Southern California
Counsel to public agencies,
businesses, and individuals.
Martin Adams APC advises cities, special districts, businesses, and individuals in municipal and local government, real estate, litigation, administrative, and appellate matters — from the dais to the Court of Appeal.
Who We Serve
Whichever side of the table you are on.
The same lawyers, the same courts, and the same attention for every client.
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Public agencies
City attorney, general counsel, and special counsel to cities, special districts, and joint powers authorities: the Brown Act and the Public Records Act, conflicts of interest, public contracting, code enforcement, and the litigation that follows an agency decision.
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Businesses
Purchase and sale agreements, commercial leases, entitlements and development agreements, contract and business disputes, and representation before the planning commissions, councils, and licensing boards that decide how a business may operate.
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Individuals
Real property and easement disputes, landlord–tenant matters, a permit or license that has been denied, a code enforcement action, a civil claim as plaintiff or defendant, and the appeal when a ruling goes the wrong way.
Practice Areas
Five disciplines, one bench of judgment.
Legal problems rarely stay in one lane. A lease becomes a dispute, a permit becomes a hearing, a hearing becomes a writ, and a writ becomes an appeal. We practice across the whole arc, on whichever side of the table our client sits, so the strategy holds from the first letter to the last brief.
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Municipal & Local Government
City attorney and general counsel services for cities, special districts, and public agencies across Southern California.
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Real Estate
Acquisition, disposition, entitlement, and development of commercial and public property.
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Litigation
Trial representation in California state and federal court, from pre-suit strategy through judgment.
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Administrative
Representation before regulatory agencies, boards, commissions, and in administrative hearings.
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Appellate
Appeals and extraordinary writs in the California Courts of Appeal, the California Supreme Court, and the Ninth Circuit.
The Firm
We build the record before anyone needs it.
Most of the matters that become expensive were survivable earlier. A lease read closely before it is signed, an objection made with specificity, an agenda description written with care, a record assembled while the facts are still at hand — these are small disciplines that decide large outcomes.
That is how we work: close enough to the day-to-day to catch the problem early, and experienced enough in the appellate courts to know exactly which details will matter if it ever gets there.
We serve as city attorney and general counsel to public agencies, and we represent businesses and individuals in the same courts and before the same boards. Knowing how an agency reaches a decision is an advantage for a client on either side of the table.
Meet the firmInsights
Notes from the practice.
- Litigation & Appeals
October 2, 2026
California Writes Lawyers’ Use of AI Into Statute: What SB 574 Requires, and What Clients Should Ask
On September 30, 2026, Governor Newsom signed SB 574, which writes into statute how attorneys and arbitrators may use generative AI. Beginning January 1, 2027, a California lawyer may not hand the practice of law to an AI tool, may not put client confidences into an open system, and must personally verify every citation filed in court. What the law requires, and what clients should ask their lawyers.
- Land Use & Real Estate
September 25, 2026
Is Local Land Use Control Disappearing? What California’s CEQA Reforms Mean for Cities and Counties
On June 30, 2025, AB 130 and SB 131 exempted most urban infill housing from CEQA and narrowed review for near-miss projects. The reforms did not repeal zoning, but they moved local influence from project-by-project discretion to objective standards adopted in advance. What cities and counties still control, where the litigation risk is moving, and what to do now.
- Municipal Law
September 17, 2026
The Government Claims Act Is Now the Only Road to a Local Tax Refund
On August 10, 2026, a unanimous California Supreme Court held in Tesoro Refining & Marketing Co. v. City of Carson that the Government Claims Act occupies the field of claim-presentation requirements for money claims against local public entities, preempting refund procedures written into local tax ordinances. Cities with refund procedures in their tax codes should assume those procedures are unenforceable.
Contact
Tell us what you are facing.
Describe the matter in general terms and we will tell you candidly whether we are the right firm for it.
Request a consultation