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County Counsel highlights rising litigation, public‑records workload and staffing pressures
Summary
County Counsel Karen Schwab and Clayton Cook told supervisors the office is handling increasing litigation, PRA requests and state mandates; office reported settlement savings but also recruiting and space constraints.
Karen Schwab, County Counsel, and Clayton Cook, assistant county counsel, presented their 2025–26 budget to the board and reviewed the office’s recent workload and emerging challenges. Schwab said the office handled roughly 85 open litigation files in the current fiscal year spanning property, employment, CEQA and other claims and that settlements this fiscal year were “roughly $700,000 under the board provided authority.”
The office listed ongoing representation for seven Brown Act bodies and said staff time is heavily devoted to attending hearings, drafting contracts and negotiating agreements. Schwab and Cook described several large, county‑level…
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