Kevin Jon Daehnke

Daehnke Cruz Law Group has been a firm for 17 years.  John Cruz and Kevin Daehnke both come from big law firm backgrounds, including Finley Kumble (John Cruz), Fulop & Hardee (Kevin Daehnke) and Hill, Farrer and Burrill (Mr. Daehnke).  In 2005 John Cruz took a leave of absence from the firm to join Governor Schwarzenegger's staff.  He served the Governor for several years, for the last three years in the Governor's Cabinet,  as the Secretary of Appointments.

Kevin Daehnke has long been interested in "green" environmental legal issues, including clean, renewable sources of alternative energy and the reuse and revitalization of contaminated "Brownfields" properties.  He wrote his Honor's Thesis in college on "The Economies of Scale in Energy Research and Development," and wrote a dissertation in law school on "The Legal Implications of Ocean Energy Farms."  In 1983, Mr. Daehnke served as Editor-in-Chief of USC Law School's Journal of Law and the Environment and served from 1984-1988 as Chair of the USC Environmental Law Advisory Board.  He has written many articles on Brownfields and contaminated property issues over the years and is a frequent speaker or panelist at environmental programs and conferences. 

Mr. Daehnke's practice focuses mainly on legal issues and problem resolution strategies pertaining to contaminated properties and Brownfields redevelopment.   Mr. Daehnke serves on the Executive Committee of the National Brownfield Association, California Chapter.  He is also a founding member of the Brownfields Committee of the California Redevelopment Association, and is at the forefront of Brownfields legislative and regulatory changes.  With the enactment and increased nationwide awareness of the "ground lease bifurcated cleanup" model of SB 989, a new Brownfields tool created by Mr. Daehnke and his firm, Mr. Daehnke will be expanding his practice to include the siting of alternative energy projects on contaminated Brownfield sites.

Kevin Daehnke lives at the beach in San Clemente, California with his wife, Patricia ("Tricia") and their two young children.  Tricia Daehnke is an accomplished trial lawyer and is a past President of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, past Chair of LACBA's Litigation Section and a prior member of the LACBA  Board of Trustees.  Mr. Daehnke most enjoys just spending time with his family.  He enjoys fishing, camping, vacationing, good movies, sailing, sledding/skiing, beach activities and reading.