City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: JUNE 27, 2023 FROM: CITY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE WARDS: ALL
SUBJECT: authorize legal services AGREEMENTs FOR RFP NO. 2226 for OUTSIDE LEGAL COUNSEL professional services PANEL with the law firms of Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo, BDG Law Group, BUCHALTER, Burke, Williams & Sorensen LLP, Collins + Collins LLP, Devaney Pate Morris & Cameron LLP, Fagen Friedman & Fulfrost LLP, Graves & King LLP, Hanna, Brophy, Maclean, HOLLAND & HART, McAleer & Jensen LLP, Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP, Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, Lozano Smith, Manning & Kass, Ellrod, Ramirez, Trester LLP, Murphy & Evertz, Olivarez Madruga Law Organization LLP, and Woodruff & Smart WITH A THREE-YEAR TERM ENDING JUNE 30, 2026; Authorize Legal Services Agreements to June 30, 2026 with the law firms of Colantuono Highsmith & Whatley PC, Greines Martin Stein & Richland, Jones Hall, Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth, and Thompson Coburn for the retention of outside legal services; approve FY23/24 budget for Thompson Coburn IN the AMOUNT OF $558,000; aPPROVE INCREASE OF BUDGET WITH the law firm of Greines, Martin, Stein & Richland in the amount of $30,000 ISSUE:
Consider approving Legal Services Agreements for Request for Proposal 2226 Outside Legal Counsel Professional Services Panel with the law firms of Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo, BDG Law Group, Buchalter, Burke, Williams & Sorensen LLP, Collins + Collins LLP, Devaney Pate Morris & Cameron LLP, Fagen Friedman & Fulfrost LLP, Graves & King LLP, Hanna, Brophy, Maclean, McAleer & Jensen LLP, Holand & Hart, Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP, Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, Lozano Smith, Manning & Kass, Ellrod, Ramirez, Trester LLP, Murphy & Evertz, Olivarez Madruga Law Organization LLP, and Woodruff & Smart with a three-year term ending June 30, 2026; consider approving extensions to Legal Services Agreements to June 30, 2026 with the law firms of Colantuono Highsmith & Whatley PC, Greines Martin Stein & Richland, Jones Hall, Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth, and Thompson Coburn for the retention of outside legal services; consider the FY23/24 budget for the law firm of Thompson Coburn; consider an increase in the budget for the law firm of Greines, Martin, Stein & Richland LLP RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the City Council:
Approve the proposed panel of outside legal counsel and Legal Services Agreements with a term to June 30, 2026 with the following law firms: Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo, BDG Law Group, Burke, Williams & Sorensen LLP, Colantuono Highsmith & Whatley PC, Collins + Collins LLP, Devaney Pate Morris & Cameron LLP, Fagen Friedman & Fulfrost LLP, Graves & King LLP, Greines Martin Stein & Richland, Hanna, Brophy, Maclean, McAleer & Jensen LLP, Jones Hall, Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP, Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, Lozano Smith, Manning & Kass, Ellrod, Ramirez, Trester LLP, Murphy & Evertz, Olivarez Madruga Law Organization LLP, Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth, Thompson Coburn, and Woodruff & Smart; and Authorize the City Attorney to execute such Legal Services Agreements for such outside legal counsel professional services panel; and Authorize the City Attorney to execute a three-year extension to such Legal Services Agreement for the retention of outside legal services, including any annual rate increases; and Approve Fiscal Year 2023/2024 budget for Thompson Coburn in the amount of $558,000 for specialized legal services for matters before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the California Public Utilities Commission and/or the California Independent System Operator; and Approve an increase in the budget for Greines, Martin, Stein & Richland LLP in the not to exceed amount of $30,000, for a total budget amount not to exceed $180,000, for specialized appellate legal services for the appeal in Riversiders Against Increased Taxes v. City of Riverside.
BOARD RECOMMENDATION:
On June 13, 2023, the Board of Public Utilities with all members present, unanimously voted to approve the expenditure for the Fiscal Year 2023/2024 budget for Thompson Coburn in the amount of $558,000 for specialized legal services for matters before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the California Public Utilities Commission and/or the California Independent System Operator.
BACKGROUND:
City Charter section 702, “Eligibility, powers and duties of City Attorney,” provides, in part, that “the City Council shall have control of all legal business and proceedings and may employ other attorneys to take charge of any litigation or matter or to assist the City Attorney therein.” On February 4, 2015, the Governmental Affairs Committee first reviewed and considered a proposed policy for the retention of outside counsel by the City Attorney’s Office. At that time, the Committee requested that the City Attorney’s Office revise the policy to include a provision for recommended signature authority for the City Attorney on outside counsel contracts, how long the initial term of the contracts should be, and further refine the process. On April 1, 2015, the Committee met again to review and comment on the policy. The Committee unanimously recommended that the City Council approve the policy, limiting the City Attorney’s signature authority to $25,000 without prior City Council approval.
On June 16, 2015, the City Council adopted the policy and authority of the City Attorney for retention of outside counsel, approved the proposed panel of attorneys, and instructed the City Attorney to return to the Governmental Affairs Committee in six months to review the policy implementation.
On March 26, 2019, the City Council approved certain First Amendments to Attorney Services Agreements for the panel attorneys, extending the terms of the agreements by an additional three years.
On May 17, 2022, the City Council approved a panel of 21 law firms, with listed areas of specialty practice, which was a reduction from the previous panel of 43 law firms. At that time, the City Attorney’s Office indicated that a Request for Proposal for Legal Services would be issued in 2023 to refresh the bench of qualified attorneys on the approved panel for certain areas of specialized practice.
Pursuant to City Council authorization on May 17, 2022, the City Attorney currently has the following law firms on the approved Attorney Panel:
All Law Firms On The Existing Approved Panel
Law Firm
Specialty
Expiration Date of Existing Agreement
1. Alston & Bird
Environmental
When complete*
2. Best Best & Krieger LLP
Municipal law, water law, bankruptcy
June 30, 2023
3. Buchalter
CPUC advice
June 30, 2023
4. Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP
Litigation (non-tort)
June 30, 2023
5. Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley, PC
*Existing litigation only
June 30, 2023
6. Constantine Cannon LLP
Qui Tam pending lawsuit
When complete*
7. Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy
Bond litigation
When complete*
8. Gibbs Giden Locher Turner Senet & Wittbrout LLP
Public Works, construction litigation
June 30, 2023
9. Greines, Martin, Stein & Richland LLP
Appellate
June 30, 2023
10. Holland & Hart LLP
Power purchase agreements
March 9, 2024
11. Jones Hall
Municipal Bonds
June 30, 2023
12. Law Offices of William R. Price
Tort litigation
September 16, 2024
13. Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP
Police, civil rights, tort litigation
June 30, 2023
14. Liebert Cassidy Whitmore
HR, employment, RPD personnel
June 30, 2023
15. Meyers, Nave, Riback, Silver & Wilson
Municipal Law
June 30, 2023
16. Miller & Axline
Water Contamination
When complete*
17. SL Environmental Law Group PC
Kennedy & Madonna LLP
Douglas & London, P.C.
Kelley Drye & Warren, LLP
Taft Stettinius &Hollister, LLP
Levin Papantonio Thomas Mitchell Rafferty & Proctor, P.A.
Water contamination
When complete*
18. Slovak Baron Empey Murphey & Pinkney, LLP
Code of Ethics
September 14, 2024
19. Smith Law Offices
Police, employment and tort litigation
June 30, 2023
20. Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth
Municipal Bonds
June 30, 2023
21. Thompson Coburn LLP
FERC, NERC, CPUC advice
June 30, 2023
* The termination dates for these law firms are dependent upon the particular legal matter being completed.
DISCUSSION:
Request for Proposal 2226
RFP 2226 for Outside Legal Counsel Professional Services Panel was posted on January 31, 2023 on the City’s electronic bidding (PlanetBids) website. RFP 2226 was closed on March 9, 2023, and the City received 32 competitive responses.
The RFP was issued to identify qualified law firms to provide legal services to the City in various areas of law, including but not limited to the following areas:
Affordable Housing laws.
Bankruptcy.
Eminent Domain/Inverse Condemnation.
Employment law (advice and litigation)
Environmental and Natural Resources Law/Litigation
General Public Agency Law.
General Litigation or Trial
Public Contracting/Construction Law/Litigation
Public Employment Law
Public Safety (litigation and employment law advice)
Real Estate.
Water Law
Appellate Practice
A cross-functional review panel was selected to evaluate the responsive proposals. Each of the responsive proposals were comprehensively and consistently evaluated by staff based on the following criteria:
a. Pricing (20%)
b. Experience and Qualifications (Projects of similar size and scope) (65%) c. Professional References (15%)
After a thorough evaluation process, a panel of 15 law firms was selected to provide outside legal counsel services on an as-needed basis. The firms were selected based on their demonstrated expertise in the relevant areas of law, their proposed staffing and approach to providing legal services, their professional references, and their competitive fee structures.
Although the law firm of Best Best & Krieger was selected for potential inclusion on the City’s legal services panel, the firm withdrew their proposal from consideration.
All Law Firms Selected For RFP 2226
Law Firm
Specialty Areas
1 Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo
Affordable Housing Laws
Bankruptcy
Eminent Domain, Inverse Condemnation
Employment Law (advice and litigation)
Environmental and Natural Resources Law/Litigation Law
General Public Agency Law
General Litigation or Trial
Public Contracting/Construction Law/Litigation
Public Employment Law
Public Safety (litigation and employment law advice)
Real Estate
Water Law
Appellate practice
2 BDG Law Group
Eminent Domain/Inverse Condemnation
Employment Law (Advice and Litigation)
Environmental And Natural Resources Law/Litigation Law
General Public Agency Law
Public Contracting/Construction Law/Litigation
General Litigation or Trial
Public Employment Law
Real Estate
3 Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP
Affordable Housing
Eminent Domain/Inverse Condemnation
Employment Law
Environmental Law
General Public Agency Law
General Litigation/Trial
Public Contracting/Construction
Public Employment Law
Public Safety
Real Estate
4 Collins + Collins LLP
Eminent Domain/Inverse Condemnation
Employment law (Advice and litigation)
General Public Agency Law
General Litigation or Trial
Public Contracting/Construction Law/Litigation
Public Employment Law
Public Safety (litigation and employment law advice)
Real Estate
Appellate practice
5 Devaney Pate Morris & Cameron, LLP
Affordable Housing Laws
Eminent Domain/Inverse Condemnation
Employment Law (Advice and Litigation)
Environmental and Natural Resources Law/Litigation Law
General Public Agency Law
General Litigation or Trial
Public Contracting/Construction Law/Litigation
Public Employment Law
Public Safety (Litigation and Employment Law Advice)
Real Estate
Water Law
Appellate Practice
6 Fagen Friedman & Fulfrost, LLP
Employment Law (Advice and Litigation)
General Public Agency Law
General Litigation / Trial
Public Contracting / Construction Law / Litigation
Public Employment Law
Public Safety
Real Estate
Technology Law
7 Graves & King LLP
General Litigation or Trial
Appellate practice
8 Hanna, Brophy, Maclean, McAleer & Jensen, LLP
Workers’ Compensation and CalPERS Industrial Disability Retirement defense 9 Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP
General litigation or trial
10 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore
Employment Law
Public Employment Law
Public Safety
Appellate Practice
11 Lozano Smith
Employment law (advice and litigation)
Environmental and Natural Resources Law/Litigation Law
General Public Agency Law
General Litigation or Trial
Public Contracting/Construction Law/Litigation
Public Employment Law
Public Safety (litigation and employment law advice)
Real Estate
Appellate practice
12 Manning & Kass, Ellrod, Ramirez, Trester LLP
Employment Law
General Litigation or Trial
Public Safety
Appellate Practice
13 Murphy & Evertz
Eminent Domain/Inverse Condemnation
Water Law
14 Olivarez Madruga Law Organization, LLP
Employment Law (Advice and Litigation)
General Public Agency Law
General Litigation or Trial
Public Contracting/Construction Law/Litigation
15 Woodruff & Smart
Affordable Housing laws
Eminent Domain / Inverse Condemnation
Employment Law / Public Employment Law
Environmental and Natural Resources
General Public Agency Law
Real Estate
Appellate Practice
The legal service agreements with the selected firms will provide the City with access to a broad range of legal expertise and resources, while also ensuring that the City receives high-quality legal services at a reasonable cost. The agreements will also provide the City with flexibility to engage outside counsel on an as-needed basis.
The Purchasing Manager concurs that the recommendation to award RFP 2226 to the above-referenced 15 law firms complies with Purchasing Resolution 23914.
Extensions to Legal Service Agreements
The current Legal Services Agreements with law firms listed on the following list are set to expire soon. These firms did not submit a proposal in response to RFP 2226; however, many of them are either (1) actively handling existing matters on behalf of the City; or (2) provide services which the RFP specifically excepted. To ensure uninterrupted operations, the City Attorney’s Office has requested each of these law firms to execute new legal services agreements to properly extend them.
Extensions to Existing Legal Service Agreements
Law Firm
Specialty Areas
1 Buchalter
CPUC advice (excepted from RFP)
2 Colantuono Highsmith & Whatley, PC
Prop 218 and Prop 26 advice and litigation, (existing litigation only) 3 Greines Martin Stein & Richland
Appellate practice (existing matter and excepted from RFP) 4 Holland & Hart
Power Purchase Agreements (excepted from RFP)
5 Jones Hall
Municipal bonds and related litigation (excepted from RFP) 6 Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth
Municipal bonds and related litigation (excepted from RFP) 7 Thompson Coburn
FERC, NERC, CPUC, CAISO advice (electric generation and distribution) (excepted from RFP) *Law firms shaded in green have not provided concurrence with our legal services agreement. If the firms provide concurrence with our agreement, we will gather a signature from the firm and with approval of the actions set forth in this report the City Attorney will execute the extensions to the agreements.
Approval of Annual Thompson Coburn Budget
City Charter section 702, “Eligibility, powers and duties of City Attorney,” provides, in part, that “the City Council shall have control of all legal business and proceedings and may employ other attorneys to take charge of any litigation or matter or to assist the City Attorney therein.” The City Council has previously approved the retention of Thompson Coburn.
Thompson Coburn is a law firm based in Washington DC that specializes in representing publicly owned electric utilities. In general, their work for the City includes monitoring and assisting with nearly all aspects of federal regulatory activity within the purview of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) that may affect the City’s electric utility.
For fiscal year 2023-2024, Thompson Coburn estimates a budget of $558,000 and the City Attorney is asking for approval for that expenditure. This an increase in the amount of $23,000 for the fiscal year 2022-2023 budget, which was $535,000 and of which $296,745 has been expended.
The City realizes a cost savings from the retention of Thompson Coburn. For example, FERC’s regulation of the transmission system administered by the CAISO includes approving the rates charged by the CAISO for use of the transmission lines. The City, when it uses the transmission lines administered by the CAISO, pays that rate. The rates are based upon the costs submitted to FERC by the transmission owners who have turned over operational control of their transmission lines to the CAISO. The City reviews all cost submissions from these transmission owners and submits objections to FERC, through Thompson Coburn, of any inappropriate costs.
Over a 10-year period, from 2013 through 2023, the City estimates that it has saved $36,169,201 in reductions to the rates ultimately approved by FERC and paid by the City, as a result of the objections filed by Thompson Coburn on behalf of the City. This cost estimate does not include certain cases still pending before FERC in 2023.
Increase to Greines, Martin, Stein & Richland LLP Budget On May 17, 2022, the City Council approved a budget for Greines, Martin, Stein & Richland LLP in the not to exceed amount of $110,000 for specialized appellate legal services in the Riversiders Against Increased Taxes v. City of Riverside appeal. This budget was based upon the costs to prepare the administrative record, then brief and argue the appeal. On December 6, 2022, the City Council approved an increase to this budget in the amount of $40,000 due to additional time incurred to prepare the administrative record and to successfully oppose a petition by plaintiffs for a writ of supersedeas to extend for the duration of this appeal the trial court’s preliminary injunction preventing the City from certifying the election results. This budget is predicted to be exceeded again in the amount of $30,000 due to additional time incurred to oppose a 100-page appellate brief filed by RAIT and to prepare for oral argument, for a total budget amount not to exceed $180,000, for specialized appellate legal services for the appeal in Riversiders Against Increased Taxes v. City of Riverside.
Per the Purchasing Resolution 23914, Section 702 Acquisition of Services states, “Competitive Procurement through the Informal Procurement and Formal Procurement process shall not be required in any of the following circumstances… (p) when the Procurement is for the retention of outside legal counsel and services.” The Purchasing Manager concurs that the extension, annual, and increase agreement recommendations comply with Purchasing Resolution 23914 Section 702(p).
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT: The retention of experienced outside counsel to provide legal advice and supports all priorities of the City of Riverside’s Envision Riverside 2025 Strategic Plan, as such advice is provided to all departments of the City, the City Council, Boards and Commissions.
This item aligns with each of the five Cross-Cutting Threads as follows:
Community Trust – Riverside is transparent and makes decisions based on sound policy, inclusive community engagement, involvement of City Boards & Commissions, and timely and reliable information. Use of outside counsel that specialize in specific areas of the law supports and aids the making of such decisions.
Equity – Use of outside counsel that specialize in specific areas of the law benefits the entire community by ensuring that such efforts comply with all aspects of the law.
Fiscal Responsibility – The City Attorney’s Office is expending funds in a careful and judicious manner balanced against the need for specialized legal counsel when the circumstances warrant.
Innovation – The retention of specialized legal counsel to provide specialized legal advice supports City innovation efforts by ensuring that such efforts comply with all aspects of the law.
Sustainability & Resiliency – The retention of specialized legal counsel to provide specialized legal advice supports City goals of sustainability and resiliency by ensuring that such efforts comply with all aspects of the law.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with the legal service agreements or extensions thereto. Any impact will occur when an individual firm/attorney is retained for a particular engagement. Legal services are paid from a variety of funding sources depending on the engagement, such as the Worker’s Compensation Fund, General Liability Fund, or existing departmental budgets. Availability of funds are confirmed at the time of engagement.
The fiscal impact for Thompson Coburn will have a financial impact of $558,000, and funds will come from the following RPU accounts: Power Resources ($533,000) Account 6120000-421100; and Legislative & Regulatory Risk ($25,000) Account 6025000-421100.
The increase in the budget for Greines, Martin, Stein & Richland LLP (RAIT appeal) will have a fiscal impact of $30,000, and funds will come from the Liability Trust Fund – Outside Legal Fees Account 1310000-421100.
Prepared by: Phaedra A. Norton, City Attorney
Approved as to
availability of funds: Kristie Thomas, Assistant Chief Financial Officer/Finance Director Attachments:
Legal Services Agreements
Panel of Outside Legal Counsel Effective June 27, 2023
Award Recommendation - RFP 2226
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