M. Katherine Jenson

Areas of Expertise

• Environmental Law
• Land Use
• Public Law
• AB 1234 Training

Published Cases

• Mark Fudge v. City of Laguna Beach et al (2019) 32 Cal.App.5th 193
• Del Cerro Mobile Estates v. City of Placentia et al. (2011) 197 Cal. App. 4th 173
• California Earth Corps California State Lands Commission (2005) 128 Cal.App.4th 756
• City of Long Beach v. Department of Industrial Relations (2004) 34 Cal.4th 942
• Cantrell v. City of Long Beach, et al, (9th Cir. 2001) 241 F.3d 674
• City of Vernon, et al. v. Board of Harbor Commissioners, et al. (1998) 63 Cal.App.4th 677
• Clark v. City of Hermosa Beach (1996) 48 Cal.App.4th 1152
• Burchett v. City of Newport Beach (1995) 33 Cal.App.4th 1472
• Torres v. City of Yorba Linda (1993) 13 Cal.App.4th 1035

Unpublished Appellate Decisions

• Joseph McVeigh v. City of La Quinta, et al, Fourth Dist. Court of Appeal, Div. Two, Case No. E069020
• Ventura Realty & Investment Company v. City of San Buenaventura et al., Second Dist. Court of Appeal, Div. One, Case No. B268132
• Merced Citizens for Responsible Planning v. City of Merced, Fifth Dist. Court of Appeal Case No. F056076
• Long Beach Council of Parents and Teachers, Inc. v. City of Long Beach, et al, Fourth Dist. Court of Appeal, Div. Three Case No. G040430
• Stop Taking Our Parks, et al. v. City of Long Beach, Second Dist. Court of Appeal, Div. One, Case No. 13156347
• Citizens of Orange Park Acres Coalition v. City of Orange, et al, Fourth Dist. Court of Appeal, Div. Three, Case No. G024841
• Huell Howser v. City of Long Beach, Second Dist. Court of Appeal, Div. Seven, Case No. B123336
• Sierra Club v. City of Palm Springs, et al., Fourth Dist. Court of Appeal, Div. Two, Case No. E023399
• Huell Howser v. City of Long Beach, Ninth Circuit Case No. 98-55351
• Friends of Coachella Valley v. County of Riverside, Fourth Dist. Court of Appeal, Div. Two, Case No. B017901 (tentative opinion)
• Ignacio Barajas, et al. v. City of Santa Ana and Orange County Register, Fourth Dist. Court of Appeal, Div. Three, Case No. G011307
• Raphael Babay, et al. v. City of Lynwood, et al., Second Dist. Court of Appeal, Div. Two, Civil No. B046883
• Homer Croy, et al. v. Michigan Millers Mutual Insurance Company, et al., Fourth Dist. Court of Appeal, Div. Three, Case No. G008885
• Eric Hexburg, et al. v. Superior Court of the State of California (Orange County), Fourth Dist. Court of Appeal, Div. Three, Case No. G006286
• Cabrillo Land Company v. Soquel Creek Water District, Sixth Dist. Court of Appeal, Case No. H002002
• Carlos Zambrano, et al. v. Superior Court of the State of California for Orange County (Fireside Thrift), Fourth Dist. Court of Appeal, Div. Three, Case No. G002370 

Publications

• “What’s Hot in California Environmental Quality Act,” Presented at the 2014 State Bar of California 87th Annual Meeting, MCLE, September 12, 2014
• “Making the Most of Prior CEQA Documents,” Western Real Estate Business, October 2011
• “Twenty Ways to Improve Your Administrative Record and Increase Your Chances for Success in CEQA Litigation”, Public Law Journal, California State Bar, Vol. 22, No. 4, Fall 1999
• “Nonresident Plaintiffs Lack Standing to Challenge Amendment to Redevelopment Plan”, Redevelopment Journal, April 1995, p. 2
• “A Plaintiff With Standing – Every Lawsuit Needs One”, Los Angeles Daily Journal, Practitioner, July 1, 1993, p. 7; San Francisco Daily Journal, Practitioner, July 1, 1993, p. 5

Seminars/Courses

• Spring 2016 CEQA Update, Rutan & Tucker, LLP, MCLE May 2, 2016
• CEQA Compliance Timing: Judicial Treatment of “Pre-Commitment” Since Save Tara, Presented at The State Bar of California 88th Annual Meeting, October 9, 2015
• Current Developments in CEQA Administrative Practice and Remedies, Presented at the California State Bar UC Hastings Environmental Law Conference, June 12, 2015
• Spring 2015 CEQA Update, Rutan & Tucker, LLP MCLE, April 13, 2015
• Fall CEQA Cases Update, Rutan & Tucker, LLP, MCLE October 13, 2014
• What’s Hot in CEQA, Presented at State Bar of California Annual Conference, September 12, 2014
• Emerging Trends in CEQA, Presented at the Appellate Judicial Attorneys Institute Conference, March 20, 2014
  Land Use Cases Fall Update, Rutan & Tucker, LLP, MCLE November 4, 2013
• Emerging Challenges Associated with Public Information in the Electronic Age, Presented at the 2013 Environmental Law Conference at Yosemite, State Bar of California Environmental Law Section, MCLE, October 27, 2013
• The Fall CEQA Roundup, Rutan & Tucker, LLP, MCLE, October 7, 2013
• Legal Ethics for Municipal Attorneys, City Attorneys Association for the County of Los Angeles, MCLE August 22, 2013
• CEQA/Land Use Update – Fall, Winter and (a bit of) Spring, Rutan & Tucker, LLP, MCLE, April 1, 2013
• Keeping it Clean: Strategies for a Neat and Tidy Administrative Record, Rutan & Tucker, LLP, MCLE, March 4, 2013
• Overview of CEQA and a Few Other Pointers, for the Marina Planning Commission, February 14, 2013
• Ethical Dilemmas Faced by Attorneys in the Public Arena, Rutan & Tucker, LLP, MCLE, January 14, 2013
• Avoiding Public Hearing Pitfalls, Rutan & Tucker, LLP MCLE, December 3, 2012
• CEQA/Land Use Update – The Fall and Winter Cases” Rutan & Tucker, LLP MCLE, March 5, 2012
• Ethics and Public Service Laws and Principles, City of Torrance, AB 1234 Training, August 24, 2011
• Making the Most of Prior CEQA Documents, Rutan & Tucker, LLP MCLE, August 1, 2011
• Making the Most of CEQA Exemptions, Rutan & Tucker, LLP MCLE, April 4, 2011
• New Developments – CCP Section 1021.5 Attorney Fee Motions, Orange County City Attorneys Association MCLE, February 17, 2011
• Lions and Tigers and CCP Section 1021.5 Attorneys’ Fees (Oh My!), Rutan & Tucker, LLP MCLE, February 7, 2011
• Land Use and CEQA Litigation Update, Los Angeles County City Attorneys Association MCLE, November 18, 2010
• Land Use and CEQA Litigation Update, Rutan & Tucker, LLP MCLE, October 11, 2010
• Land Use and CEQA Litigation Update, City of Long Beach MCLE, September 27, 2010
• Land Use and CEQA Litigation Update, League of California Cities, Fall Conference, September 16, 2010 
• Land Use and CEQA Litigation Update, League of California Cities, Spring City Attorney’s Conference, May 5, 2010
• Greenhouse Gas, Climate Change, CEQA Compliance, and More…, City of La Quinta, February 17, 2010
• Administrative Record Preparation, Rutan & Tucker, LLP MCLE, February 1, 2010
• A New Year, New Cases, Rutan & Tucker, LLP MCLE January 4, 2010
• CEQA and Land Use Litigation Update, League of California Cities Annual Conference, September 18, 2009
• CEQA and Land Use Litigation Update, Rutan & Tucker, LLP MCLE, September 14, 2009
• CEQA and Land Use Litigation Update, City of Long Beach MCLE, June 4, 2009
• Recent Developments Relating to Due Process in Land Use Administrative Hearings, Rutan & Tucker, LLP MCLE, June 1, 2009
• CEQA and Land Use Litigation Update, City of La Quinta, May 26, 2009
• CEQA and Land Use Litigation Update, League of California Cities, Spring City Attorney’s Conference, May 6, 2009
• Update on Regulation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Water Supply Issues, Rutan & Tucker, LLP MCLE, March 2, 2009
• Update on Recent Development in Land Use, Rutan & Tucker, LLP MCLE, February 2, 2009
• CEQA Training, Session 2: The Nitty-Gritty of CEQA Compliance, City of Long Beach MCLE, October 16, 2008
• CEQA Compliance for Property Acquisition, Session 1: Property Acquisition — Defining the Project, Phasing, Timing and Scope of Environmental Review, City of Long Beach MCLE, September 30, 2008
• CEQA’s Dirty Dozen: A Guide to Steering Clear of the 12 Most Common CEQA Mistakes, City of Long Beach MCLE, November 2007
• Quarterly Update New CEQA Cases, Rutan & Tucker, LLP MCLE, August 2007
• Update on Air Quality Developments and New CEQA Decisions, Rutan & Tucker, LLP MCLE, April 2007
• Review of 2006 CEQA Cases, Rutan & Tucker, LLP MCLE, February 2007
• Building Communities, Orange County Conference for Woman, Panelist, September 2006
• Overview of General Plans, Specific Plans, and Zoning, Rutan & Tucker, LLP MCLE, March 2003
• The Do’s and Don’ts in Representing Developers and Agencies in Public Hearings for Development Projects, Moderator, Rutan & Tucker, LLP MCLE Seminar, March 2003
• A Guide to Planning Commission Meetings, Rutan & Tucker, LLP MCLE Seminar, February 2003
• CEQA Overview and Practice Tips, Rutan & Tucker, LLP MCLE Seminar, September 2002
• CEQA Tips, Rutan & Tucker, LLP MCLE Seminar, May 2002
• A CEQA Overview, City of La Quinta Planning Department, City of La Quinta, May 2002
• Defending Land Use Approvals in CEQA Litigation and from Challenges under the Federal and State Endangered Species Act, League of California Cities, City Attorney’s Spring Conference, Spring 2000
• What’s New and Exciting Under the California Environmental Quality Act, California Chapter, American Planning Association Annual Conference, October 1996
• CEQA Guerrilla Warfare – A Litigator’s Perspective, Cahuilla District of the American Planning Association, March 1996
• California Environmental Quality Act MCLE Seminar, City of Long Beach, September 1994
• California Environmental Quality Act MCLE Seminar, City of Long Beach, Redevelopment Agency, December 1994
• Recent Developments Regarding the California Environmental Quality Act, American Planning Association Nuts and Bolts Conference on Zoning, March 1994
• Overview of the Government Tort Claims Act, Rutan & Tucker, LLP MCLE, February 1993
• The Public Records Act, Rutan & Tucker, LLP MCLE, July 1992
• Emerging Trends in Section 1983 Liability – Avoiding Section 1983 Liability For Regulation of First Amendment Rights, League of California Cities, Continuing Education Seminar for Municipal Attorneys, 1991
• The Right of Access to Information Held by Public Agencies, American Planning Association State Conference, 1990

Awards & Honors

• Best Lawyers In America, Lawyer of the Year 2022
• Best Lawyers in America, 2021-2022

• Southern California “Super Lawyer” 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012
• Southern California “Super Lawyer” Business Edition, 2012
• AV® Preemininent™ rating with LexisNexis/Martindale Hubbell
• Daily Journal’s Annual List of 100 Leading Women Lawyers in California, 2013