Kimia Mahallati

Kimia Mahallati is an associate who passed the California State Bar in January 2021 after graduating from UC Hastings College of the Law the previous year.  During her time in law school, Kimia worked as Senior Production Editor for the Hastings Environmental Law Journal, served on the board of the Women of Color Collective, and was a member of the Iranian Law Students Association.  She obtained two undergraduate degrees from UC Santa Cruz, graduating cum laude with a B.A. in environmental studies, as well as earning a B.A. in philosophy.  In addition to her many academic accomplishments, Kimia is fluent in Farsi.

Before joining BEHB, she earned experience as a law clerk with a Bay Area law firm.  In that role she researched and wrote memos on environmental and administrative law issues, including under CEQA, the APA, and local zoning and housing ordinances and regulations.  She also researched and wrote memos on the Coastal Act and procedural issues, reviewed settlement agreements, and determined the status of violator compliance as an extern for the California Coastal Commission.  Prior to that, Kimia researched and wrote memos on NEPA issues, drafted portions of briefs, and drafted a comment letter to federal EPA on proposed groundwater regulation in her position as a law clerk with the Center for Biological Diversity.

Before embarking on a legal career, Kimia directed restoration projects and educational conservation hikes in her role as Lead Teacher Naturalist at the Richardson Bay Audubon Center & Sanctuary.