Managing Partner
Gerald D.
Shoaf is primary counsel for the Coachella Valley and Eastern
Municipal Water Districts. Among his areas of expertise are
water law, water district administration law and inverse
condemnation law. Over the years, he has moved from trial law
to business and administrative endeavors. With the retirement
of Maury Sherrill in 1992, Gerry is now engaged full time with the
business, legislative and administrative matters for his water
district clients. His responsibilities including reviewing
and drafting prospective legislation for his clients, supervision
of the legal aspects of day-to-day operations, and representing
them in dealings with other agencies, both state and local, and
other states in water rights matters.
After graduating from San Diego State with a B.A. in Political
Science in 1964 and from the University of California at Los
Angeles Law School in 1967, he spent several years in a trial
practice. He then joined Redwine and Sherrill where he has
been a partner and represented water districts since 1971.
Gerry was admitted to the California State Bar in 1967. He
co-authored "A Summary of Rules of Liability in Water Damage Cases"
with Joseph S. Aklufi, an in-depth piece which ran in the
California State Bar Journal in 1980. He served as president
of the Riverside Barristers (1973-74) and the Inland Counties Legal
Services (1975-78) and was city attorney of Norco (1976-78).
He is a member of the Riverside County and American Bar
Associations, and the State Bar of California. He is also a
member of the Western Coalition of Arid States (WESTCAS) and a
member of the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA),
where he serves on both legislative and legal affairs
committees.
Outside the office, Gerry has served as secretary of the County
Bar Association and on various Bar committees and as a director of
the Riverside Philharmonic; he was a Scout Master for eight years,
a soccer coach and a referee. Currently, he is vice-president
of Whiteside Manor, Inc., a substance abuse treatment and recovery
facility.
