Of Counsel
Mr. Kovacic concentrates his law practice in the areas of eminent domain, land use, and zoning litigation. His eminent domain practice includes well over 500 cases for clients that range from Fortune 500 companies to family businesses; from owners of shopping centers, hotels, farms, golf courses, and large tracts of land to tenants of small commercial parcels.
Mr. Kovacic has been a licensed California attorney since 1976 and a partner in the firm since 1981. In addition to the California State Bar, Mr. Kovacic has been admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court (Central, Eastern, and Southern Districts of California), U.S. Court of Appeals (Ninth Circuit), and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Mr. Kovacic obtained his undergraduate degree in history cum laude from UCLA and his juris doctor, cum laude, from Southwestern University School of Law, where he was a note and comment editor for the law review. Mr. Kovacic taught real property law as an adjunct professor at the University of La Verne College of Law and has served as a guest lecturer on eminent domain law at both the University of Law Verne College of Law and Southwestern University School of Law. From 1990-1992, Mr. Kovacic chaired the Los Angeles County Bar Association Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Committee. He has also been a featured speaker at the American Planning Association Zoning Institute, American Planning Association National Planning Conference, CLE International Regulatory Takings Conference, Appraisal Institute, and International Right of Way Association Annual Valuation Seminar. In addition to his speaking engagements, Mr. Kovacic has co-chaired the CLE International Annual Eminent Domain Conference in Southern California since 2003. He has also been a contributing author for Nichols on Eminent Domain, the nation’s leading treatise on eminent domain law.
In addition to the practice of law, Mr. Kovacic was a member of the City Council of the City of Arcadia, California, recently concluding 18 years of service as a City Council Member and six-term Mayor. He also chaired the City’s Redevelopment Agency Board and Planning Commission, and was a member of the Oversight Board of the City’s Successor Agency, positions that managed numerous development, zoning, and land use issues.
Mr. Kovacic has been very involved with Arcadia’s public school district as a board member of the Arcadia Education Foundation, coach of Arcadia High School’s national champion Constitution Team, and chair of the school district’s successful $218 million school bond campaign.
He is President and CEO of the Arcadia Performing Arts Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports arts education and the new state-of-the-art Arcadia Performing Arts Center. He also serves as president of the board of directors of Foothill Unity Center, a regional food bank.
Mr. Kovacic is rated AV-Preeminent 5.0 out of 5.0 by Martindale-Hubbell and has been consistently listed annually in Southern California’s Best Lawyers and Super Lawyers for Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law based on exhaustive peer-review surveys. He was recently selected for inclusion in the 2020 edition of The Best Lawyers in America for his work in Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law. Mr. Kovacic was also selected as a 2016 Top Rated Lawyer in Land Use/Zoning by American Lawyer Media and Martindale-Hubbell.
Awards & Affiliations
CONTACT INFO
Phone: 626-656-8700
Email: gkovacic@swdlaw.net
PRACTICE AREAS
BAR ADMISSIONS
- California State Bar
- U.S. District Court, Central District of California
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
- U.S. Supreme Court
AFFILIATIONS
- Rated AV-Preeminent 5.0 out of 5.0 by Martindale-Hubbell
- Southern California’s Best Lawyers 2017
(Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law) - Southern California Super Lawyers 2018
(Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law) - 2008 through 2018 Best Lawyers in America (Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law)
- Los Angeles County Bar Association (Chair, Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Committee)
- University of La Verne College of Law (Adjunct Professor, Guest Lecturer)
- Southwestern University School of Law (Guest Lecturer)
- California Eminent Domain Conference, CLE International
(Program Co-Chair, Speaker) - Regulatory Takings Conference, CLE International (Program Chair, Speaker)
- Litigation Seminar, Appraisal Institute, Southern California Chapter (Speaker)
- International Right-of-Way Association, Chapter 1 (Speaker)
- Federal Bar Association – Inland Empire Chapter (Speaker)
- National Planning Conference, American Planning Association
(Program Chair, Speaker) - California Annual Conference, American Planning Association (Speaker)
- Zoning Institute, American Planning Association (Speaker)
- Nichols on Eminent Domain (Contributing Author)
- City of Arcadia (Mayor, City Council Member)
- City of Arcadia, Planning Commission (Chair, Member)
- Arcadia Performing Arts Foundation (President/CEO)
- Foothill Unity Center, Inc. (Vice-President, Board Member)