Mr. Gagen serves as General Counsel to County Water Districts, and Special Counsel to municipalities and private landowners, in Southern California.  Mr. Gagen regularly provides advice and representation in all aspects of local agency governance and operation, including public contracting, property rights, Public Records Act requests, LAFCO, ethics compliance and conflicts of interest, Prop 218, Claims Act compliance, and Brown Act compliance.

 

Mr. Gagen also assists the firm’s clients with their litigation needs, including matters involving groundwater contamination, water rights, inverse condemnation, eminent domain, and Prop 218.  Mr. Gagen’s assistance includes attending settlement conferences and hearings in state and federal court and preparing court documents (motions and pleadings) in support of, or in opposition to, the aforementioned matters.

 

Prior to joining Kidman Gagen Law, Mr. Gagen practiced toxic tort litigation and business litigation for 10 years.  Mr. Gagen is a seasoned negotiator as evidenced by the 100+ settlement conferences that he has attended during his career.  Each of these settlement conferences involved multi-party and complex science-based issues.

 

At the start of his career, Mr. Gagen assisted the County of Orange during the CEQA/NEPA process for the proposed Orange County International Commercial Airport project.  Mr. Gagen clerked for both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Region 5, Chicago, and the Department of Justice, Environmental Enforcement Section, in Washington, D.C.  Today, Mr. Gagen is married with two young children, and is an avid Michigan wolverine and Angels fan.

 

ADMITTED

2000, California and U.S. District Court, Southern, Central and Eastern Districts of California

 

EDUCATION

Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology (J.D., Certificate Program in Environmental and Energy Law, 2000) 

University of Michigan (B.S. in Natural Resources and Environment, 1997)

 

PUBLICATION

WHAT IS AN ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERT? The Impact of Daubert, Joiner, and Kumho Tire on the Admissibility of Scientific Expert Evidence, 19 UCLA J. Envtl. Law & Pol’y 2/401 (2002).

 

ORGANIZATIONS AND ACTIVITIES

Association of California Water Agencies

Orange County Bar Association, Member, Environmental Law Section

State Bar of California, Member, Environmental Law Section