When Hal DeGraw became of counsel to the firm of Jones Mayer in 2015, he brought with him 20 years of private general practice experience in Los Angeles and Orange Counties and over 25 years of public law experience in Nevada County. He was designated as the consulting city attorney for Nevada City, continuing in a role he had filled since 2009, first as an employee and then as a contracting attorney, since his retirement from Nevada County. Before retirement from the county counsel’s office in Nevada County, Mr. DeGraw practiced at all levels in that office, serving as assistant county counsel for 15 of his 21 years and serving as interim county counsel on three different occasions in 1996, 2000, and 2003.
In Nevada City, Mr. DeGraw is responsible for all city attorney functions with backup from the Jones Mayer Roseville office. He sits with the city council and, as needed, with the planning commission, advises staff, drafts ordinances and resolutions, reviews and drafts contracts and agreements, and coordinates with outside counsel on litigation not handled in-house. With both the city and the county, a large portion of his practice has involved land use matters, including zoning, general plan, and CEQA work. He handled land use litigation for the county for about 15 years at the trial and appellate levels, including arguing a legal nonconforming use mining case before the court of appeals and the California Supreme Court. Hal lives in Nevada City, California, a few blocks from city hall with his wife Barbara. Their daughter Taylor graduated from UC Davis with a psych/bio major and is working at Yelp in San Francisco.