AGENDA REPORT
Meeting Date: June 23, 2026Item Number:
To: Honorable Mayor & City Council
From: Nancy Hunt-Coffey, City Manager
Subject: AMENDMENT NO. 2 TO AGREEMENT NO. 64-21 BETWEEN THE
CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS AND RICHARDS, WATSON ANDGERSHON FOR LEGAL SERVICES Attachments: 1. Amendment
RECOMMENDATION
The City Manager’s Office recommends the adoption of Amendment Number 2 to the City Attorney’s contract to increase the rates for legal services relating to the PublicRecords Act, subpoenas, creditor claims in bankruptcy, Design Review Commissionresolutions, and review of executed form covenants, encroachment permits and similaritems to $225 per hour for paralegals and $235 per hour for attorneys.INTRODUCTIONRichards Watson and Gershon (RWG) currently provides the City with City Attorney services. RWG bills for services that are excluded from the flat fee for general services for the amount of $206 per hour. The proposed contract amendment will raise the ratesfor these services to $225 per hour for paralegals and $235 per hour for attorneys.
DISCUSSION
In 2009, Richards Watson and Gershon, in response to the recession, reduced its flat fee for general services significantly and removed areas of legal services from the flat fee.
These areas of legal services were primarily responses to public records requests and subpoenas. Those were typically handled by staff. When legal questions arose, then Richards Watson and Gershon billed for those legal services at an hourly rate of $175 per hour.
For a number of years, these areas amounted to a small number of hours each year. As a consequence, these rates were not adjusted to reflect the rise in the Consumer Price Index.
Meeting Date: June 23, 2026
However, over time, these areas of Public Records Act and subpoenas have significantly grown and occupied a much larger share of time from the City Attorney’s Office. The City Attorney contract was adjusted several years ago to increase the rate annually by the increase in the Consumer Price Index, but still the rate remains at $206 per hour forparalegals and attorneys and is substantially below market rates for these services.
Furthermore, the amount of work generated by these areas has not materially decreased.If one were to raise the rates for these services to match the rate of inflation since they were separated in 2009, that rate would equal approximately $275 per hour. However,what is being proposed is a rate adjustment to $225 per hour for paralegals and $235 per hour for attorneys. This rate would become effective in the new fiscal year.FISCAL IMPACT If the proposed rate increase had been in effect during this last fiscal year, it would have raised the cost of City Attorney services by approximately $18,500 for the fiscal year. In future years, this cost can be absorbed into the City Attorney budget.
Nancy Hunt-Coffey,
City Manager
Approved By
Attachment
1 AMENDMENT NO. 2 TO AN AGREEMENT NO. 64-21
BETWEEN THE CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS AND
RICHARDS, WATSON AND GERSHON FOR LEGAL
SERVICES
This Amendment No. 2 is to that certain Agreement between the City of Beverly Hills, a municipal corporation (“City”) and the law firm of Richards, Watson & Gershon, a professionalcorporation (“Attorney”).
Whereas, Amendment No. 1 to the Agreement No. 64-21 (the “Original Agreement”) between the City and Attorney extended the agreement to provide City Attorney Services; and; Whereas, this Amendment No. 2 will increase the hourly rate for legal services excluded from the flat fee for general services due to budget reductions; NOW THEREFORE, the parties agree as follows:
Section 1. Section 2 of the Original Agreement, as amended by Amendment No. 1, regarding consideration is hereby amended to read as follows:
“Section 2. Consideration. Beginning on July 1, 2022, Attorney shall be paid a monthly retainer in the sum of One Hundred Eight Thousand Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars($108,750) for General Services and Administrative Staffing rendered pursuant to subsections Aand B of Section 1 of this Agreement. Beginning on July 1 of each following year this monthlyretainer amount will be adjusted by the change in the Consumer Price Index for All UrbanConsumers for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area from May of the previous year to May of the then current year with a cap of eight percent (8%).Attorney shall be compensated for Additional Services in accordance with Exhibit A. If the Citydesires to engage Attorney to provide services excluded from this Agreement pursuant to subsection D of Section 1, the City may direct Attorney in writing to provide such services at the rate agreed upon by the City and Attorney and such work shall otherwise be governed by the provisions ofthis Agreement. Ifthe City desires to have Attorney provide services excluded dueto budget reductions pursuant to subsection E of Section 1, Attorney shall provide such servicesat the rate of Two Hundred Twenty Five Dollars ($225) per hour for paralegals and TwoHundred Thirty Five Dollars ($235) per hour for attorneys. This rate shall be increased99904-0001\3266879v1.doc beginning on July 1, 2027 by the same percentage and at the same time as the retainer for General Services and Administrative Staffing provided above.
City shall reimburse Attorney for actual expenses reasonably inculTed in the performance of legal services under this Agreement for long distance telephone calls, court costs, legal research services, services of process, messengers, deliveries, postage and other similar servicesincidental to the performance of this Agreement. City shall not reimburse Attorney for word processing and document preparation costs. City and Attorney agree that Attorney shall be reimbursed no more than one dollar ($1.00) per page for facsimiles, with a maximum charge ofForty Five Dollars ($45.00) for any individual facsimile transmission and no more than fivecents (5e) per page for photocopies. Provided further the City shall not be charged for facsimileor copying charges in connection with the provision of General Services pursuant to Section 1 of this Agreement.
Attorney shall send a monthly statement for services rendered during the previous month and for expenses incurred on the City’s account. The monthly statement shall describe the nature of the work performed, the attorney perfonning the work and the time spent for each task as well as thenature of the fees and expenses incurred.”
CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS
A Municipal Corporation
CRAIG A. CORMAN
Mayor of the City of Beverly Hills,
California
ATTEST:
___________________(SEAL)
HUMA AHMED
City Clerk
RICHARDS, WATSON & GERSHONA Professional CorporationLAURENCE S. WIENER APPROVED AS TO CONTENT:
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