Law firm's contract hiked to nearly $7.5 million in L.A. homelessness case

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The Los Angeles City Council has again increased what it will pay Gibson Dunn to represent it in a contentious homelessness case, bringing the law firm’s contract to nearly $7.5 million.In mid-May, the council approved a three-year contract capped at $900,000.The law firm then billed the city $1.8 million for two weeks of legal work, with 15 of its attorneys charging nearly $1,300 per hour.

California The decision comes three months after Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher billed the city $1.8 million for two weeks of work, with 15 attorneys billing nearly $1,300 per hour.In a closed-door meeting Wednesday, the council voted 9-4 to approve an increase of about $1.8 million from the current $5.7 million, with Councilmembers John Lee, Tim McOsker, Imelda Padilla and Monica Rodriguez opposed.It was not clear why the additional money was needed.

Rodriguez said that spending resources on outside lawyers instead of complying with the settlement terms in the case is “simply a waste of public funds.”“In the face of a mounting homelessness crisis, it’s misguided for the City to continue pouring our scarce resources into outside counsel instead of housing the most vulnerable Angelenos,” Rodriguez said in a statement.The contract “has expanded significantly beyond its original scope,” Lee said in a statement, later adding, “I believe the Council has a duty to demand transparency and closely scrutinize costs.”The L.A.city attorney’s office did not respond to a request for comment.The city reached a settlement with the nonprofit LA Alliance in 2022, agreeing to create 12,915 homeless shelter beds or other housing opportunities, while also clearing thousands of encampments.Since then, the LA Alliance has repeatedly accused the city of failing to comply with the terms of the settlement agreement.Gibson Dunn was retained by the city a week before a federal judge called a seven-...