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City of Piedmont
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
DATE: January 5, 2026
TO: Mayor and Council
FROM: Rosanna Bayon Moore, City Administrator
SUBJECT: Consideration of Appointing Deepa Sharma as City Attorney and Approval of an Amendment to Legal Services Agreement Between the City of Piedmont and Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP
RECOMMENDATION
By motion, appoint Deepa Sharma as City Attorney and approve a Second Amendment to Agreement Between the City of Piedmont and Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Section 3.05 of the City Charter provides for the role and duties of the City Attorney. Since 2010, the law firm of Burke, Williams & Sorensen has provided City Attorney services to the City of Piedmont, and Michelle Marchetta Kenyon has served as Piedmont’s City Attorney since 2013. In this role, Ms. Kenyon has attended all Council meetings, and has managed all legal services delivered to the City of Piedmont.
It is a best practice for the City Attorney to appoint an Assistant City Attorney to aid in carrying out required duties. Since 2020, Deepa Sharma has served as the Assistant City Attorney for Piedmont. She is a Partner at Burke, Williams & Sorensen, and provides both litigation and advisory services to public agency clients in California. Since commencing her role as Assistant City Attorney, Ms. Sharma has served as a primary point of contact for City staff and members of the City Council for legal issues facing the City.
The proposed Agreement names Ms. Sharma as the City Attorney for the City of Piedmont, and all other terms remain unchanged.
Attachment:
1. Second Amendment to Agreement Between the City of Piedmont and Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP Appointing Deepa Sharma as City Attorney
2. Deepa Sharma Biography
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SECOND AMENDMENT TO AGREEMENT
This SECOND AMENDMENT TO AGREEMENT, dated January 5, 2026, is made and entered into by and between the City of Piedmont, a municipal corporation ("City"), with offices at 120 Vista Avenue, Piedmont, California, and Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP ("Burke"), with offices at 1999 Harrison Street, Suite #1650, Oakland, California.
WHEREAS, City and Burke entered into an agreement dated September 7, 2010 (“Original Agreement”) in which Burke provided legal services to the City; WHEREAS, on January 7, 2013, City and Burke amended the Original Agreement; and WHEREAS, it is the desire of the parties to enter into this Second Amendment To Agreement (“Second Amendment”) to appoint Deepa Sharma as the City Attorney.
NOW THEREFORE, IT IS MUTUALLY AGREED as follows:
It is the desire of the parties to enter into this Second Amendment and establish the terms and conditions for provision of legal services to City and compensation of Burke.
Now, therefore, it is mutually agreed as follows:
Section 1. Legal Services.
The second paragraph of Section 1 (Legal Services) of the September 7, 2010 Agreement is amended to read in its entirety as follows:
"Deepa Sharma shall serve as City Attorney. Other Burke attorneys shall provide services to carry out General City Attorney Duties as required and assigned by Deepa Sharma."
Section 2.
The remaining provisions of the September 7, 2010 Agreement shall remain in full force and effect.
[Signatures on following page]
Attachment 1 Agenda Report Page 2
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City of Piedmont: Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP:
Betsy Smegal Andersen John J. Welsh
Mayor Managing Partner
Attest:
Anna Brown, City Clerk
Attachment 1 Agenda Report Page 3
© 2025 Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP. All rights reserved.
PRACTICES
Litigation
Public Law
Real Estate and Business Law
EDUCATION
J.D., cum laude, University of
California College of the Law,
San Francisco (formerly
Hastings), 2016
B.A., University of California,
Berkeley, 2009
ADMISSION
State Bar of California
United States District Court for
the Northern District of
California
United States District Court for
the Central District of California
AFFILIATIONS
California League of Cities
Succession and Development
Committee
Deepa Sharma
Partner
Oakland
1999 Harrison Street
Suite 1650
Oakland, CA 94612-3520
[email protected]
D: +1 510.273.8787
T: +1 510.273.8780
Pronouns: she, her, hers
Deepa Sharma provides litigation and advisory services to public agency clients throughout California.
Deepa has extensive experience advising clients and litigating in the areas of land use, planning and zoning, inverse condemnation, CEQA, municipal taxation, elections, and constitutional law issues such as due process, equal protection, and the First Amendment. She is also experienced in advising public agency clients on rent stabilization issues, and the implementation of California’s new housing laws.
While in law school, Deepa served as a law clerk in the U.S.
Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA), which oversees federal grants to state and local transit providers. She interned at the State of California’s Office of Legislative Counsel, where she assisted in drafting legislation in the areas of energy, environmental, transportation, and education law. Deepa also served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Maria P. Rivera of the California Court of Appeal, and was a staff editor and executive board member for the Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly.
Before law school, Deepa served as a policy aide in the California State Legislature, and worked as a political consultant to various local and statewide campaigns.
RESULTS
St. Helena Triumphs in Rent Stabilization Measure
PUBLICATIONS
2017 Legal Trends
RECOGNITIONS
Tony Patiño Fellow
Attachment 2 Agenda Report Page 4
© 2025 Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP. All rights reserved.
REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS
Little Woods Mobile Villa LLC v. City of Petaluma, 736 F.Supp 3d 757 (N.D. Cal. 2024)—successfully moved to dismiss challenge to mobilehome park closure and rent control regulations
Host International, Inc. v. City of Oakland, 70 Cal.App.5th 695 (2021)—Successfully defended challenge to Tax Board’s
determination that plaintiff-appellant owed business license taxes, penalties and interest for unreported business activity Attachment 2 Agenda Report Page 5