The City of Arvin could file a formal complaint with the State Bar against its former interim city attorney, Nathan Hodges, after an audit found more than $78,000 in alleged overbilling during his time handling the city's legal work. The move comes nearly two years after the Arvin City Council voted to terminate Hodges' contract amid accusations that his office overcharged taxpayers.
According to 23ABC News Bakersfield, council members directed the city's current attorney to prepare a State Bar complaint for a vote at Tuesday's meeting and to pursue recovery of the money the city says it was overcharged. The council was scheduled to convene at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, October 27, to take up the matter.
The push follows a lengthy review by KPC Legal Audit Services, which was hired by the city to scrutinize Hodges' billing. After examining all 47 invoices tied to his tenure, auditors flagged incorrect service classifications and hourly rates, a failure to apply the city's monthly retainer, and limited use of lower-cost associates and paralegals that drove up fees. The audit also found invoices that combined multiple matters without clear timekeeper summaries or service designations, making some charges difficult to verify. Together, those findings formed the basis for the auditors' conclusion of more than $78,000 in alleged overbilling.
A Contract Dispute Years In the Making
Arvin brought Hodges on as interim city attorney in 2021 under a resolution meant to limit the arrangement to six months or until the city hired a permanent attorney, the station's report notes. That interim status stretched on for years; by January 2023, city meeting agendas still listed him as city attorney representing Hodges Law Group, according to a document posted by the City of Arvin.
Scrutiny escalated in February 2025, when a Kern County Grand Jury report flagged discrepancies in Hodges' billing and questioned why city officials had not challenged the charges earlier. The grand jury also found that the bills required the mayor's signature before payment, per the same reporting. A separate account from the SJV Sun described the grand jury's conclusion that none of the bills matched any of the rates called for in the city's contract, and that Hodges' firm typically billed Arvin more than $20,000 a month. The grand jury went on to recommend that Arvin hire an attorney to work in-house rather than continue contracting out its legal needs.
Hodges has disputed the billing allegations. In earlier reporting on the dispute, he said the rates being charged were lower than what his contract allowed, and that the agreement permitted a 5% annual increase he chose not to use — a direct conflict with the grand jury's finding that no invoice matched the contracted rates.
Spending Far Outpaced the City's Budget
The billing fight also collided with Arvin's finances. The city's mayor previously raised concerns after it was revealed that Arvin paid $414,062 for legal services over a 12-month period, far exceeding a budget of roughly $240,000, prompting calls to hire a full-time attorney instead. By March 2025, the council voted 3-1 to terminate Hodges' contract over the overcharging allegations, a decision that came after months of mounting documentation from both the grand jury and the city's own review.
Olivia Calderon declined to comment on the matter, citing pending litigation, and Hodges did not provide a response to 23ABC's request for comment by the end of business hours Tuesday. Whether the council ultimately votes to file the complaint, and how the State Bar might respond, remains to be seen.
How a State Bar Complaint Would Work
If Arvin moves forward, the filing would follow the same process available to any member of the public. The State Bar of California allows complaints to be submitted online or, for those unable to complete the form that way, printed and mailed to the agency's Intake Department. Complainants are instructed to attach supporting materials such as a fee agreement, canceled checks or receipts, and relevant correspondence that documents the dispute — the kind of paper trail Arvin's 47-invoice audit was designed to assemble.
