HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 11t - Personnel Related Legal Services
DATE: June 16, 2020
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Hue C. Quach, Administrative Services Director
Shama Curian, Human Resources Administrator
By: Cecilia Todd, Sr. Human Resources Analyst
SUBJECT: AGREEMENT FOR SPECIALIZED PERSONNEL RELATED LEGAL
SERVICES AND AN EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS CONSORTIUM
AGREEMENT FOR PERSONNEL RELATED TRAINING AND
CONSORTIUM SERVICES WITH LIEBERT CASSIDY WHITMORE IN AN
AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $192,000 OVER A THREE-YEAR PERIOD
Recommendation: Approve
SUMMARY
Liebert Cassidy Whitmore (“LCW") provides legal services to the City of Arcadia in
connection with employment law and labor relations. Based on the expertise and
services provided, it is recommended that the City Council approve, and authorize and
direct the City Manager to execute, an Agreement for Personnel Related Legal Services
and an Employment Relations Consortium Agreement with LCW in the amount of
$64,000 per year for Fiscal Years 2020-21 through 2022-23.
BACKGROUND
The City has had an agreement for personnel related legal services with the law firm of
Liebert Cassidy Whitmore for many years. LCW provides a variety of employer-
employee relations legal services including advice on matters of labor relations,
defending the City in grievance and disciplinary appeal hearings, and litigation defense.
The depth of expertise and services LCW has provided to the City has been of great
assistance. Particularly, the diversity of their legal experience with public employers and
their ability to provide practical applications to a multitude of complex laws in
employment matters has proven extremely helpful. Their service to the City has been
valuable over the years, and thus it is recommended that the City Council approve the
execution of new service agreements for FY 2020-21 through FY 2022-23. Copies of
the proposed Agreements are attached.
Agreement for Personnel Related Legal Services with Liebert Cassidy Whitmore
June 16, 2020
Page 2 of 3
DISCUSSION
The Personnel Legal Services agreement provides for LCW attorneys to represent the
City in litigation and other employment relations services as needed. The City
negotiated a rate stay for FY 2020-21 at hourly ranges between $210 - $370/hr. for
Attorneys, $240/hr. for Labor Relations/HR Consultant, and $130 - $170/hr. for
paraprofessional and legal support staff. The hourly rates for FY 2021-22 and FY 2022-
2023 range between $210 - $380/hr. for Attorneys, $240/hr. for Labor Relations/HR
Consultant, and $135 - $175/hr. for paraprofessional and legal support staff.
As part of the agreement for Personnel Legal Services, the contract grants the City
membership in the Employment Relations Consortium with LCW. The Consortium
offers critical workshops and training covering various employment relations subjects,
such as employment relations, management rights and obligations, employment
discrimination, and legislative developments in personnel administration. The fee for
this membership, is $3,945 annually, which includes a subscription to the LCW library
and unlimited access to critical forms, policies and workbooks.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
The proposed action does not constitute a project under the California Environmental
Quality Act (“CEQA”), and it can be seen with certainty that it will have no impact on the
environment. Thus, this matter is exempt under CEQA.
FISCAL IMPACT
While some of the hourly rates will increase in year two of the agreement, staff will work
to keep the total costs within the existing budget. Annual budget appropriations will be
proposed for each of the applicable fiscal years:
• FY 2020-21 - $64,000
• FY 2021-22 - $64,000
• FY 2022-23 - $64,000
It should be noted that the City will only get charged for the hours actually used under
the legal services agreement and there is not a retainer cost associated with the
agreement.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council determine that this project is exempt under the
California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”); and approve and authorize the City
Manager to execute an agreement for Specialized Personnel Related Legal Services
and an Employment Relations Consortium Agreement for Personnel Related Training
Agreement for Personnel Related Legal Services with Liebert Cassidy Whitmore
June 16, 2020
Page 3 of 3
and Consortium Services with Liebert Cassidy Whitmore in an amount not to exceed
$192,000 over a three-year period.
Attachment No. 1: Proposed Employment Relations Consortium Agreement
Attachment No. 2: Proposed Agreement for Special Services
Attachment No. 1
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9246907.1 LC001-009
AGREEMENT FOR SPECIAL SERVICES
This Agreement is entered into between the law firm of LIEBERT CASSIDY
WHITMORE, A Professional Corporation (“Attorney”), and the CITY OF ARCADIA, A
Municipal Corporation (“City”).
1. Conditions
This Agreement will not take effect, and Attorney will have no obligation to
provide services, until City returns a properly signed and executed copy of this
Agreement.
2. Attorney’s Services
Attorney agrees to provide City with consulting, representational and legal
services pertaining to employment relations matters, including representation in
negotiations and in administrative and court proceedings, as requested by City or
otherwise required by law.
3. Fees, Costs, Expenses
City agrees to pay Attorney the sums billed monthly for time spent by Attorney in
providing the services, including reasonable travel time.
The current range of hourly rates for Attorney time is from Two Hundred Ten to
Three Hundred Seventy Dollars ($210.00 - $370.00). Effective July 1, 2021, the hourly
range of rates for Attorney time will be from Two Hundred Ten to Three Hundred Eighty
Dollars ($210.00 - $380.00). See Schedule I for a full Fee Schedule. LCW will provide
the Client with written notification of any adjustment in the range of rates. LCW bills its
time in minimum units of one-tenth of an hour.
Attachment No. 2
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9246907.1 LC001-009
For Litigation Matters
See Schedule II attached for a description of LCW’s Litigation and EDiscovery
Management.
Other Expenses
City agrees to reimburse LCW for necessary costs and expenses incurred by LCW
on behalf of City. LCW bills photocopying charges at Fifteen Cents ($0.15) per page.
See Schedule I attached.
Payment by City against monthly billings is due upon receipt of statements, and is
considered delinquent if payment is not received within thirty (30) days of the date of the
invoice.
4.Professional Liability Insurance
The California Business & Professions Code requires us to inform you whether
we maintain errors and omissions insurance coverage applicable to the services to be
rendered to you. We hereby confirm that the firm does maintain such insurance
coverage.
5. Arbitration of Professional Liability or Other Claims
Disputes. If a dispute between City and Attorney arises over fees charged for
services, the controversy will be submitted to binding arbitration in accordance with the
rules of the California State Bar Fee Arbitration Program, set forth in California Business
and Professions Code, sections 6200 through 6206. The arbitrator or arbitration panel
shall have the authority to award to the prevailing party attorneys’ fees, costs and interest
incurred. Any arbitration award may be served by mail upon either side and personal
service shall not be required.
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9246907.1 LC001-009
If a dispute arises between City and Attorney over any other aspect of the
attorney-client relationship, including, without limitation, a claim for breach of
professional duty, that dispute will also be resolved by arbitration. It is understood that
any dispute as to any alleged breach of professional duty (that is, as to whether any legal
services rendered under this agreement were allegedly unnecessary, unauthorized,
omitted entirely, or were improperly, negligently or incompetently rendered) will be
determined by submission to arbitration as provided by California law, and not by a
lawsuit or resort to court process except as California law provides for judicial review of
arbitration proceedings. Both parties to this agreement, by entering into it, are giving
up their constitutional right to have any such dispute decided in a court of law
before a jury, and instead are accepting the use of arbitration. Each party is to bear
its own attorney’s fees and costs.
6.File Retention
After our services conclude, Attorney will, upon City’s request, deliver the file for
the matter to City, along with any funds or property of City’s in our possession. If City
requests the file for the matter, Attorney will retain a copy of the file at the City’s
expense. If City does not request the file for this matter, we will retain it for a period of
seven (7) years after this matter is closed. If City does not request delivery of the file for
this matter before the end of the seven (7) year period, we will have no further obligation
to retain the file and may, at our discretion, destroy it without further notice to City. At
any point during the seven (7) year period, City may request delivery of the file.
7.Assignment
This Agreement is not assignable without the written consent of City.
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9246907.1 LC001-009
8.Independent Contractor
It is understood and agreed that Attorney, while engaged in performing the terms
of this Agreement, is an independent contractor and not an employee of City.
9.Authority
The signators to this Agreement represent that they hold the positions set forth
below their signatures, and that they are authorized to execute this Agreement on behalf
of their respective parties and to bind their respective parties hereto.
10.Term
This Agreement is effective July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2023, and may be modified
by mutual agreement of the parties. This agreement shall be terminable by either party
upon thirty (30) days written notice.
LIEBERT CASSIDY WHITMORE, CITY OF ARCADIA,
A Professional Corporation A Municipal Corporation
By: ________________________ By: _______________________
Name: ______________________ Name: _____________________
Title: _______________________ Title: ______________________
Date: _______________________ Date: ______________________
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9246907.1 LC001-009
SCHEDULE I – FEES & COSTS
1.Hourly Rates (As of Agreement Effective Date)
Partners $370.00
Senior Counsel $320.00
Associates $210.00 - $300.00
Labor Relations/HR Consultant $240.00
Paralegals $130.00
E- Discovery Specialists $130.00
Law Clerks $130.00 - $170.00
2.COSTS
1. Photocopies $0.15 per copy
1.Hourly Rates (Effective July 1, 2021)
Partners $380.00
Senior Counsel $325.00
Associates $210.00 - $305.00
Labor Relations/HR Consultant $240.00
Paralegals $135.00
E- Discovery Specialists $135.00
Law Clerks $135.00 - $175.00
2.COSTS
1. Photocopies $0.15 per copy
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9246907.1 LC001-009
SCHEDULE II
LCW LITIGATION and E-DISCOVERY MANAGEMENT
LCW is committed to using state-of-the-art technology to efficiently manage and
harness electronically-stored information (“ESI”) in compliance with Federal and State
law requirements. LCW partners with an outside managed services provider to provide
Relativity, the industry leading e-discovery software, for this purpose. The cost for each
matter will depend on the volume and format of the data. For non-complex data up to 50
gigabytes, LCW charges a monthly fee of $375 on all active litigation matters for data
management, including data validation and security, ingestion, de-duplication, culling
and streamlining, and creation of Relativity fields for expedited review. For data of 50
gigabytes and over and for complex data requiring specialized services (e.g., payroll data,
spreadsheets with underlying formulas, video, advanced searches, etc.), additional
charges are incurred and are passed through to the client. For such charges, we will
provide an itemized bill from our managed services provider and obtain client approval
prior to incurring the charges.
Litigation Case Staffing
LCW has organized its litigation practice to meet the challenges of today’s
complex litigation cases. We employ a dedicated Litigation Manager – a non-billing
attorney litigator – whose responsibility is to monitor all litigation cases to ensure quality,
efficiency, and adherence to client and firm litigation guidelines. Each litigation case is
staffed with a Partner, an Associate (or Associates, as required and as approved by the
Client), a Paralegal and an E-Discovery Specialist. Our E-Discovery Specialists have
extensive experience in the efficient management of electronic data through every stage
of the e-discovery life cycle, and they strategize with attorneys and clients on effective
ESI protocols. This makes the document review process more efficient and enables our
attorneys to target the most relevant data to meet litigation objectives. Working with our
e-discovery managed services provider, we are able to provide state-of-the-art data
processing and hosting services at below-market rates.