Nicki Carlsen

• Representing media company on land use approvals for 50-acre studio in the City of Los Angeles. Advising on development of project entitlements, including specific plan amendment and development agreement, and compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), including consideration of numerous environmental and land use issues to secure project approval.
• Providing CEQA and land use advice regarding residential and mixed-use projects in the City of West Hollywood and City of Los Angeles for a major developer, including the evaluation of affordable housing requirements, density bonuses and concessions, and application of the Housing Accountability Act.
• Representing a multinational energy company regarding CEQA compliance for the transformation of a refinery to the largest renewable fuels facility in the world, including consideration of land use, environmental permitting, and related litigation for the project. Also advising the company regarding CEQA compliance for other California facilities.
• Representing an oil and gas company in the implementation of project to consolidate oilfield operations to provide acreage for residential development. Also represented company in a lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles involving one of its oil and gas production sites in the city that was recently dismissed as part of a re-permitting of the site. Also advising on the company’s oilfield operations in Culver City, CA, and defending against efforts by the City to eliminate oil operations. Sentinel Peak Resources California LLC v. City of Los Angeles, No. BS 17340 (L.A. Superior Court).
• Representing an oil and gas company on several matters involving its facilities in California, including regulatory issues with regulating programs by the City of Los Angeles and the California Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM), as well as the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
• Representing an energy company regarding compliance with endangered and special status species for its operations in California, including the consideration of Habitat Conservation Plan and Natural Communities Conservation Plan by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
• Advised a major logistics company on CEQA compliance for a 40 million square-foot logistics center in the of Moreno Valley, CA.
• Advised The Boeing Company on CEQA and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance, along with other environmental and land use requirements related to the clean up of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory site.
• Defended UPS against a CEQA and Brown Act challenge to a distribution center in Visalia, CA.
• Advised the Malibu Bay Company development team on CEQA and the California Coastal Act to support approval of a local coastal plan (LCP) amendment and issuance of a coastal development permit. Defended entitlements in Los Angeles County Superior Court and the California Court of Appeal. Ross v. California Coastal Commission, 199 Cal. App. 4th 900.
• Representing Broad Beach, CA property owners in a validation action filed by the Broad Beach Geologic Hazard Abatement District against a proposed assessment for a $60 million beach nourishment program in Malibu, CA. The Los Angeles County Superior Court invalidated the assessment, and the matter is pending at the California Court of Appeal.

Nicki Carlsen is a senior partner in Alston & Bird’s Environment, Land Use & Natural Resources Group. She focuses on land use, environmental compliance, and litigation. She has over 30 years of experience securing approvals for development projects, guiding clients through the environmental review process under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Nicki efficiently navigates projects from inception to completion. Her environmental and land use experience extends to the full range of CEQA/NEPA topics, from air quality and greenhouse gas emissions, endangered species, coastal and cultural resources, to geotechnical investigations, environmental remediation, transportation, affordable housing, and energy usage. She works effectively with the project team, ensuring that sophisticated legal and technical information is presented to protect against legal challenges. Where litigation is inevitable, she defends project approvals in trial and appellate courts and has also prosecuted actions on behalf of property owners to obtain land use entitlements. Nicki led the Practice Group for the firm from 2008 through 2022.

Nicki has been recognized by Chambers USA, in the 2017–2024 editions of The Best Lawyers in America^© and was named a “Lawyer of the Year” in 2018 in Litigation – Land Use and Zoning. Nicki was also recognized in 2018 and 2023 as one of the “Most Influential Women Lawyers in Los Angeles” by the Los Angeles Business Journal.

Bar Admissions

• California

Education

• University of Southern California (J.D., 1990)
• University of Illinois (M.S., 1985)
• University of Illinois (B.S., 1983)

Memberships