CITY OF FULLERTON
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT
WITH
[LIEBERT CASSIDY WHITMORE]
THIS AGREEMENT is made and entered into this 1st day of July, 2025 ("Effective Date"), by and between the CITY OF FULLERTON, a California municipal corporation ("City"), and LIEBERT CASSIDY WHITEMORE, a professional corporation, ("Consultant").
WITN ES S ET H:
A. City proposes to utilize the services of Consultant as an independent contractor to provide limited legal services with respect to labor and employment law and related issues, as more fully described herein.
B. Consultant represents that it has that degree of specialized expertise contemplated within California Government Code section 37103, and holds all necessary licenses to practice and perform the services herein contemplated.
C. City
and Consultant desire to contract for the specific services described herein, and desire to set forth their rights, duties and liabilities in connection with the services to be performed.
D. No official or employee of City has a financial interest, within the provisions of Sections 1090-1092 of the California Government Code, in the subject matter of this Agreement.
NOW, THEREFORE, for and in consideration of the mutual covenants and conditions contained herein, the parties hereby agree as follows:
1.0. SERVICES PROVIDED BY CONSUL TANT
1.1. Scope of Services. Consultant shall provide the professional services described in the Services & Fees Schedule attached hereto as Exhibit "A" and incorporated herein by this reference.
1.2. Professional Practices. All professional services to be provided by Consultant pursuant to this Agreement shall be provided by personnel experienced in their respective fields and in a manner consistent with the standards of care, diligence and skill ordinarily exercised by professional consultants in similar fields and circumstances in accordance with sound professional practices. Consultant also warrants that it is familiar with all laws that may affect its performance of this Agreement and shall advise City of any changes in any laws that may affect Consultant's performance of this Agreement.
1.3. Performance to Satisfaction of City. Consultant agrees to perform all the work to the reasonable satisfaction of the City, in accordance with the applicable professional standard of care and City specifications and within the hereinafter specified. Evaluations of the work will be done by the City Manager or his designee. If the quality of work is not satisfactory, City in its discretion has the right to:
(a) Meet with Consultant to review the quality of the work and resolve the matters of concern;
(b) Require Consultant to repeat the work at no additional fee until it is
9/4/2025
Liebert Cassidy Whitmore Exhibit A
Litigation Case Staffing
Page2of7
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-mi data processing and hosting services at below-market rates.
4. Artificial Intell.igence
Attorney policy permits attorneys to utilize generative artificial intelligence ("AI") tools, e.g.
Lexis+ Al, in the performance of their work, but only in compliance with the firm's Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools policy. Attorneys may use AI tools to assist in researching and preparing initial drafts. Attorneys may not use AI work product without applying their own independent legal judgment.
They may not disclose confidential information to unsecure Al tools, and carefully check all AI generated results for both accuracy and bias
5. Terms and Conditions
A. City will compen sate Attorney for the performance of legal services at the rates specified in Attachment A, ranging from $450 per hour for firm partners to $165 per hour for paraprofessionals and litigation support through June 30, 2027. No increases to these fees shall be made thereafter except upon approval by City of Fullerton City C ouncil. Attorney will charge for services performed in increments of one-tenth of an hour.
B. Attorney shall not be obligated to advance costs on behalf of City; however, for the purposes of convenience and in order to expedite matters, Attorney reserves the right to advance costs on behalf of City with City's prior approval in the event a particular cost item exceeds $500.00 in amount, and without the prior approval of City in the event a particular cost item totals $500.00 or less. Typical cost items include, by way of example and not limitation, document preparation and word processing, copying charges (at $0.15 per page), appearance fees, messenger fees, bonds, witness fees, deposition and court reporter fees, transcript costs, expert witness fees, investigative fees, etc.
C. Attorney shall not bill City for travel, meal or lodging expenses for travel to or within Orange County or Los Angeles County. Other travel expenses shall be excluded unless pre approved by City.
6. Disclaimer of Guarantee
Attorney has made no representations, promises, warranties or guarantees to City, express or implied, regarding the outcome of any City's matter, and nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as such a representation, promise, warranty, or guarantee.