S.F. City Attorney Herrera discusses 'Impact Litigation'

Last week, the California Environmental Law & Policy Center had the pleasure of hosting San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera to discuss “Impact Litigation to Protect the Environment, Public Health & Civil Rights: The View From the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office.”

A longtime friend of Professor Rick Frank, Herrera is the first Latino ever elected as San Francisco City Attorney. He leads an office that has spearheaded cases of national importance on civil rights, affordable health care and environmental protection while remaining a tough and effective advocate for San Francisco’s neighborhoods, working families and the underprivileged.

In his role as San Francisco’s advocate, Herrera filed the first-ever government lawsuit to challenge the constitutionality of state marriage laws that discriminate against gay and lesbian couples, and his office was centrally involved in the nearly decade-long, successful battle for marriage equality in California.

Herrera also brought the first legal challenge to President Donald Trump’s executive order that tried to strip federal funding from sanctuary cities. Herrera won a nationwide halt to enforcement of the order, protecting funding for programs that provide food, health care and housing assistance to low-income families, seniors and people with disabilities.

On major consumer protection cases, Herrera and his team have brought marketplace scofflaws to justice, winning millions in restitution for victims and taxpayers, protecting honest competitors who play by the rules, and securing injunctions to end unlawful practices. Herrera has consistently taken an activist approach to his city attorney’s role by not only serving city government clients, but using the power of law to make a difference in the lives of the people his office serves.

Our students had a wonderful opportunity to hear from Herrera, one of the most influential and effective city attorneys in the United States.  He expressed an interest in building a relationship with UC Davis School of Law to handle impact litigation. Professor Frank is going to follow up and see what kind of partnership we can create.