarded the 2010 Public Lawyer of the Year Award by the California State Bar, is a former President of the City Attorneys Department of the League of California Cities, former President and Chair of the Board of Trustees of the State Bar, and Secretary/Treasurer of the California Academy of Appellate Lawyers—a prestigious organization of about 100 of the most respected appellate advocates in our State. Michael is also certified as an Appellate Specialist by the California State Bar’s Board of Legal Specialization.

Our firm includes California’s leading experts on local government revenues, including Propositions 13, 62, 218 and 26 and our attorneys have argued 14 government revenue cases in the California Supreme Court since 2004. Our litigators have broad experience in public-sector litigation and such private-sector topics as general commercial litigation, labor and employment, unfair competition and intellectual property. We have especially deep experience in class action challenges to local government revenue measures of all types. We are handling challenges to water, electric and gas rates for cities, counties and special districts around California.

The firm serves as general counsel or city or town attorney of the cities of Auburn, Barstow, Calabasas, Chico, Grass Valley, Lakeport, Ojai, Sierra Madre, South Pasadena, Weed, the Town of Yountville, Sonoma, Novato, Martinez and the Successor Agencies to the Auburn, Barstow, Sierra Madre, Sonoma, Novato and South Pasadena Redevelopment Agencies, to Oversight Boards for Successor Agencies in Huntington Park, Pomona, Rialto, San Bernardino, San Gabriel and Temple City, the Garden Valley, Higgins, Ophir Hill, North San Juan, Penn Valley, and Rough & Ready Fire Districts, the Orangeline Development Authority, the SELACO Workforce Investment Board, the Calaveras, San Diego and Yuba County LAFCOs, the Oak Tree Park and Recreation District, the Pine Grove, and Peninsula Community Services Districts, the Tahoe Forest Hospital District, the First Five Yuba Commission, and Upper Valley Waste Management Agency.

The firm serves as special counsel to local governments throughout California. Present and recent clients include the cities of Anaheim, Belmont, Berkeley, Brentwood, Burbank, Cerritos, Chula Vista, Concord, Culver City, Cupertino, Fremont, Fresno, Glendale, Lakewood, Lathrop, Livermore, Lodi, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Monterey, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Newport Beach, Oakland, Oxnard, Pacific Grove, Palo Alto, Paramount, Pasadena, Pico Rivera, Redding, Redondo Beach, Rialto, Richmond, Riverside, Sacramento, Salinas, San Jose, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Ana, Santa Clara, Santa Fe Springs, Santa Maria, Santa Rosa, Sausalito, Simi Valley, South Lake Tahoe, Sunnyvale, Torrance, Tracy, Tulare, Vallejo, Ventura, Vernon, and Vista; the counties of Marin, Mariposa, Riverside, San Benito and Solano; the Goleta Water District, the Montecito Water District, the Newhall Water District, the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency and the Monterey Peninsula Water Management Agency; Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Authority and the Goleta West Sanitary District; the McKinleyville and Santa Lucia Community Services Districts; the Plumas Hospital District; the Los Angeles and San Diego Tourism Marketing District Corporations and the Calaveras, Monterey, Orange, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo and Yolo County LAFCos. The firm has previously represented the cities of Irvine, Oakland, San Bernardino, and San Francisco.

OUR CORE COMMITMENT

Our core commitment is to provide advice our clients find helpful, understandable, and fairly priced.

(530) 432-7357 – Grass Valley
(213) 542-5700 – Pasadena
(916) 400-0370 – Sacramento
(858) 682-3665 – Solana Beach
(707) 986-8091 – Sonoma