City Council Agenda Report
Meeting Date: May 20, 2025
From: Zaynah Moussa, City Attorney
Department: City Attorney
Submitted by: Eva Muro, Legal Analyst
Subject
Attorney Services Agreement between the City of Vernon and Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP for Outside Legal Services
Recommendation
Approve and authorize the City Administrator to execute the Attorney Services Agreement with Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP (Burke Williams) for Outside Legal Services, in substantially the same form as submitted, for an amount not-to-exceed $125,000.
Background
The City Attorney’s Office functions as the legal advisor and counsel of record for the City Council, City boards and commissions, City staff, and represents the City in litigation, whether directly or with special counsel. The City Attorney’s Office is currently staffed with one in-house attorney and is supported by outside counsel for specialized legal matters and litigation or other matters requiring additional resources.
Accordingly, the City Attorney’s Office engages special counsel to assist as needed for specific matters (i.e., not via a monthly retainer). The advice or representation provided by special counsel could be in the form of a request for expert analysis on a specific issue, or to represent the City in a personnel matter, claim or lawsuit.
Competitive Selection Process
Pursuant to Vernon Municipal Code (VMC) Section 3.32.220(B), all professional services contracts must be subject to a new competitive selection process every three years, unless commercially unreasonable to do so.
In September 2024, the City Attorney’s Office issued a Request for Proposals for Outside Legal Services, in accordance with VMC Section 3.32.080, with a response deadline of November 4, 2024. The City Attorney’s Office received proposals from 14 firms throughout the state, many of whom were well-qualified in the subject practice areas.
The written proposals were subject to a review process by the City Attorney’s Office and evaluation panel representatives from City Finance, Human Resources, City Administration, and the Police Department. Due to the number and length of proposals received and staff availability/workload, the review and evaluation process took several months. Individual scores were applied by each panel representative and the following were ranked as the top firms overall:
Best Best & Krieger
Burke Williams & Sorensen
Jones & Mayer
Liebert Cassidy Whitmore
Richards Watson Gershon
Burke Williams is a full-service public law firm that currently serves as special counsel and/or city attorney for more than 200 local governmental agencies. Attorney Mark Austin has been recommended as the City’s primary point of contact. Mr. Austin has years of experience working on Vernon matters, having successfully handled a high-profile anti-SLAPP motion, multiple positive outcomes in dangerous condition of public property (tort) cases, as well as several successful motions for summary judgment. Burke Williams also has expert attorneys available in the practice areas of land use, environmental compliance and CEQA, code enforcement, housing issues, and election law. If and when the City’s in-house attorney is unavailable, the firm has experienced city attorneys available to attend meetings and advise on municipal law issues.
Burke Williams litigation and advisory legal services would be billed at the hourly rates set forth below, ranging from $175-375 based on practice area and seniority. The proposed hourly rates are comparable to other firms providing public sector legal services.
Staffing Hourly Rate
Partners $375
Associate Attorneys $325
Paralegals $175
Pursuant to VMC Section 3.32.030(A), City Council approval is required for the proposed Agreement as the total value of the contract exceeds $100,000. The Agreement has been reviewed and approved as to form by our Office.
Fiscal Impact
The fiscal impact is not-to-exceed $125,000. Sufficient funds are available in General Fund, City Attorney Department Professional Services – Legal Account No. 011-010-115-529200 for the current fiscal year and will be budgeted for subsequent years.
Attachments
1. Burke Williams Attorney Services Agreement