Specialties
Geology & Geologic Hazards
Dr. Benumof has always focused his geologic and legal practice on the interaction between people and their geological and environmental surroundings. Whether the product of catastrophic landslides, coastal / shoreline erosion, earthquake hazards, large storms, or poorly consolidated sediments underlying a building foundation, “geologic hazards” tend play a significant societal role wherever people attempt to “control” or interact with nature. In California, “geologic hazard" is statutorily defined as "an actual or threatened landslide, land subsidence, soil erosion, earthquake, or any other natural or unnatural movement of land or earth."
When the success of your legal matter hinges on the proper evaluation and application of geologic facts and conditions, or you are confronted with the prevention, mitigation, abatement, or control of geologic hazards, you need in-depth and integrated knowledge of overlapping issues of law, geology, and engineering.
Dr. Benumof has extensive experience with geo-hazard litigation and the investigation and mitigation of earthquake fault hazards under the Alquist Priolo Act, landslide hazards, coastal erosion hazards, and the formation of Geologic Hazard Abatement Districts. Dr. Benumof also has also successfully handled numerous groundwater adjudication and related water law matters for his clients where complex issues of hydrogeology, structural geology, geomorphology, and law interface, requiring a specialized “geo-law” skill set to achieve project goals and successful client outcomes.