Joan L. Cassman, Partner
Practice Areas/Industries
Public Agency; Government Ethics; Water Law
Firm Leadership
Public Agency, section head
Based in our San Francisco Office
415-995-5021 Direct Phone
415-541-9366 Fax
jcassman@hansonbridgett.com
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Joan L. Cassman is the Chair of the firm's Government Group. With 30 years of practicing law at Hanson Bridgett, Joan has had the opportunity to gain expertise in the three primary areas of the public sector served by the firm: general municipal law, and the transportation and water industries. In the area of municipal law, Joan has been the City Attorney for the City of Millbrae since 1989 and has served a number of cities over the years as special counsel, among them are San Carlos, Brentwood, Colma, Antioch, San Luis Obispo, and Berkeley. She oversaw the legal work, including numerous eminent domain cases, for the Millbrae Overpass Bridge, a $25,000,000 railroad grade separation project. For the City of San Jose, Joan serves as the Evaluator for the Elections Commission. In this role, she evaluates and recommends findings for all complaints filed alleging violations of the ethical regulations in the San Jose Municipal Code. In the area of transportation, Joan serves as General Counsel to the Peninsula Traffic Congestion Relief Alliance, the transportation demand management Joint Powers Authority consisting of 17 cities and the County of San Mateo, and also represents the San Mateo County Transit District, the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board and the San Mateo County Transportation Authority. In the water industry, Joan is general counsel to the Mid-Peninsula Water District and has held this position for several other water districts over the years. For her water and transportation clients, Joan handles a myriad of real property matters and projects, some of which involve condemnation.
Other areas of expertise for which Joan serves as special counsel to cities and public agencies include environmental and real property matters, railroad operational issues and purchase of service arrangements, franchise agreements, public works projects, municipal finance and rate-setting, and government reorganization and annexation. On the subject of joint powers authorities, Joan prepared a paper and made a presentation at a recent League of Cities annual conference. Joan has represented both public and private entities involving all aspects of development, contracts and procurement, and bid protests.
Professional Affiliations
Bar Association of San Francisco
Bay Area City Attorneys Association (Past President)
San Mateo County Bar Association (Government and Municipal Law Section)
Senator Dianne Feinstein's Judicial Advisory Committee for Northern California
California Women Lawyers
Queen's Bench
Honors
Northern California SuperLawyers, San Francisco Magazine (2007 & 2006)
Education
J.D., University of California, Hastings College of the Law (1977)
B.A., Williams College and Wellesley College (1974)