Michael Colantuono is a Managing Shareholder at Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley, PC. Michael has specialized in municipal law since 1989. He is certified by the California State Bar as a Specialist in Appellate Law and is a Past President of the California Academy of Appellate Lawyers, an association of about 125 of the most distinguished appellate lawyers in California. He is an Elected Member of the American Law Institute, the leading independent organization in the United States producing scholarly work to clarify, modernize, and otherwise improve the law. He has argued 14 cases in the California Supreme Court, appeared in all six of the California District Courts of Appeal, as well as trial courts around the State and he has argued in the 9th Circuit. He serves on the California Judicial Council’s Appellate Advisory Committee and served on its Appellate Caseflow Working Group.
Michael has expertise in a broad range of areas of concern to local governments in California, including constitutional law, land use regulation, open meetings, elections, municipal litigation, conflicts of interest, public utilities, LAFCO issues, inverse condemnation, cannabis regulation, and a wide range of public finance issues involving taxes, assessments, fees and charges.
