Manuela Albuquerque Of Counsel Oakland 1901 Harrison Street, Suite 900 Oakland, CA 94612-3501 510.273.8780 d 510.273.8780 t 510.839.9104 f malbuquerque@bwslaw.com Manuela Albuquerque, the firm s Director of Complex Public Litigation and Projects, was named one of the Top Municipal Lawyers in California in both 2012 and 2013 by the Daily Journal Newspaper. In Kapler v. City of Alameda in response to Ms. Albuquerque s special motion to strike, the California Court of Appeal dismissed virtually the entire multiple count complaint as a meritless Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP), awarding the City its related attorneys fees and costs, determined by the trial court to total $260,000. The plaintiff subsequently dismissed the case with prejudice. On June 20, 2013 she obtained reversal of another trial court denial of a city s anti-slapp motion in Gallant v. City of Alameda. Ms. Albuquerque successfully defended the City of Redding s contracting out of utility call center services in SEIU v. Redding. In October 2013, the superior court adopted a detailed statement of decision prepared by Ms. Albuquerque and the plaintiff union did not appeal. In April 2013, Ms. Albuquerque prepared a City of Glendale ordinance prohibiting the sale and possession of firearms on City property raising cutting edge constitutional issues. The ordinance was not challenged.
In February 2013, Ms. Albuquerque successfully defended the City of Stockton against claims that it was violating its Charter term limits provision having prevented attempts to disrupt the June and November 2012 municipal elections. In 2012, Ms. Albuquerque obtained summary denial of an appellate writ seeking to enjoin a new minor League baseball team, the San Rafael Civics, from commencing its opening season at a City park pursuant to a City permit. In another important case that year, Ms Albuquerque recovered $800,000 in City parking tax settlement for the City of Oakland and related legal concessions despite objections mounted on an array of federal and state constitutional and statutory grounds. Ms. Albuquerque served as the Berkeley City Attorney for twenty-two years from 1985 to 2007, the longest tenure of any city attorney in Berkeley s history, garnering numerous awards for her outstanding work. She advised the Berkeley City Council, Housing Authority, City Manager and staff, and over forty, nine-member City boards and commissions, while also litigating cases at every level of state and federal courts in conjunction with skilled in-house litigators. Ms. Albuquerque was the President of the City Attorney s Department of the League of California Cities from 1994-1995 and she represented City Attorneys on the League s Board of Directors from 2003-2005. Ms. Albuquerque combines wide-ranging expertise across the full spectrum of public law issues with significant litigation experience before state and federal trial and appellate courts. Through her litigation advocacy, Ms. Albuquerque has helped shape the law in favor of municipalities in many different areas including the First Amendment, equal protection, impairment of contract, takings, due process, CEQA, charter city powers, tax issues, rent control, subsidized housing, and housing element law. She has served on many important City Attorney Department Committees including ethics, due process, and Proposition 218. Ms. Albuquerque was the recipient of a California Lawyer of the Year award and a Top Women Litigators award in 2007 for her advocacy in Evans v. City of Berkeley before the California Supreme Court. She was selected as the Public Lawyer of the Year by the State Bar of California s Public Law Section in 2005.
Representative Matters Black Property Owners Ass'n v. City of Berkeley Chapman v. Superior Court City of Berkeley v. Cukierman Davis v. City of Berkeley Evans v. City of Berkeley Fisher v. City of Berkeley Fisher v. City of Berkeley Kajima/Ray Wilson v. Metropolitan Transportation Authority Marina v. Board of Trustees of the California State University Morongo Band of Mission Indians v. State Water Resources Control Board RUI One Corporation v. City of Berkeley Saad v. City of Berkeley Presentations Striking Out the Plaintiff Using The Anti-SLAPP Statute, (Code of Civil Procedure Section 425. 16); What, Who, Where, When, Why and How, League of California Cities Webinar, July 18, 2013 Demystifying Due Process for Decision Makers: The Top Ten List, League of California Cities Annual Conference, September 2012 How to Litigate a Writ of Mandate Case, League of California Cities, City Attorneys' Department Spring Conference, May 2011 Due Process In Local Administrative Hearings After The California Supreme Court s Opinion in Morongo Band of Mission Indians v. California State Water Resources Control Board, 45 Cal.4th 731 (2009), County Counsels' Association of California Fall Conference, October 2009 Due Process In Local Administrative Hearings After The California Supreme Court s Opinion in Morongo Band of Mission Indians v. California State Water Resources Control Board, 45 Cal.4th 731 (2009), League of California Cities, City Attorneys' Department Spring Conference, May 2009
Ethical Principles for City Attorneys, City Attorneys' Department Spring Conference, May 2005 Practicing Ethics: A Handbook for Municipal Lawyers, 2004 Procedural Due Process Limitations on the Municipal Lawyer Combining Quasi-Judicial and Prosecutorial or Investigatory Functions, League of California Cities City Attorneys' Spring Conference, Spring 2004 Public Lawyers as Whistle-Blowers: Proposed Revisions to State Bar Rule of Professional Conduct 3-600, City Attorneys' Spring Conference, 2002 The City Attorney - Monitor, Mentor or Meddler?, City Attorneys' Annual Conference, Spring 1999 City Attorney Ethical Issues, City Attorneys' Spring Conference, Spring 1993 General Municipal Litigation Update, City Attorneys' Annual Conference, 1992 General Municipal Litigation Update, City Attorneys' Spring Conference, 1992 General Municipal Litigation Update, City Attorneys' Annual Conference, 1991 The Local Response to the Issues Regarding the Homeless, City Attorneys' Department Spring Conference, Spring 1987 San Diego Navy Federal Credit Union v. Cumis Insurance Society: Its Implications for Public Entities, City Attorneys' Spring Conference, Spring 1985 Publications Brown Act Compliance for City Legislative Bodies: The Top Ten List, 2012 Ethical Principles for City Attorneys, May 2005 City Attorneys' Department Practicing Ethics: A Handbook for Municipal Lawyers, 2004 League of California Cities Joint Defense of Suits brought Against Public Entities and Their Employees: Are Conflicts Manufactured or Real, 2000 Vol. 23, No. 4, Public Law Journal 5 (2000) California and Dillon: The Times They Are a-changing, Winter 1998 2 Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly 187 Preemption Unveiled - The Full Monty, June 1998 Western City Magazine
The Invisible Hand and the Clenched Fist: Is There a Safe Way to Picket Under the First Amendment?, 1975 26 Hastings Law Journal 167 Recognitions Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers - Martindale-Hubbell - 2013 Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers - Martindale-Hubbell - 2012 Preeminent Attorney - Martindale-Hubbell - 2012 Top Municipal Lawyers - Daily Journal - 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award, South Asian Bar Association - 2010 California Lawyer of the Year Award, California Lawyer Magazine - 2007 Top Women Litigator Award, Daily Journal - 2007 California State University, Bakersfield Alumni Hall of Fame - 2007 Public Lawyer of the Year Award, California State Bar Public Law Section - 2005 Overall Community Service Award, California State Bar Minority Bar Coalition - 2005 Role Model Award, Clara Folz Feminist Association, Hastings College of the Law - 2002 Trailblazer Award, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association - 2000 Asian Pacific American Leadership Fellow - 1999 Outstanding Contributions to the Community, Indians for Collective Action - 1999 Asian American Women of Hope in the United States, Bread and Roses Cultural Project - 1997 Outstanding Service to the South Asian Community, South Asian Bar Assocation - 1997 PRACTICE GROUPS Litigation
Public Law EDUCATION University of California, Hastings College of the Law J.D., 1975 California State University, Bakersfield B.A., Economics, 1972 Miranda House Delhi University, Delhi, India B.A., Economics, 1970 ADMISSIONS State Bar of California Supreme Court of the United States United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit United States District Court for the Central District of California United States District Court for the Northern District of California MEMBERSHIPS & ASSOCIATIONS Asian American Bar Association Chair, League of California Cities Nominating Committee, Spring 1999 Chair, Municipal Law Practitioners' Directory Committee 1992-1993 City Attorney's Department Municipal Law Institute Committee City Attorneys' Department Due Process Committees 2005 & 2008 City Attorneys' Department Executive Committee 2003-2005 City Attorneys' Department Representative on League of California Cities Board of Directors 2003-2005 First Vice-President, City Attorneys' Department 1992-1993 League of California Cities President, City Attorneys' Department 1994-1995 Second Vice-President, City Attorneys' Department 1991-1992