Partner
Lauren Langer
Lauren serves as city attorney for the City of West Hollywood, as interim city attorney for the City of Downey, and as land use counsel for the firm’s clients, including Lomita and Hermosa Beach.
Lauren’s practice consists of advising city clients on land use, zoning, environmental and housing laws (including Density Bonus Law, the Housing Accountability Act, the Housing Crisis Act (SB 330) and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)). Lauren also drafts legislation and contracts and advises on all other legal issues associated with Municipal Law practice, such as the Brown Act and California Public Records Act.
In addition to her land use and Municipal Law experience, Lauren is actively involved in creating and implementing cannabis ordinances for her city clients in response to Proposition 64, including West Hollywood’s cannabis business license ordinance and license selection program. She also is highly skilled in drafting other critical and complex municipal ordinances, including those that address density bonus and wireless infrastructure. Lauren also handles litigation matters for her city clients. Lauren enjoys practicing Municipal Law, as it allows her to work on issues that are critical to the community and impact people’s daily lives — everything from safe streets to housing to the environment. Lauren focuses on building relationships with clients and consensus among all stakeholders to help cities run well and manage their issues. Before joining Best Best & Krieger LLP, she practiced at Jenkins & Hogin for 12 years.
Lauren is the chair of the League of California Cities City Attorneys’ Cannabis Regulation Committee, and has served on the Committee since 2011. She is also a member of the League’s Attorney Development and Succession Commission. She also regularly presents trainings and seminars on housing and land use issues, cannabis regulations and the Brown and Public Record acts. Lauren lives in Los Angeles, where she spends her free time gardening, cooking and exploring the City with her husband and daughters.
- Los Angeles Business Journal Top 100 Lawyers, 2022
- Daily Journal 40 Under 40 List, 2018
- Named a Cannabis Law Expert by Databird, November 2018
- League of California Cities’, City Attorney’s Department, Cannabis Regulation Committee, 2019-2020; chair, 2020 and Attorney Development and Succession Committee, 2019-2020
Publications
- "Implementing the Brown Act in the Digital Age," Daily Journal, Sept. 13, 2018
- “Navigating RLUIPA: Recent Developments in Religious Land Use Litigation” League of California Cities City Attorneys’ Department, 2015
- “Municipal Regulation of Medical Marijuana: A Comprehensive Review of Federal and State Law” League of California Cities City Attorneys’ Department, 2012
- “The Legal Basis for Allowing Medical Marijuana Operations,” Western City Magazine, 2010
Presentations
- "Understanding Public Service Ethics Laws and Principles (AB 1234)," League of California Cities New Mayors and Council Members Academy, Feb. 2, 2023
- Conference Moderator and co-chair, Argent Communications Group California Land Use Law, Policy and Planning Virtual Annual Conference, Dec. 7, 2022
- "New Lawyers Meet and Greet: How to Get Involved with Cal Cities and the City Attorneys Department," League of California Cities’ City Attorneys’ Spring Conference, May 4, 2022
- "When The Going Gets Tough: Navigating the Brown Act in Tricky Situations," CLA Open Meetings and Open Records Conference, Apr. 7, 2022
- "Housing Law Update," League of California Cities Annual Conference , Oct. 8, 2020
- "The Brown Act: The People’s Business and the Right to Access," BB&K Webinar, Sept. 16, 2020
- "Development and Land Use in the Age of COVID-19," Continuing Education of the Bar Webinar, May 26, 2020
- "Clearing the Smoke: 3 Years of Legal Cannabis in California," BB&K Webinar, Nov. 20, 2019
- "Meet and Greet for Under 10," League of California Cities’ City Attorneys’ Spring Conference, May 8, 2019
- "The Commission’s Tribal Consultation Guidance: Update on the Tribal Consultation Policy," Continuing Legal Education International Annual California Coastal Law Conference, Nov. 15, 2018
- "Brown Act Traps and Escape Routes," Public Law Section of the California Lawyer’s Association California Public Records and Open Meetings Conference, Apr. 27, 2018
- "New Considerations in Preparing Administrative Records: How the San Jose Case Has Impacted Traditional Practices," LSI Advanced CEQA Seminar, Sept. 2017
- "Workshop on Cannabis Rules and Regulations," South Bay Cities Council of Governments, Aug. 2017
- "Marijuana and California Real Estate," Los Angeles County Bar Association, May 2017
- "Navigating RLUIPA: Recent Developments in Religious Land Use Litigation," League of California Cities City Attorneys' Spring Conference, May 2015
- "Seminar on the Los Angeles County MS4 Permit," Los Angeles County Bar Association, Jan. 2013
- "Stormwater Regulation 101," Tri-Counties Government Attorneys' Association, Feb. 2013
