Utah, Bodhi & Riptide LLC · San Diego, California
Steady counsel for changing tides.
We are a coastal California law firm for businesses that live and work where the land meets the water. We watch the conditions, we read the currents, and we paddle out prepared — so you can keep your eyes on the horizon.
What We Do
Deep experience at the waterline
Most firms practice near the coast. We practice on it — where riparian rights, maritime jurisdiction, and a stiff onshore breeze complicate everything.
Coastal & Riparian Rights
Shoreline access, coastal permits, easements, and erosion disputes — everywhere private rights meet the public tide.
Admiralty & Maritime
Vessel incidents, charters, marine insurance, salvage, and the jurisdictional questions that begin where the sand ends.
Privacy & Cybersecurity
Incident response, security readiness, and defensible communications — because the nastiest storms arrive by email.
The Firm
Thirty-five years of reading the water
Founded in 1991 by three lawyers who met — depending on which partner tells the story — at an admiralty conference in San Diego, or in the parking lot at a point break none of them will name.
Both versions end the same way: with an argument about riparian easements that was settled over breakfast burritos and has now been running, amicably and on the record, for thirty-five years.
Our Story
“Every client deserves the ultimate effort. The ultimate price, however, is billed at standard hourly rates.”
— John E. Utah, Managing PartnerTrusted By
Businesses that work the coast
Latest
From the firm
Kira Riptide to speak on cyber incident readiness
Name partner Kira Riptide joins a panel on privileged investigations and the first 24 hours of an incident. Her talk, “Before the Swell Arrives,” emphasizes preparation over improvisation.
Firm recognized for coastal technology practice
The California Current Business Review cites the team's ability to navigate intellectual-property disputes without losing sight of the commercial shoreline.
The set is always coming.
The best time to talk to counsel is before the storm makes landfall. The second-best time is now.