RUFFIN NAMED CALIFORNIA “RISING STAR” IN SCHOOL LAW

Jacquelyn D. Ruffin has been named a “Rising Star” in the field of School and Education law by SuperLawyers.com.

Super Lawyers.com is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The selection process includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations. To be eligible for inclusion in Rising Stars, a candidate must be either 40 years old or younger or in practice for 10 years or less. While up to 5 percent of the lawyers in a state are named to Super Lawyers, no more than 2.5 percent are named to Rising Stars. This is the fourth consecutive year Ms. Ruffin has been named a Rising Star.

Ms. Ruffin is a transactional lawyer, who serves as general counsel to two local school districts and special counsel to other public entities, such as joint powers agencies and healthcare districts. She regularly authors requests for proposals/bids for transportation services, grocery bids, construction and other business matters; assists in the negotiation, drafting, and execution of contracts, including purchase and sale agreements, leases, consultant contracts and development agreements; and prepares requisite statutory notices. Ms. Ruffin also advises public entity clients in matters related to the Brown Act, Public Records Act, the Political Reform Act and other laws pertaining to conflicts of interest, and statements of investment policy.

Ms. Ruffin has also represented school districts in numerous real estate transactions (both acquisition and disposition) varying in value from approximately $500,000 to $14 million. In this capacity, Ms. Ruffin assists the districts in complying with surplus property laws, public bidding processes, and state and local land use laws.

Ms. Ruffin advises private clients, including nonprofit and for-profit businesses, in numerous transactional matters. Representative matters include forming, merging and dissolving corporations, partnerships and LLCs; guiding nonprofit clients through the tax-exempt application process; drafting bylaws, operating agreements, shareholder agreements and other governing documents; educating board members about their responsibilities; negotiating and writing third-party contracts; preparing deeds, easements and other real estate documents; and assisting clients with land use matters.

Prior to law school, Ms. Ruffin gained over a decade of experience in the nonprofit sector, including working with schools and youth programs in the Bay Area; serving with the AmeriCorps national service program in the Bay Area; working with the United Nations Development Fund for Women in West Africa and The Hague, Netherlands; and serving as a regional board member with Just Communities Central Coast, where she received a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition for her community service work.

Ms. Ruffin obtained her undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies with a minor in Sociology from UC Santa Cruz in 1996. She obtained her law degree from UCLA School of Law in 2011.

In 2014, the Pacific Coast Business Times selected Ms. Ruffin as an up-and-coming Business Leader under the age of 40. The exclusive "40 under 40" list recognizes 40 young, entrepreneurial professionals yearly in Tri-county area who have made a positive change in their community. In 2018, Ms. Ruffin was named one of the "Top 50 Women in Business" by the Pacific Coast Business Times and selected as the Editor's Choice in Professional Services for the publication.