The city of Los Angeles paid $18.9 million last year to 71 law firms for outside legal assistance, twice the amount spent five years ago, city records show.
At the same time, 50 of those firms and their attorneys have poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into the campaign coffers of Mayor James K. Hahn and City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo, who have had key roles in deciding how much legal work to farm out and who should get the business.
The law firms and their attorneys have contributed $1.12 million since 1998 to candidates for city office and political committees they control. Those donations include $244,875 to Hahn, $154,500 to Delgadillo and $77,500 to Hahn's anti-secession campaign committee, according to campaign finance data analyzed by The Times.
In many cases, the records show, contracts were approved or expanded by the city within weeks of a political fundraiser held by the benefiting law firm.
With the city's in-house legal staff being significantly larger than it was five years ago, the sharp rise in attorney contracts going to political donors -- and the timing of fundraisers -- has some ethics reform advocates asking whether some of the contracts were necessary only to keep politicians in office.
"It's on its face a conflict of interest," said Benjamin Bycel, former executive director of the city Ethics Commission. "It's, in effect, buying government contracts, and it erodes the public trust in those doing the public's business."
Asked if the contracts were rewards for political contributions, Hahn said in an interview last week, "Absolutely not."
Delgadillo also denied that political supporters had received favorable treatment.
The mayor has said in recent months that he believes a troubling appearance is created when city contractors raise money for the politicians who have a say in hiring them.
In February, he proposed banning city contractors, including law firms, from contributing to, or raising funds for, city politicians, including while bidders are competing for contracts. At the time, he said he was concerned that the practice created "the potential perception that fundraising influences the contracting ... process and creates an unlevel playing field."
In the interview, the mayor said he also had concerns about the big increase in spending on outside law firms, especially when there has been an expansion of the city attorney's staff. That staff has grown from 781 to 820 in the past five years, with lawyers accounting for most of the hires. The office's budget rose 42% during the same period, to $86.4 million.
