Of Counsel Amy Ackerman elevated to RPLG Partner
Renne Public Law Group (RPLG) congratulates Amy Ackerman on her promotion to Partner effective April 1. Amy joined RPLG as Of Counsel in the spring of 2020 and brought with her years of experience in local government, public health, juvenile and appellate law. She is passionate about public service.
During her two years at the firm, Amy has been able to tap into her extensive public agency experience. Amy is the Town Attorney for the Town of Corte Madera and its subsidiary Sanitation District, and serves as General Counsel to San Francisco’s Downtown Business Improvement District. In January 2022, the City Council of Belvedere appointed her as the City Attorney of Belvedere. Amy also serves as General Counsel for the County Probation Consortium Partnering for Youth Realignment, a nonprofit formed by 54 California county probation officers to collaborate on placement options for youth after state realignment.
“Amy has been instrumental in the professional growth of our staff and the overall success of our town. She is responsive to our needs and provides effective and creative solutions to complex issues,” said Corte Madera Town Manager Todd Cusimano. “Amy is compassionate and thoughtful in her approach and she does a great job empowering those around her to be leaders. I am proud to say Amy is the best City Attorney I have ever had the pleasure of working with.”
Before joining the firm, Amy worked as a Senior Deputy City Attorney for 16 years with the City and County of San Francisco, representing a wide variety of City agencies and departments. She also served as the first Director of Training in the City Attorney’s Office where she developed a comprehensive training program for attorneys that included open government laws, including public records and public meeting laws, the drafting and negotiation of contracts, drafting legislation, municipal finance, preemption, and litigation skills. Her representative cases included, Gillespie v. San Francisco Public Library Commission, which held that the library could hold closed sessions to nominate candidates for City Librarian and serving as amicus on behalf of fifty cities in the City of San Jose v. Superior Court, and serving as amicus on behalf of California counties in In re Elisa B.
“We are excited to announce Amy’s well-deserved promotion to Partner,” said Founding Partner Art Hartinger. “With Amy’s remarkable public service background, she has had a significant impact on the firm during her time at RPLG. As a Partner, RPLG will benefit from her leadership and dedication to her clients.”
An alumna of Stanford Law School and Brown University, Amy also served on the San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women.
“I’m very excited to join the partnership at RPLG. I really enjoy working with such an experienced and dedicated group of lawyers and truly great clients. I look forward to growing this remarkable practice as a Partner.” said Amy.
Of Counsel Jenica Maldonado promoted to RPLG Partner
Renne Public Law Group (RPLG) is pleased to announce Jenica Maldonado will be promoted to Partner effective April 1.
Jenica, who joined the firm as Of Counsel in 2021, has spent more than two decades dedicating her professional life to public service and addressing inequity. She is an experienced municipal law and labor and employment attorney with as much experience litigating as providing advice and counsel.
Currently, she serves as special counsel to several councils and boards, working on sensitive and complicated matters. For some clients, Jenica operates similarly to an in-house attorney for labor and employment advice. For others, she also works with existing staff of the City Attorney’s Office or City Manager’s Office. Her clients include the Cities of Berkeley and Santa Clara and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, among others.
“Jenica brings the highest caliber of legal work to the table,” according to Berkeley City Attorney Farimah Brown. “Her thoughtfulness, intelligence, and creativity in solving problems are unparalleled. I am thrilled that I get to work with her.”
“I think of myself as a thought partner to my clients, not just a lawyer providing strict legal advice,” Jenica said. “My clients give me the opportunity and trust my judgment to provide them with advice that is specific to the challenges within their agencies.”
Jenica also values the camaraderie from practicing with dedicated attorneys and the trust that forms with one’s long-term clients.
“We are thrilled to congratulate Jenica on her deserved promotion to Partner,” said Founding Partner Jon Holtzman. “Jenica has long been passionate about public service and supporting public agencies, which is evident both in her work ethic and her tireless commitment. We are confident her new position as Partner will only bolster her ability to deliver for our clients.”
Before joining RPLG, Jenica served as a Deputy City Attorney in the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office for seven years. Jenica’s passion for public sector work started early, following internships early on for San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, Mayor’s Office in San Francisco, and work for Senate Dianne Feinstein in Washington, D.C. Those experiences planted the seed and prompted Jenica to pursue law school with the objective of serving as a Deputy City Attorney in San Francisco.
At the University of San Francisco School of Law, Jenica served as the Symposium Editor of the Law Review and as an Appellate Advocate on the Jessup International Law Advocacy Team. She clerked for the Honorable Joyce Kennard on the California Supreme Court and interned on the Government Team in the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office. She graduated magna cum laude and joined the San Francisco-based law firm Hanson Bridgett LLP upon graduation and later Perkins Coie LLP.
In 2014, Jenica joined the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office as a Deputy City Attorney on the Labor Team. She litigated multiple complex labor and employment matters, including the matter of Daugherty v. City of County of San Francisco. The case concluded in a favorable appellate decision for the City defending the Police Chief’s decision to terminate police officers who had exchanged racist and other offensive text messages. She also served as assigned labor advice counsel to several City departments.
In 2019, Jenica joined the Ethics and Elections Team where she served as co-counsel to the Department of Elections and San Francisco Ethics Commission. In this role, she served as the ex officio member of the San Francisco Ballot Simplification Committee, served as the principal legal advisor to the Ethics Commission’s prosecutorial staff, and advised and defended the Department of Elections in election law advice and litigation matters.
As Partner, Jenica looks forward to helping to grow RPLG as California’s preeminent progressive public sector firm by continuing to strengthen client relationships and recruiting attorneys who share the firm’s vision to join the practice.
“No other firm is similar to RPLG,” Jenica said. “For our size, we have an impressive group of attorneys who are experts in their fields with practical, real-world experience that our clients seek us out for. I look forward to providing that service to our clients, to building our platform, and pushing forward into new markets. I am honored to be a part of the Firm and am looking forward to a very bright future.”
To learn more, go to rennepubliclawgroup.com