Imperial County

County Counsel

Imperial County

County Counsel

The Office of County Counsel provides timely, effective and ethical legal representation, advice and counsel to the Board of Supervisors, County departments, special districts, and other public agencies, as mandated and authorized by County Ordinance and State statutes.  The Office of County Counsel provides a broad range of legal services directed at promoting the public service objectives of the County, while protecting the County from loss and risk.  Those services include advising on the law as it applies to County operations, drafting legal documents, and representing the County in civil actions, dependency court cases, and in a wide variety of contractual, financial, regulatory, and transactional matters, and supervising the more than 100 panel attorneys representing the County in State and federal courts.


Mission

The mission of the Office of the County Counsel is to maintain the legal integrity of the County while providing timely, user friendly, legal advice and assistance to the Board of Supervisors and all County departments.

Disclaimer


This site is meant to provide information of a general nature which you should verify with an attorney before relying upon it.  It does not provide legal advice and is not meant to establish an attorney-client relationship. If you are seeking legal advice you should always contact an attorney. The following agencies may be able to provide you with further assistance:

Contact Information

940 W. Main St., Suite 205

El Centro, California 92243

(442) 265-1120

(760) 353-9347

County Counsel:

Eric R. Havens

Assistant County Counsel:

Mistelle Abdelmagied

Senior Deputy County Counsel:

Kelly Ranasinghe

Attorneys:

  • Danuta Tuszynska
  • Andrew Briseno

Legal Office Supervisor:

Michelle Edgmon

Staff:

  • Dana LaMadrid
  • Francisco Soto
  • Christina Tirado
  • Sandra Gomez
  • Joselyn Pradis

County Counsel Indigent Defense (CCID) Program

Counsel for indigent defense is appointed by the Court generally in the following manner:

  • Level 1: Appointment of Public Defender
  • Level 2: Appointment of  overflow flat rate attorneys
  • Level 3: Appointment of  overflow hourly contract attorneys

The Office of County Counsel handles the administration of the indigent defense, Level 2 and Level 3 program.