Lawyer threatens to sue over San Mateo County’s privatized public defender

A Silicon Valley attorney accused the San Mateo County Bar Association of engaging in the unauthorized practice of law through programs it offers to local lawyers to represent indigent criminal defendants and children, and called for the creation of a public defender's office.

"The SMCBA is not a law firm. Rather, it is a trade association that is legally prohibited from providing legal services," read a letter sent Thursday on behalf of Rod Sorensen of Sorensen Law Group in Redwood City.

Sonrenson's letter was written by Joseph C. Schultz of the Law Office of Joseph C. Schultz in Lafayette.

The county has an agreement with the San Mateo County Bar Association's Private Defender Program where private attorneys represent indigent criminal defendants. For minors in dependency cases, a similar agreement was reached by the Bar Association with San Mateo Superior Court.

In an email Friday San Mateo County Attorney John Nibbelin wrote, "This office has received and reviewed Mr. Schultz' correspondence and the arguments made in it. Mr. Schultz' client, Mr. Sorensen, has, in the past, raised with the County similar arguments regarding the Private Defender Program and we continue to believe that these arguments are unfounded."

The San Mateo Bar Association and Board of Supervisors could not be reached for comment.

In the program's annual report from 2021-2022 Lisa M. Maguire, head of the Private Defender Program, wrote, "One of the great things about our justice system is the ability to maintain the presumption of innocence and insist on a trial in every case. Our lawyers have continued to show that it is often the use of the jury trial system that brings about a better outcome in a criminal case."

Schultz laid out concerns about San Mateo County's agreement to outsource the traditional responsibilities of a public defender's office to local attorneys through two programs that allegedly cost the county $21 million per year. He wrote that the San Mateo County Bar Association operates these programs as "a multi-million-dollar for-profit private law firm."

"The SMCBA uses those funds to highly compensate its lawyer members who provide legal representation. Simply stated, the SMCBA and its lawyer members operate like a multi-million-dollar for-profit private law firm funded exclusively by taxpayer dollars," Schultz wrote. As set forth below, the SMCBA has engaged in, and continues to engage in, the unauthorized practice of law, which is illegal."

"The need for San Mateo County to create a Public Defender Office is clear and obvious," Schultz continued. "San Mateo County is spending approximately $21,000,000 per year in taxpayer dollars to pay the Association to engage in prohibited conduct pursuant to void and unenforceable agreements. SMCBA and its lawyer members have financially profited while providing inferior legal representation in violation of the Constitutional rights of indigent defendants and children. There should be no need for Mr. Sorensen to file a derivative lawsuit or taxpayer action to force San Mateo County and the Association to take immediate action. However, if the County and SMCBA refuse to act, that is exactly what he will do."