About Shruti

Shruti Sinha is a land use planner originally from Los Angeles, California. After graduating from the University of California, Santa Barbara, she earned her J.D. from Whittier Law School with a concentration in Environmental Law.

Shruti’s interest in environmental and land use law led her into clerkships with environmental enforcement attorneys in the Orange County District Attorney’s Environmental and Consumer Protection Unit and the San Francisco Baykeeper – experiences which ultimately landed her in the world of urban planning.

After several years working in state service as an environmental planner for the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, she switched coasts and moved to Fairfax, Virginia.

In 2025, Shruti joined Vanderpool, Frostick & Nishanian, P.C. as a land use planner. Here, she assists the firm’s land use attorneys in navigating land use and zoning in Prince William and other Northern Virginia counties. Her projects span the gamut of industrial, commercial, residential, institutional, and agricultural developments and include data centers, small businesses, single- and multi-family developments, churches, and agritourism.

Land use practice is collaborative in nature, and Shruti enjoys working with engineers, architects, environmental scientists, urban planners, attorneys, developers, property owners, and government officials. She loves learning to see the world through the eyes of different experts and credits this accrued multidisciplinary knowledge for her ability to deftly navigate competing interests to achieve client objectives while ensuring compliance with local, state, and federal regulations.

In her free time, Shruti enjoys cycling and snowboarding with her husband and weekend brunches with friends.

Q&A: Get to Know Shruti

What do you consider the pinnacle of urban planning?

The Presidio in San Francisco. It’s a masterpiece of park planning which optimizes the urban-coastal interface by offering some of the most beautiful scenery in the world while also preserving the cultural history of the area and brilliantly managing transportation for vehicles, bikes, and pedestrians. I’m looking for a Mid-Atlantic equivalent and taking recommendations!

Education

  • Juris Doctor (J.D.), Environmental Law Concentration – Whittier Law School”
  • Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Global Studies – University of California, Santa Barbara

 

Practice Areas

Professional Activities

  • American Planning Association, Virginia Chapter (Professional Member)
  • Virginia Women Attorneys Association, Prince William County Chapter (Member)
  • State Bar of California (Inactive Member in Good Standing)