California legislative leaders hire former AG Holder for legal advice in Trump legal battles
Eric Holder speaks at the 2013 ABA Annual Meeting. Photo by Tony Avelar.
Leaders in California’s legislature have hired former Attorney General Eric Holder to represent them as outside counsel in any future legal disputes with the Trump administration.
The Democratic legislative leaders of California said they hired Holder and his law firm to advise them “in our efforts to resist any attempts to roll back the progress California has made,” report the New York Times and the Washington Post.
Holder is currently a partner at Covington & Burling. “I am honored that the legislature chose Covington to serve as its legal adviser as it considers how to respond to potential changes in federal law that could impact California’s residents and policy priorities,” Holder said in a statement. “I am confident that our expertise across a wide array of federal legal and regulatory issues will be a great resource to the legislature.”
The cost of the representation is $25,000 a month for a three-month contract, Law.com reports. The contract includes a conflicts waiver that says the firm may take positions in its representation of clients that are adverse to the state legislature, and it caps work at 40 hours a month.
Kevin de León, the Democratic leader of the California Senate, told the New York Times he expected California to challenge the incoming administration on issues such as the environment, immigration and criminal justice.
Updated on Jan. 5 to include information from Law.com story.
