It can be hard to tell where the Water Authority ends and a powerful law firm begins
Over the past two decades, the San Diego County Water Authority has paid $25 million to a single law firm. The firm, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, is known for its water law practice across the West. Locally, though, few people know of its influence. The firm and two of its attorneys – Chris Frahm and Scott Slater – have been involved in major Water Authority decisions since the mid-1990s, decisions that affect the cost and availability of water in San Diego.