Attorneys

Sheryl Schaffner

Ms. Schaffner advises and represents clients in the private and public sectors and specializes in Municipal Law, Administrative Appeals, Land Use, The California Environmental Quality Act, Real Estate, Business Law and Civil Litigation

Areas of Practice

Representative Clients

Ms. Schaffner’s clients include the cities of Redwood City, Woodland, Napa, Emeryville, Concord, Atherton, Ventura, Burlingame and Menlo Park. She also represents Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, East Bay Regional Park District, the San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society and works with property owners, businesses, individuals, homeowner associations and water districts.

Professional Experience

Ms. Schaffner has over 30 years of experience advising and representing public agencies and private sector clients, both in-house and on-contract. Ms. Schaffner joined Perry Law in June of 2025, after eight years in private practice in Santa Rosa. Ms. Schaffner has also served as City Attorney, General Counsel, Deputy District Counsel, and Deputy County Counsel for various cities, counties and regional government agencies. She has served as a judge pro tempore, hearing officer, mediator, management coach, and facilitator.

Ms. Schaffner was the primary author of an amicus brief on behalf of five park and open space districts in the appellate case Save Lafayette Trees v. East Bay Regional Park District (2021) 66 Cal.App.5th 21. The published ruling affirmed the client agencies’ authority to manage their own publicly owned lands.

Education and Memberships

Ms. Schaffner obtained both an Associate in Science and an Associate in Arts degree at Columbia Community College in Sonora California; a Bachelor of Arts degree in geography from the University of California at Berkeley in 1990; and a Juris Doctorate from the University of California, Davis (King Hall) in 1993.

Community Involvement

Ms. Schaffner has served on and with various public agency bodies: including service as an elected City Councilmember in Davis, California; as Chairperson of the Davis Open Space Commission; Board Member for the Davis Rural Land Trust and the Yolo Land Trust; Chairwoman of the Yolo County Water Resources Association; City representative on the Lower Putah Creek Coordinating Committee, the Yolo County Criminal Justice System Cabinet, County Open Space Task Force, and Air Quality Management District; liaison to Finance and Economics Commission, Planning Commission, Alternative Vehicle Task Force, and Natural Resources Commission; as a leader in green energy and infill housing issues; state agency liaison to the State Senate Advisory Committee on Public Records Act and Electronic Access to Public Records; on the advisory committee to the Joint Task Force on Personal Information Privacy; and on the Resources Agency Committee on Intellectual Property.

Ms. Schaffner has also served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate.