The Sohagi Law Group PLC

Environmental And Land Use

Los Angeles

Margaret M. Sohagi spun off her women-owned environmental and land use law firm, The Sohagi Law Group PLC, in 2006 following a lengthy association with then-law partner Deborah J. Fox. Today, Sohagi's seven-lawyer group represents public agencies in high-profile, controversial projects at both the transactional and litigation stages.

She and her colleagues are experts in fields from aviation and land use to the Coastal Act and public trust doctrine to California Environmental Quality Act issues. But a trend has emerged that touches almost everything the firm does.

"The overarching theme in our cases today, the number one issue right now, is greenhouse gases and climate change and how they affect the major projects we are involved in," Sohagi said.

Her clients include the City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles World Airports and Los Angeles International Airport. Sohagi Law Group serves as outside environmental and land use counsel on the current multi-million-dollar renovation of LAX known as the Landside Access Modernization Program. Designed to upgrade the big airport's ground transportation system with an emphasis on alternative modes of access, the project has gone through a long approval process and now faces litigation over alleged defects in the Environmental Impact Report related to pollution and traffic congestion. TPS Parking Management v. City of Los Angeles, BS170107 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed June 30, 2017).

The plaintiffs are seeking a writ of mandate to force a redo of the report. Critics have argued CEQA wasn't intended to protect parking garages. A hearing on the merits is set for Feb. 6, 2020.

"Litigation is never the goal, of course," said Sohagi, who has been working on the project for years. "I love it when we are brought in early. Our clients craft where they need to go, and we can help them get there. It's quite an undertaking to keep an airport running during a major remodel."

Sohagi Law Group has been outside counsel to the Port of Los Angeles for more than 15 years. It has defended the port in the approval process for the Southern California International Gateway plan, a $500 million project to build a near-dock rail yard for BNSF Railway. In 2018 a state appellate panel affirmed the plan's qualitative greenhouse gas analysis and other key issues; the state Supreme Court denied review. Fast Lane Transportation Inc. v. City of Los Angeles, A148993 (1st DCA, filed June 5, 2013).

"We're back in the trial court on remand," Sohagi said. "The one involves cutting-edge greenhouse gas issues. The law on climate change is itself changing daily; by the time you complete your [Environmental Impact Report] you'll have several new cases come out."

To prevail as the legal ground shifts in environmental law, she added, "you have to be nimble to stay ahead of the courts. You keep track of where petitioners are pushing policy and what policymakers are doing in Sacramento."

To keep current in managing these and other major cases, including those over Tejon Ranch's 20,000 home development and the University of California's long-range development plan, Sohagi has long co-chaired UCLA's annual Land Use and Public Policy Conference and other planning events.

Other firm members also monitor the law's evolution. Partner Nicole H. Gordon chairs the executive committee of the Environmental Law Section of the California Lawyers Association.

"I have the unique opportunity to engage with environmental attorneys and practitioners from all over the state and beyond, who represent a diversity of perspectives and positions on environmental law and evolving issues - issues with which our clients grapple every day," Gordon said. "Working collaboratively with attorneys from across the spectrum of environmental perspectives broadens and deepens my ability to effectively represent our clients."

-- John Roemer