City Attorneys Spring Conference
May 13- 15, 2026
Hilton Universal City
555 Universal Hollywood Dr, Universal City, CA
This conference provides city attorneys with in-depth information about the latest municipal law issues, along with opportunities to meet, and re-connect, with colleagues from around the state. Topics for the 2025 program included how to navigate cybersecurity
incidents, an in-depth look at CARE Courts, and a discussion of modern policing and AI. The conference also included legislative and litigation updates on land use, CEQA, municipal torts, and more.
For registration or MCLE certificate questions, please contact Registrar, Megan Dunn.
For program questions, please contact Associate Manager, Event Program, Erin Wylder.
Conference Information
MCLE Session Materials
Read all Speaker Bios here.
Download all Whitepapers here.
View the City Attorneys Department Bylaws here.
View the Proposed EPIC Bylaws Amendments here.
Land Use and CEQA Municipal Litigation Update
Speakers: Rick Jarvis, Partner, Jarvis Fay, LLP
Kevin Siegel, Partner, Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP
Paper | Presentation - CEQA | Presentation - Land Use
Strategies for Successfully Resolving CEQA and Land Use Disputes
Speakers: Johanna Canlas, City Attorney, Coronado and Solana Beach, Partner, Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP
Nicole Gordon, Principal, Meyers Nave
Gideon Kracov, Mediator, ADR Services, Inc.
Paper | Presentation
Tricks and Traps in Reviewing Housing Projects: How to Protect Your City
Speakers: Dolores Dalton, Partner, Goldfarb & Lipman, LLP
Elena Gerli, Partner, Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP
Paper | Presentation
Sidewalk Vending Regulation and Enforcement
Speaker: Curtis Wright, Managing Partner, Serviam by Wright, LLP
Paper | Presentation
Politically astute, but not political ... Politics and the Role of the City Attorney
Facilitator: Joseph Petta, Assistant City Attorney, Marina, Partner, Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger, LLP
Speakers: Thomas Brown, Of Counsel, Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP
Mara Elliott, Retired City Attorney
Lynn Tracy Nerland, Retired City Attorney
Greg Stepanicich, Retired City Attorney
Paper | Presentation
Water Rates, Prop. 218 and 26 Litigation, and Other Developments in the Law of Municipal Revenues
Speaker: Taylor Anderson, Senior Counsel, Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley, PC
Michael Colantuono, Shareholder, Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley, PC
Claire Collins, Partner, Hanson Bridgett
Matthew Slentz, Senior Counsel, Colantuono, Highsmith and Whatley, PC
Paper | Presentation
City Attorney’s Guide to Navigating Cybersecurity and Lessons Learned
Speaker: Jason Alcala, City Attorney, Livermore
Mitesh Bhakta, Senior Assistant City Attorney, Mountain View
Derek Cole, City Attorney, Oakley and Sutter Creek, Partner, Cole Huber, LLP
Donald Hester, Cybersecurity Advisor, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
Paper | Presentation | Supplemental Resource - Vendor Selection Support
Municipal Tort and Civil Rights Litigation Update
Speaker: Sean Richmond, Senior Deputy City Attorney, SacramentoAndrea Velasquez, Supervising Deputy City Attorney, Sacramento
Paper | Presentation
AI and Policing
Speakers: James Brown, Partner, Liebert Cassidy Whitmore
Neil Okazaki, Senior Deputy City Attorney/Constitutional Policing Advisor, Corona
Paper | Presentation
Labor and Employment Litigation Update
Speaker: Elizabeth Tom Arce, Partner, Liebert Cassidy Whitmore
Paper | Presentation
General Municipal Litigation Update
Speakers: Mark Austin, Partner, Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP
Meghan Wharton, Senior Counsel, Colantuono Highsmith & Whatley
Paper | Presentation
CARE Court: Can California Cities Make it Work?
Speakers: Ann Marie Council, Senior Deputy City Attorney, San Diego
Arvinder Kaur, Deputy City Attorney, Sacramento
Jordan Lowery, Deputy City Attorney, Sacramento
Aaron Meyer, Behavioral Health Officer, San Diego
Paper | Presentation
The Latest in Legal Ethics for Municipal Lawyers
Speakers: Rebecca Moon, City Attorney, Sunnyvale
James Ross, Of Counsel, Renne Public Law Group
Andrew Shen, Partner, Renne Public Law Group
Paper| Presentation | Supplemental Resource – Ethics Principles for City Attorneys
View the 2025 City Attorneys Spring Conference Program.
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 2024 City Attorneys Spring Conference program here.
MCLE Session Materials
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
