Agenda Item #13.1
For Council Meeting of: July 28, 2026
CITY OF SANTA ROSA
CITY COUNCIL
TO: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
FROM: ASHLE CROCKER, CITY ATTORNEY
CITY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
SUBJECT: APPROVAL OF AGREEMENT WITH WEST PUBLISHING CORPORATION FOR LEGAL RESEARCH AND COCOUNSEL LEGAL SOFTWARE AGENDA ACTION: MOTION
RECOMMENDATION
The City Attorney’s Office recommends that the Council, by motion, approve an Agreement with Thomson Reuters Enterprise Centre GmbH through West Publishing Corporation, Eagan, Minnesota for Westlaw Legal Research and CoCounsel Legal for a five-year term, in an amount not to exceed $174,432, and delegate authority to the City Attorney to execute the agreement. This item has no impact on current fiscal year budget.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This item brings forward an agreement that will replace the City Attorney’s Office’s (CAO) existing agreement for Westlaw legal research previously executed for a three year term on June 18, 2025. This new agreement will modernize the CAO’s legal research platform to improve efficiency with advanced searching and AI-assisted tools. The new platform is anticipated to reduce time spent on routine research and drafting tasks and allow more time to focus on Citywide legal needs.
GOAL
This item relates to Council Goal #1 – Achieve and Maintain Fiscal Sustainability and Budgeting Excellence by improving the efficiency of legal services through modernized legal research and document analysis tools.
BACKGROUND/PRIOR COUNCIL REVIEW
Not applicable.
ANALYSIS
The CAO previously entered into a contract with West Publishing for their Westlaw Edge legal research platform. Westlaw offers several platforms with advanced technologies and tools. The CAO has reviewed the software, met with the IT Advisory Committee for recommendation, and has determined it is in the best interest of the City to upgrade to Westlaw Advantage legal research platform with CoCounsel Legal to modernize the CAO’s legal research platform and improve efficiency through AI-assisted legal research, analysis, and document review.
It is anticipated that the upgrade will:
Reduce reliance on outside counsel by increasing in-house capacity by automating essential legal research and analysis to allow more time for other Citywide legal projects.
Reduce time spent on routine research tasks which would allow attorneys to focus on other Citywide legal needs and advice.
Provide the ability to quickly search and summarize non-standard agreements.
Assist in drafting and modifying contract language to account for specific jurisdictions (federal or state) and ensures it is up to date with current law.
The annual expense under the new and enhanced platform will increase by approximately $12,700 for the first year, with minimal increases each new fiscal year.
The agreement is for a five-year period and includes ongoing upgrades over the life of the agreement.
FISCAL IMPACT
This item has no impact on the FY 2026-2027 budget. Existing appropriations within the City Attorney's Office budget are sufficient to fund the agreement. Future annual budget requests for FY 2027-2028 through FY 2031-2032 will include the ongoing costs associated with the agreement.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378, the recommended action is not a “project” subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it does not have the potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. In the alternative, the recommended action is exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3) because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the recommended action may have a significant effect on the environment.
BOARD/COMMISSION/COMMITTEE REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS
This item was brought forward to the City’s IT Advisory Committee for recommendation on July 14, 2026, and was recommended to move forward to Council for approval.
NOTIFICATION
Not applicable.
ATTACHMENTS
None.
PRESENTER(S)
Autumn Luna, Chief Assistant City Attorney
Hannah Ford-Stille, Assistant City Attorney
APPROVAL OF AGREEMENT WITH WEST PUBLISHING CORPORATION FOR LEGAL RESEARCH AND COCOUNSEL LEGAL SOFTWARE PAGE 3 OF 3