The Hecht Solberg File

The land-use law firm that makes a zoning win permanent — and bets on both parties

Hecht Solberg Robinson Goldberg & Bagley LLP (organization 6547) is San Diego's dominant land-use and entitlement law firm — the machine's legal arm, where a development approval is engineered and then made durable. Across 690 evidence-backed connections it represented 105 distinct development, hospitality, mining, and biotech clients (Irvine Company, Alexandria Real Estate, Vulcan Materials, Garden Communities, Sares-Regis, KL Management) while lobbying 21 different city elected officials of both parties (2007-2025). Its named partner and registered lobbyist-of-record, Paul Robinson (person 405), personally donated $59,948 across 61 contributions in a textbook bipartisan hedge — to the Republican mayor (Faulconer) and the Democratic mayor (Gloria) alike, to both sides of the City Attorney race, into the SDSU West ballot measure, and to the very council members he lobbies. Where Craig Benedetto is the machine's permanent lobbyist and Southwest Strategies its messaging arm, Hecht Solberg is the law firm that turns an entitlement into a vested right.