Sabey

We hold that when a partner in a law firm represents a department within a city at an advisory arbitration regarding a personnel matter, and when the city’s decisionmaking body later reviews that arbitrator’s award for confirmation or rejection, the principles of due process prohibit the decision maker from being advised on the matter by a different partner from the same law firm. Because the law partners owe each other fiduciary duties, the adviser partner is in the position of reviewing the efficacy of the advocate partner’s work and there is “a clear appearance of unfairness and bias” (Nightlife Partners, Ltd. v. City of Beverly Hills (2003) 108 Cal.App.4th 81, 94 [ 133 Cal.Rptr.2d 234 ] (Nightlife)), rendering the risk of actual bias too high to be constitutionally tolerable within the meaning of Morongo Band of Mission Indians v. State Water Resources Control Bd. (2009) 45 Cal.4th 731, 737 [ 88 Cal.Rptr.3d 610 , 199 P.3d 1142 ] (Morongo). Accordingly, we reverse the trial court’s decision denying the writ petition of appellant Glenn Sabey (Sabey)—a police officer who is fighting his termination from employment—in which he asserts a due process challenge to the…