The high-powered law firm that racked up big bills working to keep the city of Los Angeles from losing control over homeless programs is now looking to increase its contract by $5 million.
City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto has asked the City Council to increase the city’s contract with Gibson Dunn & Crutcher to $5.9 million, up from the $900,000 approved three months ago.
Gibson Dunn has been defending the city since mid-May in a lawsuit filed by the nonprofit LA Alliance for Human Rights, which resulted in a settlement agreement requiring the construction of new homeless housing and the removal of street encampments. The group alleges that the city has repeatedly violated the agreement.
The Times reported last month that Gibson Dunn billed the city $1.8 million for about two weeks of work, with 15 attorneys charging $1,295 per hour and others charging lower amounts.
By Aug. 8, Gibson Dunn had racked up $3.2 million in billings in the case, according to a confidential memo sent to the council by Feldstein Soto, a copy of which was reviewed by The Times. Those invoices have arrived during a difficult financial period for the city, caused in part by a surge in expensive legal payouts.
Much of the firm’s work was focused on its preparation for, and participation in, a lengthy hearing before a federal judge who was weighing the group’s request to hand control of the city’s homeless initiatives over to a third party.
Gibson Dunn was retained by the city one week before the hearing, which lasted seven court days, at eight or more hours per day, ending June 4.
“The evidentiary hearing was more extensive than anticipated, with the plaintiffs calling more than a dozen witnesses and seeking to compel City officials to testify,” Feldstein Soto wrote in her memo.
The City Council is scheduled to consider Feldstein Soto’s request Wednesday.
An aide to Feldstein Soto declined to answer questions from The Times, saying the office “cannot comment due to work product and attorney-client privileges.”
The city attorney has repeatedly defended Gibson Dunn’s work, saying the firm kept the city’s homeless initiatives from being turned over to a receiver — a move that would have stripped authority from Mayor Karen Bass and the council.
Gibson Dunn also prevented several elected officials — a group that includes Bass — from having to take the stand, Feldstein Soto said in her memo.
City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez said she would vote against a request to spend an additional $5 million on Gibson Dunn. That money would be better spent on ensuring that the city complies with its legal obligations in the case, which include the construction of 12,915 homeless beds and the removal of 9,800 encampments, she said.
Rodriguez, who also voted against the initial round of funding for Gibson Dunn, said $5 million would be enough to cover “time limited” housing subsidies for at least 500 households in her northeast San Fernando Valley district for a year.
“At the end of the day, we’re here to house people,” she said. “So let’s spend the resources housing them, rather than being in a protracted legal battle.”
Matthew Umhofer, an attorney who represents LA Alliance, called the request for nearly $6 million “ludicrous,” saying the city should focus on compliance with the settlement agreement.
“Gibson is a very good firm. Lawyers cost money. I get it,” he said. “But the city has hundreds of capable lawyers, and the notion that they need to spend this kind of money to prevent a court from holding them to their obligations and their promises, it raises real questions about the decision-making in the city on this issue.”
“For a city that claims to be in fiscal crisis, this is nonsense,” Umhofer added.
In her memo, Feldstein Soto said the additional $5 million would cover Gibson Dunn’s work in the case through June 2027, when the city’s legal settlement with the group is set to expire.
During that period, Gibson Dunn would pursue an appeal of an order by U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, arguing that the judge “reinterpreted” some of the city’s obligations under the settlement agreement, Feldstein Soto said in her memo. The law firm also would seek to “reform” the settlement agreement, Feldstein Soto said.
Theane Evangelis, a Gibson Dunn attorney who led the firm’s LA Alliance team, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Her firm has played a huge role in redefining the way cities are permitted to address homelessness.
Representing Grants Pass, Ore., the firm secured a landmark ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court upholding laws that prohibit homeless people from camping in public spaces.
The firm brought a new, more pugnacious approach to the LA Alliance case, issuing hundreds of objections throughout the seven-day hearing and working to undermine the credibility of key witnesses.
A month later, Carter issued a 62-page order declining to turn L.A.’s homeless programs over to a third party. However, he also found that the city had failed to comply with the settlement agreement.
In addition to pursuing the appeal, Gibson Dunn would help produce the quarterly reports required by the settlement agreement.
