David C. Smith
Building and broadening his more than 25 years of expertise in complex entitlement and regulatory compliance at all jurisdictional levels, David secured a Master of Laws in Energy and Climate to counsel clients on all aspects of sustainability, transition to renewable energy, efficiency and storage, and leveraging of federal and state incentives and regulatory mandates. David frequently speaks to and counsels public and private ventures on voluntary and regulatory ESG and other climate-related objectives and strategies.
David counsels land developers, conservation companies, for-profit and nonprofit organizations, and individuals at the intersection of law and government on land use entitlement, real estate development and regulatory compliance. He is frequently engaged in entitlement and permitting matters for development projects that are, or have the potential to be, particularly contentious and complicated.
David is a skilled negotiator with local and state jurisdictions, as well as federal agencies. His practice includes California’s climate change law (SB 375, AB 32, et al.) and water supply law (SB 211, SB 610), and state and federal endangered species acts. Other specific areas of focus are the McAteer-Petris Act, the federal Clean Water Act and the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and the California Environmental Quality Act, and California’s planning and zoning laws.
Previously in-house counsel at a national strategic real estate and land use investment company, David handled land development, equity investment and complex entitlement matters for California-based projects, as well as others in western states. He worked on a number of development and conservation projects, serving as liaison between companies and government authorities to craft strategies for solving legal issues.
David was a partner at a boutique real estate firm prior to joining Manatt. Early in his career, he was general counsel of the Building Industry Association of Southern California and its Building Industry Legal Defense Foundation.
An active writer and speaker on development and conservation, David has lectured at the University of California, Berkeley’s School of Law; UCLA; the University of Southern California; and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Conservation Training Center. David currently serves on the Board of Directors for the California Building Industry Association. He also co-chairs the annual UCLA Land Use Law and Planning Conference and teaches a mandatory course for a certificate program in environmental management.
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Manatt Energy and EnvironmentOffices
San Francisco, Orange CountyOn This Page
David C. Smith
Building and broadening his more than 25 years of expertise in complex entitlement and regulatory compliance at all jurisdictional levels, David secured a Master of Laws in Energy and Climate to counsel clients on all aspects of sustainability, transition to renewable energy, efficiency and storage, and leveraging of federal and state incentives and regulatory mandates. David frequently speaks to and counsels public and private ventures on voluntary and regulatory ESG and other climate-related objectives and strategies.
David counsels land developers, conservation companies, for-profit and nonprofit organizations, and individuals at the intersection of law and government on land use entitlement, real estate development and regulatory compliance. He is frequently engaged in entitlement and permitting matters for development projects that are, or have the potential to be, particularly contentious and complicated.
David is a skilled negotiator with local and state jurisdictions, as well as federal agencies. His practice includes California’s climate change law (SB 375, AB 32, et al.) and water supply law (SB 211, SB 610), and state and federal endangered species acts. Other specific areas of focus are the McAteer-Petris Act, the federal Clean Water Act and the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and the California Environmental Quality Act, and California’s planning and zoning laws.
Previously in-house counsel at a national strategic real estate and land use investment company, David handled land development, equity investment and complex entitlement matters for California-based projects, as well as others in western states. He worked on a number of development and conservation projects, serving as liaison between companies and government authorities to craft strategies for solving legal issues.
David was a partner at a boutique real estate firm prior to joining Manatt. Early in his career, he was general counsel of the Building Industry Association of Southern California and its Building Industry Legal Defense Foundation.
An active writer and speaker on development and conservation, David has lectured at the University of California, Berkeley’s School of Law; UCLA; the University of Southern California; and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Conservation Training Center. David currently serves on the Board of Directors for the California Building Industry Association. He also co-chairs the annual UCLA Land Use Law and Planning Conference and teaches a mandatory course for a certificate program in environmental management.
Education
Vermont Law & Graduate School, LL.M. in Energy with a concentration in Climate, with distinction, 2023
Pepperdine University School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude, 1995
Associate Editor, Pepperdine Law Review
University of California, Los Angeles, B.A., 1988
Accomplishments
Presenter, “Navigating U.S. Climate Emissions and Risk Disclosure Requirements,” Air & Waste Management Association, March 19, 2025
Panelist, “Rivian Presents: Beyond Zero with USGBC,” Laguna Beach, CA, February 20, 2025
Panelist, “Laying Down the Law: Music Biz and Environmental Regulation,” Music Sustainability Alliance, November 13, 2024.
Panelist, “Corporate Climate Reporting Requirements: A Fast-Changing Landscape,” American Bar Association, Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources, December 10, 2024.
Speaker, “Climate-Driven Perils and Opportunities for the Financial Sector,” Community Banking Conference, Huntington Beach, CA, September 23, 2024.
Speaker, CCEEB Summer Issues Seminar, July 10, 2024.
Speaker, “Affordable Housing and Land Use In California,” UCLA Extension, May 15, 2024.
Presenter, “New California Laws Mandate Global Climate Disclosures,” California Building Industry Association, November 12, 2023.
Presenter, “New California Laws Mandate Global Climate Disclosures,” Urban Land Institute Community Development Council, November 2, 2023.
Speaker, “At the Intersection of Banking and the Environment,” Moss Adams Annual Community Banking Conference, September 26, 2023.
Speaker, “Affordable Housing and Land Use In California,” UCLA Extension, June 8, 2023.
Speaker, “Building on Incentives: Harnessing Inflation Reduction Act Tax Credits for Decarbonization,” ESF North America Energy & Sustainability Forum, June 2, 2023.
Speaker, “The Regulated Community’s Perspective on Implementation of Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act,” United States Fish and Wildlife Service, May 25, 2023.
UCLA Extension Land Use Law and Planning Conference, January 27, 2023.
Moderator, “CEQA 2022—A Year in Review”
Moderator, “The Land Use & CEQA Implications of Climate Regulation & Legislation”
Panelist, “Quick Hits: 2023”
Moderator, “CEQA 2022—A Year in Review,” Land Use Law & Planning Conference, UCLA Extension, January 27, 2023.
Moderator, “The Land Use & CEQA Implications of Climate Regulation & Legislation,” Land Use Law & Planning Conference, UCLA Extension, January 27, 2023.
Panelist, “Quick Hits: 2023,” Land Use Law & Planning Conference, UCLA Extension, January 27, 2023.
Speaker, “Climate Change Risk and Disclosure: A New Focus for SEC Enforcement,” Law Journal Newsletters, October 13, 2022.
Speaker, “Affordable Housing and Land Use in Metro Areas,” UCLA Extension, May 5, 2022.
Speaker, “Mitigation Measures, how they get implemented may change the way you write them,” 2022 Association of Environmental Professionals (AEP) Conference, Yosemite, California, April 12, 2022.
Moderator, “Beyond ADUs: How Do We Deliver Meaningful Housing Supplies Throughout California?,” UCLA Extension’s Land Use Law and Planning Conference, January 21, 2022.
Speaker, “Federal Endangered Species Act – Regulatory Updates,” 57th Select Conference on Industry Litigation, California Building Industry Association, November 21, 2020.
Speaker, “What You Need to Know: COVID-19’s Implications for Businesses with Real Estate Concerns,” Webinar, Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), April 16, 2020.
Moderator, “CEQA 2019: The Strength of Exemption and Other Lessons Learned,” UCLA Extension Land Use Law and Planning Conference, January 24, 2020.
Speaker, “Affordability and Rent Control: What’s Next for the Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act?” Argent Communications Group 2019 California Land Use Law & Policy Conference, March 18, 2019.
Moderator, “California’s Housing Crisis in the Wake of Prop. 10,” UCLA Annual Land Use Law and Planning Conference, January 18, 2019.
Speaker, “Quick Hits,” UCLA Annual Land Use Law and Planning Conference, January 18, 2019.
Speaker, “Is CEQA Still Relevant?” American Planning Association California Conference, San Diego, CA, October 9, 2018.
Program co-chair and moderator, “Transportation Infrastructure: Mobility, Choice, and VMT” and “The Housing Crisis: The More Things Change the More They Stay the Same,” 32nd Annual UCLA Land Use Law and Planning Conference, Los Angeles, California, January 19, 2018.
Speaker, “California Greenhouse Gas Reductions and Land Use,” Urban Land Institute Fall Meetings—Large Land Owner Forum, Los Angeles, California, October 24, 2017.
Speaker, “The Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act—Why You Should Care,” University of Southern California School of Law, Los Angeles, California, February 9, 2017.
Speaker, “Is Regionalism Inescapable? Did Greenhouse Gases Kill Local Control?” 31st Annual Land Use & Planning Conference, University of California, Los Angeles Extension Public Policy Program, Los Angeles, California, January 27, 2017.
Speaker, “The Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act—Why You Should Care,” University of Southern California School of Law, Los Angeles, California, March 29, 2016.
Speaker, “Get It Built: Overcoming CEQA and Climate Change Hurdles,” Building Industry Legal Defense Foundation Conference, Irvine, California, March 11, 2016.
Speaker, “New Federal Clean Water Rule: What You Need to Know,” The Bar Association of San Francisco, San Francisco, California, December 4, 2015.
Speaker, “The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA),” Boalt School of Law | Haas Business School (U.C. Berkeley), Berkeley, California, March 4, 2014.
Speaker, “The Endangered Species Act: Recent Developments,” Building Industry Legal Defense Foundation Annual Conference, Los Angeles, California, October 2, 2014.
Program co-chair, Greenhouse Gas Conference—CLE International, San Francisco, California, April 8–9, 2013.
Speaker, “Private Transfer Fees” and “State Water Resources Control Board Proposed State Wetlands Dredge and Fill Policy,” Select Conference on Industry Litigation, California Building Industry Association, November 18, 2012.
Speaker, “Greenhouse Gas and Land Use Regulation and Development,” CLE International, San Francisco, California, July 27, 2012.
Speaker, “The Redwood City Saltworks Project,” University of California School of Law, Boalt Hall, Berkeley, California, November 22, 2011.
Speaker, “SB 375: Issues/Topics/Questions,” Urban Land Institute, Sustainable Development Council, Irvine, California, October 26, 2011.
Speaker, “California Land Use Law and the California Environmental Quality Act,” Pepperdine University School of Law, Malibu, California, February 7, 2011.
Speaker, “A Land Developer’s View on SB 375: How We Got Here; Where We’re Going,” Urban Land Institute, Los Angeles, California, April 27, 2010.
Speaker, “Federal and State Environmental Permits,” University of Southern California, Price School (Master’s Program in Real Estate Development), Los Angeles, California, September 11, 2008.
Speaker, “The Road to the Threatened and Endangered Species Reform Act of 2005 and Where to Next?” Select Conference on Industry Litigation, Santa Barbara, California, November 20, 2005.
Speaker, “Habitat Conservation Planning and Other Conservation Mechanisms—The Private Sector Viewpoint,” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Conservation Training Center, Cleveland, Ohio, November 16, 2004.
Best Lawyers in America (Land Use and Zoning Law), 2024–2025
Honoree, “Member From Industry,” California Infill Builders Federation
Exceptional Community Volunteer recognition:
- YMCA of Orange County
- Placentia Yorba Linda Unified School District
Adjunct Professor, Biola University, Crowell School of Business
Admitted to practice in the state of California and before the U.S. Supreme Court
Board Member, People for Housing Orange County
National chair, Environmental Issues Committee, National Association of Home Builders
Board Member, California Building Industry Association Board of Directors
Chair, Government Affairs Committee, California Building Industry Association
Co-chair, UCLA Extension’s Land Use Law and Planning Conference, 2021
Treasurer, Foundation for Environmental & Economic Progress (Washington, D.C.)
Lecturer/Instructor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Conservation Training Center
Lecturer/Instructor, University of California, Berkeley’s School of Law
Lecturer on various legal and real estate development topics
Editorial board member, California Climate Change Law & Policy Reporter, Argent Communications
Co-author, “BlackRock Suit Highlights Antitrust Risks Of ESG,” Law360, March 5, 2025.
Featured, “What Every Company Needs to Know About Climate Disclosure Bills SB 253 and SB 261,” Inspiring Perspectives Podcast, November 27, 2024.
Author, “California Doubles Down on Climate Disclosure Mandates,” American Bar Association, October 25, 2024.
Author, “A Narrow Window Of Opportunity To Fix Energy Transmission,” Law360, October 18, 2024
Quoted, “California Will Officially Require Climate Disclosures in 2026,” CSO Futures, October 2, 2024.
Co-author, “Fireproofing Against an Emerging Sponsorship Risk,” Sports Business Journal, September 11, 2024.
Quoted, “Bumblebee Represents Latest Endangered Species Challenge,” California Planning & Development Report, August 29, 2024.
Author, “Despite Calif. Delays, Climate Disclosure Rules Are Coming,” Law360, July 18, 2024.
Author, “Climate Disclosure Mandates Demand A Big-Picture Approach,” Law360, April 9, 2024.
Author, “New Regs Will Strengthen Voluntary Carbon Offset Market,” Law360, December 1, 2023.
Co-author, “California's Offshore Turbine Plans Face Stiff Headwinds,” Law360, November 1, 2023.
Author, “Why All Cos. Should Take Note Of Calif. GHG Disclosure Laws,” Law360, October 10, 2023.
Quoted, “Climate disclosure rules could bring added liability for companies,” Business Insurance, October 3, 2023.
Quoted, “Companies will have to disclose their emissions — whether they’re ready or not,” Semafor, September 8, 2023.
Author, “Calif.'s Clean Truck Regulations Fuel Uncertainty ,” Law360, May 19, 2023.
Author, “Carbon Capture and Sequestration - "Essential," But Too Little, Too Late? ,” Energy Law Journal, May 2023.
Quoted, “Remanding of Berkeley Natural Gas Ban Could Ripple Across the Nation,” California Energy Markets, April 21, 2023.
Quoted, “Supreme Court Poised to Scrap US Waters Test, Attorneys Say,” Bloomberg Law, October 4, 2022.
Author, “Calif. Mileage Limits Won't Solve Housing, Climate Problems,” Law360, April 4, 2022.
Author, “Congressional paralysis equals regulatory whiplash,” Daily Journal, October 22, 2021.
Co-author, “Controversial program targets warehouse emissions,” Daily Journal, July 12, 2021.
Co-author, “Endangered Species Act Update: Sweeping Regulations Already Adopted, With More Proposed, Will Profoundly Alter Implementation of the Act,” California Land Use Law and Policy Reporter (Feature Article), November 2020.
Author, “Coastal Property ‘Managed Retreat’ – A Sensible and Tempered Climate Mitigation Strategy or a Sacrificial Abandonment?,” Climate Change Law and Policy Reporter, April 30, 2020.
Author, “The Endangered Species Act: The High Court, the Services, and Congress All In Play!” California Land Use Law & Policy Reporter (Feature Article), August/September 2018.
Author, “California Greenhouse Gas Scoping Plan Revisions Take Aim at Land Use,” Climate Change Law & Policy Reporter (Feature Article), November 2017.
Author, “Is the State’s Cap-and-Trade Program a ‘Tax’?—Not According to the California Court of Appeal,” Climate Change Law & Policy Reporter, May 2017.
Author, “San Francisco Bay Area Grapples With Particulate Matter Pollution—and Size Does Matter,” Climate Change Law & Policy Reporter, May 2017.
Author, “San Francisco Bay Area Air District Releases Draft Clean Air Plan for 2017 and Beyond,” Climate Change Law & Policy Reporter, April 2017.
Author, “President Trump Proposes Major Cuts to EPA Budget and Staff,” Climate Change Law & Policy Reporter, April 2017.
Author, “The Endangered Species Act, Global Climate Change, and the Trump Administration,” Climate Change Law & Policy Reporter (Feature Article), March 2017.
Author, “California Looks to Housing and Land Use Policy to Play Ever-Increasing Role in Statewide Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategy,” Climate Change Law & Policy Reporter, February 2017.
Author, “President-Elect Trump’s Cabinet Choices and Climate Change— Where Might This All Be Heading?” Climate Change Law & Policy Reporter, January 2017.
Author, “Greenhouse Gas Strategies Courtesy of the Golden State Warriors Franchise—California Court of Appeal Upholds Project’s CEQA Analysis,” Climate Change Law & Policy Reporter, January 2017.
Author, “Newhall Ranch Announces It Will Be a ‘Net Zero’ Community,” Climate Change Law & Policy Reporter, December 2016.
Author, “Ninth Circuit Upholds Use of Climate Change Predictive Models as a Basis for Listing Species for Protection Under the Federal Endangered Species Act,” Climate Change Law & Policy Reporter, December 2016.
Author, “California High Speed Rail Barrels Through Another Potential Barrier,” Climate Change Law & Policy Reporter, November 2016.
Author, “Technology Promises a Salty Breakthrough in Making Solar Energy Storage More Efficient,” Climate Change Law & Policy Reporter, November 2016.
Author, “California Air Resources Board Scoping Plan Looks Beyond SB 375 for Transportation and Land Use Sector Reductions,” Climate Change Law & Policy Reporter, October 2016.
Author, “California Again Blazing Trail on Greenhouse Gas Reduction Commitments, Compliance With Passage of SB 32 and AB 197,” Climate Change Law & Policy Reporter, October 2016.
Co-author, “White House Council on Environmental Quality Issues Final Guidance on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Consideration Under NEPA,” Climate Change Law & Policy Reporter, August/September 2016.
Author, “Climate Change West Coast Battleground: Transportation Facilities and an Opposition to Coal,” Climate Change Law & Policy Reporter, August/September 2016.
Author, “Ninth Circuit Supports BLM Decision to Grant Right of Way on Public Lands to Facilitate Wind Project,” Climate Change Law & Policy Reporter, July 2016.
Author, “Environmentalists Continue Attacks on Mega Solar Project in Panoche Valley,” Climate Change Law & Policy Reporter, June 2016.
Author, “Massachusetts High Court Finds Real and Enforceable Teeth in Its Global Warming Solutions Act,” Climate Change Law & Policy Reporter, June 2016.
Author, “Attorneys General Investigate Exxon Mobil on Climate Change—What Did They Know and When Did They Know It?” Climate Change Law & Policy Reporter, May 2016.
Author, “EPA Region IX Administrator, Jared Blumenfeld, Steps Down,” Climate Change Law & Policy Reporter, May 2016.
Author, “Ninth Circuit Reinstates Polar Bear Critical Habitat Designation,” Climate Change Law & Policy Reporter, April 2016.
Author, “Oregon Governor Signs Into Law Nation’s First State Phaseout of Coal for Energy Generation—While California Bill Package Seeks to Halt Coal Shipments Through the State,” Climate Change Law & Policy Reporter, April 2016.
Author, “New Rules for Critical Habitat Designation Under the Endangered Species Act Heighten Stakes for Land Use Decisions,” California Land Use Law & Policy Reporter (Feature Article), March 2016.
Author, “Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries Issue New Rules for Critical Habitat Designation Under the Federal Endangered Species Act,” Climate Change Law & Policy Reporter, March 2016.
Author, “San Francisco Regional Air District and U.C. Berkeley Unveil ‘Consumption-Based’ Emission Inventory of Greenhouse Gases,” Climate Change Law & Policy Reporter, March 2016.
Author, “As to Determining Significance for New Development’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions, the California Supreme Court Giveth and Taketh Away,” Climate Change Law & Policy Reporter (Feature Article), February 2016.
Author, “Clean Water Act Jurisdiction by Executive Proclamation,” Stice & Block, LLP, Client Alert, May 30, 2015.
Author, “Federal Wildlife Agencies Propose Stricter, Recovery-Based Rule for Habitat Protection,” Stice & Block, LLP, Client Alert, May 11, 2014.
Author, “Litigation Under the Endangered Species Act: Economics Continue to Dominate Critical Habitat Cases . . . for Now,” California Land Use Law & Policy Reporter (Feature Article), February 2003.
Author, “Damned if They Do, Damned if They Don’t—Endangered Species Act Litigation Gridlock at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,” California Land Use Law & Policy Reporter (Feature Article), May 2002.
Author, “Stormwater Regulation: Regulatory Waters Muddy as the State Water Resources Control Board Endorses a More Aggressive Approach to Municipal Stormwater Permits,” California Land Use Law & Policy Reporter (Feature Article), February 2002.
Author, “Critical Habitat Under the Endangered Species Act: Key to Recovery or Unworkable Quagmire With Only Marginal Species Benefit?” California Land Use Law & Policy Reporter (Feature Article), January 2001.
Author, “[Critical Habitat] Designations Do Have Economic Impact,” Los Angeles Times, October 22, 2000.
Author, “Pre-TMDL ‘Interim’ Storm Water Programs Lack Scientific Foundation,” Environmental Liability, Enforcement & Penalties Reporter (Feature Article), September 2000.
Author, “Misapplication of California’s Unfair Competition Act: A Threat to Legislatively Mandated Certainty in the Land Use Realm,” California Land Use Law & Policy Reporter (Feature Article), January 2000.
Author, “Nationwide Permit Program Modification Increases Likelihood of Individual Permit Scrutiny for California Developers,” California Land Use Law & Policy Reporter (Feature Article), April 1997.
Co-author, “The Availability of Jury Trials in Land Use Litigation,” California Land Use Law & Policy Reporter, November 1996.
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California State Government and Regulatory Policy and Government Contracts
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Manatt Energy and Environment
Climate Change and Clean Energy
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