Reso. No. _____
RESOLUTION NO. ____-26
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND,
CALIFORNIA, WAIVING THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE SANCTUARY CITY
CONTRACTING AND INVESTMENT ORDINANCE AS TO THOMSON REUTERS ENTERPRISE FOR THE CITY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE WESTLAW LEGAL
RESEARCH SERVICES CONTRACT
WHEREAS, the City of Richmond is a sanctuary city and has adopted policies intended to protect immigrant communities and prevent the use of City contracting and investment authority to support immigration enforcement activities inconsistent with the City’s values; and WHEREAS, on June 5, 2018, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 12-18 N.S., the Sanctuary City Contracting and Investment Ordinance, which prohibits the City from granting or retaining contracts with any person or entity that provides “Data Broker” or “Extreme Vetting” services to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Division of the United States Department of Homeland Security (“ICE”), unless an exception applies; and WHEREAS, the City’s standard contract form implements Ordinance No. 12-18 N.S. by requiring contractors to submit a Sanctuary City Compliance Statement, attached to City contracts as Exhibit G; and
WHEREAS, Section 3 of Ordinance No. 12-18 N.S. authorizes the City Council to approve an exception to the requirements of the Ordinance where the City Council determines that no reasonable alternative exists, after considering available alternatives, the intent of the Ordinance, and any quantifiable additional costs that would result from compliance; and WHEREAS, the City Attorney’s Office requires access to reliable, comprehensive, and current legal research services to provide legal advice and representation to the City Council, City Manager, City departments, boards and commissions, and other City officials, and to support litigation, transactional, advisory, legislative, public records, employment, land use, municipal finance, public safety, and other legal work performed on behalf of the City; and WHEREAS, the City Attorney’s Office has historically relied on Westlaw as a principal legal research platform, including access to primary law, analytical materials, citator services, legal treatises, practice guides, and related legal research tools; and WHEREAS, the proposed contract with Thomson Reuters Enterprise would provide the City Attorney’s Office with Westlaw Online Law Library services for six attorneys, including West Proflex, Westlaw Multi-State Analytical, and CoCounsel Legal, National Primary, Enterprise Access, Government; and
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WHEREAS, the proposed contract term is July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2029, with total compensation not to exceed $110,000, allocated as $32,352 for FY 2026-27, $34,616.64 for FY 2027-28, and $37,039.80 for FY 2028-29; and
WHEREAS, Thomson Reuters provides legal research products that are widely used by public agencies, including courts, public law offices, law firms, and government counsel that represent various law enforcement agencies, all of whom utilize Westlaw’s legal research platform which provides legal content that is necessary for the City Attorney’s Office to efficiently perform its legal duties; and
WHEREAS, the City Attorney’s Office has considered available alternatives to the Thomson Reuters / Westlaw platform, including other commercial legal research services and publicly available legal research tools, and has determined that no reasonable alternative provides the same combination of legal content, reliability, functionality, attorney familiarity, integration into existing City Attorney workflows, continuity of legal research, citator tools, analytical resources, and government-access pricing necessary for the City Attorney’s Office’s operations; and WHEREAS, requiring the City to discontinue Westlaw and transition to another legal research platform would cause operational disruption, attorney retraining, loss of continuity in existing research workflows, potential inefficiencies in legal services, and additional costs that would be disproportionate to any practical benefit achieved by declining the proposed contract; and WHEREAS, the City Council finds that the proposed waiver is limited to the City Attorney’s Office’s procurement of Westlaw legal research services and related products under the proposed Thomson Reuters Enterprise contract, and does not constitute a general waiver of Ordinance No. 12-18 N.S. for unrelated Thomson Reuters products or services, unless expressly authorized by this Resolution or subsequent Council action; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has considered the intent of Ordinance No. 12-18 N.S., the City’s sanctuary city policies, the available alternatives, the City Attorney’s Office’s operational need for the proposed services, and the additional costs and disruption that would result from denying the proposed contract; and
WHEREAS, based on the foregoing, the City Council finds that no reasonable alternative exists for the City Attorney’s Office’s required legal research services and that a waiver of the requirements of Ordinance No. 12-18 N.S. is warranted for the proposed Thomson Reuters Enterprise contract.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Richmond as follows:
Section 1. The City Council hereby finds and determines that the foregoing recitals are true and correct and are incorporated herein by this reference.
Section 2. Pursuant to Section 3 of Ordinance No. 12-18 N.S., the City Council hereby waives the requirements of the Sanctuary City Contracting and Investment Ordinance, including the Reso. No. _____
requirement that Thomson Reuters Enterprise execute the City’s Sanctuary City Compliance Statement, for the limited purpose of allowing the City to enter into and perform the proposed contract with Thomson Reuters Enterprise for Westlaw legal research services for the City Attorney’s Office.
Section 3. This waiver applies only to the City Attorney’s Office contract with Thomson Reuters Enterprise for Westlaw Online Law Library services, including West Proflex, Westlaw Multi- State Analytical, CoCounsel Legal, and related legal research products and services identified in the proposed contract documents, for the term July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2029, in an amount not to exceed $110,000.
Section 4. This Resolution does not waive the requirements of Ordinance No. 12-18 N.S. for any separate or unrelated contract, product, service, department, procurement, or future agreement with Thomson Reuters or any affiliated entity, unless separately approved by the City Council.
Section 5. The City Manager, or designee, is authorized to execute the contract and any related documents necessary to effectuate the procurement of the legal research services described herein, subject to approval as to form by the City Attorney.
Section 6. This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon its passage and adoption.
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I certify that the foregoing resolution was passed and adopted by the City Council of the City of Richmond at a regular meeting thereof held on Mmmm dd, yyyy, by the following vote:
AYES: AYES:
NOES:
ABSTENTIONS:
ABSENT:
CLERK OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND
(SEAL)
Approved:
Mayor
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Approved as to form:
City Attorney
State of California }
County of Contra Costa : ss.
City of Richmond }
I certify that the foregoing is a true copy of Resolution No. _____, finally passed and adopted by the City Council of the City of Richmond at a regular meeting held on Mmmm dd, yyyy.
_______________________________________
Pamela Christian, Clerk of the City of Richmond