Graduating third in her class from UCLA Law School, Ms. Barlow joined Jones Mayer in 1993. Her practice is devoted almost exclusively to municipal law and litigation. In that capacity, Ms. Barlow has served in the capacity of Assistant City Attorney and City Attorney for over 29 years. Ms. Barlow handles specialized litigation on behalf of the Firm’s public entity clients, including First Amendment, voting rights, sober living home regulation, civil rights litigation, adult use ordinances, tax matters, administrative, and traditional petitions for writ of mandate and appeals.
She has successfully defended numerous complex writ cases involving alleged violations of the Brown Act and conflict of interest laws, Public Records Act, CEQA claims, licensing, and permit decisions, including revocations of conditional use permits and inverse condemnation claims. She also regularly prepares ordinances, resolutions, complex transactional documents such as for purchase and lease of public property, development agreements, and memoranda of understanding.
Ms. Barlow is currently the City Attorney for the City of Costa Mesa and the City of La Verne and the Assistant City Attorney for a number of the Firm’s other city clients. She also serves as Successor Agency Counsel for seven cities and was formerly Counsel to the Downey Oversight Board. In addition to providing the full range of legal services for these clients, Ms. Barlow conducts citywide training in discrimination and harassment prevention, ethics, Brown Act and conflicts, and HIPAA compliance. She also investigates personnel complaints, particularly involving harassment claims. Further, she serves as Counsel to civilian personnel boards hearing employee grievances. She previously served as City Attorney for the cities of West Covina, Stanton, and Upland.
Ms. Barlow was previously on the League of California Cities Legal Advocacy Committee and an Officer of the Orange County City Attorneys Association. She also served for seven years on the Executive Committee of the Utility Users Tax Technical Task Force, which was a subcommittee of the California League of Cities Revenue and Taxation Committee. She has presented at the League of California Cities on the California Voting Rights Act and was recently a member of the League’s Charter City Toolbox Committee. She previously served as a Judicial Clerk for the Honorable Ferdinand F. Fernandez, Circuit Judge, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Early in her career, Ms. Barlow practiced with the law firm Irell & Manella as a Litigation Associate focusing on insurance, construction, environmental, and real estate litigation. She was a full-time lecturer in the clinical program at UCLA School of Law from 1999 to 2001. Ms. Barlow also has served on several local community nonprofit boards, including WTLC, a domestic violence shelter and transitional housing provider, and Ophelia’s Jump Productions, an Upland theater company.