B0785-0001\3103894v1.doc
AGENDA REPORT
Meeting Date: May 20, 2025
Item Number:
To:
From:
Subject:
Attachments: 1. Amendment
RECOMMENDATION
The City Attorney recommends that the City Council move to approve an amendment to the Agreement between the City of Beverly Hills and Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP, for litigation services.
INTRODUCTION
The City’s tort litigation services has been handled for many years by Michael Nebenzahl, who most recently was at Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP (“Burke, Williams”). The City currently has a legal services agreement with Burke. Williams for tort litigation services and that agreement expires on June 30, 2027. As of January 1, 2025, Mr. Nebenzahl retired from the practice of law, however, the City Attorney’s office continues to use Burke, Williams under our current agreement for tort litigation services.
Brian Hamblet, who has worked with Mr. Nebenzahl for a number of years, has taken the lead in providing these services and managing the City’s caseload.
Mr. Nebenzahl’s retirement provided the opportunity to explore whether the City desired to utilize additional firms for tort litigation. Accordingly, on March 24, 2025 the City Council Liaison/Litigation Committee comprised of Councilmember Corman and Councilmember Friedman (“Litigation Committee”), held interviews of several law firms.
Burke, Williams was also invited to the meeting and this provided an opportunity for the Litigation Committee to meet with Mr. Hamblet and his team. Following the meeting, the Litigation Committee recommended an extension of Burke, Williams current legal services agreement for an additional three years.
E-9
Honorable Mayor & City Council
Laurence S. Wiener, City Attorney
AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE
CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS AND BURKE, WILLIAMS &
SORENSEN, LLP FOR LITIGATION SERVICES
Meeting Date: May 20, 2025
B0785-0001\3103894v1.doc
DISCUSSION
The proposed amendment to the Agreement is for an extension of three years until June 30, 2030. Other clean-up items were included in this amendment such as updating the law firm’s address and updating the names of the attorneys assigned to the City. The extension of the legal services agreement has been recommended by the Litigation Committee.
FISCAL IMPACT
The fiscal impact on the City will depend on the amount of tort litigation that the City becomes involved in. Funds will be made available in the tort litigation budget in future years, as necessary.
Laurence S. Wiener,
City Attorney
Approved By
Attachment 1
-1-
B0785-0001\3103875v3.doc
AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE
CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS AND BURKE, WILLIAMS &
SORENSEN, LLP FOR LITIGATION SERVICES
NAME OF ATTORNEY: Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP
RESPONSIBLE PRINCIPAL OF ATTORNEY: Brian I. Hamblet, Partner ATTORNEY’S ADDRESS: 444 South Flower Street, 40th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90071
Attention: Brian I. Hamblet, Partner
ATTORNEY’S E.I.N/TAX I.D. NO.: 95-1705973
CITY’S ADDRESS: City of Beverly Hills
455 N. Rexford Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Attention: Laurence S. Wiener, City
Attorney
COMMENCEMENT DATE: July 1, 2023
TERMINATION DATE: June 30, 2027 (original termination date) June 30, 2030 (as extended by this
Amendment No. 1)
Docusign Envelope ID: B0DA4679-FD1A-4013-95AC-4747C645524B -2-
B0785-0001\3103875v3.doc
AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE
CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS AND BURKE, WILLIAMS &
SORENSEN, LLP FOR LITIGATION SERVICES
This Amendment is to that certain Agreement entered into in the City of Beverly Hills, between the City of Beverly Hills, a Municipal Corporation (hereinafter “City”) and Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP (hereinafter “Attorney”) dated June 6, 2023 and identified as Contract No. 266-23, on file in the City Clerk’s office (“Agreement”).
RECITALS
A. City and Attorney entered into a written agreement for litigation services.
B. City and Attorney desire to amend the Agreement to extend the Termination Date and amend and restate Section 1 entitled “Attorney’s Responsibilities”.
Section 1. The Termination Date shall be amended as set forth on the cover page.
Section 2. Section 1 of the Agreement entitled “Attorney’s Responsibilities” shall be amended and restated as follows:
“Section 1. Attorney’s Responsibilities.
Attorney shall perform for the City all necessary and reasonable special counsel services in connection with tort litigation as requested by the City, including the following:
a. Represent the City as lead counsel on tort matters as assigned by the City Attorney.
b. Provide legal advice and legal services to the City Council, City Manager, and City Attorney and such persons that they may designate.
Docusign Envelope ID: B0DA4679-FD1A-4013-95AC-4747C645524B -3-
B0785-0001\3103875v3.doc
c. Prepare reports and opinions as may be requested by the City. d. Attend City Council meetings and additional meetings with City staff as may be requested by the City.
Brian I. Hamblet shall be the attorney responsible for the services provided to City pursuant to this Agreement. Mr. Hamblet shall be assisted by attorneys Shelby Crawford, Michaela Sozio, Gina Giovacchini, Kyle Anne Piasecki, Robert Theiring, Karen Lee, Eileen Ollivier, and Maria Akopyan and paralegals Paulina Flores, Federico Lozada, Diana Caamal and Laura McMahon. Any additional personnel performing services under this Agreement shall be approved in writing in advance by the City Attorney. All personnel changes are subject to prior written approval of City. The services furnished by Attorney shall be under the direction of the City Attorney.”
Section 3. Section 4 of the Agreement entitled “Term” shall be amended and restated as follows:“Section 4. Term. This Agreement shall commence on July 1, 2023, and shall continue through June 30, 2030 unless terminated sooner pursuant to Section 9 of the Agreement.”
Section 4. Section 12 of the Agreement entitled “Notice” shall be amended and restated as follows:
“Section 12. Notice.
Whenever it shall be necessary for either party to serve notice on the other respecting this Agreement, such notice shall be served personally or by certified mail addressed to the City Attorney of the City of Beverly Hills, 455 N. Rexford Drive, Suite 220, Beverly Hills, California, 90210-4817; or to Brian I. Hamblet, Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP, 444 South Flower Street, 40th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90071, unless and until different addresses may be furnished in writing by either party to the other, and such notice shall be deemed to have been Docusign Envelope ID: B0DA4679-FD1A-4013-95AC-4747C645524B -4-
B0785-0001\3103875v3.doc
served within seventy-two (72) hours after the same has been deposited in the United States Post Office by certified mail. This shall be valid and sufficient service of notice for all purposes.” Section 5. Except as specifically amended by this Amendment No. 1, the remaining provisions of the Agreement shall remain in full force and effect.
Executed on this ______ day of ____________, 2025 at Beverly Hills, California.
CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS,
_____________________________
SHARONA R. NAZARIAN, PsyD
Mayor of the City of Beverly Hills, California
ATTEST:
_____________________________(SEAL)
HUMA AHMED
City Clerk
BURKE, WILLIAMS & SORENSEN, LLP
_____________________________
BRIAN I. HAMBLET
Partner
APPROVED AS TO FORM: APPROVED AS TO CONTENT:
_____________________________ _____________________________ LAURENCE S. WIENER NANCY HUNT-COFFEY
City Attorney City Manager
_____________________________
SHARON L’HEUREUX DRESSEL
Risk Manager
_____________________________
ANTHONY RODSTEIN
Purchasing Services Manager
Docusign Envelope ID: B0DA4679-FD1A-4013-95AC-4747C645524B Certificate Of Completion
Envelope Id: B0DA4679-FD1A-4013-95AC-4747C645524B Status: Sent Subject: Complete with Docusign: BH- RD Revised - Amendment No. 1_Burke Williams Sorenson_Tort Defense -...
Source Envelope:
Document Pages: 4 Signatures: 4 Envelope Originator:
Certificate Pages: 3 Initials: 0 Jill Doohen
AutoNav: Enabled
EnvelopeId Stamping: Enabled
Time Zone: (UTC-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada)
455 N. Rexford Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
[email protected]
IP Address: 208.87.233.201
Record Tracking
Status: Original
5/13/2025 11:20:52 AM
Holder: Jill Doohen
[email protected]
Location: DocuSign
Signer Events Signature Timestamp
Brian I. Hamblet
[email protected]
Security Level: Email, Account Authentication
(None)
Signature Adoption: Pre-selected Style
Using IP Address: 198.24.204.51
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Viewed: 5/13/2025 1:42:21 PM
Signed: 5/13/2025 1:43:49 PM
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Laurence S. Wiener
[email protected]
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Sent: 5/13/2025 1:43:50 PM
Resent: 5/14/2025 12:34:26 PM
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Viewed: 5/14/2025 4:13:38 PM
Signed: 5/14/2025 4:13:45 PM
Electronic Record and Signature Disclosure:
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Anthony Rodstein
[email protected]
Purchasing Services Manager
City of Beverly Hills (Finance Department)
Security Level: Email, Account Authentication
(None)
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Using IP Address: 198.245.189.181
Sent: 5/14/2025 4:13:46 PM
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Viewed: 5/15/2025 12:04:37 PM
Signed: 5/15/2025 12:04:43 PM
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Sharon L'Heureux Dressel
[email protected]
Risk Manager
Sharon Dressel
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Using IP Address: 198.245.189.166
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Signed: 5/15/2025 12:26:14 PM
Electronic Record and Signature Disclosure:
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Signer Events Signature Timestamp
Anthony Rodstein
[email protected]
Purchasing Services Manager
City of Beverly Hills (Finance Department)
Security Level: Email, Account Authentication
(None)
Sent: 5/15/2025 12:26:16 PM
Electronic Record and Signature Disclosure:
Not Offered via Docusign
Nancy Hunt-Coffey
[email protected]
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Sharona R. Nazarian, PsyD
[email protected]
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Huma Ahmed
[email protected]
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Adrianne Tarazon
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Keith Sterling
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Megan Grilley
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