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Three law firms pitch to serve as Comptons outside counsel; council to interview planning-commission candidates Jan. 27
Summary
Olivares Madruga, Nossaman and Sanders Roberts gave timed presentations to the Compton City Council on Jan. 13, pitching municipal- and litigation-law experience to serve as outside counsel or city attorney; council clarified expectations about a designated city-attorney designee and asked firms about local presence and workload.
Three law firms presented competing bids to serve as Comptons legal counsel at the City Council meeting on Jan. 13, outlining experience in municipal law, litigation and land-use work and answering council questions about staffing and local presence.
Tom Madruga, a senior partner with Olivares Madruga, told the council his firm has about 42 lawyers, including a 20-attorney municipal group, and emphasized litigation experience and a team approach. "You're gonna get an opinion based upon the law and the facts," Madruga said, adding the firm would designate a specific individual if appointed city attorney while still calling on broader firm resources.
Lolly Enriquez and Alfred Smith, partners with Nossaman, highlighted their municipal- and public-finance expertise. Enriquez noted prior work supporting municipal compliance and training, and Smith emphasized a breadth of practice, including closed-session and Brown Act guidance. "We truly have a deep, deep bridal specialist," a Nossaman representative said while describing the firms team structure.
Melvin Felton of Sanders Roberts, which described itself as a litigation-focused firm, emphasized high-stakes employment and tort litigation experience and noted more than 10 years of prior work with the city.
Councilmembers pressed presenters on a range of operational issues, including whether firms would name a single city-attorney designee and how many days a week attorneys would maintain local office hours. Madruga said the firm could accommodate office hours as needed and would "designate a specific individual to comply with the regulations" if appointed.
The presentations were conducted under the timed format the council set for this RFP review. Councilmembers said they wanted more time to vet candidates and to make certain that any appointment complied with the city charter and Brown Act requirements. Separately at the meeting the council agreed to hold interviews and candidate introductions for planning-commission appointees at the Jan. 27 meeting so the full council can question and appoint candidates that evening.
Next steps: staff will coordinate follow-up materials and the council will consider interviews and potential appointments at the Jan. 27 meeting.
