The Los Angeles County Counselor's Office is responsible for providing legal representation and advice to the Los Angeles Community Development Commission (“CDC”), the Los Angeles County Housing Authority (“HA”), the Joint Powers Authority of the Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communications System (“LA-RICS”), and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The Division also litigates eminent domain and reverse conviction cases on behalf of the MTA, and acts as general counsel to the Los Angeles County Local Agency Training Commission. The Division is also responsible for ensuring that critical information technology (IT) and business solution management (BSM) production systems are maintained and available to the 17 legal divisions of the County Council, the Executive Office, Administrative Services, the various customer departments of Los Angeles County, and the courts. They provide consultation and specialized technical experience, evaluate and recommend existing and future systems to integrate with systems managed by various county departments and external entities.
The Transportation Division represents the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (“MTA”). The MTA is not a county department or commission; rather, it is a local public agency created by the California legislature. The MTA is governed by a 13-member board of directors composed of the five supervisors of Los Angeles County, the mayor of the city of Los Angeles and three members appointed by the mayor, and four city council members or mayors from among the other 87 cities in the county. In 1993, the MTA Board appointed the county attorney as the agency's general counsel.
Under the MTA ordinance, the General Counsel is responsible for managing all of the agency's legal matters. The Transportation Division attorneys work closely with the MTA Board, executive management, and staff to help them carry out their wide range of functions in their various roles as a planner and funding agency for transportation projects in Los Angeles County, as well as a builder and operator of rail and bus services for the county. They defend and enforce sentences against bondholders in bond forfeiture proceedings carried out in criminal courts. The Affirmative Litigation and Consumer Protection (ALD) Division works to enforce the County Code and consumer protection laws and to bring affirmative litigation on behalf of the County. Among their most important ongoing projects are: acquiring and implementing an electronic medical record for the Department of Health Services; implementing Correctional Health Services in county jails; creating a comprehensive personal care model; developing public health regulations for commercial cannabis activities; environmental justice litigation; overseeing all environmental justice and public health litigation; overseeing all medical malpractice litigation involving county hospitals and clinics; providing legal advice to the Board of Supervisors, county departments, and other county entities; providing counseling, counseling, and litigation support to Sheriff's Department and Department of Probation; helping these departments meet their obligations under California Public Records Act and County Code; developing strategies designed to ensure that Los Angeles County receives cost-effective legal representation in litigated matters; providing principal advice to Department of Human Resources and Executive Office of Division of Employee Relations across county on staff and employee relations policies. The City of Los Angeles website provides information about public services policy enforcement in Los Angeles County. It is important for citizens to be aware of how their local government works to ensure that public services are provided in an equitable manner.
