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Three firms pitch municipal-law teams to Compton council; presentations emphasize litigation and municipal expertise
Summary
Three law firms presented five‑to‑seven‑minute pitches to the Compton City Council — Olivares/Madruga, Nasaman, and Sanders Roberts — each emphasizing municipal-law experience, litigation capacity, and a team approach; councilors asked about availability and designated city-attorney contacts.
The Compton City Council heard competitive presentations Jan. 13 from three law firms seeking to provide special legal counsel or serve as the city attorney. Each firm introduced a core team and described practice strengths, past municipal clients, and how they would staff the city's work.
Tom Madruga, a senior partner at Olivare's Madruga (presentation team included Lloyd Pilchin, Susie Altoano and Adrien Deleon), highlighted the firm's municipal-law practice and litigation experience and said the team "will tell you what the right answer is" rather than merely telling clients what they want to hear. "You're going to get an opinion based upon the law and the facts," Madruga said.
The second presentation came from Nasaman (partners Lai Enriquez and Alfred Smith and associates including Joshua Mary Garcia and Brandon Davis). Enriquez emphasized public‑finance and municipal-law background and said the firm could co‑lead the city's needs if the council preferred a shared approach.
Melvin Felton of Sanders Roberts framed his firm as trial litigators with more than a decade of work for Compton. "We are litigators. We are trial attorneys," Felton said, and outlined past employment- and tort-related work his team had handled for the city.
Council questions during and after the presentations focused on: whether a firm would designate a single city-attorney contact; how many days per week counsel would be physically present; the firms' current municipal clients; and how a team approach would work if the firm served as city attorney. Several council members said they preferred a designated individual if the city appointed a firm as city attorney but accepted a team model for special-counsel work.
What's next: Councilmembers signaled they would continue evaluating the firms; staff will collect any follow-up materials and the council later will consider a recommendation or select counsel in a public process.
Why it matters: The council is seeking legal services amid ongoing personnel and oversight questions. The choice of counsel will shape how legal advice, contract drafting, litigation defense and ordinance work are handled for the city.
Representative quotes: "We're not yes people," Tom Madruga said, describing his firm's approach. Melvin Felton said Sanders Roberts' strength is "high stakes litigation" and experience representing the city in multi-year employment disputes.
The council moved on to additional agenda items after the presentations.
