Somach Simmons & Dunn

Profile

Mr. Hitchings is the firm's assistant managing shareholder. He joined the firm in 1993 and became a shareholder in 1997. His practice emphasizes all aspects of water law, and related natural resource law issues, with a particular focus on water marketing and reclaimed water reuse. Mr. Hitchings' practice includes all phases of civil litigation before federal and state courts. Mr. Hitchings successfully briefed and argued a case involving the Freedom of Information Act before the U.S. Supreme Court during the Court's October 2000 term, which resulted in a unanimous opinion in his client's favor. Mr. Hitchings currently serves on the advisory board of the California Water Law & Policy Reporter.

Mr. Hitchings earned his J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law in 1991, where he served as Comments Editor for the USF Law Review, Vol. 25. Mr. Hitchings is a member of the State Bar of California.

Areas of Practice Emphasis

Water rights, water quality and related natural resources law, water marketing and recycled water law, public agency law, land use law, California and federal Endangered Species Acts, California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), administrative law, litigation in state and federal courts, civil writ proceedings and appeals.

Prior Positions

Associate Attorney: Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold, Environmental Litigation and Regulation Practice Groups, San Francisco, California, 1991-1993.

Education

University of San Francisco School of Law (J.D., 1991)
Bucknell University (B.A., 1986)

Academic Positions

Publications

Somach and Hitchings, Antitrust Considerations in Water Marketing, Natural Resources & Environment, Vol. 11, No. 2, at p. 26, Fall 1996 (ABA Section of Natural Resources, Energy and Environmental Law).

Current Advisory Board Member, former Editorial Board Member & former Monthly Articles Contributor, California Water Law & Policy Reporter (a monthly periodical published by Argent Communications Group), January 1998 to present.

Former Monthly Articles Contributor, Western Water Law & Policy Reporter (a monthly periodical published by Argent Communications Group), November 1996 to 2002.

Presentations

Speaker, CLE International, Endangered Species Act Conference, San Francisco, California, Developing and Managing Water Supply Projects, ESA Compliance Issues for Water Transfers from the Sacramento Valley, May 21, 2010.
Speaker, Argent Communications, California Water Law and Policy Conference, San Francisco, California, Who Owns Wastewater' Proposed Legislative Reforms, June 11, 2007.
Speaker, CLE International, California Water Law and Policy Conference, San Diego, California, Principles of Water Law & Regulation in Action: The Role of Local Regulation in Groundwater - What Are Counties Doing?, October 9, 2003.
Speaker, CLE International, California Water Law and Policy Conference, Irvine, California, The Interrelationship Between Wastewater, Water Reuse and Water Supply: Conflicts Between the Water Rights Process and Water Recycling Policies, October 17, 2002.
Speaker, American Water Works Association 2002 Annual Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, Show Me the Water! Recent Changes in Water Supply and Land Use Planning in California, June 17, 2002.
Speaker/Moderator, Northern Sacramento Valley Water Forum, Water Transfers Issues Panel, Chico, California, June 13, 2002.
Speaker, Association of California Water Agencies' 2001 Water Attorneys? Workshop, Oakland, California, U.S. Supreme Court Decisions Panel: U.S. v. Klamath Water Users Protective Assn., (2001) 532 U.S. 1, An End to Secret Advocacy by Interested Parties in Water Allocation Proceedings, October 4, 2001.
Speaker, CLE International, California Water Law and Policy Conference, San Francisco, California, Endangered Species vs. Endangered Water Supplies: The Klamath River Adjudication and Klamath Project Operations, and Related Freedom of Information Act Issues, April 6, 2001.
Speaker, WateReuse Association of California, Recycled Water Legal Issues Seminar, Millbrae, California, The Continuing Debate on Recycled Water Ownership Issues: Legal Overview and Case Studies, May 14, 1999.
Speaker, 8th Annual Public Officials for Water Policy and Environmental Reform (POWER) Conference, Los Angeles, California, Panel - The Sacramento Watershed: Too Many Interests to Serve?, October 22, 1998.
Speaker, 15th Annual Water Education Foundation Executive Briefing, Sacramento, California, SWRCB Bay-Delta Water Rights Hearing Issues Panel, March 25, 1998.
Speaker, CLE International, Environmental Permitting Conference, Los Angeles, California, Groundwater Permitting: Local Regulations, February 19, 1998.
Speaker, WateReuse Association of California, Recycled Water Legal Issues Seminar, San Diego, California, Who Owns Recycled Water Once It Is Released to a Stream?, April 28, 1996.

Reported Cases

North Gualala Water Co. v. SWRCB, 139 Cal.App.4th 1577 (2006); Francis A. Orff, et al. v. United States, et al., 545 U.S. 596 (2005); In re Bay-Delta Programmatic Environmental Impact Report Coordinated Proceedings, 133 Cal.App.4th 154 (2005); United States Dept. of the Interior v. Klamath Water Users Protective Assn., 532 U.S. 1 (2001); Klamath Water Users Protective Assn. v. United States Dept. of the Interior, 189 F.3d 1034 (1999).