Anderson Kill is pleased to announce that Jeff Gorell, Senior Counsel  in the firm's Ventura, CA office and a member of the Navy Reserve, was officially installed into the rank of commander at ceremonies June 20 at the Seabee Museum at Naval Base Ventura County.+

Mr. Gorell has completed two one-year tours to the Middle East and Afghanistan and was decorated for his leadership in a combat zone. In 2002, he led a combat camera team in Bagram, Afghanistan; and from 2011-2012, he commanded a targeting cell embedded with the U.S. Marines in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. A third-generation navy veteran, he was selected for promotion last year by the Navy’s annual Commander (O-5) promotion board.

In his legal practice, Mr. Gorell provides clients with strategic legal, government, regulatory and community affairs counsel as they apply to large land development, agriculture, healthcare and energy issues and projects. Leveraging more than fourteen years experience as an advocate at the federal, state and local level, Mr. Gorell advises a wide variety of clients, including energy, agricultural and development companies, helping them navigate public policy as well as legal challenges. He is experienced in the areas of criminal, contract, CEQA, land use, environmental, employment and election law.

Mr. Gorell is a member of the California Assembly and is seeking election to Congress this year in Ventura County’s 26th District.

"We are tremendously proud of Jeff, who has served his country as well as our clients with distinction," said David P. Bender, a shareholder in Anderson Kill's Ventura office and a member of the firm's executive committee.

Mr. Gorell’s military service was previously highlighted in 2011 when he became the first sitting member of the California State Legislature to be called to active military service since World War II. Half of his first two-year term was spent on an unpaid leave of absence from the legislature while he was embedded as a targeting officer with the U.S. Marines at Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan. He earned the Defense Meritorious Service Medal for leadership in a combat zone.

Since 2009, Mr. Gorell has served as executive officer of NR STRATCOM JFCC SPACE, a reserve unit that supports military joint space operations. He is a member of American Legion Post 502 in Moorpark and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9791 in Ojai, and a Past Commander of the Military Order of World Wars in Conejo Valley.