Ben Saltsman is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He is chair of Gibson Dunn's Land Use and Development Practice Group and a member of the firm's Real Estate Department. Ben’s practice focuses on successfully obtaining land use entitlements for major real estate development projects in Los Angeles County, Orange County, and throughout California, as well as advising institutional investors and lenders on development-related matters.
Capitalizing on his deep understanding of both local government and the laws governing development in California, Ben works with clients to strategically navigate the complex interaction of local and state land use laws, politics / public policy, and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). He advises clients on CEQA matters, the California Coastal Act, zoning law, historic preservation standards and ordinances, and State laws governing the dissolution of redevelopment agencies in California.
Ben’s clients include private developers, financial investors and lenders, television studios, non-profit organizations, airlines, religious institutions, large land owners, and sports and entertainment companies. He has successfully advised clients on a wide-range of projects, including the redevelopment of large retail centers, mixed-use and multi-family developments, Class A office developments, large master planned communities, creative office campuses, the redevelopment of former military bases, movie studios, hotels, and the reconstruction of two new terminals at LAX.
Ben has been recognized as a leading lawyer by:
- Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America™ 2022, 2023 and 2024 in Land Use and Zoning Law
- Chambers USA 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 for California Real Estate: Land Use/Zoning
- California Lawyer Association 2016 as one of the Attorneys of the Year for extraordinary achievement in Real Estate & Development
Highlights of Ben’s recent experience include advising:
- Murphy’s Bowl LLC in the land acquisition and pre-development strategy for the Inglewood Basketball and Entertainment Center (IBEC), also known as the Intuit Dome, the new home of the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team as well as a fourth major concert venue in the City of Inglewood.
- Los Angeles Rams in the successful entitlement of the team’s practice facility in the Warner Center neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles.
- Delta Air Lines, Inc. in the entitlement of two new terminals at Los Angeles International Airport.
- JP Morgan in the complicated redevelopment of Sunnyvale Mall in Northern California including successfully negotiating and securing a comprehensive update of the special development permits, housing agreement, development agreements.
- The Kroenke Group in leading the development team implementing the multi-billion dollar sports and entertainment complex (SoFi Stadium) on 298 acres in the City of Inglewood.
- The entitlement effort on the redevelopment of the two City blocks in Beverly Hills, California containing the Saks and former Barneys Beverly Hills stores with more than 640,000 square feet of new development including an adaptive reuse of the historic women’s store, the relocation of the Saks Women’s store, and the addition of housing, creative office, restaurant and retail uses to reactivate the street.
- Ongoing entitlement of the Great Park Neighborhoods in Irvine, allowing for the development of more than 10,500 homes, hundreds of acres of parks, millions of square feet of office and such non-traditional uses such as a major cancer hospital and related office and treatment facilities all within a master planned community comprising the former Maria Corps Air Station El Toro.
Additional relevant information about Ben include:
- Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Ben served as a senior advisor to a Los Angeles County Supervisor for nearly 15 years where he was responsible for planning and land-use issues, and coordinating policies and programs with developers, homeowner groups, environmental organizations, and various state and local governmental entities. Ben also oversaw, among other agencies, the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), the Community Development Commission and the Los Angeles County Housing Authority. As a Supervisor’s Deputy, Ben coordinated the successful entitlement and approval of major private sector and public sector development projects, including: a major campus master plan, a specific plan for a Los Angeles movie studio and entertainment complex, funding and entitlements for more than one thousand affordable housing units throughout Los Angeles County, the acquisition of thousands of acres of publicly owned open space, and the certification of a local coastal program by the California Coastal Commission.
- Ben earned his Juris Doctor, summa cum laude, in 2014 from Loyola Law School where he was a member of the Order of the Coif. He received his Master of Planning degree, with highest honors, in 2007 from the University of Southern California, and his Bachelor of Arts degree, magna cum laude, in 2002 from UCLA where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
- Ben has also lectured at academic and professional forums and written a nationally award winning paper on best practices in the land use entitlement process.
- He is a past board member of Pasadena Heritage and has an extensive pro bono practice.
Capabilities
- Land Use and Development
- Environmental Litigation and Mass Tort
- Infrastructure
- Projects
- Public Policy
- Real Estate
Credentials
Education:
- Loyola Marymount University - 2014 Juris Doctor
- University of Southern California - 2007 Master of Planning
- University of California, Los Angeles - 2002 Bachelor of Arts
Admissions:
- California Bar