Fate of state Senate’s contract with Covington, Holder uncertain

SACRAMENTO -- The incoming leader of the state Senate won't commit to continuing an arrangement her predecessor had with Covington & Burling LLP and its highest profile partner, former Obama administration Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.

"Going forward, we will evaluate working with outside law firms on a case-by-case basis, depending on need and what is in the best interest of the Senate," said Sen. Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, in an emailed statement.

Atkins takes over as Senate president pro tem from Sen. Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles, on Wednesday. The leadership transition was announced in December.

A former Assembly speaker, Atkins will be the first woman and the first openly LGBT person to lead the Senate.

De León and his Assembly counterpart, Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood, announced in January 2017 they were retaining Covington for $25,000 a month for three months. That came just one day after Gov. Jerry Brown nominated then-U.S. Rep. Xavier Becerra to replace Kamala D. Harris as state attorney general.

According to a Jan. 3, 2017 engagement letter released to the press, the firm was to serve as "special counsel" advising the Legislature on "legal strategies regarding potential actions of the federal government that may be of concern to the State of California." The letter also noted "three areas of immediate concern: immigration, health care and environmental policy."

The initial agreement was renewed for one month. But in June, Rendon announced the Assembly was letting the arrangement with Covington lapse, although he was open to working with the firm again "as the need arises." A spokesperson for Rendon said Monday the Assembly had not paid any money to Covington after the initial four months.

But de León said at the time that the Senate would continue to work with Covington on a "project-by-project" basis.

Since then, Covington and Holder have played an occasional but visible role in the state's disputes with the Trump administration. De Leon's office declined to say how much it has paid the firm since the initial contract, but did specify that some of the work was performed pro bono.

On March 7, after U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions came to Sacramento to announce a federal lawsuit against the state over its so-called sanctuary laws, Holder appeared on a conference call with de León and two other Democratic lawmakers that was livestreamed on the internet.

Holder was quoted in several stories about the suit, calling it a "political and unconstitutional" attack on California and defending the constitutionality of SB 54. U.S. v California, 18-CV00490 (E.D. Cal., filed March 6, 2018).

He was also the lead attorney on an amicus brief filed last August on behalf of the state Legislature in City of Chicago v. Sessions, 17-CV05720 (N.D. Illinois, filed Aug. 7, 2017).

This lawsuit was a challenge to the federal government's efforts to withhold funds over Chicago's policies of not cooperating with immigration enforcement.

Holder argued that Sessions' threats to withhold money from Chicago also threatened several California laws and could "interfere with an ongoing legislative process in a sovereign state."

A judge granted Chicago a preliminary injunction in September, but the case is ongoing.