September 15, 2026
City Attorney's Office
DATE: September 15, 2026
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM: Shannon Moore, Interim City Attorney
Kimberly Chin, Interim Chief Assistant City Attorney
Subject: Legal Services Agreement Amendment No. 2 with
McNamara, Ambacher, Wheeler, Hirsig & Gray, LLP for
Litigation Matters
FINANCIAL IMPACT: The proposed $250,000 increase to the legal services agreement is included within the approved Fiscal Year
2026-2027 Risk Management General Liability Fund
budget (Account String: 50182316-400554). As services
are billed at an hourly rate, the total cost may be lower than the not-to-exceed amount.
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
March 19, 2024
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
A second amendment to the legal services agreement
with McNamara, Ambacher, Wheeler, Hirsig & Gray LLP
is needed to provide additional funding and ensure the
City has appropriate legal representation for pending and future police tort litigation matters.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: APPROVE a second amendment to the legal services agreement with McNamara, Ambacher, Wheeler, Hirsig &
Gray LLP for pending and future police tort litigation
matters, increasing the payment limit by $250,000, for a total amount not to exceed $350,000, and extending the
term through December 31, 2027 – City Attorney’s Office (Kimberly Chin 510-620-6709/Shannon Moore 510-620-
6509).
AGENDA
REPORT
September 15, 2026
DISCUSSION:
McNamara, Ambacher, Wheeler, Hirsig & Gray, LLP (McNamara) currently represents the City in several police tort lawsuits. They specialize in civil litigation, with expertise in civil litigation defense, and have been providing services to the City since 2021. This includes public entity defense in the areas of police and civil rights, general tort defense, and personal injury. As the City Attorney’s Office works to review and reduce outside counsel costs, it is appropriate to continue to work with this firm. McNamara has had good success and is in the middle of working on other matters. It would be inefficient in time and uneconomical to switch firms at this point.
Due to an administrative error, the original legal services agreement with McNamara was approved by City Council on March 19, 2024, with an after-the-fact form approving a retroactive start date of July 1, 2023, through June 25, 2025, with a total not to exceed amount of $100,000. The first amendment to extend time was entered into on April 10, 2025, extending the term through December 31, 2026.
City staff recommend that the City Council approve a second amendment to the legal services agreement with McNamara, Ambacher, Wheeler, Hirsig & Gray LLP for pending and future police tort litigation matters, increasing the payment limit by $250,000, for a total amount not to exceed $350,000, and extending the term through December 31, 2027.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – Amendment 2 to LSA with McNamara (proposed) Attachment 2 – Amendment 1 to LSA with McNamara
Attachment 3 –Original LSA with McNamara