Intro
Steven is General Counsel to the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority and the Menlo Park Fire Protection District. He is also Evaluator and Ethics Counsel to the City of Sacramento Ethics Commission and the City of San Jose Board of Fair Campaign and Political Practices (formerly Ethics Commission).
Outside of his general counsel role, Steven has a varied practice representing both public and private clients in the public arena. He assists public agencies throughout California operating bus, rail, and ferry service. His areas of expertise include public contracts and procurements, regulatory compliance, intergovernmental agreements, constitutional issues, and government ethics. Steven has extensive experience in public sector contracting issues, including representing both public and private entities in the area of public works contracts, contract negotiations of all types, and bid protests relating to complex state and local procurements. He regularly advises private and public entities on compliance with federal Buy America requirements.
Areas of Focus
Education
Academic Distinction
Hastings Law Journal, Articles Editor
Order of the Coif & Thurston Society
Admissions and Courts
Role
Government Executive Committee Practice Co-Leader
Guides transit agencies through a number of complex procurements and resulting implementation of high-technology systems, including Positive Train Control, Computer Assisted Dispatch, and electronic toll collection systems.
Leads the legal team for a number of transit agencies in procurements of ferries, buses, railcars, and locomotives.
Advises public agencies on disputes arising under the California Subletting and Subcontracting Fair Practices Act.
Helps resolve and mitigate conflicts of interest arising under State and federal regulations.
Advises private entities on Buy America compliance relative to agreements with state and local agencies.
Represents large, private entities in bid protests of government contracts.
"Trump executive order eases path for deliveries by drone," SFGATE (October 2017)
"Pending SF policy could let city agencies launch drones," San Francisco Chronicle (May 2017)
"Who Will Regulate Flying Cars?," The Recorder (April 2017)
"California struggles to lead the way on drone regulation," Los Angeles Times (August 2016)
"Model Airplane Hobbyists Skeptical Of Proposed Drone Registry," Popular Science (November 2015)
"Regulating the 'Initiative Industrial Complex:' Is SB 168's proposed prohibition of per-signature payment an unconstitutional restriction on core political speech?" Public Law Journal (Spring 2011)
"Getting to a Citizens’ Constitutional Convention: Legal Questions (Without Answers) Concerning the People’s Ability to Reform California’s Government Through a Constitutional Convention," Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review (Winter 2011)
"Local Regulation of Commercial Drones: The Next Frontier," Government Law Alert (April 2014)
"Difficult Conversations--Ethics Complaints Against A Board Member," CSDA Annual Conference (August 2023)
"Drone Law: Flying into Troubled Skies in 2016," co-speaker, The Knowledge Group webinar (June 2016)
"Municipal Regulation of Drones," Strafford Webinar (January 2016)