Young Wooldridge

What Young Wooldridge does

The Law Offices of Young Wooldridge, LLP is a Bakersfield, California-based limited liability partnership founded in 1939 by Joe Wooldridge and John Young, providing specialized legal services across 12 practice areas including water law, public agency law, agricultural law, business law, real estate, bankruptcy, construction and surety law, employment litigation, environmental/CEQA, eminent domain, estate planning, and intellectual property. The firm employs 14+ attorneys plus support staff and operates from a single headquarters at 10800 Stockdale Hwy, Suite 202, Bakersfield, serving clients throughout California's San Joaquin Valley and Kern County. Its core technical and institutional capability is deep domain expertise developed over 80+ years, particularly in California water law where the co-founders helped establish practice during the 1960s State and Federal water project construction; this expertise now extends to Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) compliance, groundwater adjudications, and representation of public agencies including water districts, the Sites Project Authority, and the Kern Water Bank Authority.

The firm's business model is traditional professional services billing through hourly fees, flat fees, and retainer arrangements, with no proprietary technology platform supporting delivery. Revenue is generated by partner and associate billable hours across litigation, transactional, and advisory engagements, with pricing varied by practice area and matter complexity. Go-to-market relies almost entirely on long-tenured client relationships (some exceeding five decades), professional referrals through bar associations (Kern County Bar Association, American Bar Association, Association of California Water Agencies), and community reputation rather than marketing-driven lead generation. Notable named clients include California Water Districts, the Sites Project Authority, and the Kern Water Bank Authority, with the public-agency/water vertical identified as the primary revenue segment alongside agricultural operations and business entities.

The firm is led by Managing Partner Steven M. Torigiani (Water & Environmental Law), with a partner roster that includes Robert J. Noriega, Alan F. Doud, Kevin M. Danley, Mark R. Bateman, Brett A. Stroud, Lauren Naworski-Smith, Tim G. Scanlon, and James M. Duncan. Of Counsel attorneys Scott K. Kuney and Leonard K. Welsh (joined January 2024) provide senior advisory capacity, while associates Anthony Leonis and Ronnie Capaldi represent younger bench development. Multiple attorneys hold AV Preeminent ratings from Martindale-Hubbell and Super Lawyer designations, and the firm holds no external investment, parent company, or disclosed funding rounds.

Name

Young Wooldridge

Legal name

The Law Offices of Young Wooldridge, LLP

Website

https://youngwooldridge.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1939

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Young Wooldridge is a Bakersfield, California law firm founded in 1939 with 14+ attorneys, providing specialized legal services across water law, public agency, agricultural, business, real estate, and bankruptcy practices to clients in the San Joaquin Valley.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Bakersfield

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Legal Services Billing: Traditional law firm revenue through billable hours and legal fee arrangements for representing clients in various practice areas including water law, business law, real estate, estate planning, bankruptcy, construction law, employment litigation, environmental law, eminent domain, agricultural law, and intellectual property.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Young Wooldridge is a Bakersfield, California-based law firm that delivers legal representation and counsel across twelve practice areas, including water law, public agency law, business transactions and litigation, real estate, construction and surety law, agricultural law, intellectual property, bankruptcy, employment litigation, environmental/CEQA, eminent domain, and estate planning. The firm primarily serves public agencies, agricultural operations, businesses, landowners, and individuals throughout the San Joaquin Valley and Kern County region.

Product overview

The Law Offices of Young Wooldridge, LLP is a full-service law firm offering comprehensive legal services through 12 distinct practice areas. The firm provides specialized legal counsel across Agricultural Law, Bankruptcy, Business Law (including Construction & Surety Law and Intellectual Property Law), Employment Litigation, Environmental Law/CEQA, Estate Planning (with sub-services for Wills, Trusts, Advance Directives, Power of Attorney, Probate Administration, and Trust Administration), Eminent Domain, Public Agency Law, Real Estate Law, and Water Law. Rather than a unified software product, the firm delivers personalized legal services tailored to individual and business client needs in California, with particular expertise in water rights and agricultural law matters in the San Joaquin Valley.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Agricultural Law Legal services for agricultural real property transactions including negotiating and drafting contracts for purchasing, selling, and lending related to farm and ranch lands, PACA claims, and farm-related secured transactions.
• Bankruptcy Law Legal representation in insolvency, bankruptcy, and debtor-creditor rights with emphasis on business and individual reorganization cases under Chapters 7, 11, 12, and 13 of the Bankruptcy Code.
• Business Law Comprehensive business legal services including business planning, formation, transactions, litigation, LLCs, and limited partnerships.
• Construction & Surety Law Construction and surety litigation and business counseling for both private and public works of improvement, including mechanics lien claims, payment bond claims, and construction defect disputes.
• Eminent Domain Legal representation in eminent domain and condemnation proceedings, including prosecuting and defending land acquisition cases.
• Employment Litigation Defense of employers in wage and hour claims, wrongful termination, discrimination and harassment claims, and drafting employment agreements.
• Environmental Law / CEQA Legal services for environmental law matters including CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act), NEPA, and ESA compliance and litigation.
• Estate Planning Comprehensive estate planning services including drafting wills, establishing trusts, facilitating probate, and setting up guardianships and conservatorships.
• Intellectual Property Law Prosecution of patent and trademark applications, copyright registration, licensing agreements, and intellectual property litigation.
• Public Agency Law Legal services for public agencies including Brown Act compliance, conflict of interest, public finance, and public contracting matters.
• Real Estate Law Legal representation for real estate transactions including lease agreements, subordination and attornment, and agricultural real estate property transactions.
• Water Law Specialized legal services for water rights, surface and groundwater rights, groundwater adjudications, and Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) compliance.

Quantifiable outcome

• Represented some water district clients for over five decades
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Somach Simmons & Dunn: Sacramento-based law firm recognized as one of California's leading water law practices, serving public agencies, irrigation districts, and private water users. Directly comparable to Young Wooldridge's Water Law franchise and overlapping public agency client base.
• Kronick Moskovitz Tiedemann & Hedges: Sacramento firm with deep water rights, CEQA, and public agency expertise. Compares closely on water law specialization and representation of California water districts and public agencies.

Regional players

• McCormick Barstow Sheppard Wayne & Carr: Full-service regional law firm based in Fresno serving California's Central Valley with practices overlapping Young Wooldridge's business, real estate, employment, and litigation work. Comparable mid-size regional platform serving the same geography.
• Lang Richert & Patch: Fresno-based full-service regional firm with comparable practice breadth including business, real estate, employment, and ag-related matters. Competes for the same Central Valley mid-market business and agricultural clients.
• Dowling Aaron Incorporated: Bakersfield-based full-service firm serving Kern County with overlapping business, real estate, employment, and litigation practices. Direct local competitor for Kern County clients and talent.
• Klein DeNatale Goldner: Bakersfield-based regional law firm offering business, real estate, employment, and litigation services. Direct local competitor in the Kern County market for mid-market business clients.
• Coleman & Horowitt: Bakersfield-based regional firm with comparable full-service practice including business, real estate, employment, and litigation. Direct local competitor in the Kern County market.
• Borton Petrini: California regional law firm with offices across the Central Valley and statewide, offering overlapping business, real estate, employment, and litigation practices. Competes for Central Valley mid-market clients and lateral talent.

Broad incumbents

• Best Best & Krieger: Large California-based firm with nationally recognized water, public agency, and municipal law practices. Comparable in water law and special district representation, though operating at a substantially larger scale across multiple states.
• Nossaman LLP: California-based infrastructure and public agency law firm with deep water, environmental, and CEQA practices. Competes for high-end water and public infrastructure matters including those in the San Joaquin Valley.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/YoungWooldridge
• Xx.com/youngwooldridge
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/young-wooldridge

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Young Wooldridge