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 line with information reviewed by The Instances.
The bill from Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP comes as town is already beneath critical monetary strain, prompted partly by quickly rising authorized payouts.
With a minimum of 15 of Gibson Dunn’s legal professionals billing at practically $1,300 per hour, the worth tag to this point equates to simply beneath $140,000 per day over a 13-day interval.
Gibson Dunn, whereas representing town of Grants Cross, Ore., lately secured a landmark ruling from the U.S. Supreme Courtroom that upheld legal guidelines barring homeless encampments in public areas.
Los Angeles officers retained the regulation agency in Could, roughly per week earlier than a seven-day evidentiary listening to to find out whether or not management over town’s homelessness applications must 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 Choose 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” handy management of town’s roughly $1 billion in homelessness applications to a 3rd social gathering.
Matthew Umhofer, an lawyer representing the Alliance, mentioned town paid massive cash to Gibson Dunn in a failed try to wriggle out of its authorized obligations.
“Town must be spending this cash on complying with the settlement, and/or offering companies to the individuals who want them,” he mentioned. “As a substitute, they’re paying a regulation agency to combat tooth and nail towards obligations which can be clear within the settlement settlement — and {that a} choose has affirmed they’re in violation of.”
The bill, which The Instances obtained from town lawyer’s workplace, lists a billing interval from Could 19 to Could 31, overlaying per week of preparations for the high-stakes federal listening to, in addition to 4 of the seven trial days — every of which generally lasted eight or extra hours.
Theane Evangelis, head of the Gibson Dunn workforce representing town, referred questions concerning the bill to town lawyer’s workplace.
Karen Richardson, a spokesperson for Metropolis Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto, mentioned in a press release that Gibson Dunn “did an excellent job of getting into a vital matter that had been in litigation for practically 5 years earlier than they had been employed,” compressing “what would usually be years value of labor into a really quick time interval.”
“We’re grateful for his or her service and are within the technique of reviewing the expenditures … to make sure that we return to Council with an entire image of what was finished and charged,” she mentioned in a press release.
Town retained Gibson Dunn simply as council members had been signing off on lots of of worker layoffs, half of a bigger technique for closing an almost $1-billion finances 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 line with the agency’s contract. Going over $900,000 required prior written approval from town lawyer, in line with the contract.
The regulation agency shortly surpassed that threshold, ultimately billing double the required quantity.
Through 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, mentioned town lawyer’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, mentioned he’s “not blissful” however is reserving additional remark till he receives extra specifics.
Three months in the past, Blumenfield co-authored a movement with Councilmember Tim McOsker looking for common updates on the Alliance litigation — each from Gibson Dunn and town lawyer’s workplace.
McOsker, who serves on the finances committee and spent a number of years operating town lawyer’s workplace, additionally didn’t obtain notification of the Gibson Dunn $1.8-million bill from town’s authorized workforce, in line with Sophie Gilchrist, his spokesperson.
Gilchrist mentioned 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 mentioned.
Gibson Dunn has filed a discover of town’s intent to enchantment a minimum of parts of Carter’s ruling, which ordered a third-party monitor to evaluate and confirm the info being produced by town on its housing and encampment targets.
Carter signaled that he in all probability would order town to pay the authorized charges of the Alliance and homeless advocacy teams which have intervened within the case. To date, 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 choose’s “suggestion that the Alliance might get better attorneys’ charges” as one cause for the enchantment.
“The Metropolis believes that its sources must be spent offering companies to these in want, not redirected to the Alliance’s legal professionals — notably when the district courtroom has rejected most of their arguments,” she mentioned.
