Barry H. Epstein

  • Experience

    Mr. Epstein is a partner of the firm, a member of the Executive Committee and chair of the Land Use, Environment and Natural Resources Practice Group. He specializes in water rights, land use, natural resources and energy law, representing private and public clients in permitting, transactional and litigation matters.

    In the area of water law, Mr. Epstein represents growers, ranchers and other rural landowners, as well as water companies and districts, in surface and groundwater rights, water supply and water quality.

    In the areas of land use and real estate, he represents private property owners, developers, business owners and public agencies in matters involving development and use of land, including local government planning and zoning, Coastal Act permitting, development-related real estate transactions, NEPA and CEQA compliance, and related litigation.

    In the natural resources area, Mr. Epstein handles wetlands, endangered species, and land conservation permitting, enforcement and transactional matters that arise in connection with the ownership, development, use and preservation of land.

    Mr. Epstein's energy and public utility practice involves powerplant and transmission line siting and permitting in California Energy Commission and local agency venues, public utility regulation before the California Public Utilities Commission, and power transactions.

     

  • Education

    J.D., University of Michigan Law School, 1982
    M.P.P., University of Michigan School of Public Policy, 1981
    B.S., University of California, Berkeley, 1978

  • Admissions

    State Bar of California

  • Affiliations

    Bar Association of San Francisco:
    Environmental Law Section, Executive Committee member, 2003-Present

    State Bar of California:
    Environmental Law Section, Advisor, 2006 - Present; Executive Committee member, 2002-2006
    Real Property Law Section member

    American Bar Association, Section on Environment, Energy & Resources member

    Coastal Conservancy Association, President and
    Board member (2002-present)

    City of Oakland General Plan Congress, appointed member (1996-1998)

    The Julia Morgan School for Girls, Founding Board member (1997-2005)

     

  • Speaking & Teaching Experience

    Conservation Easements:  Special Considerations, CLE International, September 28, 2007

    Groundwater Rights, Regulation and Use in Northern California, Lorman Education Services, September 27, 2006

    Water Quality & Water Supply Issues Affecting New Development, The State Bar of California Environmental Law Section, August 11, 2006

    The Development Approval Process, Lorman Education Services, August 10, 2006

    No Water, No Houses:  California's New Water Supply Framework, Fresno Bar Association, April 20, 2006

    Water Rights 101:  Is it Wet?  Is it Mine? Real Estate Roundtable Forum, April 14, 2005

    Water Supply & Land Use, University of San Francisco School of Law Water Law Symposium:   Water in the 21st Century, January 22, 2005

    Recent Developments:  The California Environmental Quality Act, Fresno Bar Association, April 15, 2004

    Conservation Easements: Who, What, Where, Why, When and How, State Bar of California, Environmental Law Section Annual Yosemite Conference, October 2003

    Land Use Law Update in California, National Business Institute, October 13, 2003

    Zoning and Land Use Law in California, Lorman Education Services, April 25, 2003

    The Anatomy of Conservation Easements, State Bar of California Annual Meeting, September 2003

    Environmental Liabilities of Trustees and Other Fiduciaries, Alameda County Bar Association (Oakland, 2003) and Continuing Education of the Bar (San Francisco, 2001 and 2000)

  • Honors & Awards

    Top 100 Lawyers in California, Daily Journal, 2009

    Super Lawyer, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009

Contact Information

Barry H. Epstein Partner bepstein@fablaw.com

  • Phone: (510) 451-3300
  • Fax: (510) 451-1527
  • Office: 1221 Broadway
    21st Floor
    Oakland, CA 94612
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