Allen Matkins Welcomes Leading Renewable Energy Partner Barry H. Epstein

SAN FRANCISCO – January 21, 2014 – Allen Matkins, a California-based full service real estate and business law firm, announced today the hiring of renewable energy, water rights, and land use attorney Barry H. Epstein in its San Francisco office. Barry joins Allen Matkins' renowned Real Estate department as a partner in its Land Use and Environmental & Natural Resources Practice Groups, and its Infrastructure, Energy & Utility industry group.

"Barry is considered one of California's preeminent attorneys in the areas of natural resources and land use law. Having him join our team is a big win for Allen Matkins," said David L. Osias, managing partner of Allen Matkins. "The firm's strategic vision of having the best and brightest attorneys available to meet all the legal needs of the real estate industry and a clientele where real estate is central to their business success is enhanced by Barry's expertise and the clients that he serves. Barry brings a wealth of experience in renewable energy and development-related environmental and land use matters, as well as blue chip clients to Allen Matkins." Allen Matkins has hired six new lateral attorneys in the past year, in addition to the five law school graduates hired in the fall.

Barry's practice focuses on four primary sectors: the development of renewable energy projects; water rights and supply; land use, environmental review, natural resources permitting and compliance; and land conservation transactions. He has provided legal counsel to the development of some of the largest utility-scale solar projects in California, totaling more than 1,000 megawatts of capacity. This includes the management of permitting, entitlement processes, CEQA review and site control. A majority of this work is for his largest client SunPower, with facilities located throughout the Central Valley and Southern California. His energy work also includes the development of electrical transmission projects, natural gas-fired electric generation facilities, and an offshore liquefied natural gas port, as well as transactions involving purchase and sale of developed energy assets and portfolios.

“I am delighted to be joining a stellar group of Allen Matkins attorneys,” Barry said. “I look forward to helping the firm grow its renewables practice and cement its dominant position in land use and natural resources law. The firm provides a terrific platform for my practice.”

Barry's water rights and supply work spans across California, including coastal regions, the Central Valley and Sierra watershed, and the Colorado River Basin. He handles State Water Board permits and licenses, as well as riparian rights and groundwater matters, and securing water supply for new development. Some of his water clients include a major public utility, prominent vineyard owners and olive producers. Barry's land use experience includes high-profile CEQA litigation, such as representing Central Valley agricultural interests against California's high speed rail project. He also handles entitlements for a variety of rural ranches and residential/recreational compounds for high net worth clients, as well as permitting and enforcement involving wetland matters and the California Coastal Act.

Barry serves on the executive committee of the Bar Association of San Francisco's Environmental Law Section, as well as an advisor on the State Bar of California's Environmental Law Section. In 2009, he was named by the Daily Journal as one of the “Top 100 Lawyers in California.” He received his juris doctorate from the University of Michigan School of Law, his master's in public policy from the University of Michigan School of Public Policy, and his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkley.

Allen Matkins represents owners and operators of energy projects, including renewable and alternative energy, in all phases of financing, permitting, development and operations. Its clients include solar and other renewable energy producers, public and private utilities, power plant and project developers and manufacturers of renewable energy technologies, among others. Barry's experience and successes will mesh well with Allen Matkins' already flourishing Environmental & Natural Resources Practice Group, which has been recognized by Chambers USA as one of the best environmental practices in California since 2010, and by The Recorder as one of the top 10 environmental practices in the San Francisco Bay Area. The firm also has been named by Chambers USA as the number one Real Estate Law Firm in California since 2002.

ABOUT ALLEN MATKINS

Allen Matkins, founded in 1977, is a California-based law firm with more than 200 attorneys in four major metropolitan areas of California: Los Angeles, Orange County, San Francisco and San Diego. The firm's core specialties include real estate, real estate and commercial finance, bankruptcy and creditors' rights, construction, land use, natural resources, environmental, corporate and securities, intellectual property, joint ventures, taxation, employment and labor law, dispute resolution and litigation in all these matters.