Noreen Marie Evans

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Noreen is certified by the State Bar as an appellate specialist. She has decades of experience in civil appeals and in civil litigation. As a former State Legislator, Evans offers a unique background and perspective for your case on appeal and at trial. She has argued numerous cases in the state and federal trial and appellate courts and the California Supreme Court, involving land use, environmental law, CEQA, trust litigation, and personal injury litigation. She is the author of numerous pieces of significant legislation, including the Electronic Discovery Act, the Expedited Jury Trial Act, and the Homeowners Bill of Rights, the first law of its kind in the nation providing homeowners certain rights in foreclosure proceedings.

Noreen has been practicing law since 1982. While in law school, she clerked for the Third District Court of Appeal. She served in the California State Legislature for a decade and was responsible for numerous pieces of legislation relating to the administration of justice. In 2012, she was honored by the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court with the Stanley Mosk Defender of Justice Award. She chaired the State Senate Committee on the Judiciary and served on the Judicial Council for 4 years. She also co-chaired a statewide committee on access to justice.

EDUCATION

Noreen received her BA degree in Government (with honors) in 1978 from California State University, Sacramento. She graduated from University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law in 1981. In her third year at McGeorge, she wrote for and edited the first-ever edition of the Silversheets, a review of Nevada law.

After graduation from law school, Noreen studied International Business Law at the University of Salzburg, Austria, She completed an international law internship in Dublin, Ireland with A & L Goodbody, Solicitors.

EARLY LEGAL CAREER

From 1980-81, Noreen clerked for Justice Edwin Regan of the Third District Court of Appeal in Sacramento.

In 1982, Noreen was hired as an associate at Spridgen, Barrett, Achor, Luckhardt, Anderson, James & Ziegler, at that time the oldest and largest law firm north of the Golden Gate Bridge. Noreen was the firm’s first full-time female litigation attorney.

When the Spridgen firm dissolved later that year, Noreen became a litigation associate with Gray, O’Brien, Watters & Davis. She was made an equity partner in 1987.

PUBLIC SERVICE

In 1993, Noreen was appointed to the Santa Rosa Planning Commission, where she worked extensively with land use planning issues and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). She helped the City adopt its first Child Care Plan and Creek Restoration Plan.

In 1996, Noreen was elected to the Santa Rosa City Council, She served two terms on the City Council. As a City Councilmember, she was responsible for implementing the Creek Restoration Plan, the City’s Bike Plan, working to build the Prince Memorial Greenway on Santa Rosa Creek. Her vision, when first elected, was to build a passenger rail system and restore Santa Rosa’s downtown, including reunifying Courthouse Square. More than 2 decades later, this vision has become a reality with SMART rail service beginning in 2017, and Santa Rosa’s reunified Square.

In 2004, Noreen was elected to represent the 7th Assembly District in the California State Assembly. While in the Assembly, she was appointed by the Speaker to chair the Joint Legislative Committee on Budget in 2008, and charged with balancing the State’s budget during the global economic crisis of 2009/2010.

In 2010, Noreen was elected to the State Senate to represent the 2nd Senate District, including Solano, Napa, Marin, Sonoma, Lake, Mendocino and Humboldt Counties. In 2012, she chaired the Joint Legislative Committee on California’s Foreclosure Crisis, which resulted in the passage of The Homeowners Bill of Rights (AB 278/SB 900). The Homeowners Bill of Rights implements the historic 49-State Attorneys General settlement with five of the national’s largest banks and was the first of its kind in the nation. Noreen also chaired the Joint Legislative Women’s Caucus in 2010-2012 and served on the State Commission on the Status of Women.

From 2010-2014, Noreen chaired the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. and served four years on the Judicial Council, the governing body for all State courts.

In 2011, Noreen was honored as the first and only woman to receive the Judicial Council’s Stanley Mosk Defender of Justice Award for her decades of work ensuring access to justice.

Noreen is a founding Director of the Leadership Institute for Ecology and the Economy, located in Sonoma County and formerly served on the Board of Directors of Greenbelt Alliance.

RECENT LEGAL CAREER

Noreen returned to the full-time practice of law after completing her term in the State Senate in late 2014. Since then, she has been Of Counsel to O'Brien Watters & Davis, LLP, where she has handled numerous civil cases in the trial and appellate courts. Her practice focuses primarily on civil appeals and writs. In 2018, she won a significant victory for a local neighborhood organization in a high-profile matter against the County of Sonoma, based on the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Her clients not only obtained a writ of mandate compelling the County to invalidate its development agreement, but they also recovered all of their fees and costs. Noreen recently successfully argued a groundbreaking case in the 9th Circuit, limiting the IRS' ability to obtain taxpayer records by subpoena. (JB v. United States, 916 F.3d 1161 (9th Cir., 2019.) In addition to her appellate and writ practice, she is representing thousands of local plaintiffs in litigation arising out of the 2017 wildfires in Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino Counties.

PUBLIC OFFICES HELD

1993-1996 Planning Commissioner, City of Santa Rosa
1996-2004 City Councilmember, City of Santa Rosa
2004-2010 Assemblymember, CA State Assembly
2010-2014 Senator, CA State Senate

COMMITTEES CHAIRED

Assembly Human Services
Assembly Committee on Budget
Joint Legislative Committee on Budget
Senate Committee on Judiciary
Senate Committee on Banking & Financial Institutions
Assembly Select Committee on Wine
Senate Select Committee on Wine
Legislative Women’s Caucus

LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE AND CAUCUS MEMBERSHIPS

Senate Legislative Ethics Committee
Senate Human Services
Senate Committee on Budget
Senate Natural Resources
Senate Governmental Organization
Assembly Judiciary
Assembly Human Services
Assembly Committee on Budget
Assembly Committee on Banking & Finance
Assembly Committee on Toxic Materials
Assembly Governmental Organization
Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture
Assembly Select Committee on Foster Care
Legislative Women’s Caucus
Senate Rural Caucus
Senate Caucus on Ending Poverty and Inequality in California

LEGAL MEMBERSHIPS

Judicial Council 2011- 2014
Law Revision Commission 2005-2008
Commission on the Status of Women 2006-2014
CA Coastal Conservancy 2008--2014
CA Bar Association - Current member
Sonoma County Bar Association - Current member

SIGNIFICANT LEGAL AWARDS

McGeorge School of Law Distinguished Alumni 2015

California Judges Association, Legislator of the Year 2010
Judicial Council, Stanley Mosk Defender of Justice Award 2012
Consumer Attorneys of California, Legislator of the Year 2013

SIGNIFICANT LEGISLATION AUTHORED

ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE
Electronic Discovery Act (AB 5 of 2009; now Code of Civil Procedure §§ et seq.) Establishes rules for discovery of electronically-stored information in civil cases
Expedited Jury Trial Act (SB 2284 of 2010; now Code of Civil Procedure §§ et seq.) Reduces the number of jurors in small civil cases
Small Claims Court: (AB 712 of 2009 amending Code of Civil Procedure §) Enables Small Claims Courts to grant equitable relief
State Bar Governance Reform: (SB 163 of 2011) Reformed the governance structure of the California State Bar Association, expanding public participation and improving accountability.

FORECLOSURES
Homeowners Bill of Rights (SB 900, 2012)

WINERIES
Non-profit donations: AB 323 (2007) enabling wineries to donate wine to non-profit organizations
Winery picnic areas: AB 2004 (2008) allowing visitors to a winery to drink wine in the winery picnic area
Tasting events: AB 2090 (2008) creating a temporary license to allow wine grape commissions, associations and other organizations to organize tasting events
Second tasting rooms: AB 1470 (2009) allowing second tasting rooms not located on winery grounds
Sonoma County wines: AB 1798 (2010) protecting wine produced in Sonoma County by establishing stricter labeling requirements

OTHER
Veterans: SB 10 (2011) Permits Allied Councils to represent the interests of veterans in Veterans Homes before the State Legislature
County fairs: AB 2258 (2008) protecting county fair funding originating from licensing fees on horseracing events
Consumer protection: AB 1216 (2009; amending Food & Agriculture Code §29413) requiring labeling for honey produced in California
Criminal Justice: SB 59 (2013) broadens the statutory definition of rape to include rape by fraud