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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLiebert Cassidy Whitmore - Legal Services - 2015AGREEMENT FOR SPECIAL SERVICES This Agreement is entered into between the law firm of LIEBERT CASSIDY WHITMORE, A Professional Corporation ("Attorney"), and the CITY OF NATIONAL CITY, A Municipal Corporation ("City"). 1. Conditions This Agreement will not take effect, and Attorney will have no obligation to provide services, until City returns a properly signed and executed copy of this Agreement. 2. Attorney's Services Attorney agrees to provide City with consulting, representational and legal services pertaining to the City's compliance with the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, as requested by City or otherwise required by law. Connie C. Almond, Partner, will provide some of the services contracted for herein on behalf of Attorney, in addition to other legal staff. 3. Fees, Costs, Expenses City agrees to pay Attorney the sums billed monthly for time spent by Attorney in providing the services, including reasonable travel time not to exceed $25,000. The current range of hourly rates for Attorney time is from One Hundred Ninety to Three Hundred Twenty -Five Dollars ($190.00 - $325.00), and from Seventy -Five to One Hundred Fifty Dollars ($75.00 - $150.00) for time of paraprofessional and litigation support staff. Attorney reviews its hourly rates on an annual basis and, if appropriate, adjusts them effective July 1. Attorney will provide the City with written notification of 1 901164.2 NA040-001 any adjustment in the range of rates. Attorneys, paraprofessional and litigation support staff bill their time in minimum units of one -tenth of an hour. City agrees to reimburse Attorney for necessary costs and expenses incurred by Attorney on behalf of City. Attorney bills photocopying charges at Fifteen Cents ($0.15) per page and facsimile charges at Fifty Cents ($0.50) per page. A Public Agency Fee Schedule is attached to this Agreement. Payment by City against monthly billings is due upon receipt of statements, and is considered delinquent if payment is not received within thirty (30) days of the date of the invoice. The California Business & Professions Code requires us to inform you whether we maintain errors and omissions insurance coverage applicable to the services to be rendered to you. We hereby confirm that the firm does maintain such insurance coverage. 4. Arbitration of Professional Liability or Other Claims Disputes. If a dispute between City and Attorney arises over fees charged for services, the controversy will be submitted to binding arbitration in accordance with the rules of the California State Bar Fee Arbitration Program, set forth in California Business and Professions Code, sections 6200 through 6206. The arbitrator or arbitration panel shall have the authority to award to the prevailing party attorneys' fees, costs and interest incurred. Any arbitration award may be served by mail upon either side and personal service shall not be required. If a dispute arises between City and Attorney over any other aspect of the attorney -client relationship, including, without limitation, a claim for breach of 2 901164.2 NA040-001 professional duty, that dispute will also be resolved by arbitration. It is understood that any dispute as to any alleged breach of professional duty (that is, as to whether any legal services rendered under this agreement were allegedly unnecessary, unauthorized, omitted entirely, or were improperly, negligently or incompetently rendered) will be determined by submission to arbitration as provided by California law, and not by a lawsuit or resort to court process except as California law provides for judicial review of arbitration proceedings. Both parties to this agreement, by entering into it, are giving up their constitutional right to have any such dispute decided in a court of law before a jury, and instead are accepting the use of arbitration. Each party is to bear its own attorney's fees and costs. 5. File Retention After our services conclude, Attorney will, upon City's request, deliver the file for the matter to City, along with any funds or property of City's in our possession. If City requests the file for the matter, Attorney will retain a copy of the file at the City's expense. If City does not request the file for this matter, we will retain it for a period of seven (7) years after this matter is closed. If City does not request delivery of the file for this matter before the end of the seven (7) year period, we will have no further obligation to retain the file and may, at our discretion, destroy it without further notice to City. At any point during the seven (7) year period, City may request delivery of the file. 6. Assignment This Agreement is not assignable without the written consent of City. 3 901164.2 NA040-001 7. Independent Contractor It is understood and agreed that Attorney, while engaged in performing the terms of this Agreement, is an independent contractor and not an employee of City. 8. Insurance The Attorney shall not commence work under this Agreement until it has obtained all insurance required in this Article with a company or companies acceptable to the City. At its sole cost and expense, the Attorney shall take and maintain in full force and effect at all times during the term of this Agreement the following policies of insurance: A. Commercial general liability insurance with a combined single limit of not less than one million dollars ($1,000,000). B. For all of the Attorney's employees which are subject to this Agreement, to the extent required by the State of California, Workers' Compensation Insurance in the amount required by law. C. Errors and omissions insurance in an amount not less than two million dollars ($2,000,000) per claim. D. All insurance required by express provision of this Agreement shall be carried only in responsible insurance companies licensed to do business in the State of California. The policies carried pursuant to paragraph 8.A above shall name as additional insureds the City and its elected officials, officers, employees, agents, and representatives. All policies shall contain language, to the extent obtainable, to the effect that: (1) the insurer waives the right of subrogation against the City and its elected officials, officers, employees, agents, and representatives; (2) the policies are primary and not contributing with any insurance that may be carried by the City; and (3) the policies 4 901164.2 NA040-001 cannot be cancelled or materially changed except after thirty (30) days' notice by the insurer to the City by certified mail. Before this Agreement shall take effect, the Attorney shall furnish the City with copies of all such policies upon receipt of them, or a certificate evidencing such insurance. The Attorney may effect for its own account insurance not required under this Agreement. 9. Authority The signators to this Agreement represent that they hold the positions set forth below their signatures, and that they are authorized to execute this Agreement on behalf of their respective parties and to bind their respective parties hereto. 10. Term This Agreement is effective May 1, 2015, ongoing and may be modified by mutual agreement of the parties. This agreement shall be terminable by either party upon thirty (30) days written notice. LIEBERT CASSIDY WHITMORE, CITY OF NATIONAL CITY, A Prof ` sy; al Corporation A Municipal Corporation e: J. Scott Tiedemann Title: Managing Partner Date: NC By:�-�Ji.e_ Name: Leslie Deese Title: City Manager 5 Date: 511-1 11 S 0 FORM: 901164.2 NA040-001 City Attomey I. PUBLIC AGENCY FEE SCHEDULE Partners Of Counsel Hourly Rates (As of Agreement Effective Date) $325.00 $285.00 Associates $190.00 - $265.00 Paraprofessionals & Litigation Support $75.00 - $150.00 II. COST SCHEDULE 1. Photocopies 2. Facsimile Transmittal 6 $0.15 per copy $0.50 per page 901164.2 NA040-001 .vnaruI) AD CITY OF NATIONAL CITY Office of the City Clerk 1243 National City Blvd., National City, California 91950 619-336-4228 phone / 619-336-4229 fax Michael R. Dalla, CMC - City Clerk LIEBERT CASSIDY WHITMORE Legal Services — Personnel & Employment Matters Ginny Miller (City Attorney) Forwarded Copy of Agreement to Liebert Cassidy Whitmore