Law firm that hit L.A. with huge bill to get much more

After homelessness case, Gibson Dunn gets nearly $5 million added to contract.

- DAVIP ZAHNISER

The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday approved a fivefold increase to its contract with a law firm that drew heated criticism for the invoices it submitted in a high-stakes homelessness case.

Three months ago, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher billed the city $1.8 million for two weeks of legal work, with 15 of its attorneys billing nearly $1,300 per hour. By Aug. 8, the cost of the firm's work had jumped to $3.2 million.

The price tag infuriated some on the council, who pointed out that they had approved a three-year contract capped at $900,000 and specifically had asked for regular updates on the case.

Despite those concerns, the council voted 10 to 3 on Wednesday to increase the firm's contract to nearly $5 million for the current fiscal year, which ends in June 2026. Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky supported the move, saying Gibson Dunn's work has been "essential to protecting the city's interests." "At the same time, we put new oversight in place to ensure any additional funding requests come back to council before more money is allocated," said Yaroslavsky, who heads the council's budget committee.

Councilmembers Tim McOsker, Adrin Nazarian and Nithya Raman voted against the contract increase.