The Jon Corn Law Firm Information

The Jon Corn Law Firm is a property rights champion for property owners and developers, especially in California's coastal communities. We successfully and efficiently litigate cases and handle appeals involving development, boundary disputes and easements, Coastal Commission, CEQA, Density Bonus Law, land use restrictions, and broker cases. We also help our clients obtain approvals and permits from local government, the Coastal Commission, and other government agencies, including the Port of San Diego. After graduating from Georgetown University Law Center, Jon Corn started his career in the San Diego litigation department of Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro (now, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman). Jon then spent 3 years at Stephenson & Prairie, a litigation land use firm, before opening his own office in Del Mar in 1996. As a young litigator, Jon's earliest clients included McKellar Development of La Jolla (and related entities) and Safari Motor Coaches, a NYSE publicly traded motorhome manufacturer with international distribution. After the 1997-8 El Niño, Jon needed a seawall to protect his Solana Beach blufftop home. He obtained permits from the City and the Coastal Commission, but drew a lawsuit from CalBeach Advocates, an offshoot of the Surfrider Foundation. Jon represented himself and won the case in the trial court, and again on appeal. The case resulted in a published appellate decision that clarified that emergency seawalls are exempt from CEQA review. CalBeach Advocates v. City of Solana Beach (2002) 103 Cal.App.4th 529. Thereafter, Jon was asked to join the newly formed Solana Beach LCP Citizen's Committee. The Citizen's Committee was made up of the City's former mayor, a former Coastal Commissioner, an anti-seawall activist, and Jon Corn and David Winkler as representatives for the City's bluff top homeowners. The Committee drafted the City's first Land Use Plan (LUP), which the City then adopted and sent to the Coastal Commission for certification. However, the Coastal Commission re-wrote the LUP to its own liking and the City adopted the Coastal Commission's version. Nevertheless, Jon's CEQA lawsuit and his involvement on the Citizen's Committee ignited his passion for coastal property rights and launched his legal specialization in this growing and important field. In addition to a stint as General Counsel for a NYSE public company, Jon has since focused his practice on land use law and development, with an emphasis on coastal issues and the Coastal Commission. He and his staff have helped and continue to help Southern California's coastal property owners and many others protect and preserve their property rights.