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Associate
,
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San Francisco
,
- T: +1 415.655.8100
- D: +1 415.655.8134
- F: +1 415.655.8099
- tburke@bwslaw.com
Pronouns: she, her, hers
Tamar Burke is an associate in the public law practice group, serving as Assistant City Attorney of Capitola and Deputy City Attorney of the cities of Healdsburg and Watsonville. Tamar takes care to work closely with staff and officials to understand agency goals and provide legal support toward achieving those goals. She advises public entity clients on all matters, including Public Records Act and Brown Act compliance, code enforcement, election matters, municipal governance, and conflict of interest issues. During election years, Tamar works closely with many city and special district clients to manage the election process, including calling the election, placing any local measures on the ballot, drafting impartial analyses and providing guidance to candidates and staff regarding proper and improper campaign activity. She particularly enjoys working with constitutional law issues, such as speech and political advocacy questions, and has drafted and assisted with the implementation of policies that protect the public’s First Amendment rights while ensuring safety for all.
Tamar regularly conducts seminars and trainings covering many aspects of her public law practice, including the procedures and best practices for obtaining Gun Violence Restraining Orders, ethics and transparency, and AB 1234 for the firm’s public clients. Tamar’s trainings range from small groups of city staff to large, City-wide trainings of over 100 participants. She recently co-led a seminar to provide local officials and staff with practical advice for implementing the Supreme Court’s Grants Pass decision to provide humane and legal treatment for the unhoused.
She maintains a specialty practice in Public Records Act compliance, advising on day-to-day requests, assisting staff with the location and review of voluminous records, corresponding with requesters, defending against challenges alleging noncompliance, and evaluating and revising cities’ PRA processing workflows to ensure compliance with the law.
Tamar also litigates matters for city and special district clients. She has extensive experience litigating and in many cases, settling, Public Records Act writs, and has successfully defended against Brown Act challenges to city actions. She also successfully obtained a court order following trial, requiring a property owner to clear the a problematic property of nuisance conditions. Her litigation practice includes drafting and managing discovery, drafting motions in limine and corresponding oppositions, significant writ practice, and participating in trials and hearings. She has also reviewed and edited the CEB’s Municipal Law Handbook.
Tamar earned her J.D. from UC Hastings and graduated cum laude with a concentration in government law. As a law student, Tamar interned with the Government team of the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office and California’s Office of Legislative Counsel. As a member of the nationally ranked UC Hastings Moot Court Team, she competed in the Evans Constitutional Law Moot Court Competition. She was also selected to participate in the UC Hastings Appellate Project, and represented a client in immigration proceedings before the Ninth Circuit.
Before law school, Tamar received her B.A. in Political Science from UC Davis. Throughout her undergraduate studies, Tamar worked in and around government by interning in state legislators’ offices and working at a lobbying and consulting firm to further environmentally sound policies in California.
- J.D., University of California, Hastings, 2019
- B.A., Political Science, University of California, Davis, 2015
- State Bar of California
