WeHo City Attorney Mike Jenkins Is Merging His Firm with a Bigger One

City Attorney Mike Jenkins is merging his law firm, Jenkins & Hogin LLP, with a bigger firm that also has a large practice in municipal law

The firm is Best Best & Krieger LLP , a 125-year-old firm based in Los Angeles that has substantial experience in environmental and city legal issues. Its nine offices include one in Sacramento and one in Washington, D.C.

Jenkins has a long history with the City of West Hollywood, having provided legal services to it since the city’s incorporation in 1984. In a letter to the West Hollywood City Council, to whom the City Attorney reports, Jenkins that it grant him permission to transfer his firm’s contract with the city to BB&K.

“First off, not many opportunities to reflect on my tenure with the City come along,” Jenkins said in that letter, “so let me take this opportunity to say what I suspect you and the West Hollywood community already know. Serving as West Hollywood’s City Attorney is one of the greatest joys of my professional life. I am honored to serve a community that is so committed to one another, to equality and to justice.

“When I moved my practice from my original law firm to open Jenkins & Hogin, LLP, the City Council approved the current legal services agreement. We have enjoyed practicing municipal law as a small group, but we see advantages for our clients in joining forces with a larger public agency law firm at this time. The merger will relieve me and Christi (Hogin, Jenkins’ partner and wife) of the day-to-day responsibility of running the business end of the practice, which will free us up to spend our work time just practicing law. The merger will also give our clients access to the broad expertise of Best, Best, & Krieger LLP.”

As City Attorney, Jenkins is the City of West Hollywood’s chief legal officer. As such, he provides legal advice to the City Council and city staff, supervises all matters of legal significance, prepares legal opinions, reviews and drafts ordinances, resolutions, contracts and program guidelines and defends challenges to city actions, laws, policies and procedures.

The city also contracts with the law firm of Dapeer, Rosenblit & Litvak, LLP, for Municipal Code criminal prosecution services. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office is engaged for some code compliance and major criminal prosecutions. And on Monday night, the Council is expected to approve a contract with Baker & Hostetler LLP to provide legal services regarding the proposed development at 431 N. La Cienega Blvd., which, while in Los Angeles, is adjacent to the West Hollywood West neighborhood.

Jenkins & Hogin is based in Manhattan Beach. Through the firm Jenkins also serves as city attorney for the cities of Hermosa Beach and Rolling Hills, as general counsel to the Los Angeles County West Vector Control District and the San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District, as general counsel to the South Bay Cities Council of Governments, and as special counsel for numerous municipalities around the state, including Torrance, Oceanside, Fresno and Palo Alto. Jenkins has previously served as city attorney for the cities of Avalon, Hidden Hills, La Habra Heights, Malibu, Solvang and Westlake Village. He was named among California’s Top 25 Municipal Lawyers in a special insert of the Daily Journal, the largest newspaper serving the legal profession and covering the California courts. He was profiled in a special Municipal Law supplement edition of the paper. Jenkins also has each been named a SuperLawyer by his peers seven times, including for 2012.

The City Council is expected to review and approve Jenkins request at its meeting on Monday, which will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the City Council Chambers, 625 N. San Vicente Blvd.