City Council Agenda Report
Meeting Date: December 2, 2025
From: Zaynah Moussa-Milward, City Attorney
Department: City Attorney
Submitted by: Eva Muro, Legal Analyst
Subject
Amendment No. 1 to Attorney Services Agreement with Richards, Watson & Gershon Recommendation
Approve and authorize the City Administrator to execute Amendment No. 1 to the Attorney Services Agreement with Richards, Watson & Gershon (RWG) for outside legal services, in substantially the same form as submitted, to increase the total not-to-exceed amount by an additional $150,000.
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).
On March 24, 2025, the City Administrator approved an Attorney Services Agreement for outside legal services with RWG for a total not-to-exceed $75,000 (Agreement). The term of the Agreement between the City and RWG is March 27, 2025 through March 26, 2028. RWG was selected after a September 2024 comprehensive competitive selection (Request for Proposals) process, in accordance with City purchasing procedures and good governance contracting principles. Under the direction of the City Attorney, RWG is handling pre-litigation and pending litigation matters on behalf of the City related to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) Link US project.
In November 2025, the City initiated litigation against LA Metro and BNSF related to deficiencies in the project’s environmental analysis and undue impacts on Vernon and its surrounding communities. In order to cover additional costs and expenses of this litigation, as well as other matters that may be assigned to RWG, staff is requesting authority to enter into Amendment No. 1, which maintains all existing terms under the Agreement and increases the not-to-exceed amount by $150,000, bringing the total contract amount to $225,000. Pursuant to Section
3.32.030(A) of the Vernon Municipal Code, City Council approval is required for the proposed amendment as the total value of the contract exceeds $100,000. Amendment No. 1 has been reviewed and approved as to form by the City Attorney.
Fiscal Impact
The fiscal impact is not-to-exceed $225,000, for the three-year contract term. 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 in subsequent years.
Attachments
1. RWG Amendment No. 1