Practice Areas

Primary practice areas

Bren's practice centers on housing regulation and construction, with a companion practice holding local governments to the transparency and fee rules that bind them.

Real Estate,
Land Use & Zoning

Real Estate, Land Use & Zoning

Guiding property owners through complex permitting processes, regulatory hurdles, and land use disputes, including filing writs of mandate to overturn unlawful decisions. Bren advised the City of Berkeley's Planning and Development Department, including Building & Safety, and drafted amendments to the City's Demolition Ordinance and its Accessory Dwelling Unit Ordinance. He now uses that experience on behalf of owners and applicants.

Entitlement and permitting strategy for residential and mixed-use projects
Accessory Dwelling Unit applications, denials, and negotiated exemptions
Recently adopted state pro-housing legislation, and cities that will not or cannot implement it
Administrative appeals to zoning adjustments boards, planning commissions, and city councils
Writ of mandate petitions challenging permit denials, conditions of approval, and revocations
Variance, use permit, design review, and nonconforming use questions
Demolition ordinance issues, code enforcement actions, and administrative citations

Construction
Litigation

Construction Litigation

Aggressive representation in high-stakes construction defect, delay, and contract disputes. As a city attorney, Bren oversaw complex litigation over construction defects in major public works projects, which is a useful vantage point when the dispute involves a public owner, a bonded contractor, or a project built under public specifications.

Construction defect and workmanship claims
Contractor delay, disruption, and schedule disputes
Change order disagreements and breach of contract
Overcharges, cost-plus accounting, and billing disputes
Mechanic's lien and stop-notice issues
Unlicensed contractor and Contractors State License Board matters

Landlord-Tenant
Law

Landlord-Tenant Law

Resolving intricate and high-conflict residential leasing disputes, particularly in jurisdictions layering local rent stabilization and just-cause requirements on top of state law. Bren has worked this area from every seat: five years as counsel to the Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board, years representing tenants at the East Bay Community Law Center, and work with State Assembly Members on landlord-tenant legislation, including language that became state law through AB 2610.

Rent stabilization and rent board proceedings
Just-cause and termination-of-tenancy questions
Habitability and repair disputes
Owner move-in, withdrawal, and relocation-assistance issues
Security deposit and rent-overcharge claims
Unlawful detainer defense and related civil litigation
Challenges to administrative hearing decisions by writ

Government
Transparency

Government Transparency

Advising and litigating matters involving open meetings rules, the California Public Records Act, and local compliance with state mandates, for residents, journalists, neighborhood groups, and businesses seeking answers from their local government. Bren spent ten years on the other side of these requests, advising departments on what the law required them to disclose.

California Public Records Act requests, denials, and enforcement petitions
Ralph M. Brown Act open meeting compliance and cure-and-correct demands
Agenda, notice, and closed session challenges
Records retention and electronic communications questions
Local compliance with mandates imposed by state law

Fighting
Excessive Fees

Challenging Excessive Local Fees

Advising on compliance with Proposition 218 and Proposition 26, which imposed constitutional limits on the way local governments adopt new fees and on the amount of those fees. A charge that exceeds the cost of the service, or that is really a tax in a fee's clothing, is vulnerable, but the deadlines and protest procedures are unforgiving.

Analysis of whether a charge is a fee or a tax requiring voter approval
Proposition 218 notice, protest, and hearing procedures
Development impact fee and Mitigation Fee Act challenges
Refund claims and government claim-presentation requirements

Police
Litigation

Police Litigation

Handling sensitive civil matters involving police liability and local compliance with police accountability laws. Bren advised the Berkeley Police Department on regulatory compliance, disciplinary matters, officer-involved shootings, public records, and the City's Police Accountability Board, and supported the staff engaged in Berkeley's Public Safety Re-Imagining process. He does not accept any matter in which that prior service would create a conflict.

Civil claims arising from law enforcement conduct
Government claim presentation and deadlines
Access to peace officer records under state disclosure laws
Local oversight board, policy, and accountability compliance issues

A note on this list. The practice areas above describe the kinds of matters Bren handles and the experience he brings to them. They are not a promise, warranty, or prediction about the outcome of any matter, and no attorney can guarantee a result. Descriptions of prior work, including work performed for public agencies and for other clients, do not suggest that a similar result can be obtained in your matter, or that special access or treatment would be made available by former employers. Whether a particular claim or defense is available to you depends on your own facts and on deadlines that may be short. Brendan Darrow is licensed to practice law only in California state and federal courts at this time.

Discuss Your Matter