Judy V. Davidoff

Judy V. Davidoff is a partner in the Real Estate, Land Use and Natural Resources and Environmental Practice Group in the firm's San Francisco Office.

Areas of Practice

Ms. Davidoff's practice emphasizes land use, environmental, and development law. She focuses on all aspects of state and federal land use and environmental matters, including CEQA/NEPA compliance, natural resources, air and water law, public trust and coastal matters, endangered species, cultural and historic resources, initiatives and referendums, public land permitting, and administrative proceedings and litigation.

Ms. Davidoff has worked on a wide variety of significant land use projects throughout California, including destination resorts, regional shopping centers, office and industrial parks, telecom facilities, new towns, residential, mixed use and golf course developments, waste management facilities, coastal developments, hi-tech campuses, and long-range strategic plans for developers and non-developer institutions and groups. She is an expert on CEQA compliance and has advised on the legal adequacy of hundreds of EIRs for projects throughout California. Ms. Davidoff also specializes in litigation and has handled a number of significant land use and environmental cases, including co-authoring the briefs in the landmark California Supreme Court CEQA case of Citizens of Goleta Valley v. Board of Supervisors of Santa Barbara County. She regularly appears before the California Coastal Commission and related coastal regulatory agencies. Ms. Davidoff is the author of numerous publications relating to CEQA and environmental issues and frequently lectures on land use issues.

Prior to joining Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP, Ms. Davidoff was a partner with Steefel, Levitt & Weiss practicing in the Land Use and Real Estate Group. Earlier, Ms. Davidoff was an international partner with Baker & McKenzie practicing in the California Land & Resources Group in San Francisco. From 1977-1989, she was in-house counsel for the Forest Service, specializing in natural resources matters.

Education

• J.D., Boston College, 1977, With Honors
• B.A., State University of New York, Albany, 1973, summa cum laude

Admissions

• San Francisco Bar (Member, Sections on: Environment and Water Law; Real Property)
• California Bar
• The District of Columbia Bar
• Massachusetts Bar

Honors

• AV Rated, Martindale-Hubbell
• Lambda Alpha International, an honorary real estate economics society
• Northern California Super Lawyers, San Francisco Magazine, 2005-2007

Memberships

• Past-President, CREW-SF (Commercial Real Estate Women)
• Substantive Editor, California Real Property Journal
• Member, Lambda Alpha International
• Member, San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR)
• Member, CEB's Real Property Advisory Committee
• Member, Northern California ICSC Program Committee
• Member, Urban Land Institute
• Member, ICSC (International Council of Shopping Centers)
• CREW-SF Board, 2000-2005

Articles

• Analyzing Climate Change Under CEQA in a Climate of Uncertainty, Judy V. Davidoff, Arthur J. Friedman, and Miriam Montesinos, Real Property Law, Vol. 30, September 1, 2007

• Davidoff, Judy V., Friedman, Arthur J., and Montesinos, Miriam. "Analyzing Climate Change Under CEQA In A Climate Of Uncertainty." Real Property Law Vol. 30 (September 2007)
• Davidoff, Judy V., Cremin, Timothy D., and Sibbett, Elizabeth N. "Rapanos v. U.S.: Wading Through the Swamp of Federal Regulation of Wetlands." Real Property Law Vol. 29, No. 6 (November 2006): 379-385
• Davidoff, Judy V., Friedman, Arthur, and Renk, Jennifer. "Attention Developers: Your Tentative Map May Be in Jeopardy - Or May Have Expired." California Real Property Journal Vol. 22, No. 2 (Spring 2004): 33-36
• Davidoff, Judy V., Gantz, Clayton B., Harrison, Ted W., and Pelosi, Alexis M. "SB 975: Is it Bad News for California Real Estate Development?" Real Property Law Vol. 25, No. 6 (September 2002): 179-186
• Davidoff, Judy V., and Eastman, James. "Environmental Movement Is Catching Up To Wineries." North Bay Business Journal 29 July 2002: 18
• Davidoff, Judy V. "Hurdles To Development In San Francisco." CREW San Francisco (2002): 4
• Davidoff, Judy V. "Wetlands Decision May Simplify Permitting." Real Estate Northern California (May 2001): 33
• Davidoff, Judy V., Tosta, Timothy A., and Dietrich, William F. "How Citizens of Goleta Valley v. Board of Supervisors Changed the California Environmental Review Process." Southwestern University Law Review Vol. 26, No. 1 (1996)
• Davidoff, Judy V., Tosta, Timothy A., and Potts, Douglas. "Environmental Review After Goleta." Southwestern University Law Review Vol. 21, No. 3 (1992)
• Davidoff, Judy V. "Environmental Review After Goleta." CEB Real Property Law Reporter (July 1991)

Speeches

• Moderator, "Tenant Mix-Market or Municipality, Who Decides," ICSC Northern California Idea Exchange
• Panelist, "Managing Career Transitions," CREW San Francisco
• "Land Use Issues for Development Projects - The Latest Issues and Trends," Real Estate Round Table
• "Real Estate and Land Use Trends," CREW San Francisco
• "Hot Topics In Land Use," International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
• "Land Use Issues," University of California - Irvine
• "Hot Land Use Issues," Environmental Law Section - State Bar of California
• "Life of a Real Estate Deal," Lorman