RFP No. 2386EXHIBIT AScope of ServicesThe selected Company will be expected to conduct a full investigation, which may include but is not limited to:1. Personal meeting with the assigning authority to determine the scope of investigation.2. Initial review of the complaint and complaint form, if applicable.3. Provide a written estimate of costs associated with the investigation, if requested.4. Review of any supporting documents.5. Review of potential applicable policies and/or procedures. 6. In depth recorded interview of the complainant / reporting party.7. In depth recorded interview of all witnesses. 8. In depth recorded interview of all subject employee(s). 9. Review and correction of interview transcripts. 10. Comprehensive / detailed written investigative report that follows the City of RiversideAdministrative Investigation report format.11. Follow-up meeting(s) with management, as requested. 12. Preparation and testimony at administrative and/or criminal hearings, if needed. 13. Provide a thorough analysis of all findings. The awarded Company will be required to conduct an investigation from the time the formal complaint is filed through completion of the investigation, which will include preparation of the report of findings and its submittal to designated City Officials. The awarded Company will also be required to be available for testifying and attending any administrative/judicial proceedings related to the assigned investigation.
G. PricingLegal Fees and Rates proposed by Leal
Trejo for investigative legal services:TYPE OF SERVICE: (Investigative Legal Services – All)Hourly rate for Partner/Of Counsel $275.00Hourly rate for Senior Associates $250.00Hourly rate for Junior Associate $225.00Hourly rate for Senior Paralegal/Law Clerk $175.00Hourly rate for Junior Paralegal $125.00Hourly rate for Legal Secretary $100.00Hourly rate for telephone consultation Same as AboveHourly rate for court litigation/administrative proceedingsPartner:Of Counsel:Associate:Paralegal/Law Clerk:Legal Secretary:$375.00$375.00$325.00$225.00$150.00Hourly rate for travel (portal-to-portal) $0.00Cost for fax transmission/receiving 5% monthlyCost for printing/duplication 5% monthlyThe Firm prepares bills on a monthly basis and bills in 1/10thhour increments. To the extentpossible, we will submit bills by the 15thof the following month. Each bill will contain all fees forservices and expenses incurred during each month.For expenses, we charge five percent (5%) on monthly invoices in which individualized itemization isimpractical for office support services, including word processing, duplication, and facsimile. We billfor any third-party expenses, such as expert witness fees, depositions and court reporter fees, andelectronic legal research at actual cost. No individual cost in excess of $2,000.00 shall be incurredwithout the approval of the City or its designee.
D.Law Firm PersonnelLeal
Trejo has one office, and it is in Long Beach, California. We are a local, minority-owned firm with a specialized focus in public entity work. We have a team of ten lawyers and one paralegal. Please findbrief summaries of the attorneys’ experience below, followed by their biographies. A. Name: H. Francisco LealTitle: Managing PartnerRole: General Counsel/Lobbyist/Business AffairsQualification: Has 30 years of experience serving as chief legal advisor to public entities, extensiveexperience working with elected boards.How Long in Current Position: Founding PartnerHow Long in Relevant Practice: 33 yearsHow Long Licensed in California: 33 yearsB. Name: William J. TrejoTitle: PartnerRole: General Counsel, Employment/Labor Relations, Special Education, Student AffairsQualification: Experienced LitigatorHow Long in Current Position: 15 yearsHow Long in Relevant Practice: 23 yearsHow Long Licensed in California: 23 yearsC. Name: Mercedes CruzTitle: PartnerRole: General Counsel/City Attorney; labor and employmentQualification: Has served as general counsel, city attorney and chief legal counsel for numerouscomplex public and private entities.How Long in Current Position: 5 yearsHow Long in Relevant Practice: 33 yearsHow Long Licensed in California: 33 yearsD. Name: David J. AlvarezTitle: Of CounselRole: Assistant General Counsel – Water Replenishment District of Southern CaliforniaQualification: Municipal Law, Real Estate Construction and Development, Land Use, Financing andTransactional, Eminent Domain, Public Financing and Bond MeasuresHow Long in Current Position: 18 yearsHow Long in Relevant Practice: 18 yearsHow Long Licensed in California: 18 years Law Firm Personnel (cont.)E. Name: Jennifer A. ChamberlainTitle: AssociateRole: Special Education/Labor Employment AttorneyQualification: Special Education, Litigation, Brown Act Compliance, Personnel Administration and Employee Discipline, Employment Contracts for Management Employees and Bargaining Unit Employees, Conflict of Interest as well as General Labor and Employment Law How Long in Current Position: 5 years How Long in Relevant Practice: 14 years How Long Licensed in California: 14 yearsF. Name: Michael E. WolfsohnTitle: AssociateRole: AttorneyQualification: Litigation, Brown Act Compliance, Personnel Administration and Employee Discipline Employment Contracts for Management Employees and Bargaining Unit Employees, Conflict of Interest as well as General Labor and Employment Law How Long in Current Position: 15 years How Long in Relevant Practice: 17 years How Long Licensed in California: 17 yearsG. Name: Savannah C. Skelton Title: Associate Role: Attorney Qualification: Special Education, Litigation, Brown Act Compliance, Personnel Administration and Employee Discipline, Employment Contracts for Management Employees and Bargaining Unit Employees, Conflict of Interest as well as General Labor and Employment Law How Long in Current Position: As an attorney for four years; two additional years as a law clerk. How Long in Relevant Practice? 6 years. See above. How Long Licensed in California? 4 years H. Francisco LealManaging PartnerPROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:H. Francisco Leal has decades of experience representing Californiapublic agencies as both a practicing attorney and as a legislativeadvocate.Mr. Leal currently serves as General Counsel for the WaterReplenishment District of Southern California (WRD) and Special Counsel for multiple other public agencies. In his capacity asgeneral and special counsel for his public agency clients, Mr. Lealprovides day-to-day legal advice, on issues related to the BrownAct, environmental liability and regulatory compliance, contracts,zoning, cannabis, election law,of interest issues, negotiations and personnel matters. Mr. Leal also oversees alllitigation matters in agencies where he serves as general counsel.Mr. Leal also has a developed practice in legislative analysis andadvocacy. He is a lobbyist registered with the California Secretaryof State and provides legislative analysis, advice, and advocacythrough Legislative Advocacy Group. As a lobbyist, Mr. Leal hasrepresented various general law cities, water and air qualityagencies, school districts and healthcare providers on such issuesas gaming regulatory reform, funding for school construction andinfrastructure projects, and zoning and transportation relatedmatters.Mr. Leal’s experience includes serving as General Counsel to theAlhambra School District, and as City Attorney for thecities of Lynwood, San Fernando, Commerce, South Pasadena,Maywood and Huntington Park. Mr . Leal previously served asAssistant Regional Counsel for the United States EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA), where he handled a variety of matters related to the enforcement of the Comprehensive EnvironmentalResponse, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).Mr. Leal previously served as the Chair of the Board of Directors forPan American Bank, Chairman of the Board of Directors for Plazade la Raza, a Trustee for the Mexican American Bar Association(MABA), as a Board Member for the Community Youth GangServices Project (CYGS), the Los Angeles Center for Law & Justice,and the International Visitors Council of Los Angeles (IVCLA). Healso served on Yale University’s Board of Governors.
EDUCATION:J.D., Harvard Law School (1986)B.A., Yale University (1983) William J. TrejoPartnerPROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:William Trejo currently serves as General Counsel and SpecialCounsel to numerous public-school districts throughout the state,handling and supervising all legal matters for these clients,including, but not limited to:•Labor relations•Personnel and employment matters•Public Construction and Facilities•Special Education•Student Affairs•Litigation•Personnel InvestigationsMr. Trejo’s extensive experience in the varied areas of educationaland public law include administrative hearings, labor negotiations,litigation (from claim to trial), and advisory opinions on all issuesaffecting an agency. Mr. Trejo routinely represents public agencies, includingcommunity college districts in administrative hearings in front ofthe Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), PublicEmployment Relations Board (PERB), Equal OpportunityCommission (EOC), Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH), andother agencies. Mr. Trejo handles internal investigations, has taken the lead inrestructuring agencies’ entire special education departments,workers’ compensation program, and in certain districts hasimplemented a worker-return-to-work program in order to reducecosts to districts.Other areas of practice include rendering legal opinions to school districts on construction, student rights, teacher rights, employeerights, Brown Act issues, and negotiations.Prior to becoming an attorney, Mr. Trejoworked as a specialeducation teacher.
EDUCATION:J.D., Loyola Marymount University School of Law (1997)B.A., University of California,San Diego (1987) Mercedes Cruz PartnerPROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:Ms. Cruz specializes in defending and advising private and public entities in allaspects of employment law, with a special emphasis on dispute resolution andprevention. Ms. Cruz has extensive experience in employment litigation inCourt, as well as state and federal administrative agencies such as theCalifornia Fair Employment and Housing Commission, the United States EqualOpportunity Commission, and the California State Labor Commissioner. Herareas of concentration include training, dispute resolutions, internalinvestigations, advising employers on terminations, discipline, complyingwith state and federal employment laws, and formulation of policy. Ms. Cruzalso defends employers in litigation involving wrongful termination,retaliation, harassment, employment discrimination and related tort actions. Ms. Cruz’ clients include municipalities, counties, automotive companies,entertainment clients,, small businesses, nonprofit entities, educationalinstitutions, and Fortune 500 companies.Oversight and Coordinating Counsel for Internal InvestigationsEOP/CEOPIn 2004, Ms. Cruz was appointed by the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors tothe Equity Oversight Panel (EOP). This panel oversaw all Sheriff’sDepartment‘s internal investigations involving equity. She served as a chairof the panel. In 2011, the EOP was expanded and renamed the County EquityOversight Panel (CEOP). The newly expanded Panel’s role is to provideoversight for all of the County’s Departments’ internal investigations. Ms. Cruz has served as an investigation consultant to the Executive Director ofthe CEOP and then Rotating Chair and Panelist for the combined panel since2011.National Coordinating Counsel and Early Warning Investigations;Ms. Cruz served as Kia Motors America National Employment Counsel andalso oversaw their litigation and Early Warning Investigation programthroughout the United Stated for 15 years. She also oversaw Porsche’s earlywarning investigation program for over 10 years. and has been NationalCounsel forGeneral investigations;•Ms. Cruz has conducted and overseen hundreds of investigations in boththe public and private sectors and has assisted employers in resolvinghundreds of claims and disputes. Ms. Cruz provides training to employersand their employees, including law enforcement personnel, in theprevention of harassment and discrimination in the workplace and relatedemployment topics.•Ms. Cruz has completed investigations on areas of law which include butare not limited to: Class Action Wage and Hour declaration campaigns,Title IX, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, conflict of interestviolations, whistleblower matters, civil rights, and matters involving thepeace officer bill of rights.
EDUCATION:J.D., Berkeley Law (1985)B.A.. California State University , Long Beach (1981)
David John AlvarezOf CounselPROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:David Alvarez has experience in various aspects of municipal law,water law, real estate construction and development, land use,and transactional matters.Mr . Alvarez currently serves as Assistant General Counsel for theWater Replenishment District of Southern California (WRD) where heprovides legal advice to the Board of Directors and staff on a varietyof water rights and resources issues, including the structuring ofconstruction projects and related financing, the acquisition anddisposition of real property, negotiating and drafting special servicecontracts, CEQA and NEPA compliance, as well as compliance with theBrown Act, the Public Records Act, conflict of interest laws andregulations and general governance.During law school, Mr. Alvarez focused his studies in the subjectareas of land transactions,related workouts, and disputeresolution. Mr. Alvarez served as an academic writer through hisadvanced land use seminar to the Southern California Association ofGovernments (SCAG) on topics concerning transportation planningand environmental conformity analysis, drafting commentsto the regional transportation plan for Southern California.Prior to joining theof Leal-Trejo APC, Mr. Alvarez was employedas a development associate for a private developmentwithdiverse domestic and international holdings. In this capacity, heoversaw the development and marketing of a multi-phase mixed useprojects, which included the creation of a charter school and a municipal water district. Through his experience he has gainedexpertise in all phases of development projectentitlements, environmental compliance, and governmentalcompliance.EDUCATION:J.D., UCLA School of Law (2002)B.A., California State University,Long Beach, Magna Cum Laude(1996) Savannah C. SkeltonSenior AssociatePROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:Savannah Skelton is a Senior Associate Attorney for Leal Trejo and is a member of our litigation and transactional practices. Litigation – Public SectorMs. Skelton is a well-seasoned litigator and handles all steps of complexdisputes across various practice areas. Ms. Skelton is adept at craftingstrategic legal solutions, conducting high-stakes negotiations, andrepresenting public agencies in both state and federal courts. Ms. Skelton has a proven track record or successfully managing and movingcases from the inception of the complaint through resolution, with a keen ability to analyze intricate legal issues, craft calculated defensesand achieve favorable outcomes for clients. Ms. Skelton has litigated to finality issues related to employment issuesstemming from allegations of wrongful termination, harassment,discrimination, retaliation, violation of applicable labor laws, CaliforniaPublic Records Act compliance, Brown Act compliance, premisesliability, slip and falls, unlawful detainers, and breach of contractmatters.Most recently, Ms. Skelton was featured in the LA Times for a highlypoliticized lawsuit to enforce the CPRA against a public agency. She iscurrently defending a public agency in a complex discrimination,harassment, retaliation, and defamation case that is slated to be triedlater this year. She has tried various jury and non-jury trials with a tremendous success rate. Aside from the current matters highlightedabove, Ms. Skelton represents one of the largest community collegedistricts in the state in several separate lawsuits brought by prioremployees alleging discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongfultermination, labor code violations, and ADA violations. Transactional – Public SectorMs. Skelton works closely with various public agency’s elected Boardsand staff on a wide array of issues affecting public agencies whichinclude but are not limited to: Employment disputes and discipline; Title IX compliance and investigations; ADA requests and relatedprocesses; drafting and negotiating collective bargaining agreements,drafting employee handbooks, administrative codes and policies andcontracts for goods and services.Moreover, Ms. Skelton is well-versed in public contracting and regularlyadvises agencies on contracting requirements, which includescompetitive bidding requirements, the issuance of related RFPs, conflictof interest provisions, prevailing wage disputes, and other publicconstruction related laws.
EDUCATION:J.D., Pepperdine School of Law (2019)B.A., University of California, San Diego (2014)
Jennifer ChamberlainAssociateJennifer Chamberlain is an associate at Leal Trejo, APC, in thefirm’s Education Practice Group. Ms. Chamberlain has 12 years’experience in handling student matters. Ms .Chamberlain currently handles litigation for the Los AngelesCommunity College District, and serves as special counsel toschool districts throughout the state on all matters affecting:•Student matters•Employment matters•Internal Investigations•Labor RelationsPrior to joining Leal Trejo, APC, Ms. Chamberlain was DeputyGeneral Counsel at the Los Angeles County Office of Education,where she represented the County Office in matters involvingdistricts of residence disputes, participated in administrativehearing, counseled internal special education and compliancedepartments. Ms. Chamberlain began her work experience atDisability Rights California, where she specialized in representingstudents with disabilities. Ms. Chamberlain participated in IEPrepresentation, mediations, Due Process hearings and systemiclitigation in this role. Prior to that, Ms. Chamberlain worked at a private law firm representing student with disabilities. Ms. Chamberlain has spoken at national and local conferences as wellas law schools in the area of special education law and systemiclitigation.Ms. Chamberlain obtained her undergraduate degree as a doublemajor in English and Political Science from San Diego StateUniversity. During her tenure at San Diego State, Ms. Chamberlain taught creative writing part time at an elementaryschool. This prompted her desire to pursue child advocacyspecial education law. She attended Pepperdine UniversitySchool of Law and participated in the Pepperdine SpecialEducation Advocacy Clinic for a full year during law school. She is a current member of the American Bar Association andWomen’s Law Association of Los Angeles.
EDUCATION:J.D., Pepperdine University School of Law (2007)B.A., San Diego State University(2004) Michael E. WolfsohnSenior AssociateMichael E. Wolfsohn is a Senior Associate Attorney. His areas ofpractice include:•Litigation•Investigations•Brown Act compliance•Conflict of Interest Provisions•Personnel Administration•Employee discipline•Student Affairs•Employment contracts for management employees andbargaining unit employees•General labor and employment law issues•Business and Financial AffairsMr. Wolfsohn regularly works closely with an agency’s HumanResources manager to assist the client with navigating throughthe complex procedural (legal and administrative) due processrequirements public agency employers frequently encounterwhen investigating employee misconduct. This includesproviding guidance and support to agency staff, from how torespond to an employee complaint, to how to conduct an internalinvestigation and ensure the rights of the accused are preserved,to how to draft a report of findings and prepare employees totestify at a hearing.Mr. Wolfsohn is a skilled labor negotiator and regularlyrepresents public agencies in with collective bargaining. His legalcounsel begins with developing bargaining positions andensuring procedural compliance, and, if necessary, through theimpasse process. In addition to collective bargaining agreements,Mr. Wolfsohn also assists clients to negotiate and draftmanagement and consultant employment agreements. Mr. Wolfsohn routinely advises clients on matters relating toagency business and financial matters and works closely withagency staff and elected Boards to sort through these matters. Prior to joining Leal Trejo, APC, Mr. Wolfsohn was a PublicDefender in San Diego County. Mr. Wolfsohn has represented hisclients at trials and hearings (criminal, civil and administrative)and argued a variety of motions such as Pitchess motions,motions to compel discovery, motions to exclude evidence, andspeedy trial motions before the court.
EDUCATION:J.D., Santa Clara School of Law (2004)B.A., University of California at Los Angeles (2000)