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San Francisco

T(415) 273-7458

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Education

  • J.D., Indiana University Maurer School of Law

  • M.P.A, Indiana University O'Neill School of Public & Environmental Affairs

  • B.A., magna cum laude, California State University, Fresno

Bar Admissions

  • California

Court Admissions

  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

  • U.S. District Court, Central District of California

Services

  • Land Use

  • Environmental & Natural Resources

Tara E. Paul

Senior Counsel

Tara is a senior counsel in the San Francisco office and a member of the Land Use & Environmental and Natural Resources practices. She represents clients in complex litigation and provides regulatory and strategic advice on a number of land use, environmental, and water law issues. She has drafted briefs and argued motions in federal and state trial and appellate courts. Tara’s water law experience includes representing clients in water rights and groundwater contamination disputes, and she has counseled clients on issues arising under the California Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), Brown Act, Public Records Act, and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). 

Tara regularly speaks on water law and also maintains an active pro bono practice focused on immigration. She was a clerk with the 5th District of the California Court of Appeal, and was a Research Fellow at Cambridge University's Lauterpacht Centre for International Law where she studied natural resource revenues as a tool for facilitating peace agreements in post-conflict countries.

ACCOLADES

  • Named to The Best Lawyers in America® "Ones to Watch" list (2023 - 2025)

Tara regularly speaks on water law and also maintains an active pro bono practice focused on immigration. She was a clerk with the 5th District of the California Court of Appeal, and was a Research Fellow at Cambridge University's Lauterpacht Centre for International Law where she studied natural resource revenues as a tool for facilitating peace agreements in post-conflict countries.

ACCOLADES

  • Named to The Best Lawyers in America® "Ones to Watch" list (2023 - 2025)
  • Real Estate Land Use Conversions — Environmental Considerations

    LACBA 
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    1.31.25

  • Renewable Energy Update

    8.01.25

  • Special Water Supply Edition: California Environmental Law & Policy Update

    7.25.25

  • Renewable Energy Update

    7.24.25

  • Renewable Energy Update

    7.17.25

  • Renewable Energy Update

    7.10.25

  • Renewable Energy Update 

    7.03.25

  • Renewable Energy Update

    6.27.25

  • Renewable Energy Update

    6.20.25

  • DWR and Water Board Propose Key Updates to Desalination Policy Framework

    6.18.25

  • Every Drop Counts: Urban Water Retailers and the Future of California Water Conservation

    6.18.25

  • Renewable Energy Update

    6.12.25

  • Renewable Energy Update

    6.06.25

  • Allen Matkins Advises The Nature Conservancy on Landmark Point Reyes Conservation Agreement

    Announcement

    1.13.25

  • From Waves to Wells: Seawater Desalination and Coastal Groundwater Basins

    Natural Resources & Environment Volume 39, Number 2, Fall 2024

    Article

    12.19.24

  • Renewable Energy Update

    12.19.24

  • California Increases Fines for Unauthorized Water Diversions and Uses

    10.23.24

  • 64 Allen Matkins Lawyers Recognized in Best Lawyers in America®

    Press Release

    8.15.24

  • SGMA at 10 Years: Navigating California’s Groundwater Future

    5.23.24

  • Dissecting Discharges: Recent Ninth Circuit Rulings and EPA Guidelines Interpreting the Clean Water Act

    12.21.23

  • Updates on California Water Law: New Legislation and Regulations

    10.18.23

  • U.S. Supreme Court Will Clarify the Constitutionality of Legislatively-Authorized Land Use Exaction Fees

    10.09.23

  • 38 Allen Matkins Partners Recognized in 2024 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America®; Keith Bishop, Jeff Chine, and Val Hoy Named ‘Lawyers of the Year’; 16 Additional Lawyers Named to ‘Ones to Watch’ List

    Press Release

    8.17.23

  • Court of Appeal Upholds Decision that State Water Board Lacks Jurisdiction to Curtail Water Use by Pre-1914 Water Rights Holders

    9.20.22

  • 40 Allen Matkins Partners Recognized in 2023 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America®; Dwight Armstrong, Jeff Chine, Val Hoy, and Sandi Nichols Named ‘Lawyers of the Year’; 13 Additional Attorneys Named to ‘Ones to Watch’ List; Firm Receives National Tier 1 Rankings

    Press Release

    8.19.22

  • Drought Continues and Groundwater Regulations Heat Up in California

    3.16.22

  • 2021 Land Use, Environmental & Natural Resources Update

    3.25.21

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