November 18, 2025
City Attorney's Office
DATE: November 18, 2025
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM: Dave Aleshire, City Attorney
Shannon Moore, Chief Assistant City Attorney
Kimberly Chin, Senior Assistant City Attorney
Subject: Legal Services Agreement (LSA) with Orbach Huff & Henderson, LLP (Orbach) for Legal Representation
FINANCIAL IMPACT: The proposed total three-year not to exceed cost of $400,000 is included within the approved fiscal year
2025-2026 Risk Management Insurance – General
Liability budget and will be budgeted accordingly in
subsequent fiscal year budgets (Account String:
50182316 - 400554
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
December 20, 2020
October 5, 2021
May 17, 2022
June 20, 2023
March 19, 2024
March 11, 2025
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
A legal services agreement with Orbach is needed to
ensure that the City has the appropriate legal
representation for pending and future police and tort
cases.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
APPROVE a new legal services agreement with Orbach
Huff & Henderson, LLP, for a total contract amount not to exceed $400,000, for a term beginning November 18,
2025, and ending June 30, 2028, to continue
representing the City in tort and police cases – City
Attorney’s Office (Kimberly Chin 510-620-6709/Shannon
Moore 510-620-6509).
AGENDA
REPORT
November 18, 2025
DISCUSSION:
Orbach Huff & Henderson, LLP (“Orbach”), represents over 100 California public agencies in areas such as civil rights, labor and employment, and procurement transactions. Attorney Kevin Gilbert, a Partner at Orbach, is a trial attorney that focuses his litigation defense in the areas of alleged excessive force by police, dangerous conditions and premises liability, and civil rights violations. As such, Orbach currently provides special counsel services defending the City in civil rights and law enforcement liability litigation. Furthermore, they assist the City with responding to federal grand jury subpoenas and provide pre-litigation advice.
Orbach has been representing the City in these types of matters since 2020 and were approved from the 2018 Request for Qualifications (RFQ). As the City Attorney’s Office works to review and reduce outside counsel costs, it is appropriate to continue to work with this firm. They have had good success and are currently working on multiple matters, handling approximately nine matters (lawsuits and claims) for the City. At this juncture, changing firms would be both time-consuming and financially imprudent.
Rates for Orbach Huff are: Partners $335 per hour; Associates $285 per hour; and Paralegals $145 per hour.
The City Attorney’s office requests approval of a new legal services agreement with Orbach Henderson & Huff, LLP, for an amount not to exceed $400,000 with term ending June 30, 2028.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – Orbach, Huff & Henderson, LLP Original Contract (proposed)