Ben Reyes counsels the firm's municipal and special district clients in the areas of energy, construction and procurement law, information technology and municipal governance. He chairs the firm's Public Contract and Construction Practice Group, and is a member of the Public Power and Telecom Practice Group. He is the City Attorney for the City of Pinole, and serves as counsel to over 10 cities and special districts. Ben is also the Assistant General Counsel for the Northern California Power Agency and the Stege Sanitary District.Ben has subject matter expertise in public contract and procurement law and has litigated several cases involving major public works projects. Ben is well-versed in competitive bidding, prequalification and claims resolution. He has written and revised contract specifications for several public agency clients. Ben also represents public agency clients in high-technology, software and information system procurement projects.Prior to joining Meyers Nave, Ben served as general counsel and secretary of Utility.com, a former internet-based energy and utility service provider. There, he helped to raise over $22 million in capital investments and formed an international subsidiary based in Europe. He also managed the regulatory affairs of the company's energy, telecommunication and broadband services in 45 states. As chief counsel, Ben directed all legal activity and corporate transactions of the company.Prior to Utility.com, Ben served as in-house counsel at the East Bay Municipal Utility District, where he represented the board and senior management on a wide variety of legal and governmental matters. Ben served also as a deputy city attorney for the City of San Jose where he litigated matters involving code enforcement and represented the City's police and public works departments in major tort and contract claims.Ben is an active member of the Filipino Bar Association of Northern California. He sits as a judge on the McCullum Youth Court Project and serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Alameda Free Library Foundation. Ben received his undergraduate degree with honors from the University of California at Berkeley and his J.D. degree from the University of San Francisco School of Law. He teaches trial advocacy skills at Stanford Law School and at USF School of Law. |