City Council

(9) 26-0040 PERSONNEL AND HIRING and BUDGET AND FINANCE COMMITTEES’ REPORTS relative to a comprehensive staffing plan for the Office of the City Attorney with detailed current and projected staffing needs that is designed to significantly reduce the City’s reliance on outside counsel costs. A. PERSONNEL AND HIRING COMMITTEE REPORT Recommendations for Council action, pursuant to Motion (McOsker, Yaroslavsky - Jurado): 1. REQUEST the City Attorney, with assistance from the City Administrative Officer (CAO), Personnel Department, the City Attorneys Association, and other relevant bargaining groups, to report to the Budget and Finance Committee and the Personnel and Hiring Committee with the following: a. A comprehensive staffing plan for the Office of the City Attorney that details current and projected staffing needs and is designed to significantly reduce the City’s reliance on outside counsel costs. The plan should include: i. The number of new positions required across litigation, advisory, and specialized units, and the respective recommended class codes and job classifications. ii. The proposed salary ranges and compensation adjustments needed to remain competitive for the positions and class codes/classifications. iii. Recruitment timelines, hiring strategies, and any Civil Service or Council action required, as well as budgetary steps required to achieve the staffing plan. iv. The projected fiscal impacts and long-term savings associated with shifting work from outside counsel to in-house legal teams. b. General hiring barriers affecting the recruitment and retention of qualified attorneys. c. Workload impacts on litigation, advisory, and municipal law functions. d. Budgetary, structural, or policy changes needed to ensure the Office of the City Attorney is adequately staffed to meet the legal needs of the City of Los Angeles. 2. REQUEST the City Attorney, CAO, and the Personnel Department to report on and provide relevant data and recommendations to include and build upon issues raised in prior Council actions (specifically Council File No. 25- 1023) concerning City Attorney staffing, workload, reliance on outside counsel, and hiring capacity. B. BUDGET AND FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORT Recommendations for Council action, as initiated by Motion (McOsker, Yaroslavsky - Jurado): 1. REQUEST the City Attorney, with assistance from the City Administrative Officer (CAO), Personnel Department, the City Attorneys Association, and other relevant bargaining groups, to report to the Budget and Finance Committee and the Personnel and Hiring Committee with the following: a. A comprehensive staffing plan for the Office of the City Attorney that details current and projected staffing needs and is designed to significantly reduce the City’s reliance on outside counsel costs. The plan should include: i. The number of new positions required across litigation, advisory, and specialized units, and the respective recommended class codes and job classifications. ii. The proposed salary ranges and compensation adjustments needed to remain competitive for the positions and class codes/classifications. iii. Recruitment timelines, hiring strategies, and any Civil Service or Council action required, as well as budgetary steps required to achieve the staffing plan. iv. The projected fiscal impacts and long-term savings associated with shifting work from outside counsel to in-house legal teams. b. General hiring barriers affecting the recruitment and retention of qualified attorneys. c. Workload impacts on litigation, advisory, and municipal law functions. d. Budgetary, structural, or policy changes needed to ensure the Office of the City Attorney is adequately staffed to meet the legal needs of the City of Los Angeles. 2. REQUEST the City Attorney to include in its subsequent report an assessment of adequate staffing needs to ensure an expedited process of review for judgments that accrue interest, to ensure they are before the Claims Board and then the Budget and Finance Committee within 30 days. 3. REQUEST the Chief Legislative Analyst (CLA) to advise on any required changes, including legislative action through the Los Angeles Municipal Code or Los Angeles Administrative Code, or by way of codification in the City’s Financial Policies, to ensure the enforcement of the 30- day timeline for judgments that accrue interest. Fiscal Impact Statement: Neither the CAO nor the CLA has completed a financial analysis of this report.