Oct. 16, 2014
Briscoe Ivester & Bazel LLP
See more on Briscoe Ivester & Bazel LLPSan Francisco | Land use, environmental and natural resources law
"When you're representing developers, I want you to know what it was like to swing a hammer," Ivester, managing partner of San Francisco's Briscoe Ivester & Bazel LLP, said his father, Jack Ivester, told him.
Jack Ivester also fostered a love for the outdoors, taking his son out to hunt deer with bows and arrows near their semi-rural neighborhood of Flushing, Mich., just outside of Flynn.
Today, Ivester, 64, who along with John Briscoe and Lawrence Bazel founded their environmental land use boutique in 2005, represents developers, including cities and municipalities, in an evolving area of law and practice whose horizon and growth potential is unlimited.
"Not just lawyers but planners and politicians are grappling with how to deal with climate change and sea level rise [issues], and it bleeds into many other areas," said Ivester, who noted it even affects endangered species work.
New law in the area is being created in courts, by public agencies and the Legislature, all of which are wrestling with environmental change, he said.
In multiple projects over decades, including one he's involved in right now - a roughly 2,000-acre mostly housing with some mixed use development in Oakley that was tabled in the economic downturn - he has helped developers negotiate the approval process and related litigation.
"I have always, throughout my life, enjoyed nature and the outdoors and respected nature. I love science. One of the things that I like in this area of law is that ... I am learning at the elbow of the people at the top of their field," Ivester said.
Big environmental issues of the day are intertwined with bread and butter issues in developments, such as water quality and supply, and traffic impact, to name a few.
The partners originally began working together at the environmentally-focused Washburn, Briscoe & McCarthy, which had more than 30 attorneys. Briscoe and Ivester have worked together since 1982 and Bazel joined the Washburn firm in 2000. The next year, the firm leadership decided to merge with Stoel Rives LLP, as some partners wanted a larger firm platform.
The firm survived the economic downturn without layoffs because firm partners cut their pay by more than half. Having been through one merger already, the firm is not looking to merge.
Ivester who tools around the house - he reroofed the garage himself - working recently on smaller projects, said he still loves construction.
"I still have all my tools and I do all my work around the house," he said. "When I pull those hammers out, I am hearing [my father] teaching me how to do this and it's a way to reconnect with my past."
- Vik Jolly and Fiona Smith
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