Miller Barondess Advises L.A. County in Agreement to Provide Shelter for Vulnerable Homeless Population

The County and the City of Los Angeles have reached an unprecedented agreement to bring almost 7,000 people experiencing homelessness indoors within months.

Miller Barondess and co-counsel Foley & Lardner, working closely with County Counsel Mary Wickham and her team, reached the agreement after historic negotiations with the City arising out of federal court litigation brought by the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights.

The City has committed to providing 6,700 shelter beds over the next 18 months to house homeless people living in freeway encampments, giving priority to homeless seniors over 65 and others with underlying health conditions.

As part of the agreement, the County will invest $300 million over the next five years to fund essential services.

U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter approved the terms of the agreement at a hearing on June 18, 2020.

Miller Barondess partners Skip Miller and Mira Hashmall helped to lead the negotiations on behalf of the County. Their team included partner Jason H. Tokoro.

Per Skip Miller, lead counsel, “I’m very proud to represent the County of Los Angeles in this case and have tremendous respect for what the County is doing here.”

The milestone agreement has been widely covered by the media, including: Press Release of Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, ABC, CBS, CNN, Courthouse News, FOX News, LA Daily News, LA Times, NBC, and Washington Post.