Paul Hastings’ Land Use practice provides strategic counsel to clients navigating the complex planning, regulatory and environmental review landscape in California and beyond. We advise on high-stakes projects requiring governmental approvals, permits and other entitlements, partnering with developers, utilities, institutions, property owners and builders to advance their real estate, transportation, infrastructure and other development projects with precision and foresight.

Full-Spectrum Support

From due diligence and entitlement strategy to administrative advocacy and litigation defense, our team delivers full-spectrum support tailored to politically sensitive, technically complex and publicly visible projects. We represent clients through federal, state, regional and local entitlement processes, managing consultant teams and coordinating with political and communications strategists. Our practice covers land use entitlements and strategy, land use litigation and critical infrastructure siting and permitting. Our attorneys are recognized authorities on CEQA and NEPA environmental review, regularly appearing before city councils, planning commissions and governing boards. We also maintain unmatched experience with California’s coastal zone permitting, having obtained approvals for some of the largest and most challenging coastal projects since the 1970s.

Diverse Clients

We serve an extensive range of clients including developers and property owners, real estate investors and private equity sponsors, public utilities, oil and gas companies, and infrastructure project developers. Our practice encompasses logistics facilities, data centers, cultural institutions like museums and hospitals, hospitality and theme park operators, and public agencies. We also advise owners of distressed or legacy assets requiring long-term entitlement strategy.

Why Paul Hastings

Our attorneys maintain deep, long-standing relationships with key California agencies, city planning staff and commissions, with several of our lawyers having served on executive boards of organizations like the Central City Association. We stand out for seamlessly combining entitlement strategy with litigation preparedness, helping clients avoid missteps while defending projects if challenged. Our team is frequently engaged in high-profile environmental review matters and multi-year CEQA processes. Clients view our attorneys as go-to environmental review advisers with consulting-level knowhow in both legal and procedural nuances.