Social Justice and Impact Litigation Team

The Social Justice and Impact Litigation team is part of a national movement to use the unique power and perspective of local government to push for long-lasting change at the local, state, and national levels. We litigate high-impact cases, draft innovative local policies, champion legislation, and develop creative new programs to advance the County’s goal of achieving justice for county residents and all Californians. Our team also defends the County in select cases, including cases that threaten the County’s ability to serve the community. 

To accomplish our mission, we work with other teams in the Office; with County departments and the Board of Supervisors; with community-based organizations; and with cities, other counties, the State, and the federal government. We also have a partnership with Stanford Law School, the Santa Clara County Litigation and Policy Partnership, that lets us partner with professors and students in our work. 

Since 2008, our Office has sponsored a Fellowship Program that trains talented new lawyers to become local government litigators and advisors who have the skills they need to advance justice in the county and beyond. 

Our team’s work

For more than a decade, our Office has been at the forefront of progressive local government work in California and beyond.  In our County Counsel’s Office, we recognize that bringing a lawsuit is not the only way—or even always the best way—to create change. For the Social Justice and Impact Litigation team, that means taking a creative approach to problem-solving that also includes work on local programs and policies, and advocacy on state and federal legislation and regulations.  

Almost every attorney on our team also serves in an advisory role to one or more County departments—including, as just a small sample, the Office of Supportive Housing, Behavioral Health Services Department, Public Health Department, and Finance Agency. That work allows us to deeply understand County operations and the social and economic issues the County’s clients are facing.  

Our Office’s collaborative, community-oriented approach to our work informs everything the Team takes on. Read on for summaries of some of our team’s work. 

Our affirmative lawsuits

Our Team files affirmative lawsuits to advance social justice at the local, state, and national levels. In recent years, our major affirmative litigation includes our Lead Paint, Opioids, and TurboTax lawsuits in California state court, as well as cases we filed in federal court challenging harmful Trump Administration policies—including our DACA and Sanctuary Jurisdictions lawsuits, and other cases in the areas of immigration, healthcare, and more. We choose the cases we want to file or join based on their impact on government and the people we serve.  

• Holding corporations accountable for lead paint that poisons California children in their own homes
• Exposing drug companies’ role in the opioid epidemic
• TurboTax lawsuit - Protecting low-income residents from overpaying to file their taxes 
• “Sanctuary Jurisdiction” litigation - Defending County’s funding for choosing to protect its immigrant residents 
• Supporting DACA and standing up for immigrants’ rights 
• Net neutrality - Protecting internet access and freedom of information 
• Sunset Rule lawsuit - Protecting critical healthcare regulations 

Our amicus practice 

Our team also has an active amicus curiae practice. Amicus or “friend of the court” briefs are written by individuals or groups that are not parties to a lawsuit, but have insights, experience, or expertise for a court to consider in making its ruling. In recent years, we have filed amicus briefs in dozens of cases. Typically, we use these briefs to highlight a unique local government perspective on an issue that the court wouldn’t otherwise hear. Multiple attorneys in our Office have received awards for their amicus advocacy. Here are some examples of our amicus work. 

Our regulatory work 

Our Office also speaks up on issues that affect the County, county residents, or both by filing public comments expressing our view on federal and state regulations. In recent years, we’ve done this in the areas of internet access and digital discrimination, immigrants’ rights, and gun violence. Some examples of our regulatory work are here. 

Our policy projects 

In our policy work, we team up with County leadership and staff to both improve existing County programs, and to develop new policies and programs where there is a gap. Some examples of our major policy projects are listed here.