The Pinstripes Were in Abundance : Remap: It looked like a legal convention in the federal courthouse as litigants gathered for the latest round in the case.

A hearing on Los Angeles County’s court-ordered reapportionment plan resembled a lawyer’s convention Thursday as a cadre of pinstriped counselors packed U.S. District Judge David V. Kenyon’s courtroom.

Each turn in the 2-year-old case has driven a wedge between allies, increasing the number of factions represented by legal counsel and inflating legal bills that already run well into the millions of dollars.

On Thursday--in addition to the usual lineup from the county counsel’s office, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the U.S. Justice Department--there were attorneys representing special interests of Supervisors Kenneth Hahn and Ed Edelman. Sarah Flores, who is in a runoff for the 1st Supervisorial District seat, had her own legal counsel, as did two branches of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People.

There was even a second judge in the room: Superior Court Judge Gregory O’Brien, who is in the runoff against Flores. “What we’ve got here is a ball of yarn and six kittens,” O’Brien said, adding that he will not rule out intervening in the case himself at some point.

There were at least 15 attorneys in the courtroom Thursday, and perhaps an equal number working behind the scenes.

The Justice Department had two attorneys in court but at least six on the case. The county had five attorneys in court and an undisclosed number working on a planned appeal of Kenyon’s ruling that the county has discriminated against Latino voters.

At one point Thursday, two attorneys paid by the county argued against one another.

John McDermott, who represents three of the five supervisors, argued that plaintiffs should be limited in the depositions they take from supervisors. But Jonathan Steinberg, who represents the two other supervisors, supported the plaintiffs’ demand.

The 1 1/2-hour hearing may have cost upwards of $5,000 in attorneys fees, according to estimates by O’Brien of hourly rates between $150 and $250 for each of the 15 barristers in attendance.

Already the county has spent $4 million on lawyers, and two weeks ago the supervisors approved spending $500,000 more on an appeal.

Last week, Supervisors Hahn and Edelman said they needed separate counsel to watch out for their special interests in the case and they hired a redistricting specialist with the powerful Century City law firm of Irell & Manella.

Attorney Steinberg, of Irell & Manella, would not disclose his fee. The county counsel is authorized to spend any amount to hire private attorneys for county litigation without a public vote of the Board of Supervisors.

“The county is running a welfare system for fat-cat law firms,” said Mark Rosenbaum, one of two ACLU attorneys on the case.

Rosenbaum and the other plaintiffs’ attorneys also may receive millions of dollars from the county. The ACLU and the Mexican American legal defense fund have asked Judge Kenyon to order the county to pay their attorneys’ fees, which are currently about $2 million.