City Attorney’s Office
www.santa-ana.org/ca
Item # 10
City of Santa Ana
20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701
Staff Report
July 7, 2026
TOPIC: Approve Amendment and Agreement for Software Subscription Services
AGENDA TITLE
Amendment to Agreement with Blue Technologies Smart Solutions for Access and Support Services for iManage Data Management Systems and Agreement with Thomson Reuters for Legal Research Subscription Services (General Fund)
RECOMMENDED ACTION
1. Authorize the City Manager to execute an amendment to the City’s current agreement with Blue Technologies Smart Solutions (“BlueTech”) to increase the not-to-exceed amount of compensation to the agreement for use of the iManage Data Management Systems (“iManage”) for the period of August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2027 in the amount of $14,604 to provide additional user licenses and increase the data storage size utilized by the use of the iManage system (Agreement No. A-2026-XXX); and
2. Authorize the City Manager to execute an agreement for legal research subscription services in the amount of $167,790 that will commence on July 7, 2026 and will continue through June 30, 2029 (Agreement No. A-2026-XXX).
GOVERNMENT CODE §84308 APPLIES: Yes
DISCUSSION
Blue Technologies (iManage)
In 2024, the City’s Attorney’s Office (“CAO”) entered into a new agreement with BlueTech to continue its use of iManage Data Management Systems customized for the CAO reflecting the vast amount of documents and scope of legal services provided by the office. Since that implementation went into effect, the ongoing impact and efficiency provided by the iManage system cannot be overstated. Achieving a near paperless legal operation has improved efficiency. The City authorized renewal of the service in 2024 contemplating staffing requirements and an increase of data storage up to 2.4 TB of data.
Approve Amendment and Agreement for Software Subscription Services July 7, 2026
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Since 2024, additional staffing in CAO was authorized to address additional legal responsibilities, including Rent Stabilization, Police Review Commission, and a significant increase in personnel litigation. In addition, the transmission and storage of case files and related records utilized as work product by the City Attorney’s office has grown more complex as files contain more and more sophisticated data including audio and video components which become sizeable as technologies improve.
The amendment to allow for an increase to the amount of user licenses and an additional TB of data storage will allow the continued usage of the iManage system to expand with CAO through the remainder of the term of the Agreement at a cost of $14,604 for the final year of the Agreement with Blue Tech. This amount will increase the previously approved year 3 costs from $36,843 to $51,447. The total amount to be expended under the Agreement, with this proposed Amendment, shall not exceed $143,133.
Thomson Reuters (Westlaw)
The City’s current online legal research service is with Thomson Reuters which commenced on January 1, 2024 and runs through December 31, 2026. The City Attorney’s Office (“CAO”) utilizes legal research services with access to multiple online court records systems, updated legislation, court filings, case history, and advanced subject matter research tools for CAO to provide legal advice to assist the City. The two main companies which provide legal subscription services utilized through the country are LexisNexis and Thomson Reuters, or as it is commonly referred to as Westlaw.
In the late Winter/early Spring of this year, CAO met with representatives of LexisNexis and Westlaw to review their online platforms which now utilize artificial intelligence (“AI”) to locate and provide case law, legislative review, and access to other resources, within the libraries of each company, to assist with faster and targeted responses to specific legal issues.
CAO’s review was focused on three (3) main components related to their AI system: 1) that the review was within a closed library to ensure that any research was only within the listed publications offered by the companies and did not rely on open AI systems; 2) that the work product provided by the company produced reliable results which CAO staff could then review for accuracy; and 3) that CAO work product would not be utilized to “train” an AI system by use of attorney-client work product by CAO into a third party system, such as Westlaw or LexisNexis.
CAO was impressed by both systems and the ability of each to provide quick results to our legal research inquiries. Use of this platform for research alone would save hours of attorney/paralegal work time to assist the City. After full review of both systems, CAO selected Thomson Reuters/Westlaw to enter into a new three (3) year agreement commencing upon execution of a Council approved agreement until June 30, 2029, which utilizes Westlaw’s AI assisted legal research platform and the addition of Approve Amendment and Agreement for Software Subscription Services July 7, 2026
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Westlaw’s Co-Counsel application to assist with the preparation and drafting of legal documents for the City. Upon execution, the prior agreement would expire.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
There is no environmental impact associated with this action.
FISCAL IMPACT
Funds, as detailed below, are available in the budgeted amounts for FY 2026-27 and funding for subsequent fiscal years will be included in future budgets for City Council consideration.
Blue Technologies (iManage)
Fiscal Year Accounting Unit-
Account #
Account
Description
Amount
FY 2026-27 01108032-66511 Computer Software
Subscriptions
$14,604
Total: $14,604
Thomson Reuters (Westlaw)
Fiscal Year Accounting Unit-
Account #
Account
Description
Amount
FY 2026-27 01108032-66511 Computer Software
Subscriptions
$52,704
FY 2027-28 01108032-66511 Computer Software
Subscriptions
$55,867
FY 2028-29 01108032-66511 Computer Software
Subscriptions
$59,219
Total: $167,790
EXHIBIT(S)
1. First Amendment to Agreement with Blue Technologies Smart Solutions
2. Legal Research Subscription Services Agreement – Thomson Reuters Submitted By: Sonia Carvalho, City Attorney
Approved By: Alvaro Nuñez, City Manager