Lori Anne Dolqueist and Steve Kaufmann Recognized as “Lawyers of the Year”
Lori Anne Dolqueist and Steve Kaufmann were recently recognized as “Lawyers of the Year” in their practice areas and regions for 2024 by The Best Lawyers in America. Only a single lawyer in each practice area and community is honored with a “Lawyer of the Year” award.
Lori was recognized in the San Francisco region as “Lawyer of the Year” in the Utilities Law category. Her practice focuses on water, energy, transportation and telecommunications regulatory matters before the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). She is experienced in representing clients in utility mergers and acquisitions, rate cases, investigations, rulemakings and other aspects of state and federal regulation. Lori has specialized expertise in California utility regulatory matters, with particular focus on matters involving water utilities. In recent years, she has been actively engaged by her utility clients in increasingly complex general rate cases before the CPUC and is able to deliver optimal results through both settlement negotiations and CPUC litigation. She has also represented clients in the accelerating number of mergers and acquisitions taking place in the utility industry in California, and has obtained timely approval of such transactions with favorable terms. Lori was previously recognized as a “Lawyer of the Year” for 2022.
Steve was recognized in the Los Angeles region as “Lawyer of the Year” in the Litigation: Land Use and Zoning Law category. He has more than four decades of experience representing the California Coastal Commission and landowners, developers, public entities and public utilities with matters before that agency. His work has involved a broad array of Coastal Commission administrative matters, as well as a substantial amount of litigation involving challenges to or defense of Commission decisions. Steve's expertise includes every aspect of California coastal regulation including coastal development permits, appeals, federal consistency certification review and appeals to the Secretary of Commerce, exemptions, local coastal programs, port master plans, public works plans, enforcement, and legislation, as well as related local entitlements and compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Steve was also previously recognized as a “Lawyer of the Year” for 2022.
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Its methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.