The Business and Infrastructure Legal Team

Assistant General Counsel, Mark Mustybrook

The Business and Infrastructure Legal Team (BILT) serves as counsel to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) on legal matters related primarily to its business operations and administrative functions. BILT specializes in representing the CDCR in transactions and disputes involving its vendor goods and services contracts, environmental issues and construction related matters.

VENDOR GOODS AND SERVICES CONTRACTS

The CDCR enters into approximately 3000 contracts every year with outside vendors who provide goods and services necessary for the operation of the State’s 33 adult prisons and 8 juvenile facilities. BILT Attorneys assist CDCR staff members with legal assistance and advice on all steps in the contract process, including the negotiation, drafting and modification of its contracts. BILT attorneys also advise CDCR staff on any disputes, claims or subsequent litigation matters that arise in relation to those contracts.

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

The operation of 41 adult and juvenile facilities throughout California creates numerous environmental issues for the CDCR. For example, the CDCR operates 12 separate wastewater treatment plants for the purpose of processing waste products produced at a number of its institutions. The CDCR is bound by both State and Federal guidelines relative to air and water quality and is constantly monitored by environmental agencies and private organizations, including regional air and water quality boards, to ensure that any air or water released into the environment meets those guidelines. Those environmental agencies and groups raise many legal issues for which BILT attorneys must address and advise the CDCR.

CONSTRUCTION RELATED MATTERS

The CDCR recently completed construction on its latest prison facility, Kern Valley State Prison. The CDCR also is in constant need of construction contractors for the repair, maintenance and additional construction at its other 40 facilities. Construction projects of any size can create legal issues such as claims of breach of contract, legal claims relative to payment for services rendered, and claims of defects in the construction of the project. BILT attorneys review these claims and work with CDCR staff to attempt to resolve those matters informally. Should a claim ultimately result in litigation, BILT attorneys work with the Office of the Attorney General in an effort to resolve that litigation in the most efficient and reasonable manner possible.