Los Angeles is a mess. It’s not just the trash and vandalism. Compared to the mess of local government, those problems look like a Good Housekeeping award.

The city government is currently paying a law firm roughly $5 million to defend it from the wrath of U.S. District Judge David Carter over allegedly violating the 2023 settlement terms of a 2020 lawsuit filed due to ineffective city spending on homelessness. The city has to explain why it shouldn’t be held in contempt of court, or have its homelessness spending taken over by a court-appointed receiver, or be ordered to pay the other side’s legal fees.

For this defense, the firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher has a team of lawyers each billing the city up to $1,295 per hour. That’s what a managing partner told the court when the judg

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