Gregory P. Priamos
Mr. Priamos is a partner in Prentice Long, PC and serves as the County Counsel for the County of San Benito.
Mr. Priamos has over 37 years of government legal experience including serving as the County Counsel for the 10th most populous county in the Country from 2014 - 2022. He managed 66 lawyers and 22 support staff in four offices throughout Riverside County while serving 42 county departments.
Prior to his appointment as Riverside County Counsel, Mr. Priamos served 14 years as the City Attorney of the City of Riverside, the 12th largest city in the State of California. He is still the second longest serving City Attorney since Riverside’s incorporation in 1883. He is the only Riverside City Attorney to have also served as the Riverside County Counsel and the only Riverside County Counsel to have also served as the Riverside City Attorney.
Mr. Priamos has extensive experience in advising cities and counties on most every legal issue. His expertise includes Brown Act, code enforcement, conservatorships, County Budget Act, ethics and the political reform act, fire service contracts, group and transitional housing, juvenile dependency, law enforcement, medical marijuana abatement, public health emergencies, public health systems, Public Records Act, receiverships, redistricting, risk management, tribal gaming and resort expansions, and tribal courts, among others.
In fact, Mr. Priamos represented the City of Riverside in the very first opinion issued by the California Supreme Court interpreting the effect of Proposition 215 on cities and counties to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries. By unanimous decision, the Supreme Court held in 2013 that the City of Riverside’s zoning ordinance banning dispensaries was a proper exercise of its local land use authority and not preempted by state law. Mr. Priamos has also had numerous other published cases in the state and federal appellate courts.
Education and Activities
Mr. Priamos received his Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School in 1988 and his Bachelor of Arts in political science Cum Laude from the University of Southern California in 1985.
Mr. Priamos also held leadership positions in both the County Counsels’ Association of California (CCAC) and the City Attorneys’ Department of the League of California Cities. He served on the CCAC Board of Directors for three years. In both capacities, he taught ethics and professional responsibility, strategic planning, and emergency management. He served as President of the City Attorney’s Department from September of 2013 until his resignation in July of 2014 to accept the County Counsel appointment.
As President of the City Attorneys’ Department, Mr. Priamos led the effort to update, revise, and publish the 2nd Edition of Practicing Ethics: A Handbook for Municipal Lawyers. He also chaired the Department Ad Hoc Committee responsible for drafting the League’s very first treatise on public records: The People’s Business: A User’s Guide to the California Public Records Act. He has also chaired the Department’s Legal Advocacy Committee, a group of twenty-one city attorneys who engage in advocacy on behalf of all California Cities before the state and federal appellate courts
As both County Counsel and City Attorney, Mr. Priamos also served on the Board of Directors for the International Municipal Lawyers’ Association. Mr. Priamos was also a frequent speaker and presenter at conferences around the country on various legal matters facing cities and counties.
Most recently, Mr. Priamos has been working as a legal consultant to the General Counsel for the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. He has also been working directly for the Chief Judge of the newly established Agua Caliente Tribal Court. He has been responsible for drafting ordinances for the Agua Caliente Tribal Code establishing a Child and Elder and Dependent Adult Protection Statutory Framework including child protection, child welfare, guardianship, adoption, tribal customary adoption, tribal adoptive/foster home licensing, elder and dependent adult protection, and domestic violence and civil harassment protection orders ordinances.
Mr. Priamos has also worked closely with the Chief Judge to draft the Rules of Court and the Rules of Civil Procedure for the Tribal Court and the Tax Court. He has also researched and drafted nearly 350 court forms for use by the Tribal Court, Tribal Court Clerk, Tribal Members, and other parties implementing the new Tribal Codes and Rules.
Admissions
- California State Bar (1988)
- United State Supreme Court
- Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
- United States Federal District Court, Central District of California
Current Projects
- County Counsel for San Benito County