As an associate with the Firm, Heather Kenny concentrates her practice in the areas of elections law, conflicts of interest, and land use and planning and zoning, including matters involving initiatives, referenda and recalls; the Ralph M. Brown Act; the Public Records Act; Government Code Section 1090 and the Political Reform Act; and various planning and zoning-related laws.
Prior to affiliating with the Firm, Ms. Kenny served as City Attorney for the City of Plymouth, where she advised the City Council and City Staff on issues ranging from open government and the Public Records Act, to CEQA and land use and public works projects. Ms. Kenny also worked as a key advisor to a multi-million dollar joint powers agency that purchased, generated, transmitted, distributed, sold and interchanged electric energy.
In addition, Ms. Kenny has worked for numerous cities and special districts in Northern and Southern California, advising them on a variety of general government-related legal issues, as well as working as special counsel, focusing on elections matters. Last year, Ms. Kenny gave eight speeches on elections law to city attorneys and city clerks, including three statewide speeches on Ballot Arguments, Candidates’ Statements and Ballot Designations for the League of California Cities. Ms. Kenny is a recognized expert in elections law.
Before and during law school, Ms. Kenny worked full time for former Senator Dick Ackerman, who recently finished out his term in the California State Senate. Ms. Kenny spent approximately eight years working for Senator Ackerman as a District Representative and Press Liaison and another year prior to that working for former Governor Pete Wilson as a Special Assistant in Governor Wilson’s Orange County Office.
Ms. Kenny obtained her law degree from Chapman University School of Law. While there, she was a member of the Chapman University Law Review, where she served as an Articles Editor, and concentrated her studies in Environmental, Land Use, and Real Estate law. Ms. Kenny also served on the Appellate Moot Court Honors Board, and she was selected during her third year to brief and orally argue an appeals case in front of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Affiliations
American Bar Association
Admissions
State Bar of California
US District Court, Central District of CA
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