Mr. Smith was admitted to practice in 1988. Prior to joining Coleman & Horowitt, LLP, Lee was formerly a partner with the Fresno firm Perkins, Mann & Everett Incorporated, and Stoel Rives LLC in Sacramento. Mr. Smith is a partner in the litigation department of the firm's Fresno and Sacramento offices, and is heading the firm's Environmental Department, where he provides representation to clients in the areas of Environmental Law Compliance and Litigation, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Land Use, Proposition 65, Water Law and Litigation in the Central Valley. Lee's experience includes air quality and hazardous materials compliance, food safety, and water quality at both the federal and state levels.
Lee handled cases involving the EPA, Cal-EPA, the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, CalRecycle, the San Joaquin Unified Air Pollution Control District and other environmental agencies. Lee has also been involved in federal litigation involving the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) as well as state court litigation concerning pesticide contamination, CEQA and Proposition 65.
Mr. Smith has been recognized by his peers as a Super Lawyer in 2013 and 2014.
Craig A. Tristao
Mr. Tristao was admitted to practice in 2008. Prior to joining Coleman & Horowitt, LLP, Craig was formerly an associate with the Fresno firm Perkins, Mann & Everett Incorporated. Craig is a partner in the litigation department of the firm's Fresno and Sacramento offices where he provides representation to clients in litigation matters involving agricultural law, environmental law, construction law, land use and natural resource law, water law, and eminent domain matters that involve the California High Speed Rail Authority. Craig also assists clients with regulatory compliance issues concerning the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Porter-Cologne Act, and the Clean Air Act (CAA). In addition to litigation, Craig also represents clients before the Regional Water Quality Control Boards and the State Water Resources Control Board, air districts, and the Contractors State License Board (CSLB). Craig has representated clients in state and federal court litigation and arbitrations involving custom farming agreements, breach of contractual obligations, construction defect, the California Environment Quality Act (CEQA), the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) and note issuance and security agreements (NISAs).
Prior to entering the practice of law, Craig was engaged in research regarding agricultural operations and air quality, and consulted on compliance with the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Clean Air Act (CAA), the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) and the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA).