October 6, 2026
City Attorney's Office
Human Resources
DATE: October 6, 2026
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM: Shannon Moore, Interim City Attorney
Sharrone Taylor, Human Resources Director
Subject: Legal Services Agreement Amendment No. 5 with Liebert Cassidy Whitmore for Labor and Employment Matters
FINANCIAL IMPACT: The proposed $475,000 expenditure is included within the approved Fiscal Year 2026–2027 Human Resources
and Risk Management budgets (Account Strings: Human
Resources 01181016-400206 and Risk Management
50182316-400206).
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
April 16, 2024
June 20, 2024
November 1, 2022
October 7, 2025
June 16, 2026
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
City staff is requesting City Council approve a fifth
amendment to the legal services agreement with the law
firm Liebert Cassidy Whitmore to increase the not-toexceed amount by $475,000 to continue providing ongoing legal support in labor relations and public safety personnel matters.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: APPROVE a fifth amendment to the Legal Services Agreement with Liebert Cassidy Whitmore to continue
providing legal support for labor relations, increasing the payment limit by $475,000 for a total contract amount not to exceed $2,440,000, with a term ending June 30, 2027
– City Attorney’s Office (Sharrone Taylor 620-
6803/Shannon Moore 620-6505).
AGENDA
REPORT
October 6, 2026
DISCUSSION:
City staff requests an amendment to the existing legal services agreement with Liebert Cassidy Whitmore (LCW) which expires on June 30, 2027. There is a need to increase the not-to-exceed amount to address the need for ongoing labor negotiations regarding successor Memorandums of Understanding for three of the City's bargaining groups, the Fire Department’s transition to Advanced Life Support (ALS) services, and other meet and confer matters with bargaining units. Additionally, the LCW provides legal advice on various employment law matters, meet and confer obligations, representation in sworn and non-sworn personnel matters, anti-harassment training, and training for the City's Management Leadership Academy. There are ongoing labor negotiations and specialized labor and employment legal expertise for which LCW has expertise to provide such support. The Human Resources Department requests this amendment to add funds to cover anticipated expenditures for the ongoing matters.
Rates for LCW: Partners $485 per hour; Senior Counsel $400 per hour; Associates $295 - $380 per hour; Labor Relations/Human Resources Consultant $315 per hour; Classification & Compensation Consultant $230 per hour; Paralegals $165 per hour, EDiscovery Specialists $185 per hour; and Law Clerks $180-$200 per hour.
The services provided by LCW have been extremely beneficial to the City and performed in a very satisfactory manner. Further, continuing the working relationship with LCW will provide stability in negotiations and employment law issues, and it would be detrimental to the City's interests to change law firms at this juncture.
The Human Resources Department and the City Attorney’s Office requests Council’s approval of this fifth amendment to the legal services agreement with Liebert Cassidy Whitmore to increase the payment limit by $475,000 for a total not-to-exceed amount of $2,440,000, and term end date of June 30, 2027.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – Original Legal Services Agreement (LSA) with LCW Attachment 2 – First Amendment to LSA
Attachment 3 – Second Amendment to LSA
Attachment 4 – Third Amendment to LSA
Attachment 5 – Fourth Amendment to LSA
Attachment 6 – Fifth Amendment to LSA (Proposed)