A high-profile regulation agency representing town of Los Angeles in a sweeping homelessness case submitted an $1.8-million bill for 2 weeks of labor in Could, in accordance with data reviewed by The Instances.
The bill from Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP comes as town is already beneath critical monetary stress, brought about partly by quickly rising authorized payouts.
With at the least 15 of Gibson Dunn’s attorneys billing at practically $1,300 per hour, the value tag to date equates to simply beneath $140,000 per day over a 13-day interval.
Gibson Dunn, whereas representing town of Grants Go, Ore., not too long ago secured a landmark ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court docket that upheld legal guidelines barring homeless encampments in public areas.
Los Angeles officers retained the regulation agency in Could, roughly every week earlier than a seven-day evidentiary listening to to find out whether or not management over town’s homelessness packages ought to be taken away from Mayor Karen Bass and the Metropolis Council and turned over to a third-party receiver.
A month later, U.S. District Decide David O. Carter issued a scathing ruling, saying town failed to stick to the phrases of a three-year-old settlement settlement with the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights, which requires the creation of 12,915 homeless beds or different housing alternatives by June 2027.
Nonetheless, Carter additionally concluded that “this isn’t the time” at hand management of town’s roughly $1 billion in homelessness packages to a 3rd get together.
Matthew Umhofer, an legal professional representing the Alliance, stated town paid large cash to Gibson Dunn in a failed try to wriggle out of its authorized obligations.
“Town ought to be spending this cash on complying with the settlement, and/or offering companies to the individuals who want them,” he stated. “As an alternative, they’re paying a regulation agency to battle tooth and nail in opposition to obligations which can be clear within the settlement settlement — and {that a} decide has affirmed they’re in violation of.”
The bill, which The Instances obtained from town legal professional’s workplace, lists a billing interval from Could 19 to Could 31, protecting every week of preparations for the high-stakes federal listening to, in addition to 4 of the seven trial days — every of which usually lasted eight or extra hours.
Theane Evangelis, head of the Gibson Dunn staff representing town, referred questions in regards to the bill to town legal professional’s workplace.
Karen Richardson, a spokesperson for Metropolis Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto, stated in a press release that Gibson Dunn “did an excellent job of entering into a vital matter that had been in litigation for practically 5 years earlier than they have been employed,” compressing “what would usually be years price of labor into a really brief time interval.”
“We’re grateful for his or her service and are within the means of reviewing the expenditures … to make sure that we return to Council with a whole image of what was finished and charged,” she stated in a press release.
Town retained Gibson Dunn simply as council members have been signing off on tons of of worker layoffs, half of a bigger technique for closing an almost $1-billion funds shortfall. The primary batch of layoff notices was scheduled to exit this week.
The Metropolis Council initially appropriated $900,000 for Gibson Dunn, for a interval not exceeding three years, in accordance with the agency’s contract. Going over $900,000 required prior written approval from town legal professional, in accordance with the contract.
The regulation agency rapidly surpassed that threshold, finally billing double the desired quantity.
Throughout the seven-day listening to, Gibson Dunn took a extremely aggressive posture, voicing quite a few objections to questions from attorneys representing the Alliance, in addition to two organizations that intervened within the case.
Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, who serves on the council’s homelessness committee, stated town legal professional’s workplace didn’t advise him that Gibson Dunn’s authorized prices had reached $1.8 million in such a brief interval. Blumenfield, who represents a part of the San Fernando Valley, stated he’s “not completely satisfied” however is reserving additional remark till he receives extra specifics.
Three months in the past, Blumenfield co-authored a movement with Councilmember Tim McOsker in search of common updates on the Alliance litigation — each from Gibson Dunn and town legal professional’s workplace.
McOsker, who serves on the funds committee and spent a number of years working town legal professional’s workplace, additionally didn’t obtain notification of the Gibson Dunn $1.8-million bill from town’s authorized staff, in accordance with Sophie Gilchrist, his spokesperson.
Gilchrist stated her boss had requested for normal updates to “stop any surprises in billing” associated to the Alliance case.
“That’s why the Councilmember is requesting that this matter be delivered to Metropolis Council instantly, so the Metropolis Lawyer can present a full accounting and focus on all invoices associated to the case,” she stated.
Gibson Dunn has filed a discover of town’s intent to attraction at the least parts of Carter’s ruling, which ordered a third-party monitor to assessment and confirm the info being produced by town on its housing and encampment targets.
Carter signaled that he most likely would order town to pay the authorized charges of the Alliance and homeless advocacy teams which have intervened within the case. To this point, the Alliance has sought $1.3 million from town to cowl its authorized bills incurred since April 2024.
In a press release to The Instances earlier this week, Evangelis, the Gibson Dunn lawyer, cited the decide’s “suggestion that the Alliance might get better attorneys’ charges” as one purpose for the attraction.
“The Metropolis believes that its assets ought to be spent offering companies to these in want, not redirected to the Alliance’s attorneys — significantly when the district court docket has rejected most of their arguments,” she stated.
