Michael J. Wimberley, Associate

Practice Areas

• Public Law
• Land Use

Practice Description

Michael Wimberley is an associate in the Firm’s municipal law practice group. He assists in representing cities, special districts, and other public agencies in transactional and advisory matters related to land use and zoning, local government law, and other general municipal issues.

He has experience representing and advising public agencies on First Amendment issues, the Public Records Act, Fair Political Practices Commission Regulations, parking and municipal code enforcement, conditional use permits, and zoning laws. He also regularly drafts agreements, legal opinions, ordinances, and resolutions.

Prior to joining Woodruff & Smart, Mr. Wimberley practiced civil litigation and business law, providing general counsel services for corporations, partnerships, and non-profit organizations. He was also a Legal Extern at the Orange City Attorney’s Office where he assisted on matters related to CEQA, Public Records Act, the Brown Act, first responder liability, historical preservation law, and other land use issues.

Mr. Wimberley graduated magna cum laude from Chapman University with a B.A. in Strategic and Corporate Communication and earned his Juris Doctor from Chapman University’s Dale E. Fowler School of Law with an emphasis in Environmental, Land Use, and Real Estate Law. While in law school, he was selected as an academic fellow, teaching a supplemental class and tutoring upper-class students in “Criminal Procedure: Police Practices,” and he contributed to two amicus curiae briefs submitted to the United States Supreme Court while a student with the Constitutional Jurisprudence Clinic. He has since returned to the Fowler School of Law as adjunct faculty, teaching legal analysis to third year law students.

Professional Activities

Mr. Wimberley is a member of the Orange County Bar Association, the Hispanic Bar Association of Orange County, and the Italian American Lawyers of Orange County (Lex Romana). He is also the President-Elect of the Chapman University Alumni Association. He is admitted to practice in California and in the Federal District Court, Central District of California.

Education

• Chapman University, Dale E. Fowler School of Law (J.D., 2020)
  • Emphasis Certificate in Environmental, Land Use & Real Estate Law
• Chapman University (B.A., magna cum laude, 2016)