Mr. DePaoli is an experienced water law attorney.  He has represented Sierra Pacific Power Company, now NV Energy, and the Truckee Meadows Water Authority in long-standing water rights disputes on the Truckee River.  Mr. DePaoli was involved in negotiations leading up to the Truckee-Carson-Pyramid Lake Water Rights Settlement Act, Public Law No. 101-618, in the negotiations which resulted in the execution of the Truckee River Operating Agreement, and is involved in the process which will ultimately result in the implementation of that Agreement and the Settlement Act.  He is counsel to the Walker River Irrigation District.  That representation includes federal reserved rights litigation on the Walker River in Nevada and California.  Mr. DePaoli has extensive experience in all facets of water law.  That experience includes appearances before the Nevada State Engineer, California administrative agencies, committees of the Nevada Legislature, and state and federal trial and appellate courts.

Mr. DePaoli also has broad civil practice experience, including estate, personal injury, eminent domain and business tort litigation in state and federal trial courts and the Nevada Supreme Court.  He also has been active in land use issues and litigation at Lake Tahoe.  His experience includes numerous appearances before the Nevada Legislature concerning the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Compact, before committees of the United States Congress concerning the Santini-Burton Act, and before federal courts in Nevada and California and in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Mr. DePaoli has attained an "AV" peer rating through the Martindale Hubbell ratings system, has been included in America's Leading Lawyers for Environment in the Chambers USA Client Guide and has been selected for inclusion in the "Best Lawyers in America" and in the "Mountain States Super Lawyers" publication.

Mr. DePaoli served as a member of the editorial board of the Western Water Law and Policy Reporter.  He has chaired the annual conference on Nevada Water Law.  He served two terms as a member of the Carson City Advisory Council to the Bureau of Land Management, having been appointed by the Secretary of the Interior.  He served as a member of the Ninth Circuit Advisory Committee on Rules of Practice and Internal Operating Procedures.  Mr. DePaoli was President of the Washoe County Bar Association, and of the Board of Trustees of Volunteer Lawyers of Washoe County, a non-profit corporation which provided pro-bono legal services in Washoe County.  He served as Chairman of the Nevada Standing Committee on Judicial Ethics and Election Practices from 2005 to 2008.