When City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto decided she needed help in a high-profile federal lawsuit around providing shelter for unhoused people back in May, she asked the L.A. City Council to approve an initial two-year contract with an outside law firm “not to exceed” $900,000.

The contract was notable for its size — 15 attorneys, each at $1,295 an hour, for a multi-day mini-trial, a follow up brief to the court and a likely appeal of the judge’s ultimate ruling — at a time when the city was facing a nearly $1 billion budget deficit.

But the $900,000 authorized by the council was blown massively in just the first few days — with no sign of the council being informed or giving its authorization, despite the council’s instruction to keep them in the loop.

When City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto decided she needed help in a high-profile federal lawsuit around providing shelter for unhoused people back in May, <a href="https://cityclerk.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2020/20-0263-S3_rpt_ATTY_05-16-25.pdf">she asked</a> the L.A. City Council to approve an initial <a href="https://laist.com/news/housing-homelessness/la-hires-big-law-firm-at-900-000-in-long-running-court-battle-over-homelessness-spending">two-year contract with an outside law firm</a> &ldquo;not to exceed&rdquo; $900,000.
The contract was notable for its size &mdash; 15 attorneys, each at $1,295 an hour, for a multi-day mini-trial, a follow up brief to the court and a likely appeal of the judge&rsquo;s ultimate ruling &mdash; at a time when the <a href="https://laist.com/news/politics/la-city-council-approves-budget-city-workers-layoffs-lapd">city was facing a nearly $1 billion budget deficit</a>.
But the $900,000 authorized by the council was blown massively in just the first few days &mdash; with no sign of the council being informed or giving its authorization, despite the council&rsquo;s instruction to keep them in the loop.