Los Angeles City Attorney

Los Angeles City Attorney
Name	Los Angeles City Attorney
Incumbentsince	2022
Incumbent	Hydee Feldstein Soto
Formation	1850s

Los Angeles City Attorney

The Los Angeles City Attorney is an elected municipal official who serves as the chief legal advisor and prosecutor for the City of Los Angeles, providing legal counsel to the Mayor of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles City Council, and many city departments while representing the city in civil litigation and prosecuting misdemeanor offenses in city courts. The office interacts with agencies such as the Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles Fire Department, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and regional bodies including the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Southern California Association of Governments. Holders of the office have often been prominent figures in California politics, linked to institutions like the University of California, Los Angeles, University of Southern California, Harvard Law School, and Stanford Law School.

Overview

The City Attorney advises elected officials including the Mayor of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles City Council, and commissioners serving on boards such as the Los Angeles Board of Public Works, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority board, and Los Angeles Unified School District governors. The office litigates against and defends entities like the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros., and major utilities including Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric. It engages with federal courts such as the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the United States District Court for the Central District of California, and coordinates with state institutions like the California Attorney General, California Legislature, California Supreme Court, and California Department of Justice.

History

The office traces roots to municipal development during the American period after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and early statehood under the California State Constitution. Early officeholders operated amid events like the California Gold Rush, the Los Angeles Aqueduct project, the Zanja Madre, and growth tied to railroads including Southern Pacific Railroad and Union Pacific Railroad. In the 20th century the City Attorney confronted issues arising from the motion picture industry—Paramount Pictures, MGM, Columbia Pictures—and labor disputes involving the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, American Federation of Labor, and Congress of Industrial Organizations. The office litigated during the era of Prohibition, the Great Depression, World War II mobilization affecting Fort MacArthur and Naval bases, the postwar suburban expansion tied to developer projects by Howard Hughes, and legal questions involving civil rights movements including the United States v. City of Los Angeles litigation and cases connected to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and American Civil Liberties Union. More recent decades involved responses to the 1992 Los Angeles riots, the Rampart scandal affecting the Los Angeles Police Department, litigation about Measure R and Measure M transit initiatives, and legal actions related to the 2000s housing boom and Great Recession.

Powers and Responsibilities

The City Attorney represents the city in civil disputes, files lawsuits against corporations like Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and Alphabet, and defends municipal ordinances such as zoning rules affecting the Los Angeles Department of City Planning and provisions under the California Environmental Quality Act. The office prosecutes misdemeanor offenses in Los Angeles Municipal Court matters, negotiates settlement agreements with entities like the United States Department of Justice, and issues legal opinions shaping policy on policing practices, public safety strategies with the Los Angeles Police Protective League, and contractual matters involving the Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles World Airports, and the Port of Los Angeles. It drafts and reviews legislation for the Los Angeles City Council by collaborating with committees such as the Budget and Finance Committee, Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee, and Planning and Land Use Management Committee.

Organization and Divisions

The office comprises divisions aligned with civil litigation, criminal prosecution, consumer protection, public finance, environmental law, and labor and employment counsel. Units collaborate with external agencies including the Los Angeles County District Attorney, Los Angeles County Public Defender, California Public Utilities Commission, Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Attorney for the Central District of California, and the Securities and Exchange Commission in matters ranging from antitrust claims involving Amazon and Walmart to securities litigation involving Tesla and Apple. Specialized teams handle consumer actions paralleling work by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, civil rights matters often intersecting with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and land-use litigation touching the California Coastal Commission and Los Angeles Conservancy.

Elections and Officeholders

City Attorneys are elected by voters in Los Angeles in partisan or nonpartisan ballots depending on municipal rules, often campaigning alongside figures like the Mayor of Los Angeles, Los Angeles City Controller, and Los Angeles County Supervisor candidates. Prominent holders include attorneys who advanced to statewide or federal roles connected to the California Governor’s office, California State Legislature, United States Congress, federal judiciary, and positions at firms such as Latham & Watkins, O’Melveny & Myers, Gibson Dunn, and Morrison & Foerster. Elections have featured endorsements from leaders like Senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris, Representatives Adam Schiff and Karen Bass, and mayors including Antonio Villaraigosa and Eric Garcetti. Campaign issues have intersected with ballot measures like Proposition 13, Proposition 47, Proposition 57, Measure S, and ballot initiatives affecting rent control and homelessness policy.

Notable Cases and Initiatives

Notable litigation includes actions addressing public nuisance claims tied to homelessness encampments involving the ACLU, litigation against ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft, consumer protection suits against mortgage servicers during the subprime mortgage crisis, environmental enforcement regarding the Los Angeles River restoration and stormwater discharges under the Clean Water Act, and civil rights consent decrees affecting policing practices following DOJ investigations. Initiatives launched by officeholders have partnered with organizations like the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, United Way of Greater Los Angeles, Hathaway-Sycamores, and Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority to pursue diversion programs, veterans’ courts, eviction defense clinics, and consumer fraud task forces targeting scams by telemarketers and payday lenders.

Category:Los Angeles County, California Category:Municipal law