Mr. Pirayou is a Partner in Rutan & Tucker's Government & Regulatory Law Section and Land Use and Natural Resources Departments, where he has practiced since 2008. Prior to joining Rutan & Tucker, Mr. Pirayou founded the Pirayou Law Offices in 1997.
Mr. Pirayou's expertise is in the following practice areas: Political Law—Federal, State and Local Ordinances; Municipal & Government Agency Law—Government Relations Law, Renewable Energy; Strategic Counseling, Lobbying; Government Contracts and Procurement; Election Law & Litigation; Land Use, Redevelopment, and Natural Resources; and Nonprofit Law.
Mr. Pirayou is one of Silicon Valley's premier government relations attorneys and lobbyists, advising clients on all aspects of their government relations, lobbying and community outreach efforts. Mr. Pirayou has led and participated in some of Silicon Valley's largest and most difficult real estate land use entitlement projects as well as helped clients navigate the complex interactions of law and public policy relating to government contracts and procurement. Mr. Pirayou serves as a public policy attorney to a number of renewable energy companies advising them on statewide and local regulations impacting their business enterprises.
Mr. Pirayou is recognized as one of Silicon Valley's premier political law attorneys having been involved with a number of high-profile campaigns and cutting-edge issues including obtaining a favorable ruling for a client before the Fair Political Practices Commission in the In Re Pirayou Opinion. Mr. Pirayou has served as political law counsel to a number of corporations, school districts, community colleges, political action committees, candidate committees, and ballot measure committees (referendum and initiatives), advising clients on all aspects of campaign-finance laws and reporting requirements, campaign audits, enforcement matters, and governmental ethics and related statutes. Mr. Pirayou has litigated a number of high profile ballot statement challenges and writs of mandate involving the Elections Code.
In 1992, Mr. Pirayou graduated from Santa Clara University with a B.S. in Political Science and, in 1995, received his J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law. During law school, Mr. Pirayou served as a Judicial Extern to the Honorable Franklin D. Elia, Justice of the California Court of Appeal (6th District).
Following law school, from 1995-1996, Mr. Pirayou served as the Principal Policy Aide to the Santa Clara County Crime Task Force. In 1997, he served as the Special Counsel to the Sheriff of Santa Clara County and as a Deputy District Attorney in Santa Clara County, winning a number of jury trials.
Mr. Pirayou has served on numerous nonprofit boards, including the Santa Clara University's Board of Fellows and the Support Network for Battered Women. He currently serves as Pro Bono Counsel for the Silicon Valley Education Foundation's Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Education (S.T.E.M.) Program.
Areas of Expertise
- Municipal & Government Agency Law
- Renewable Energy
- Political Law
- Election Law
- Litigation
- Land Use & Natural Resources
- Nonprofit Law
Recent Publications
- "Partnering with Local Government to Expand Coverage," H&HN Daily, December 2012
Representative Clients
- 3COM Corporation
- Affirmed Housing Group
- Alameda Hospital
- Calpine Corporation
- California Prosecutors Association
- Core Development
- Cupertino Chamber of Commerce
- Divco West Real Estate Services
- El Camino Hospital
- Federal Realty Investment Trust
- Greenteam Garbage Company
- Horta LLC / San Jose Sabercats
- Lodi Chamber of Commerce
- ROEM Development Corporation
- San Jose Water Company
- San Jose Unified School District
- Santa Clara Valley Water District
- Santa Clara County Association of Realtors
- Sequoia Voting Machines
- Spieker Properties
- Taxpayers for Traffic Relief Now (BART—Santa Clara County)
- Turlock Chamber of Commerce
- Urban West Associates of San Diego
- Westfield Corporation
- West Valley-Mission Community College District
- Yellow Cab Company
- Zanker Road Landfill
Professional Activites
- Adjunct Lecturer, Santa Clara University Political Science (Silicon Valley Politics)
- California Political Attorneys Association