John O. Pinkney is a name partner with Slovak Baron Empey Murphy & Pinkney LLP. Mr. Pinkney represents several public agencies and two native american tribes in litigations matters. He serves as a City attorney for a Southern California City and as legal counsel to a water district, public utility, joint powers authority, a mutual water company and a county water district. Mr. Pinkney has also served as special litigation counsel to several public agencies including cities, a community services district and a county. Mr. Pinkney also represents individuals and privately owned businesses.
Mr. Pinkney has been actively involved with the local community having served on the board and as president of the Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce and on a City Commission. Mr. Pinkney serves as a board member of the Palm Springs International Film Festival and has served on the board of the Desert Aids Project, Riverside County Chapter of the American Red Cross and on the advisory boards of two banking institutions.
NOTABLE ENGAGEMENTS
Mr. Pinkney is admitted in all courts of the state of California and has handled matters in state court, courts of appeal, the California Supreme Court, the Central District Federal Court, Northern District Federal Court and in numerous tribal courts. He has handled well over 100 cases involving claims by and against tribes, tribal entities, counties, cities, special districts, nonprofit entities, private businesses and individuals. Some of the notable cases Mr. Pinkney has handled include Mission Springs Water District v Verjil, which involved a complex proposition 218 trial and appeal that resulted in a published opinion in favor of Mr. Pinkney's client. Mr. Pinkney also recently prevailed in a constitutional elections case captioned AMH V, LLC v Salton Community Services District in which the court upheld his public agency client's efforts to hold an election on a proposed parcel tax. Mr. Pinkney has handled dozens of cases involving native american law, including a recent Northern District Federal Court matter involving tribal sovereignty issues and tribal court jurisdictional issues. Mr. Pinkney also served as co-trial-counsel for a client in a complex trial in which the client obtained a $17 million dollar judgment. Mr. Pinkney also obtained $4.5 million for a client that was damaged when a large international retail company breached its contract with Mr. Pinkney's client.
Mr. Pinkney has successfully defended property owners and developers in real estate disputes including successfully defending a real estate investor in a $27 million dollar breach of contract case.
EDUCATION
Mr. Pinkney received his B.A. and J.D., with honors, from Brigham Young University where he was a member of Phi Delta Phi, Inns of Court and Order of the Barristers, and served as chairman of the Moot Court program. While in law school, he was a member of BYU’s National Moot Court Team and was a founding member of one of the law school’s law journals.
