To: Contra Costa County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners
From: Joseph Villarreal, Executive Director
Report Title: APPROVAL OF REQUEST FOR ATTORNEY CONFLICT WAIVER UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES
?Recommendation of the County Administrator ? Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Acting as the governing body for the Housing Authority of the County of Contra Costa AUTHORIZE the Executive Director, or his designee, to consent to an actual conflict of interest that arises due to an existing and continued relationship that a law firm has with the Housing Authority and another party, and a proposed joint representation of both parties in connection with the conversion of the Las Deltas Public Housing Scattered Sites project into affordable homeownership units.
BACKGROUND:
Affordable housing is a specialized area of law practiced by a limited number of attorneys. The local affordable housing development community is also small. As a result, participants in local affordable housing projects tend to know one another and to work together in varying capacities over time. For that reason, it is not uncommon for the firm representing the Housing Authority of the County of Contra Costa (Housing Authority) on a particular affordable housing project to have an existing or prior relationship with the non-profit developer working on a project or the city in which the project is situated. When that happens, there is the potential for a conflict of interest and, in accordance with the rules of professional conduct established by the State Bar of California, the firm must obtain the informed written consent of the Housing Authority and the current or former client before it can represent both parties.
When evaluating a request from outside counsel that the Housing Authority waive actual conflicts of interest in the circumstances described above, a number of factors are considered. Of primary importance is the nature of the transaction and the potential ri...
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