January 13, 2022 (Irvine and San Diego, CA) – Accomplished real estate and land use attorney Morgan Gallagher has joined Procopio as a Partner in its Orange County office in Irvine, California. Morgan focuses on litigation and transactional real estate matters involving land use, zoning, entitlements, and environmental permitting for complex and controversial projects. She’ll work alongside Procopio’s extensive Real Estate practice attorneys and lead the firm’s Land Use practice.

“Procopio was founded more than seventy-five years ago as a real estate firm, and it remains a key practice for us today,” said Procopio Managing Partner John D. Alessio. “Morgan Gallagher has achieved many successes for her clients, with a true understanding of the nuances of land use and environmental law. We welcome Morgan to Procopio as our newest Partner.”

Morgan represents clients on a wide range of projects including residential, office, corporate R&D campuses, industrial, commercial, and mixed-use. She advises clients on all aspects of development projects, from due diligence to project approval, bringing extensive experience in local planning and zoning regulations, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Subdivision Map Act, and the California Coastal Act. Her specializations include land use entitlement, CEQA, the Subdivision Map Act, water law, initiative and referendum, The Coastal Act, surface mining & reclamation, renewable energy permitting, writ of mandate litigation, historical resources, state and federal natural resources permitting, real estate due diligence, housing policy and law, governmental organization counsel, local agency formation commissions (LAFCOs) and annexation.

Her legal successes include land use approval and permitting for a $500M hospital improvement project; successful entitlement of a highly controversial 100-acre residential project in Orange County; defending several CEQA writ litigation challenges, resulting in judgment in favor of clients; entitling 4 million square feet of logistics centers throughout Southern California; land acquisition due diligence for large-scale projects throughout the State; and successful entitlement of a highly controversial 150,000 square foot retail center in Los Angeles County.

A Super Lawyers® Rising Star, Best Lawyers® One to Watch, and Best Lawyers® Women In The Law: One to Watch, Morgan earned her J.D. from California Western School of Law, magna cum laude, and a B.S. from University of California Davis. Morgan joins Procopio from the Irvine office of Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP. Learn more in her online biography.