Housing Accountability
Related Attorneys
Brandon V. Stracener
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Attorney
Brandon Stracener helps clients navigate an array of complex disputes across the full range of civil litigation in state and federal courts, as well as arbitration and mediation. Mr. Stracener has experience representing public agencies, non-profits, and private entities in land use, real estate, municipal law disputes, and constitutional law claims, including novel legal issues.
His past experience includes the spectrum of complex commercial litigation, representing clients working on innovative technology and in the fields of data privacy, trade secrets, trademark, copyright, contract, anti-trust, and business torts.
His past successes have included securing judgment on and defending against claims exceeding $1 million, obtaining a full grant of or defending against requests for preliminary injunction, filing amicus briefs for winning parties at the appellate level, and obtaining all of a client’s requested relief through pre-litigation negotiation without the need for a lawsuit.
As an author of several publications on constitutional law issues, including California constitutional law, Mr. Stracener has become a resource for media comment and interviews throughout the state for insight on a variety of legal topics. He has appeared on television news and talk radio, including NPR. His work has appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, the Los Angeles & San Francisco Daily Journal, an Icelandic newspaper, multiple law journals, and on law.com. He contributes to SCOCAblog, covering the California Supreme Court, and he maintains a role as Senior Research Fellow at the California Constitution Center.
Mr. Stracener’s familiarity with the courtroom is rooted in his past experiences working for judges at several courts. He served as a law clerk for the Honorable Kimberly J. Mueller, District Judge at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, and the Honorable Lucy H. Koh, District Judge at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Mr. Stracener also externed for the Honorable Consuelo María Callahan, Circuit Judge at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the Honorable Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California.
Recognizing the importance of effective written advocacy, Mr. Stracener has shared his insights as a Lecturer in Advanced Legal Writing at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. He promotes clear, brief, and powerful writing that actually persuades the decisionmakers in a given matter.
Education
- B.A., University of California, Berkeley
- J.D., University of California Berkeley School of Law
Professional and Volunteer Affiliations
- State Bar of California
- Senior Research Fellow, California Constitution Center
- Supreme Court of California
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Eastern, Central, and Southern Districts of California
- Member of the Public Law, Privacy Law, Real Property Law, and Litigation sections of the California Lawyers Association
Celia W. Lee
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Attorney
Celia Lee is a partner in the firm with over twenty-five years of litigation experience. Her practice encompasses a broad range of civil litigation, investigations, and advice on behalf of public agencies, nonprofit, and private entities in municipal, real estate, housing, land use, and business law disputes.
Immediately prior to joining the firm, Ms. Lee served as a Deputy City Attorney in the Office of the City Attorney for the City and County of San Francisco for a decade. She was a member of both the Neighborhood and Resident Safety/Code Enforcement Team, representing the City and County and its departments and employees in its civil enforcement of state and local public safety and public nuisance laws and the intersection of those laws with land use concerns, and the Trial Team, where she litigated and tried to a jury a wide variety of matters for several City departments. From 1994 to 2004, she practiced commercial litigation and insurance litigation at two San Francisco law firms.
Ms. Lee has spoken on several panels for the California Lawyers’ Association, Real Property Law Section annual conferences on various topics, including the Housing Accountability Act and ethics in real estate transactions.
Ms. Lee actively engages in community service around the Bay Area.
In 2009, Ms. Lee was a recipient of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association’s (NAPABA) “Best Lawyers Under 40” Award.
Education
- B.A. University of California at Berkeley; magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa
- J.D., University of Michigan Law School
Previous Employment
- Goldfarb & Lipman LLP, Oakland, California, Jan. 2014 – present.
- Office of the City Attorney for the City and County of San Francisco.
Professional and Volunteer Affiliations
- State Bars of California and New York
- Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area (AABA), (President 2008-2009)
- AABA Law Foundation Board (2014-present)
- Chair, Board of Trustees for Chinese for Affirmative Action/Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality (CAA/AACRE), a civil rights organization based in San Francisco’s Chinatown that advocates for the Asian Pacific American community, 2009-present
- Member, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights for the San Francisco Bay Area, 2011-present
Dolores Bastian Dalton
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Attorney
Dolores Bastian Dalton is a partner at Goldfarb Lipman, LLP. She has extensive experience litigating and mediating land use, housing, public entity, enforcement, nonprofit and commercial disputes in state and federal trial courts, and on appeal. Ms. Dalton has been certified by the State Bar of California as a specialist in appellate law. Ms. Dalton is also a trained mediator and a member of the mediation panels for the California Court of Appeal for the Third and Sixth Districts. She has successfully mediated numerous complex civil and land use disputes. She has specialized expertise in writ of mandate and summary judgment practice.
Ms. Dalton was appointed an Adjunct Professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law, where she taught Practical Litigation Skills. She has also taught in the University of California Berkeley’s Fall Program for Freshmen. Ms. Dalton has participated in numerous panels addressing the Legislature’s recent revisions to the Housing Accountability Act, the Housing Element Law, and related issues.
Ms. Dalton is the former chair of the City of Albany Planning Commission. She has also been a member of former California Senator and Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner’s A.D. 14 “Women of the Year” committee. She volunteers for the Sonoma County Lawyers in the Library Program, and is the Vice-President of The Mediation Society of San Francisco. Ms. Dalton sits as a Judge Pro Tem for the San Francisco and Sonoma Superior Courts.
Education
- B.A., Philosophy, University of California at Berkeley
- J.D., University of San Francisco School of Law
- Comments Editor of the Law Review.
Professional and Volunteer Affiliations
- State Bar of California
- Member, The Mediation Society
- Member, State Bar of California Litigation Section
- Member, Sonoma County Bar Association
- Member, The Berkeley Piano Club
James T. Diamond, Jr.
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Attorney
James T. Diamond, Jr’s. practice emphasizes employment law litigation and counseling, municipal government advice and litigation, and commercial litigation. He has represented public entities, Fortune 50 corporations, small businesses and nonprofit entities. Mr. Diamond represents the firm’s clients in state and federal trial, appellate and bankruptcy courts, and in arbitrations, mediations and administrative hearings.
In his employment practice, Mr. Diamond has defended clients in state and federal courts throughout California in discrimination, sexual harassment, prevailing wage, whistleblower, retaliatory discharge claims and employment-related common-law tort and contract claims related to employment. He has represented clients in administrative proceedings before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. Mr. Diamond provides employment law counseling to his clients in preventing litigation through properly documented disciplinary actions, handling Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and California Family Rights Act (CFRA) leave issues, pregnancy leave issues, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) reasonable accommodation issues, and wage and hour issues. He provides employment and labor counsel on issues including the duty to meet and confer under the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act, counseling on reasonable accommodation rights and duties under state and federal law, Skelly hearings, grievance resolution, interpretation of labor contract issues, and labor negotiations.
Mr. Diamond has litigated commercial and business matters on behalf of his clients in contract disputes, common law tort matters including claims of fraud, whistleblower and False Claim Act cases under state and federal law, intellectual property, and trade secrets.
Education
- B.A., cum laude, University of San Francisco
- J.D., University of California College of the Law, San Francisco
Professional and Volunteer Affiliations
- State Bar of California
- American Bar Association, Employment Law Section
- Alameda County Bar Association Labor & Employment Law Section, Executive Committee Member
- Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce
Vasudha Purohit
Contact Information
Attorney
Vasudha Purohit is an associate in the firm’s litigation practice. She primarily works with nonprofit organizations and municipal agencies in a range of matters, including affordable housing, land use, and real estate disputes in both state and federal courts. Additionally, Vasudha also has experience with other civil litigation actions and smaller-scale lawsuits, including personal injury and construction matters.
Education
- B.A. with honors, University of Toronto
- J.D., University of San Francisco School of Law
- Intellectual Property and Technology Law Certificate
- SBA Council – Educational Programs Committee Representative
- Intellectual Property and Technology Law Journal – Board of Editor
Professional & Volunteer Affiliations
- State Bar of California
- U.S. District Court for the Central District
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District