The City Attorney’s Office consists of two Divisions – the Municipal/Civil Law Division and the Criminal Prosecution Division.

This Division consists of four attorneys, the City Attorney, one Senior Assistant City Attorney, and two Assistant City Attorneys. This Division handles or oversees all municipal, civil, and legal matters for the City, Housing Authority, Parking Authority, and the Successor Agency to the Redevelopment Agency. It represents and directly advises the City Council, the Successor Agency to the Redevelopment Agency, the Housing Authority, the Parking Authority, and all City Commissions and Boards, such as the Planning Commission and Civil Service Commission. It also advises all City department heads, elected officers, and employees on matters of law pertaining to their duties and responsibilities as city representatives.

This Division researches and renders legal opinions on the myriad of legal matters pertaining to the City and its subordinate agencies, authorities, and commissions.  It prepares and reviews ordinances, resolutions, public notices, agenda items, professional services contracts, airport-related contracts, leases, negotiating agreements, development agreements, owner participation agreements, disposition and development agreements, assignment agreements, indemnification agreements, insurance agreements, and easement agreements.

This Division also oversees all of the City’s litigation, including police-related civil rights actions, constitutional law challenges, negligence actions, dangerous conditions of public property cases, administrative proceedings as well as all of the Successor Agency’s legal matters. It reviews pleadings and briefs pertaining to litigation matters. It directly handles pretrial discovery and analysis of evidence and points of law. It handles the tort claims management for the City and prepares the legal analysis for the legal memoranda to the City Council.

This Division also consists of the Legal Risk Specialist.  The Legal Risk Specialist assists the City Attorney and Assistant City Attorney in claims management for the City, interviews witnesses, investigates claims, and prepares reports to the City Attorney and Assistant City Attorney. The Legal Risk Specialist handles risk management functions for the City, assists the City Attorney in overseeing workers compensation, and acts as the day-to-day liaison with the City’s workers compensation third party administrator.

The Criminal Prosecution Division prosecutes all misdemeanor violations occurring within the City of Hawthorne. The prosecutors are dedicated to enforcing all State, county and city misdemeanor laws in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Southwest District at Inglewood Courthouse Branch. The Prosecution Department handles cases generated by numerous law enforcement agencies including, Hawthorne Police Department, California highway Patrol, Los Angeles County Health Department, California State Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, Hawthorne Code Enforcement, Hawthorne Animal Regulations and various other law enforcement agencies in the South Bay area.

This Division, through community-based prosecution, vigorously prosecutes domestic violence laws, driving under the influence laws, child endangerment laws, housing code violations, illegal gang activities, prostitution, drug abatement laws, theft related crimes, and Hawthorne Municipal Code violations.