Derek R. Hoffman

Senior Associate

Derek Hoffman assists clients in a wide range of matters encompassing water law and water rights, mining, real estate, business and eminent domain.  Derek represents landowners, developers, farmers, water districts, mutual water companies and regional to multi-national business entities in obtaining, evaluating, protecting and litigating water rights and supplies.  His practice includes guiding clients through the implementation of California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act and other state and federal laws governing natural resources management including Urban Water Management Plans, Water Supply Assessments and Propositions 218 and 26.  He also regularly writes and speaks on important water law issues.   With an undergraduate education in accounting and a graduate degree in real estate development, Derek is knowledgeable in the principles of real estate finance and valuation. His expertise is particularly valuable in obtaining maximum compensation for clients in eminent domain proceedings, as well as in lease negotiations, real estate and business transactions, landlord/tenant disputes, evictions and collections lawsuits. Prior to joining Gresham|Savage, Derek clerked at a prestigious water and environmental law firm and worked as a judicial extern for the U.S. District Court, District of Utah. He also ran a property management business.

Publications

California Lawyer

Expert Advice – Comprehensive Groundwater Adjudications: New Rules of Engagement for Resolving Groundwater Disputes
www.callawyer.com
Published March 2016

California Water Law & Policy Reporter

Feature Article – California’s Water Supply: How Bad Is It? Will El Niño Save Us?
February 2016

Feature Article – California Governor Brown’s Unprecedented April 1, 2015 Drought Executive Order Is No Joke
May 2015

California Department of Water Resources Publishes Best Management Practices and Guidance for Sustainable Groundwater Management
February 2017

Class Action Lawsuit Tests Constitutional Limits of Tiered Rates and Penalties Imposed for Excessive Water Use
January 2017

California Lays Groundwork for Implementing First-Ever Permanent, Budget-Based Water Use Conservation Targets
December 2016

State Water Resources Control Board Releases Proposed Phase I Update to Bay-Delta Plan, Calls for Higher Instream Flows in San Joaquin River
November 2016

California Supreme Court Rejects Federal Preemption Challenges—Upholds State Law Restrictions Against Suction Dredge Mining in Waters on Federal Land
October 2016

California Supreme Court Finds State Officials May Conduct Pre-Condemnation Environmental and Geological Activities on Privately Owned Delta Lands
August/September 2016

Department of Water Resources Adopts Final Groundwater Sustainability Plan Regulations
July 2016

San Diego County Water Authority Files Fourth Lawsuit Against Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Over Water Rates
June 2016

Local Residents Reject Paso Robles Water District, Opt Instead for County and Possibly State Groundwater Management
May 2016

California Senate Bill Seeks to Add Regulatory Hurdles for New Groundwater Wells before the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act Is Fully Implemented
April 2016

Third District Court Finds Department of Fish and Wildlife Strictly Liable in Action for Inverse Condemnation for Flood Damage at Coastal Lagoon
March 2016

Sixth District Court Finds Groundwater Extraction Fees Are for Water Service and Subject to Proposition 218
January 2016

California Senate Bill 758 Looks to the Skies for Answers, Authorizes Study of ‘Atmospheric Rivers’
December 2015

Chaptered California Senate Bill 13 Expands and Amends The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act
November 2015

California Department of Water Resources Lists Critically Overdrafted Groundwater Basins Under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act
October 2015

Department of Water Resources Addresses Outdoor Water Use with Model Water Efficiency Landscape Ordinance
August 2015

California Public Utilities Commission Issues Drought Restrictions in Response to Governor Brown’s 25% Reduction Mandate
July 2015

Fourth District Court of Appeal Rejects Budget-Based Tiered Water Rates for Failure to Comply with Proposition 218
June 2015

State Water Resources Control Board Approves Joint Petition for Temporary Water Transfers and Exchanges in Response to Drought
June 2015

L.A. Department of Water and Power Water System Seismic Resilience and Sustainability Program Estimated to Cost Roughly $15 Billion Over 20 Years
May 2015

California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act Kicks in Prompting the Formation of Local Sustainability Agencies to Avoid Direct State Management
April 2015

California Land Use Law & Policy Reporter

Feature Article – California WaterFix and Eminent Domain Law—California Supreme Court Finds State Officials May Conduct Pre-Condemnation Environmental and Geological Activities on Privately Owned Lands
August/September 2016

L.A. Department of Water and Power Water System Seismic Resilience and Sustainability Program Estimated to Cost Roughly $15 Billion Over 20 Years
May 2015

Climate Change Law & Policy Reporter

California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act Kicks in Prompting the Formation of Local Sustainability Agencies to Avoid Direct State Management
April 2015

Affiliations

• California Association of Realtors Legal Affairs Forum
• Riverside County Bar Association
• San Bernardino County Bar Association
• The Pick Group Young Professionals of Riverside
• J. Reuben Clark Law Society
• Groundwater Resources Association of California
• CalWaterPAC
• CalMutuals

Presentations

Navigating SGMA Implementation – Insights and Experiences in Achieving True GSA Representation for Private Pumper Interests: Negotiate, Adjudicate, or Both?
California Water Law & Policy Conference
San Francisco, California
June 2016

Water Rights in California:
Water Rights Evaluations
National Business Institute
Pasadena and Ventura, California
January 2016

The California Sustainable Groundwater Management Act: Transformational Change in Extracting California’s New ‘Gold’
MCLE Presentation
San Bernardino, California
February 2015

What Happens When CEQA Documents are Improperly Filed, Not Properly Noticed or Filed Too Late?
California Association of Clerks & Election Officials New Law Conference
Sacramento, California
December 2014

Reconfiguring Infrastructure: The Sites and San Luis Reservoir Proposals
California Water Law & Policy Conference
San Francisco, California
June 2014

The California Homeowner Bill of Rights:
New Homeowner Protections in the
Non-Judicial Foreclosure Process
MCLE Presentation
San Bernardino, California
October 2013

Equity Crowdfunding: A Game-Changer for Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses Seeking Capital
MCLE Presentation
San Bernardino, California
October 2013

Representative Matters

• Representing over twenty entities in Antelope Valley Groundwater Adjudication through multiple phases of trial, stipulated final judgment, Watermaster formation and pending appeals.
• Guiding mutual water companies and agricultural producers through implementation of California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act in several groundwater basins, including “critically overdrafted” basin.
• Conducting water rights evaluations for regional to multi-national businesses.
• Drafting water district ordinances, resolutions, and rules and regulations for water service.
• Representing landlords in unlawful detainer proceedings and litigation involving complex commercial leases and financial damages analysis.
• Advising real estate brokers and agents regarding compliance with evolving California real estate law.