Ray has served as a counselor to and advocate for public agencies for more than 25 years. Broadly experienced in municipal law, his areas of specialization include public water supply, rate setting and finance, public construction, solid waste management and environmental law. He has served as general counsel for several water agencies, including the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency which is comprised of 27 cities, water districts and investor-owned utilities in San Mateo, Santa Clara and Alameda Counties.
Ray also advises cities and other local agencies on solid waste collection, recycling and disposal projects and represents them in disputes with private sector companies.
He has served as an adjunct professor at the University of San Francisco Law School, teaching a course in local government law.
Prior to joining the firm, Ray served as a law clerk to the California Supreme Court and as an attorney with the United States Environmental Protection Agency. As the EPA's associate general counsel, he supervised 15 attorneys in the agency's Washington, D.C. headquarters. He was responsible for all legal matters arising from EPA's water-related programs, including the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Water Act.
Publications
"Why Trial Lawyers Should Care About History: The California Supreme Court Historical Society," California Litigation (April 2007)
"Achieving Reliability and Sustainability in Water Supply Planning," co-author, California Water Law and Policy (October 2005)
"Land Use: The Dynamics of 'No'—Where Did You Get That Water?," Legal Update (April 2002)
"Courthouses of California, An Illustrated History"; Edited with an Introduction by Ray McDevitt; Foreword by Ronald M. George, Chief Justice of California (California Historical Society / Heyday Books, 2001)
"Payment Bonds On Public Works Projects", Public Agency Advisory (January 2001)
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