HomeMy WebLinkAbout25 - Office of the City Attorney Budget & Trend AnalysisP
CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH
CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
Agenda Item No. 25
June 8, 2010
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: David R. Hunt, City Attorney
d hu ntt(z)newportbeachca.gov
(949) 644 -3131
SUBJECT: OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY BUDGET AND TREND ANALYSIS
ISSUE:
On May 25, 2010, Councilmember Daigle requested that the Office of the City Attorney ( "OCA ")
provide a review of its budget and staffing trends.
RECOMMENDATION:
This report is for Council's information. There is no recommendation at this time. Please
provide direction as you see fit.
SUMMARY/ DISCUSSION:
This report addresses the historic context of the Office of the City Attorney as best as we can'
and explains the current trends.
1. Mission and Goals of the Office of the City Attornev.
The new City Attorney was appointed in December of 2009. He was directed to build a
proactive, effective and credible Office of the City Attorney that met and managed all of the
City's legal needs. The OCA was to provide in -house services for the City while delegating
appropriate matters to outside counsel. As a result, as was true historically, legal services for
the City are provided by a combination of in -house professionals and specialty counsel.
The new City Attorney assessed the status of the OCA and all legal services provided to the
City within the first six months of his appointment. During that time the OCA drafted a
proposed Mission, Goals and Standards Statement, circulated it to the Management Team for
comment and input, and brought it to the City Council for comment and approval.
The full approved Mission, Goals and Standards Statement is appended as Attachment
"A ". The approved Mission states:
The mission of the Office of the City Attorney is to provide excellent, prompt, practical,
solution oriented legal advice to the Council, staff, and Boards and Commissions of the
1 Prior to 2009, there was a lack of clarity regarding outside counsel costs and their nature. While they
could be constructed by detailed and time consuming review of actual billings, the management of the
chart of accounts was no in sufficient detail to allow for easy analysis.
OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY
BUDGET AND TREND ANALYSIS
June 8, 2010
Page 2
City of Newport Beach; to effectively represent the City's interests before all courts and
administrative bodies; and to act as the City's chief prosecutor in all code enforcement
matters. We seek to integrate the legal function with administrative and policy functions
of the City at the most basic levels in order to assist in achieving the Council's policy
objectives and protect the City from liability.
Of significant note is the last sentence of the Mission that directs the OCA to "integrate the legal
function with the administrative and policy functions of the City at the most basic levels." This
approach was not an historic function of the OCA. It has, however, been pursued over the last
year and a half.
2. Staffing Increases.
At the same time the Council addressed the Mission and Goals of the OCA, it was presented
with a forecast of possible staffing plans that would be needed in order to accomplish the
Mission and Goals over the long term. The possible options were presented along with data
addressing a comparison of outside counsel cost to in house costs and an analysis of staffing of
City Attorney Offices in similarly situated City's.
Based upon the assessment at the time, an assessment we still believe is accurate, the City
Attorney forecast that the City would need to increase staffing of the OCA as follows:
• From 5.7 (FTE) full -time attorneys to seven full -time attorneys;
• One full -time paralegal to two full -time paralegals;
• One full -time Office Assistant to two full -time Office Assistants; and
• Maintain the Administrative Assistant position.
We forecast a need for five full -time attorneys to perform the advisory work of the City and two
full -time attorneys for handling routine code enforcement and specialty litigation. The additional
full -time paralegal would perform both litigation services and would be available to assist in
advisory roles of the office as needed. The additional Office Assistant was forecasted to assist
the additional professional staff. The Administrative Assistant would support the administrative
functions of the office, give guidance to the support staff, and support the City Attorney. We
provided the Council with staff's best estimate of the expense for such an office at that time,
though we were not seeking to move to that staffing level at that time and are not seeking that
level even now. We presented two possible scenarios, copies of which are appended as
Attachment "B "-
The staffing forecast was consistent with, and in fact less in many ways than, similarly situated
cities. We have appended the table setting out the data from the surveyed cities as
Attachment "C ". This staffing arrangement would provide two support staff for eight legal
professionals (six attorneys and two paralegals) , a ratio of one to four, with one Administrative
2 Certified Paralegals not support staff. Under California law they are entitled to provide paraprofessional legal service
under the supervision of attorneys, which is how paralegals are used in the OCA. They provide an excellent resource for
keeping legal costs down since their effective hourly rate is significantly below that of attorneys.
OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY
BUDGET AND TREND ANALYSIS
June 8, 2010
Page 3
Assistant providing administrative and support services to the City Attorney. This model
provides staffing levels well below those seen in other public offices and in the private sector.3
Incremental staffing increases have been instituted over time with Council's approval in order to
achieve the Council's goals. Increases actually began in the 2008/2009 FY Budget, where the
Council approved the addition of a new Assistant City Attorney. They then proceeded in 2009
with approval of the Council obtained at its January 27, March 24, and July 28, meetings .4
The chart below summarizes the changes in the in -house staffing and the OCA from Fiscal Year
( "FY ") 07/08 through FY 10/11. Staffing has increased by four positions (actual people) over
four years with most of the change reflecting the transition from part-time to full -time staff
positions.
FY 07108
Act Salary & Benefit Exp
$821,794
FY 08109
Act Salary & Benefit Exp
$1,032,398
FY 09/10
Act Salary & Benefit Exp
$1,459,877
FY 10/11
Act Salary & Benefit Exp
$1,605,155
FT
FTE
FT
FTE
FT
FTE
Fr_Tj
FTE
Asst City Atty
1
Asst City Atty
2
Asst City Atty
2
Asst City Atty
2
Admin Asst
1
Admin Asst
1
Admin Asst
1
Admin Asst
1
City Atty
1
City Atty
1
City Atty
1
City Atty
1
,Office Asst
0.6
Office Asst
0.6
Office Asst
1
0.4
Office Asst
1
0.4
Dept Asst
Dept Asst
Dept Asst
1
Deputy Atty
Deputy Atty
2
Deputy Atty
2
ffAtty
Contract Deputy
Atty
0.8
Contract Deputy
Atty
Contract Deputy
Atty
5
2@
0.7
Deputy Atty P/T
2@
0.7
Deputy Atty P /T
0.7
Depty Atty P/T
0.7
Paralegal
0.8
Paralegal
0.8 1
Paralegal
1
Paralegal
2
3
2.8
4
3.6
8
1.1
10
1.1
Actual People: Total 6
Total 8
Total 10
Total 12
As demonstrated by the table:
In FY 07/08, OCA staffing included a full -time City Attorney, a full -time Assistant City
Attorney and two part-time Deputy City Attorneys. Support staff included one full -time
Administrative Assistant, one part-time Office Assistant and one part-time Paralegal. As
a result, a total of 7 legal positions supported the OCA.
Beginning FY 08/09, OCA staffing increased to 8 positions (actual people). Between
January and March of 2009, the City Council approved augmenting four part-time
positions to full -time. The request for this augmentation was based on the need for
additional support staff the additional legal professionals to achieve the goal of providing
prompt, practical, solution - oriented legal advice to staff and to Council.
3 See staff report from July 28, 2009 Open Session appended in Exhibit "D ".)
Staff reports from those meetings are appended collectively as Exhibit "D ".)
e Includes part-time contract attorneys.
OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY
BUDGET AND TREND ANALYSIS
June 8, 2010
Page 4
Proposed for FY 10/11 is an added Department Assistant position and Paralegal, at the
full -time level to support the work of four attorneys and a Paralegal.
This augmented staffing was needed, and continues to be needed, to address the increased
work load of the OCA. The increased work load is largely made up of:
• Taking all code enforcement litigation in- house. No new code enforcement matters have
been assigned to outside counsel in this fiscal year;
• Begin taking specialty litigation back in- houses
• Taking over providing all legal advice to the Police Department including those duties
performed under the former Police Legal Advisor position.
• Taking over all advisory duties related to elections issues' and representation of the Civil
Service Board ;8
• Addressing legal issues at a staff level to integrate the legal function with the policy
function of the City.
3. Analysis of Costs.
Historically, special counsel has been retained to provide services for advisory, code
enforcement, and special litigation. One goal of increasing in -house staff was to reduce reliance
on outside counsel in order to make the provision of legal services to the City more cost
effective.9 The plan was, and is, to:
1. Reduce the use of outside counsel for advisory services;
2. Bring code enforcement back in- house; and
3. Begin handling specialty litigation in- house.
The plan has been largely successfully executed to date.
The charts below demonstrate that the goal of reducing outside counsel services for advisory
and code enforcement issues has been achieved. First, as shown by the table comparing
inside costs to the outside counsel expense and the chart entitled Salaries & Benefits and
Outside Counsel as a Percentage of Total Budget below, while inside legal costs have
increased, the City's outside counsel expense has decreased.
G The OCA has been handling specialty litigation until the recent staffing issues caused by the absence
of the City Attorney and one Assistant City Attorney. We had to refer two cases out that we would have
otherwise kept in -house due to this staffing issue.
' Formerly outside counsel was used to advise the Civil Service Board on matters.
s Formerly outside counsel was used to advise the Civil Service Board on matters.
s As presented in July 2009, we estimated the expense of in -house counsel at 99.36 per hour while
outside counsel was costing the City approximately $269.75 per hour with an estimated weighted hourly
rate of approximately $208 per hour. Those calculations are reflected on Attachment "E" appended
hereto.
OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY
BUDGET AND TREND ANALYSIS
June 8, 2010
• Page 5
Salaries & Benefits and Outside Counsel as a Percentage of Total Budget
80%
70% .
60%
50%
41M, — Salaries & Benefits
30%. — Outside Counsel
20%
10%
0%
FY08 FY 09 FY 10' FY11'
• Additionally, as illustrated in the table and bar chart on the next page, not only is outside
counsel cost decreasing, overall cost
is reduced in the coming fiscal year budget.
Maint &
S1w &
Outside Atty.
Salaries & Benefits Ops
Capital TOTAL Net Bene
Contracts
FY 08 821,794 801,530
13,371 1,636,695 85,815 821,794
729,086
FY 09 1,032,398 1,062,001
2,760 2,097,159 299,696 1,032,398
765,065
FY 10" 1,459,877 945,915
4,000 2,409,792 82,915 1,459,877
867,000
FY 11" 1,605,155 719,329
24,358 2,348,842 121,687 1,605,155
622,000
•
OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY
BUDGET AND TREND ANALYSIS
June 8, 2010
Page 6
City Attorney Department Expenditures
40,9,792
2- 361LAA2
2,500,000
2,000,000
1,500,000
I
1,000,000
500,000
I
FY 08 FY 09 FY 10* FY 11*
4. Management of Outside Counsel.
All Other Atty costs
■ Outside Legal contracts
■ Salary & Benefits
* Budget Amounts
Not only have we reduced our reliance on outside counsel, great efforts have been made to
manage the cost of existing outside counsel relationships.
In the beginning of 2009, the OCA assessed the use of outside counsel throughout the
organization. We learned not only were outside counsel being retained by our office, but other
departments in the organization were using outside counsel. Those relationships were
identified and brought under the control of the office of the City Attorney. (See Staff Report from
March 24, 2009 attached as Exhibit "F ".)
Secondly, we reformatted the way we track outside counsel costs in the financial plan, adding
designations for Advisory Services and Specialty Litigation Services. Prior to the 2010 process
all outside counsel services were tracked to the 8080 budget item along with other technical and
expert services. That made it impossible to easily track the expense and how it was used.
Thirdly, we developed and instituted the use a standard "Litigation Plan and Cost Estimate"
form. (See, Attachment "G ".) We have married this Litigation Plan and Cost Estimate form
with a form Case Evaluation Memorandum (See, Attachment "H "). The goal of these forms is
compel outside counsel to think a case out early in the process, plan an approach to it, and then
cost it out for the City. We have been using this approach since October of 2009.
Fourthly, we instituted the use of Outside Counsel Billing Guidelines (See Attachment "I ".)
They were created to address ongoing issues revealed by the review of outside counsel billings.
•
LJ
•
•
•
OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY
BUDGET AND TREND ANALYSIS
June B, 2010
Page 7
They are intended to create more standardization in billing by outside counsel. The Guidelines
were developed to reflect industry standards for good billing practices.
Finally the OCA has been using a two level billing review process. The first review is performed
by the attorney directly responsible for the day to day handling of a matter, usually an Assistant
City Attorney. This individual is best qualified to review the billing for accuracy as to the work
performed and the authority granted for the work. Then the billings are reviewed by the City
Attorney in order to assure full compliance with our billing standards and uniform application of
standards. The City Attorney's review also assists him in keeping abreast of the issues in each
case.
This process of management of costs has resulted in substantial savings to the City. We have
withheld over $60,000 in billings and returned bills without review due to failure to comply with
our guidelines. We have enforced authority standards in order to focus outside counsel on the
work that brings the greatest benefit to the City.
All of that having been said, management of outside counsel and the cost of litigation is an
inexact art form, not a science. Litigation is a contentious and difficult environment to predict.
Expenses can only be estimated and must be updated based upon changes in circumstances.
Two litigation scenarios have been difficult to fully manage, Group Homes and one on -going
code enforcement case in the hands of outside counsel.
Even with growth and expense of the Group Homes litigation, the 2011 budget reflects a
reduction in outside counsel expense by over $200,000. See the bar chart below, on the next
page:
Outside Counsel Costs
1,000,000 729,086
750,000
i
500,000
250,000
765,065
867,000
622,000
-10
FY 08 FY 09 FY 10* FY11*
* Budget Amounts
• Thus, outside counsel costs have been reduced, albeit, however, not as much as we would like.
OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY
BUDGET AND TREND ANALYSIS
June 8,2
Page e 8 •
8
5. FY 2010 Status.
Specialty litigation expense has proven to be the difficult issue in this Fiscal Year. You
augmented the budget by $650,000 at Council's last meeting to address the Group Homes
litigation and to address the new case filed against Sunset Ridge Park. Otherwise we have
been on target in the budget and plan for reduction of outside counsel expense. As
demonstrated in the table and chart below and on the next page, excluding specialty litigation
dramatically changes the picture on the costs of the office.
Outside Counsel, Without Specialty Litigation Costs
Accounts
8080 8656 8657 8658 TOTAL
FY 08 729,086
FY 09 765,065
FY
10* 65,000 102,000
FY
11* 115,000 103,500
* budget amounts
729,086
765,065 4.93%
110,000 277,000 - 63.79%
25,000 243,500 - 12.09%
Outside Counsel, Without Special Litigation Costs
1,000,000 729,086 765,065
750,000
500,000
250,000
277,000 243,500
No
FY08 FY 09 FY 10* FY 11*
* Budget Amounts
•
As to Group Homes, as with much contentious, significant litigation, the expenses have
exceeded estimates received in the past. We had been given a detailed cost estimate in •
October of 2009 that was well below what the expense has proven to be through this fiscal year.
This increase in expense is largely due to the adding of two plaintiffs, Newport Coast Recovery
OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY
BUDGET AND TREND ANALYSIS
June 8, 2010
Page 9
and Yellowstone as well as discovery costs brought about by plaintiffs' flurry of last minute
depositions and written discovery requests.
As to Sunset Ridge Park, we did not anticipate this litigation. We would have handled the
matter in -house had we not be been down two attorneys in these last three months. It is the
type of case that falls squarely into our core functions and the expertise of this office when it is
up to appropriate staffing levels.
CONCLUSION:
Thank you for the opportunity present this report. We look forward to addressing any questions
you might have.
Prepared and Submitted by
Ll� k�
David R. Hunt,
City Attorney
Attachment A
Attachment B
Attachment C
Attachment D
Attachment E
Attachment F:
Attachment G
Attachment H.
Attachment I:
Mission, Goals and Standard Statement
Post -New Civic Center Scenario Two
Table of In -House City Attorney Comparison, Population, Budget & Staff
January 27, 2009, March 24, 2009 and July 28, 2009 Staff Reports
Estimate of OCA In -House Counsel Costs for FY 10 (Draft)
March 24, 2009 Staff Report
Litigation Plan and Cost Estimate
Case Evaluation
December 23, 2009 Memo to Outside Counsel re Billing Guidelines
cc: Dave Kiff, (w /Attachments)
A09- 00413) M &CC from LM 06.08.10 Re OCA Budget Trend Analysis
ATTACHMENT A
MISSION, GOALS AND STANDARDS STATEMENT
Office of the City Attorney of Newport Beach
(August 19, 2009)
MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of the Office of the City Attorney is to provide excellent, prompt, practical,
solution oriented legal advice to the Council, staff, and Boards and Commissions of the
City of Newport Beach; to effectively represent the City's interests before all courts and
administrative bodies; and to act as the City's chief prosecutor in all code enforcement
matters. We seek to integrate the legal function with administrative and policy functions
of the City at the most basic levels in order to assist in achieving the Council's policy
objectives and protect the City from liability.
GOALS AND STANDARDS
Our goal is to provide excellent quality, responsiveness and value in performing the
legal services necessary to successfully achieve our mission. This goal, and the
standards for judging its accomplishment, is defined as:
Quality: We must always provide excellent legal services. That having
been said, we also must recognize excellence will be tempered by the
amount of resources available to perform a particular task. Therefore, we
must perform excellent legal work as defined by and within the constraints
with which we are presented. Our legal services shall have the following
characteristics:
• We are to approach all tasks with integrity and courage. Regardless
of the interests being addressed we shall speak truth and protect the
credibility of the institution of City government.
• Our legal advice and representation will be well thought out and
thoroughly researched. We will avoid, to the greatest extent
possible, "flying by the seat of our pants" so as to minimize changes
in opinion or recommendation.
• Our advice is to be practical and solution oriented while minimizing
legal risks to the City.
• We shall avoid being "naysayers" to the greatest extent possible,
and instead look for a means within the law to achieve the goals
sought to be pursued by policymakers.
• We shall be vigorous and formidable advocates of City interests in
courts and before administrative agencies. We shall, however,
remain objective counselors behind closed doors giving practical
and constructive legal advice to seek early, economically realistic
resolution of disputes. That having been said, we shall remain
ready, willing and able to try all cases that need to be resolved by
the courts.
• We shall present our legal opinions and ourselves in the community
in a manner that lends credibility to the office and to City
government as a whole.
MISSION, GOALS AND STANDARDS STATEMENT
Office of the City Attorney of Newport Beach
(August 19, 2009)
Responsiveness: We must be sensitive to the needs of Council, staff, and
Boards and Commissions. We must respond to them promptly within time
frames defined by their needs. The policymakers define our priorities; we
do not define theirs. We will hold ourselves to the following standards:
o Regular work turnaround within ten business days.
o Rush turnaround within three business days.
o Emergency /critical needs receive immediate response.
o Deadlines for all large projects shall be worked out with staff so that
the needs of the City are met, both in timing and excellence in legal
advice.
o Contracts are a priority. Standard contract turn around in no longer
than ten working days in OCA, though hopefully sooner, as follows:
1. Initial review and triage by Paralegal within 3 business days —
returned to department if changes needed, otherwise
forwarded to the ACA for review and signature;
2. ACA to review and sign within 2 days of Paralegal forwarding
and contract should be routed back to the department at that
time;
3. Process starts over again when
clarification /correction.
4. Goal is to turn contracts around,
returned by department after
i
fully completed and signed
off, in no more than 10 business days, and if they come
through in clean condition within no more than five business
days in department.
5. Complex, non - standard contracts, to be completed within
negotiated time frame as meets the needs of City business.
o Telephone calls returned within the same day or the next business
day morning at the latest.
o Emails reviewed and triaged within two business days, if out of office
assistant not activated and if it is, within two business days of
return.'
Value: We must provide our services in a manner that gives the City
excellent "bang for its buck." We shall maximize the value to the City of our
office and minimize the expense, making sure to deliver excellent legal
services in an efficient and cost effective manner. We shall do the
following to achieve this end:
1 It should be noted that while emails are an excellent, inexpensive, and potentially effective means of
communication, they can give a false impression of actual receipt. Sender often assumes the email has been read,
and in many circumstances it has not been. If a matter is urgent in any way, it is best to call on the telephone. ` 1
MISSION, GOALS AND STANDARDS STATEMENT
Office of the City Attorney of Newport Beach
(August 19, 2009)
o Develop and maintain effective form templates that reflect the
current status of the law and give certainty to the conduct of City
business.
• Develop and maintain efficient procedures for handling workload so
that it can be effectively handled.
• Utilize technology in a way that it enhances productivity and
preservation of resources without becoming an impediment to
thorough, thoughtful legal analysis. Whatever we do, we must not
allow technology to drive us instead of our using it.
• Achieve a proper balance between in -house legal services and
outside legal services, proactively managing outside legal services
to assure the City receives the best "bang for its buck."
• Actively monitor legal expense in order to assure budgetary
compliance, providing timely identification and processing of budget
exceptions relating to use of outside counsel.
fA09- 00398] Draft Mission and Goals Statement
ATTACHMENT B
0 •
Division 0510, City Attorney
Post -New Civic Center, Scenario Two (Based on
FY 10 Salary &
Benefit Costs)
Fiscal Year 2009 -10
Empty Title
FTE
Salary
Benefit
Total Comp
1060 Office Assistant
1.00
48,817.60
23,607.06
72,424.66
1060 Office Assistant'
1.00
38,251.20
21,395.11
59,646.31
7010 Assistant City Attorney
1.00
160,222.40
46,688.74
206,911.14
7010 Assistant City Attorney
1.00
160,222.40
50,696.84
21.0,919.24
7011 Deputy City Attorney
1.00
138,132.80
41,662.90
179,795.70
7011 Deputy City Attorney
1.00
125,340.80
39,463.03
164,803.83
7011 Oeputy City Attorney'
1.00
125,340.80
39,463.03
164,803.83
7204 Paralegal
1.00
68,367.51
27,661.01
96,028.52
7204 Paralegal
1.00
59,800.00
25,886.25
85,686.25
7322 Admin Asst to the City Attorney
1.00
71,59160
28,329.30
99,922.90
8005 City Attorney
1.00
226,001.60
59,159.01
285,160.61
9001 Office Assistant (Part- time)'
0.45
18,657.60
970.20
19,627.80
11.45
1,240,748-31
404,982.48
1,645,730.79
Full time - 10
Part -time -.45 FTE
Italics denotes new position.
' Assumed Step 3 with full -time benefits.
f ' Assumed Step 3, 18 hours, per week (36 hours per pay period) with PARS and Medicare only.
0
Division 0510, City Attorney
Post -New Civic Center, Scenario Three (Based on FY 10 Salary & Benefit Costs)
Emp4 Title
FTE
Salary
Fiscal Year 2009 -10
Benefit
Total Comp
1060 Office Assistant
1.00
48,817.60
23,607.06
72,424.66
1060 Office Assistant'
1.00
38,251.20
21,395.11
59,646.31
7010 Assistant City Attorney
1.00
160,222.40
46,688.74
206,911.14
7010 Assistant City Attorney
1.00
160,222.40
50,696.84
210,919.24
7010 Assistant City Attorney'
1.00
160,222.40
46,688.74
206,911.14
7011 Deputy City Attorney
1.00
138,132.80
41,66190
179,795.70
7011 Deputy City Attorney
1.00
125,340.80
39,463.03
164,803.83
7011 Deputy City Attorney'
1.00
125,340.80
39,463.03
164,803.83
7204 Paralegal
1.00
68,367.51
27,661.01
96,028.52
7204 Paralegal
1.00
59,800.00
25,886.25
85,686.25
7322 Admin Asst to the City Attorney
1.00
71,593.60
28,329.30
99,922.90
8005 City Attorney
1.00
226,001.60
59,159.01
285,160.61
9001 Office Assistant (Part - time)
0.45
18,657.60
970.20
19,627.80
12.45
1,400, 970.71
451, 671.22
1,852,641.93
Full time- 12
Part-time -.45 FTE
Italics denotes new position
Assumed Step 3 with full -time benefits.
' Assumed Step 5 with full -time benefits (same as in FY 10 vacant position in budget).
3 Assumed Step 3, 18 hours per week (36 hours per pay period) with PARS and Medicare only.
Current FY 10
Difference
Current Outside Counsel Expense
510 City Attorney Budget
8080 Services Professional & Tech
$ 55,000.00
8656 Outside Counsel: Advisory
$ 130,000.00
8657 Outside Counsel: Specialty Lit.
$ 590.00
8658 Outside Counsel: Cade Enforcment
$ 180,000.00
605 Internal Services Fund
8652 Attorneys Fees - Non -Tort
$ 250,000.00
$ 1,381,611.40
$ 471,030.53
$ 615,590.00
$ (144,559.47)
-
ATTACHMENT C
In -House City Attorney Comparison
Population, Budget and Staff
(1) Population based on US Census Bureau 2008 estimated figures
(2) Budget and staffing figures are based on FY 09 -10 (unless otherwise indicated) department approved budget for staff and operating expenses;
does not include outside counsel expenses
July 20, 2009
Page 1
FY 09 -10
City
FY 09 -10 Proposed
Proposed Dept
City
Population (1)
Operating Budget
Budget (2)
Legal Staff
Support Staff
Details
4 specialized Teams (8 attorneys for
Lon Beach
491,564
$ 3,100,000,000.00
$ 9,708,745.00
22
48
Dept/Comm's; 4 Harbor issues /Harbor
Comm; 5 Litigation; 2 Workers Comp)
Anaheim
343,973
$ 1,318,399,925 .00
$ 6,048,676.00
23
1 9
Civil and Prosecution Divisions
Santa Ana
339,130
$ 567,165,680.00
$ 2,203,146.00
13
4.5
3 Divisions: Administrative,
Developmental & General Counsel
Glendale
207,303
$ 801,601,534.00
$ 1,890,252.00
14
Pendin
3 Divsions: 8 Transactional, 1 Code
Enforcement, 3 Litigation
Huntington Beach
192,620
$ 336,790,060.00
$ 2,822,760.00
9
5
* *FY 08 -09
Oran a
138,640
$ 1,681,569.00
4
3
* *FY 08 -09
Ventura
103.706
$ 250 704,693.00
$ 1 566 726.00
5
Pending
Santa Monica
87,664
$ 510 000,000.00
$ 8524475.00
25
17.6
Santa Maria
86,356
$ 54,978 740.00
$ 1,131,790.00
3
5.5
* *FY 08 -09
Santa Barbara
86,093
$ 283,000 000.00
$ 2,174,912.00
6
5
Newport Beach
79,661
$ 210,940,117.00
$ 1,391,191.00
6.5
2
Currently 5 legal staff
Manhattan Beach
36,605 1
$ 88,705,517.00 1
$ 517,559.00
1.5
1
(1) Population based on US Census Bureau 2008 estimated figures
(2) Budget and staffing figures are based on FY 09 -10 (unless otherwise indicated) department approved budget for staff and operating expenses;
does not include outside counsel expenses
July 20, 2009
Page 1
ATTACHMENT D
CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH
CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
Agenda Item No. 17
January 27, 2009
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: David Hunt, City Attorney
dhunt (d.)citv.newoort- beach.ca.us
(949) 644 -3131
SUBJECT: PROPOSED STAFFING ADJUSTMENTS IN THE OFFICE OF THE CITY
ATTORNEY
ISSUE
Should the staffing of the Office of the City Attorney ( "OCA ") be augmented by making
two part-time staff positions, one Paralegal position and one Office Assistant position,
full -time?
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve the request to staff the art -time Paralegal y -
pp q p g position at the full -time level b
establishing a new full -time Paralegal classification in the Key and Management unit;
and approve the request to staff the part-time Office Assistant position at the full-time
level.
SUMMARY:
Currently, the OCA is staffed with two full -time legal professionals, two part-time legal
professionals, one full -time support staff member, one part-time Paralegal, and one
part-time Office Assistant. Per Council authorization, the OCA is in the process of
recruiting an additional full -time Assistant City Attorney, an action that will increase the
demands placed on the support staff. In addition, the OCA is taking steps to be fully
integrated into the City staff team in order to provide prompt, practical, solution- oriented
legal advice the staff and to Council. The changing of the two part-time staff positions
to full -time is necessary in order support the new Assistant City Attorney and to achieve
this goal.
DISCUSSION:
Due largely to an increase in demand for legal services over time, the OCA has not kept
pace with the needs of the City and the OCA is currently operating with insufficient
resources. As a result, it is not meeting all of the needs of the City for the provision of
legal services.. This lack of resources has been recognized by the Council and has
Office of the City Attorney Staffing Adjustments
January 27, 2009
Page 2
been at least partially addressed by budgeting for the addition of one additional
Assistant City Attorney. Further staff support is necessary in order to fully realize the
benefits from adding this position.
Currently the OCA is staffed with the City Attorney, one Assistant City Attorney, and two
part-time Deputy City Attorneys working approximately 30 hours per week (equivalent to
1.5 staff). At present the 3.5 attorneys of the OCA are supported by one full -time
Administrative Assistant, one part -time Office Assistant, and one part -time Paralegal.
These members of the staff are engaged in supporting the attorneys and the part -time
Paralegal performs additional legal services under the supervision of the attorneys in
the office.
The OCA is currently engaged in recruiting for the additional Assistant City Attorney.
This added position will allow the OCA to meet the greater demand for services of the
OCA as it is moving to increase its assistance to all City departments. It has been
tasked with being more proactive in its role of providing legal services to the City. In
doing so, it will be more involved in legal training, risk management, advising City
Boards and Commissions, legal compliance issues, and the drafting of ordinances,
resolutions, and contracts. In effect, the OCA will be taking steps to expand legal
services provided to all City staff.
The new Assistant City Attorney position will give the OCA an effective total of 4.5 full-
time attorneys. An increase in staff support is necessary to meet this increased
demand and provide the necessary services. Additionally, the increased hours of the
Paralegal will enhance the OCA's capability in providing legal services.
An added benefit to fully staffing the OCA is that the cost for outside counsel services
will be reduced. At present, the City is served by numerous outside counsel
relationships in both the advisory and litigation services areas. The new Assistant City
Attorney, supported by paraprofessional and administrative support staff, will have the
capacity to begin to bring some of those services "in- house" over time. The CAO
anticipates first reducing the use of outside counsel services for advisory services, then
in code enforcement litigation, and finally in discreet, policy oriented specialty litigation,
as resources in the office become available.
Funding Availabfl'
The anticipated cost to implement the proposed staffing changes is $25,600 for the
remainder of FY08 -09. However, due to salary savings as a result of the vacant
Assistant City Attorney position, the increased cost can be absorbed in the .current fiscal
year budget. The ongoing cost to make the proposed staffing changes is estimated to
be $69,100 annually and will be addressed in the FY09 -10 budget.
If approved, the OCA will proceed with conducting a promotional recruitment for both
positions in an attempt to fill the positions as quickly as possible. if an insufficient
Office of the City Attorney Staffing Adjustments
January 27, 2009
Page 3
applicant pool is garnered through that process, the CAO will proceed with open
recruitments for both positions.
Human Resources has reviewed the proposed staffing changes and concurs with the
recommendations made by the OCA.
CONCLUSION:
The increase in staffing hours for the Paralegal and the Office Assistant from part -time
to full -time is necessary for the OCA to provide an effective level of legal services to the
City. It is recommended the Council approve the request to staff these positions full -
time and establish the Paralegal position in the Key and Management unit.
Prepared and Submitted by:
David R. Hunt
City Attomey
City of Newport Beach
City Council Minutes
January 27, 2009
The motion carried by the following roll call vote:
Ayes: Council Member Gardner, Mayor Pro Tem Curry, Council Member Webb, Mayor
Selich, Council Member Daigle, Council Member Rosansky, Council Member Henn
17. PROPOSED STAFFING ADJUSTMENTS IN THE OFFICE OF THE CITY
ATTORNEY. 1100 -20091
City Attorney Hunt reported that the new Assistant City Attorney will begin on February 1
and requested the internal promotion of two part -time positions to full -time positions to
support the increase in staff size.
Motion by Council Member Webb to a) approve the request to staff the part -time
Paralegal position at the full -time level by establishing a new full -time Paralegal
classification in the Key and Management unit; b) and approve the request to staff the part -
time Office Assistant position at the full-time level.
The motion carried by the following roll call vote:
Ayes: Council Member Gardner,. Mayor Pro Tem Curry, Council Member Webb, Mayor
Selich, Council Member Daigle, Council Member Rosansky, Council Member Henn
XIX. CURRENT BUSINESS
18- COUNCIL DECISION REGARDING CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION TO
DEFER CERTAIN CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS (CIP) FUNDED WITHIN
THE FY 2008 -2009 BUDGET. [100 -20091
City Manager Bludau presented a report on the City's financial status and proposal to defer
various capital improvement projects, based on necessity, to save over $2 milli on. He
confirmed that each project was reviewed on a case by case basis to identify those that have
been started and those that may not be able to begin.
Council Member Gardner expressed concern about deferring the improvements to Avocado
Avenue Median and Corona del Mar State Beach as they were citizen generated.
She questioned other staff generated projects.
In response to Council Member Daigle's questions, City Manager Bludau explained that
Council Policy requires the City to carry over 12% of its General Fund and a number of
reserves are in place for various purposes. He also indicated that Council will take an active
role in providing leadership in focusing on projects to be prioritized. He emphasized that
Newport Beach is a quality of life city and noted that Council will need to focus on where the
greatest value is for the dollar.
Council Member Webb expressed concern that if the subdrain improvements are not
addressed, it may lead to long term ramifications- He requested that Indian Springs not be
postponed since the storm drain had previously collapsed. He requested that Council
consider reducing the neighborhood traffic management program and removing one of the
four sirens included in the original tsunami warning system to assist with the funding for
other projects like the subdrain improvement project. City Manager Bludau indicated
that he had spoken with Chief Lewis who stated that the one siren to be removed is
nice to have but is not vital.
In response to Council Member Webb's questions, City Manager Bludau and Public Works
Director Badum indicated that the audiovisual system in the Newport Coast Community
Volume 59 - Page 73
CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH
CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
Agenda Item No. 7
March 24, 2009
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: David Hunt, City Attorney
d h untocity. newpo rt -bea ch.ca. us
(949) 644 -3131
SUBJECT: PROPOSED STAFFING AUGMENTATION IN THE OFFICE OF THE
CITY ATTORNEY
ISSUE:
Should the staffing of the Office of the City Attorney ( "OCA ") be augmented by making
one part -time Deputy City Attorney position full -time and continuing the existing
temporary, part -time contract attorney relationship as added staffing to address pending
legal issues and the backlog of legal projects?
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve the request to staff the vacant part-time Deputy City Attorney position at the
full -time level by establishing a new full -time Deputy City Attorney classification in the
Key and Management unit; and approve the request to continue the use of the
temporary part -time contract attorney who was filling the gap of that vacancy in order to
assist in the legal work of the City as an additional legal resource to the OCA.
SUMMARY:
The legal services for the City are provided by a combination of in- house professionals
and retained special counsel. Special counsel services tend to cost two to five times as
much on a per hour basis than in -house counsel. The City can save substantial sums
of money if it has a vibrant, efficient, and effective OCA. At present, however, the OCA
is not staffed in a manner sufficient to meet current demands for service. The OCA
must increase its staffing in order to perform the services necessary to meet present
demand and bring a large portion of the outside counsel work back in -house in order to
realize the benefits of an effective in -house legal office. We will be requesting an
increased budget for the office in the coming budget cycle. At present, however, there
is a vacant part -time Deputy City Attorney position within the OCA. We request
authority to recruit to fill that position at a full-time level and to continue to use the
contract attorney who is filling -in in order to provide additional capacity to make
headway on the current backlog of legal work. This arrangement is intended to enable
the OCA to make progress on backlogged work and to begin to lay the foundation for
Office of the City Attorney
Staffing Augmentation
March 24, 2009
Page 2
bringing some out - sourced legal services back in- house. This staffing change can be
accomplished within current budget levels due to the vacancy of the part-time Deputy
City Attorney position.
DISCUSSION:
Due largely to an increase in demand for legal services over time, the OCA has not kept
pace with the needs of the City and the OCA is currently operating with insufficient
resources in its in -house legal department. As a result, the OCA is not meeting all of
the needs of the City for the provision of legal services and large outside counsel
expenses are being incurred. At present, the OCA has a vacant part-time Deputy City
Attorney position. The demands for that position are partially being covered at present
by services from a temporary part-time contract attorney. This staffing level has proven
to be insufficient to meet the current, day - to-day demands for advisory legal services.
Thus we request authority to augment the staffing level within the department.
1. Demand for Legal Services.
The goal of the OCA is to provide excellent, prompt, practical, solution oriented legal
advice to the Council, staff, and Boards and Commissions of the City of Newport Beach.
We seek to integrate the legal function with administrative and policy functions of the
City at the most basic levels in order to assist in achieving the Council's objectives and
protect the City from liability risks. To achieve these goals, we have begun attending
necessary Board and Commission meetings, training Boards and Commissions, and
working with staff and Council at the outset in formulating strategies to achieve the
Council's initiatives. In addition, we supervise the services provided to the City on
various issues by outside counsel.
As a result, the demand for legal service has increased. Roughly speaking, we have
received 251 requests for services from January 1, 2009 on. We have opened 234 new
advisory matters. We have opened 15 new code enforcement matters and 2 more
litigation matters, for a total of thirty -seven active litigation matters. In addition, we
have provided legal support on such important projects as the Coastal Land Use Plan
Amendment before the California Coastal Commission; provided legal advice to the
Civil Service Commission in dealing with a requested investigation and the issue of
applicant appeals; provided legal support for the ongoing priority effort for the new City
Hall plan and construction; continued legal support on issues related to Banning Ranch,
Hyatt Regency development plan, Marina Parts and several other environmental impact
reports for development projects.
In addition, we have been building our capacity to better monitor and manage outside
lk counsel relationships. We have twelve ongoing outside counsel relationships dealing
with current issues. Of those relationships, there are four areas of legal work requiring
very extensive dedication of resources: (1) dealing with the issues caused by the
Office of the City Attorney
Staffing Augmentation
March 24, 2009
Page 3 ,
i
residential influx into the Irvine Business Complex and the litigation spawned by those
problems; (2) addressing the issues resulting from the proliferation of sober living
facilities and group homes in concentrations within residential neighborhoods of the
City; (3) addressing the issue of eelgrass mitigation programs and their impacts on
lower bay dredging; and (4) ongoing code enforcement activities to meet established
Council objectives and address quality of life issues.
All of this new demand is in addition to the backlog of workload that predates January 1,
2009. That backlog includes such important projects as addressing John Wayne Airport
and developing a strategy to address future issues; assisting in developing appropriate
fees governing the letting of moorings and other harbor related fees; assisting in
reducing the eelgrass mitigation measures currently imposed on the harbor in order to
facilitate needed dredging in the lower bay; assisting in updating City fees; assisting in
preparing comprehensive sign and banner regulations for the public right of way; and
others.
As a result, we are not meeting our objectives for providing service on legal issues.
2. Current Office Capacity.
At present, the OCA is budgeted for 4.5 attorneys, comprised of three full -time attorneys
and two part -time attorneys (30 hours each), one Paralegal, one Office Assistant and
one Administrative Assistant.
While the speck assignments of the legal personnel are listed on the attached
assignment chart, their general roles are:
• One City Attorney. Oversight of all legal services provided to the City, both in-
house and outside counsel; management of the department; oversee combined
budget for in -house services ($1,076,889.17 FY 2009) and outside counsel
services ($695,450 FY 2009) for a total budget for legal services of
$1,772,339.17;' quality assurance; legal strategies and handling of sensitive
matters.
• Two Assistant City Attorneys: Direct Department representation and support
and their related board and commissions; quality assurance for assignment
departments; special projects as assigned; supervise the legal work for their
respective departments performed by Deputy City Attorneys and Paralegal.
• One and a Half (Time -Wise) Deputy City Attorneys: Task oriented
assignment to support City Attorney and Assistant City Attorneys; stewardship
delegated projects as assigned.
It should be noted that the OCA is currently seeking a budget amendment to cover anticipated outside
counsel expenses that have exceeded budgeted amounts and are forecast to total $1,387,450 for FY
2009.
Office of the City Attorney
Staffing Augmentation
March 24, 2009
Page 4
• One Paralegal: Document custodian and information management; factual
investigation; liaison to outside counsel on investigation and discovery issues;
first level document review for consistency; tasks as assigned.
This staffing has proven insufficient over the last three months to provide the
augmented legal services necessary to achieve the department's goals. All of the full -
time attorneys have been averaging between 50 to over 60 hour work weeks or more,
and the part-time attorneys likewise are putting in comparative effort. The Paralegal
and support staff have likewise been working extra hours regularly to meet the need for
service. No vacations have been granted, except one which was prescheduled, and
only limited time off. The entire office has been making all effort to carry the current
workload and attempting to address issues still pending from the past backlog of work.
This effort cannot be sustained. The only ways to meet the need for service to the
Council, staff, and boards and commission is to augment the staff of the office, or
change the parameters of service.
The office is also, as with all of city hall, limited in the amount of space available for
work stations. At present, with a minor adjustment of interior walls, we are able to
accommodate one more small office for the newly hired Assistant City Attorney. That
will leave the Assistant City Attorney's current work station vacant for the proposed full -
time Deputy City Attorney position. There will be no further space available for any
staffing until the new city hall is built.
This space limitation makes the current contract temporary part -time attorney position
ideal for the OCA. At present, we have a contract relationship with a seventeen year
attorney with over nine years of municipal law experience including four years in -house
at the City of Orange. This attorney has an established home office and only needs to
come into the OCA for meetings and to obtain work assignments. This arrangement
has proven ideal for our office due to the limited space available. We seek to continue
this arrangement until we are caught in our backlogged work and are staffed sufficiently
to proceed with bringing appropriate litigation back in- house.
3. Current Outside Counsel Expense.
As stated above, we have extensive outside counsel relationships that are necessary to
meet the City s need for legal services. While outside counsel will always be needed, at
present the outside counsel expense to the . City could be pared down through the
effective use of in -house counsel.
Outside counsel are needed for providing legal services that cannot otherwise be
provided by the City in an in -house department. Ideally, outside counsel are used in
three circumstances: (1) for the provision of specialty legal services that cannot
%, effectively be provided by an in -house legal office due to their unique nature, bond
counsel work for example; (2) for projects or litigation that are transitory and of such a
Office of the City Attorney
Staffing Augmentation
March 24, 2009
Page 5
magnitude an in -house office cannot effectively staff for them on an ongoing basis; and
(3) tort claims litigation, which by the nature of the insured /insurer relationship makes it
inconvenient to perform the services in -house 2
The City has, however, been compelled to use outside counsel services in areas that
can be covered by in -house legal services. Outside counsel has in the past, and has
currently, been providing advisory services with respect to election, revenue and rate,
and ordinance issues that can be provided in- house. In addition, code enforcement and
discreet specialty litigation can be brought back in -house to reduce overall expense
when in -house resources allow. At present, however, outside counsel are absolutely
critical for providing these services due to the lack of resources in the OCA.
4. Plan, Anticipated Expense. and Funding Availability.
We plan on addressing the issue of providing legal services incrementally. First, we
need to increase the capacity for providing legal services from our in -house department,
catch -_up on backlogged work, and then begin to bring some of the services provided by
outside counsel back in- house. Second, as space allows with the occupancy of the new
city hall, we would recommend adding any further capacity that might be required to
achieve the goal of providing excellent legal services while reducing the expense
through an effective, efficient, and vibrant in -house legal department.
At present, we recommend pursuing this plan by upgrading the vacant part -time Deputy
City Attorney position to full -time. We would seek a one to three year attorney with
relevant substantive law experience and with litigation experience. This attorney would
then provide task and project oriented legal support to the Assistant City Attorneys and
the City Attorney as needed, as well as assisting in expanding our ability to provide
litigation services from our in -house department. Thus, once we are providing effective
and timely legal services in the day - today operations of the City and have caught up on
our backlogged projects, we can begin providing the City specialty litigation services as
the need arises and, as appropriate, begin bringing code enforcement tasks back in-
house.
The savings from this approach can be considerable. At present, for half -way through
our fiscal year, the City has incurred $107,000 in approved code enforcement legal
expense. In addition, it has incurred well over $100,0003 in specialty litigation expense
that could have been performed in -house if the capacity had been available.
2 This last circumstance will often depend on the terms of insurance policies purchased by the City. It is,
however, generally true that excess carriers will often not recognize the cost of in -house counsel to
deplete self- insured retentions. In such a case, it is impractical to perform those legal services in- house.
3 The exact figure is not easily extracted from our current account structure, though it could be done with
time analyzing the specific billings. We will be proposing new line items for budgeting and tracking
outside expenses in the FY 2010 budget that will make it easier to Identify the reason for the outside legal
Office of the City Attorney
Staffing Augmentation
March 24, 2009
Page 6
The anticipated cost to implement the proposed staffing changes is within our current
budget allocation. It is covered from cost savings due to the vacant position. Please
see Exhibit "B" that addresses the specific numbers for the proposal.
The ongoing cost to make the proposed staffing changes is estimated to be $99,235.46
annually, using FY 2009 -10 staffing costs and will be addressed in the FY09 -10 budget.
The OCA has proposed an annual budget that includes these two positions, and
includes the upgrading of the second part-time Deputy City Attorney position to full -time.
We have forecast that we will be able to reduce overall legal expenses by two percent
from the overall forecasted expense for FY 2009 through this action.
If approved, the OCA will proceed with conducting an outside recruitment for the full -
time Deputy City Attorney position in an attempt to fill the position as quickly as
possible. We have forecast that the recruitment will take at -least two months. Thus the
expense of the position will not be incurred until approximately April 1, 2009.
CONCLUSION:
The increase in staffing hours for the full -time Deputy City Attorney from part-time and
the continued assistance of the temporary, part -time contract attorney are necessary for
the OCA to provide an effective level of legal services to the City. It is recommended
the Council approve the request to staff the full -time position and establish the full -time
Deputy City Attorney position in the Key and Management unit and to allow for the
continued employment of a temporary part-time contract attorney to assist in catching
up the backlogged legal services.
Prepared and Submitted by:
David R. Hunt
City Attorney
Exhibit "A" -Office of the Cily Attorney Assignments /Structure (March 16, 2009;
Revised)
expense from budget line items and we are implementing the new CityLaw program to allow us to track
exact costs to each matter. We would suggest, for example, that the Beek litigation, both the etection
case and the CEQA case, could most efficiently be handled in- house. Not that our outside counsel have
not done an excellent job. They have. These are simply the type of discreet, specialty litigation matters
that a well staffed in -house OCA can handle most efficiently for the City.
Office of the City Attorney
Staffing Augmentation
March 24, 2009
Page 7
Office of the City Attorney: Assignments /Structure
(March 16,2009,- Revised)
City Attorney
David R. Hunt
(Assistant to the City Attorney, Debbie Alcaraz)
Mayor and Council
City Manager
(Including Harbor Resources)
City Clerk
Outside Counsel: Specialty Litigation/Tort Claims Litigation
Assistant City Attorney
Assistant City Attorney
Aaron C. Haim
MMette D. Beauchamp
(Office Assistant, Cristal McDonald)
(Office Assistant, Cristal McDonald)
Administrative Services
Public Works Department
Building Department
Utilities Department
Planning Department
General Services Department
Library Services
Recreation and Senior Services Department
Fire Department
Human Resources Department
Police Department
Code Enforcement
(including Outside Counsel for Code
Enforcement)
Deputy City Attorney
Deputy City Attorney
_Cathy Wolcott (Permanent Part -Timed
Mary Binning (Zemporary Part -Time)
(Office Assistant, Cristal McDonald)
(Office Assistant, Cristal McDonald)
Group Homes
projects and Assignments as Directed
Sign/Banner Ordinance
Projects and Assignments as Directed
Paralegal
Kristy Parker
Contract Review
Public Records Act Requests
Liability Claims
Code Enforcement
(Dog Bites)
Liaison to Outside Counsel
Bench Marking
Projects and Assignments as Directed _
Exhibit "A"
F :user&tatI&%V0mccsramtepwrslocaa angestatiFrcka.nx
CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH
CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
Agenda Item No. 14
(July 28, 2009)
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: David R. Hunt, City Attorney
Ext. 3131, dhunt @city.newport- beach.ca.us
SUBJECT: REQUEST TO UPGRADE TEMPORARY PART -TIME DEPUTY CITY
ATTORNEY TO REGULAR PART -TIME DEPUTY CITY ATTORNEY
AND ADD REGULAR PART -TIME OFFICE ASSISTANT TO THE
OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY
ISSUE:
Should the City Council approve an upgrade of the temporary part-time contract
attorney position to a regular part-time Deputy City Attorney position and add a regular
part-time Office Assistant to the Office of the City Attorney in order to maximize the
value of the recent Deputy City Attorney recruitment?
RECOMMENDATION:
We recommend you augment the staffing in the Office of the City Attorney by
authorizing the upgrade of the temporary part-time contract attorney position to a
regular part-time Deputy City Attorney position and add a part -time Office Assistant to
the Office of the City Attorney in order to meet the needs of the City for legal services.
There will be no fiscal impact. These changes can be accomplished by using funds that
Will be saved in the City Attorney's budget for outside counsel expense for code
enforcement matters.
DISCUSSION:
Background.
The City Council has embarked on a program to build the in -house Office of the City
Attorney in order to improve day to day legal services and to reduce the expense of
outside counsel. To pursue this effort, in March of this year, the Council authorized the
upgrading of a regular part-time Deputy City Attorney position to a regular full -time
position and the initiation of recruitment for that full -time position. The recruitment
tl:.
Request to Upgrade Temporary Part -Time Deputy City Attorney to
Regular Part-Time Deputy City Attorney
Council Meeting July 28, 2009
Page 2
commenced May 1, 2009 and is now completed. The process has yielded a surprising
number of highly qualified applicants.'
In addition to the regular full -time position authorized by Council in March, the Council
authorized upgrading the regular part-time Deputy City Attorney position (0.7 FTE) of
our office, into a regular full -time position in the recently adopted 2009/10 Fiscal Year
Budget. That action thus provides one additional regular full -time Deputy City Attorney
position to fill from the now completed recruitment. In addition, the budget authorized
the ongoing use of a temporary part -time contract attorney (0.4 FTE) for the office to
push forward in dealing with the significant legal issues facing the City.
We have conducted a review of other similarly situated in -house city attorney offices.
We have attached a table prepared with the information developed in that review. The
table analyzes the various cities and their in -house operations in relation to population
and overall budgets. As you can see, the staffing as proposed is not out of line with any
of the similarly situated cities.
2. Request to Upgrade the Deputy City Attorney Position.
We now request that the temporary part -time contract attorney position (0.4 FTE) be ;
upgraded to a regular part -time Deputy City Attorney position of (0.7 FTE). By doing so,
we can hire two regular full -time Deputy City Attorneys from the successful recruitment
and keep the 0.7 FTE position in the office. This action will maximize the value of
recruitment and provide additional resources necessary to meet the demand for efficient
and effective in -house legal services.
The Office of the City Attorney has approved staffing in the Fiscal Year 2009/10 Budget
of five regular full -time attorneys and one temporary part-time contract attorney (0.4
FTE) for a total of 5.4 FTE attorneys, This request will increase our approved
attorneys by 0.3 FTE to 5.7 FTE attomeys.3 As explained in the Funding Availability
Section of this report, there will be no overall cost to the City for this change and no
need to increase the budget of the Office of the City Attorney.
' There were 347 applications submitted in the process. This number was selectively reduced to nine
candidates to be interviewed by an oral review panel made up of other experienced public attorneys and
further reduced to the rive prime candidates after interview by the City Attorney and two Assistant City
Attorneys.
2 We are currently operating at a level of 5.1 FTE (City Attorney, two Assistants, 0.7 FTE Deputy, and
0.4 FTE temporary contract attorney).
31 note we count our Paralegal position as a legal professional, but for the purposes of this discussion we
are only referencing the staff attorneys.
Request to Upgrade Temporary Part-Time Deputy City Attorney to
Regular Part-Time Deputy City Attorney
Council Meeting July 28, 2009
Page 3
3. Request to add Regular Part Time Office Assistant.
In addition, we are requesting a regular part-time Office Assistant position (0.45 FTE)°
be added to our staff. We are currently supporting 6.1 legal professionals, the 5.1 FTE
attorneys noted above and one Paralegal, with one full -time Office Assistant and one
Administrative Assistants This request will increase the clerical staff to 2.4 FTE
supporting 6.7 legal professionals should the Council approve the upgrade to the
contract attorney position requested above. This increase will create a ration of 2.7
legal professionals to each support staff position.
This staffing ratio is well below the standard in other law offices, both public and private.
Attachment "A" shows that in the public sector similarly situated cities have an average
staffing ratio for their in -house operations of approximately 1.32 legal professionals to
each support position. In the private sector, in general law offices have at most three
legal professionals to one assistant, and in addition, they uniformly provide further
support through the use of file clerks and receptionists, thus significantly reducing the
work load for each assistant. We are, therefore, running very lean and need to add to
our support resources in order to efficiently move legal work through the office.
As with the Deputy City Attorney position upgrade, adding this part -time position will not
cause an overall cost increase to the City.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: This is not a project under CEQA.
PUBLIC NOTICE: This agenda item has been noticed according to the Ralph M. Brown
Act (72 hours in advance of the public meeting at which the City Council considers the
item). It was posted at City Hall and on the City's website.
FUNDING AVAILABILITY:
Funds are currently available in our budget to pay for this upgrade and addition. They
will not, therefore, create a fiscal impact on the City. The overall cost of the positions, a
total of $68,666.86, will be covered by transferring $70,000 from our outside counsel
° We would add the position at 18 hours per week, a total of 36 hours per pay period.
5 We include our certified Paralegal position in this number. It is not a support staff position but, as fully
allowed by state law, this position is providing professional legal services under the oversight of the
attorneys within the office.
6 We are authorized to have 6.4 legal professionals, but the hire for the full -time deputy position will be
start until August 17, 2009.
The cost will be $49,039.06 for the upgrade of the Deputy City Attorney position, salary and benefits
and $19,627.80 for the addition of the regular part-time Office Assistant position. We also understand
there is currently a recruitment being conducted for part-time Office Assistants that we can use to fill this
position.
Request to Upgrade Temporary Part -Time Deputy City Attorney to
Regular Part -Time Deputy City Attorney
Council Meeting July 28, 2009
Page 4
code enforcement budget (0501 -8658, currently funded at the level of $180,000), to our
staffing budget items (salaries and benefits). We will also transfer the balance left in our
0510 -7030 temporary staff salaries line item to our regular salaries and benefits line
items since we will terminate the temporary part -time contract attorney services
effective August 31, 2009.
The code enforcement budget will not be short by year's end because we will begin
keeping code enforcement cases in -house as soon as the new deputies begin. We
previously forecasted beginning to bring code enforcement services back in -house half-
way through the fiscal year. We can move that time -line forward; however, since both
of the top two candidates for the full -time deputy positions have extensive code
enforcement backgrounds. We have examined our current case load and concluded
that we can confidently begin the process of bringing the City's code enforcement back
in -house when the new attorneys begin serving the City. This change will also provide
the City significant savings in outside counsel expense.
ALTERNATIVES:
You may, of course, take any action you feel is in the best interest of the City. You may:
• Grant both requests; or
• Deny both requests or
• Grant one or the other of the requests; or
• Take a different action if you so choose.
CONCLUSION:
We believe we are in a unique position where we can increase our capacity to perform
legal work in- house, increase our efficiency in performing that work, and not incur
additional expense not otherwise budgeted. As a result, we recommend this action to
the Council for approval.
Prepared & Submitted by:
1
David R. Hunt,
City Attorney
Attachment "A" — In -House City Attorney Comparison, Population, Budget, Staff
A0900398
M28 CC MN Req Upgrade Temp PT DCA to Reg PT DCA_Fimd7
Y
ATTACHMENT A
Request to Upgrade Temporary Part-Time Deputy City Attorney to
Regular Part -Time Deputy City Attorney and Add Regular Part-Time
Office Assistant to the Office of the City Attorney
In -House City Attorney Comparison Population,
Budget & Staff
In -House City Attorney Comparison
Population, Budget and Staff
City
City
Population (1)
=09-10
FY 09 -10
Proposed Dept
I Budget (2)
Legal Staff
Support Staff
Lon Beach
1 491,564
$ 3 100 000,000.00
$ 9,708 745.00
22
48
Anaheim
1 343,973
$ 1 318,399 925.00
$ 6,048,676.00
23
9
ISanta Ana
339,130
$ 567 165 680.00
$ 2,203 146.00
13
4.5
Glendale
207,303
$ 801 601 534.00
$ 1,890,252.00
14
Pending
Huntington Beach
192,620
$ 336,790 060.00
$ 2,822,760.00
9 1
5
Oran a
138,640
$ 1,681 569.00
4
3
Ventura
103,706
$ 250 704 693.00
$ 11566,726.00
5
Pending
Santa Monica
87,66
$ _510,000,000. 00
$ 8,524,475.00
25
17.6
Santa Maria
86,356
$ 54 978 740.00
$ 1,131,790.00
3
5.5
Santa Barbara
11,013
$ 283 0 000.00
$ 2174 912.00
6
5
Newport Beach
79,661
$ 210,94000,117.00
$ 1,391,191.00
6.5
2
Manhattan Beach
36,605 1
$ 88 705 517.00 1
$ 517 559.00
1.5
1
Details
4 speci
Dept/C
22M
:ivil an
3 Divisi
Develol
i Divsk
_nforcc
' "FY 06
"FY 06
"FY 08
',urreni
(1) Population based on US Census Bureau 2008 estimated figures
(2) Budget and staling figures are based on FY 09 -10 (unless otherwise indicated) department approved budget for staff and operatir
does not include outside counsel expenses
July 20, 2009
e
'
ATTACHMENT E
•
Estimate of OCA In -house Counsel Costs for FY 10 - DRAFT
UNIT
Title
Account
Title
FY 10 Approved Bud
0510
CITY ATTY
7000
SALARIES - MISC
992,698.71
0510
CITY ATTY
7020
SALARIES - PERM PART TIME
180,000.00
0510.
CITY ATTY
7030
SALARIES - TEMPORARY
62,400.00-
0510
CITY ATTY
7110
CAR ALLOWANCE
6,000.00
0510
CITY ATTY
7210
HEALTH /DENTAL /VISION
106,495:92
0510
CITY ATTY
7227
MERP $2.50 0ONTRIB
4,008.10
0510
CITYATTY
7228
_HYBRID CONTRIB DEPT DIR
0510
CITY ATTY
2290
LIFE INSURANCE.,
835.80!.
0510
CITY ATTY
7295
EMP ASSISTANCE PRgGftAM ;.
203.52
0510
CITY ATTY
7370
WORKERS' COMP, MIISC
9,549-88
0510
CITY ATTY.,:
7373
COMPENSATED ABSENCES
34,744.46 `
0510,11
CITY ATTY
7425
MEDICARE.FRINGES '
1S 385 93?
0510
CITY ATTY
7439
PERS EMPLOYEE CNTRBN
74;353.15.
0510
CITY ATTY
7440
PERS EMPLOYER CNTRBN
82,145.81
0510
CITY ATTY
7.460
RETIREMENT PART TIME /TEMP
2;340.00
0510
CITY ATTY
8030
MAINT & REPAIR EQUIP
480.00.
0510
CITY ATTY
8050
PSTGE,FREIGHT,EXPRESS NOC
4,000 00.
0,510
CITY ATTY
8060
PUBLICATIONS &DUES NOC
3,400.00
0510
CITY ATTY
8080
SERVICESPROF &TECH'NOC
55;000.00
0510
CITY ATTY
8084
SERVICES - LITIGATION
-
0510
CITY ATTY
8656
OUTSIDE COUNSEL: ADVISORY
130,000.00
0510
CITY ATTY
8657
OUTSIDE COUNSEL: SPEC LIT
590,000.00
0510
CITY ATTY
8658
OUTSIDE COUNSEL: CODE ENE
180,000.00
0510
CITY ATTY
9000
OFFICE EQUIPMENT
4000.00`
0510
CITY ATTY
9006
SOFTWARE LICENSES
Totals
$ 2,403,871.28
Indicates .Costs associated with in-house counsel $ ! 1,543,871.28
8 Full -time Employee hours 16,640.00
1 Part -time Employee (.4 FEE) hours 832.00
Total hours for all employees 17,472.00
Less holidays (assumed 132 hours per FT EE) (1,056.00)
Less flex & admin leave (assumed 160 hours per FT EE) (1,280.00)
E�
Fj
0
(2,336.00)
Total hours worked 15,136.00
Cost per hour of in -house counsel
Outside Counsel Anlysis:
Outside Counsel Costs
Paralegal/
Of Legal
A msn Partner Counsel Sr. Associate Associate Assistant
Ateshire & Winder
Code Enforcement and
Tort Litigation
Minimum of 0.1 and 01 Increments;
Douglas P. Haubert
1999
$
18500
Tiffany J. Isreal
1996
$
185.00
Wesley A, Miiband
2005
$ 185.00
Fischer& Phillios
Employment Practices;
Harvey v. CNB
James McDonald
1990
$
275.00
Tamara Devitt
2000
$
275.00
Latham & Watkins
Minimum of 0.1 and 0.1 increments;
talks direct to CM Gardner; Who is
Rod McInnis ?; Paul Singerella 1991 $420.00
Amanda G. Halter 2007 $ 350.00
Llebert Cassidv
Jeffery C. Freedman
Consortium Annual Fee = $2859.00
Remy Thomas
Minimum of .25 and then at 0.25 incre Whit Manley
Jason Holder
Staci Shell
1970 $ 270.00
1987 $ 275.00
2004
Paralegal
S 250.00
$ 150,00
Is
u
Reed & Davidson
Miniumum of 0.1 and then at 0.25 inc Dana Reed 1975
Brad Hertz 1988
Blended Advisory Rate
Ricflards_ Watson & Gershon
Minimum of 0.1 and 0.1 increments;
No Rates Calcluateable per Attorney
from Billing,-LOTS of "Confer" and
"Correspond" between counsel;
Request Cover Invoice;
Rutan & Tucker
Jim Markman
T. Peter Pierce
Saskia T. Asamura
Patrick K. Bobko
Toussaint S. Bailey
D.M. Snow
Kerry L. Liberty
SK?
MK?
MFY?
Geoffrey Ward?
William M. Marticorena
Mark J. Austin
1969
1992
1991
2000
2006
2001
2006
$ 275.00
$ 275.00
1977 $ 240.00
2000 $ 240.00
Sabine & Morrison Cable TV and Website Policies
Randal R. Morrison 1986 $ 250.00
Woodruff, Spradlin & Smart
Performs Code Enforcement and trial work.
Dan Spradlin $275
$ 295.00
$ 350.00
Averages $ 269.75 $ 264.62 $ 322.50
$ 235.00
$ 235.00
$ 125.00 S 40.00
$175,00
$ 222.14
0
ATTACHMENT F
CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH
CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
Agenda Item No. 14
March 24, 2009
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: Office of the City Attorney
David Hunt, City Attorney
dhuntCcbcity.newport- beach ca us
(949) 644 -3131
SUBJECT: PROPOSED BUDGET AMENDMENT RE OUTSIDE COUNSEL
EXPENSE
ISSUE:
Should the budget for outside counsel expense be augmented in the amount of
$742,000 to provide for forecasted costs that are likely to accrue before the end of the
Fiscal Year?
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve the request to transfer a total of $742,000 from the General Fund reserve to
cover forecasted outside counsel expense for the balance of the fiscal year; specifically
allocating: (1) $292,000 to the Office of the City Attorney's ( "OCA °) budget line item
0510/8080 to cover expenses and fees forecast for eelgrass mitigation program issues,
IBC litigation, Beek litigation (CEQA and Election issues) and outside counsel
assistance for Civil Service/Personnel System review; (2) an additional $150,000 to
OCA budget line item 0510/8084 to cover forecasted additional code enforcement
outside counsel expenses; and (3) an additional $300,000 to the Internal Services
budget line item 0605/6021 for outside counsel expenses with respect to group homes
issues.
SUMMARY:
Billings through the first half of the fiscal year from outside counsel and consultants
have exceeded budgeted amounts in all three accounts available for payment of outside
counsel expense. Using the expenses incurred to date, combined with knowledge of
the current status of matters being handled by outside legal counsel, we have forecast a
total needed budget augmentation for the balance of the fiscal year at $742,000. The
lion's share of the funds are needed to address ongoing policy initiatives instituted by
Council regarding group homes issues, challenges to Irvine's influx of residential units
into the Irvine Business Complex, eelgrass mitigation issues and general code
enforcement initiatives. The balance is needed to address general litigation matters and
Proposed Budget Amendment
Re Outside Counsel Expense
March 24, 2009
Page 2
other issues that are currently being defended or anticipated to be addressed before the
end of the fiscal year.
DISCUSSION:
At present our budget line items for outside counsel expense have been exceeded. We
recommend the budget adjustments as noted below to address the issues for the
balance of the fiscal year.
1. Outside Counsel and Consultant Expense Generaliv.
Expenses for general outside counsel services and consultants have been handled out
of the OCA budget line item 0510/8080. This line item was allocated $345,450 in the
Fiscal Year 2008/09 Budget. The City has incurred a total of $331,603.92 through mid-
year in this line item, an expenditure of 96% of the budgeted amount by mid -year.
General outside counsel and consultant expense have been charged against this
matter. Of the expenditures to date, the following large items, for a total of $312,826.54,
are reflected in this budget line item:
IBC Litigation and the Beek CEQA litigation - $150,015.49 (payments to Remy,
Thomas, Moose & Manley, our special counsel in those matters).
Eelgrass Mitigation Program Issues - $109,815.16 (payments to Latham &
Watkins, our special counsel on that matter).
Defense of the Beek election case dealing with issues related to the New City
Hall project, and other election related issues - $52,995.89 (payments to Reed &
Davidson, our special counsel defending that matter and who previously had an
ongoing retention agreement with the OCA dealing with election issues').
Additional expenditures were charged against this line item related to code
enforcement, cable television matters, some group homes fees, and other small issues.
Based on our analysis of the present status of these matters, and the expense incurred
through mid -year, we recommend an augmentation to Fiscal Year 2008/09 Budget line
item 0510/8080 in the amount of $292,000.
2. Code Enforcement Expense.
Expenses for outside counsel services and consultants for code enforcement have been
handled out of the OCA budget line item 0510/8084. This line item was allocated
1 The OCA ended that retention agreement as of the end of January, 2009.
Proposed Budget Amendment
Re Outside Counsel Expense
March 24, 2009
Page 3
$100,000 in the Fiscal Year 2008109 Budget. The City has incurred a total of
$107,250.57 through mid -year in this line item.Z
We currently have twenty -eight code enforcement cases in active litigation being
handled by outside counsel, with three more poised to be sent out in three weeks. We
do not see any reason for these cases to drop off significantly before the end of the
fiscal year. In addition, we have been authorized to pursue nuisance abatement
proceedings against non - conforming facilities that have not complied with the dictates of
Ordinance 2008 -05, which at the time of preparing this recommendation presented a
possibility of eleven "first tier" cases with other possible matters in the "second tier."
Therefore, we can forecast at least as much expense in outside counsel expense for
code enforcement matters for the balance of the fiscal year plus the added non-
conforming facilities litigation. For this reason we are recommending an augmentation
to this budget line item of $150,000 to cover the current deficit in the line item and to
prepare for the balance of the fiscal year.
3. Outside Counsel Expense Related to Group Homes Matters.
The City budgeted $250,000 at the outset of the fiscal year to address anticipated legal
expenses arising out of its efforts to reasonably balance and accommodate the needs of
disabled individuals with the needs of the residential neighborhoods and residents
within the City. It has used those funds to defend and prosecute litigation regarding the
issues; for legal support in working through the use permit and reasonable
accommodation processes related to existing facilities; and to seek and receive general
legal advice regarding our ordinances and regulations that address the issues.
The OCA has now approved billings on these issues through December of 2009. A
total amount of $452,893.96 was incurred through December from various budgets and
line items on this issue, though not all of these fees and costs were paid at the time of
preparing the analysis that supports this staff report. This amount has exceeded our
budgeted amount by $202,893.96.
As of this time, Richards, Watson & Gershon ( "RWG "), our outside counsel in these
matters, is involved in the defense and prosecution of three cases in active litigation,
Concerned Citizens v. Newport Beach, Pacific Shores v. Newport Beach, and Newport
Beach V. Momingside Recovery. Two of the cases, Concerned Citizens and
Morningside, are largely over, with the exception of some clean -up matters. The Pacific
Shores case is very active, having entered into the discovery phase of the
proceedings.3 In addition, RING is integral to addressing legal issues related to the use
2 Of this amount, $102,819.22 was paid prior to January 1, 2009, with $4,431.35 incurred before January
1, 2009 but paid in February, 2009 per Administrative Services Report dated March 4, 2009.
y� 3 We are sensitive to providing general information regarding the status of these matters without going
into detail in order to protect confidentiality regarding this active litigation. In no way is this brief reference
Proposed Budget Amendment
Re outside Counsel Expense
March 24, 2009
Page 4
permit and reasonable accommodation hearings that are ongoing. Also, RING is
assisting the City in developing strategies related to the State of California's processing
of sober living facility permits.
The OCA has been taking an active role in matters related to this issue. That role,
however, is restricted due to the need to maintain a strict ethical wall between the use
permitireasonable accommodation administrative hearing process and issues related to
these matters. We are doing all we can at present to minimize outside counsel expense
and will continue to take appropriate action along those lines. Unfortunately, however,
based upon fees and costs incurred through the middle of the fiscal year and the status
of these matters, we must recommend the augmentation of this budget line item,
Internal Services budget line item 0605/6021, by an additional $300,000 for outside
counsel expenses with respect to group homes issues.
CONCLUSION:
The City has incurred outside counsel expense during the first half of the 2008/09 Fiscal
Year that exceeds budgeted amounts. With the current workload in the areas handled
by outside counsel, we are compelled to recommend a budget amendment to allocate
$742,000 from the General Fund reserve to cover overages and anticipated further
expense through the balance of the fiscal year.
Prepared and Submitted by:
Office of the City Attorney
�r- -- _g
David R. Hunt, '-
City Attorney
F.• us& Wcadsh" d/ CC- WaMepWs/OCAcihangeStaflFrdca.dw
intended to waive the attorney /client privilege. If further information Is needed with respect to the status
of these issues we will be glad to notice, an appropriate dosed session item.
City of Newport Beach
BUDGET AMENDMENT
2008 -09
F97FECT ON
BUDGETARY FUND BALANCE:
BUDGETARYFUND BALANCE
Increase Revenue Estimates
OX
Fund Account
Increase Expenditure Appropriations AND
Debit Credit
010 3605
Transfer Budget Appropriations
SOURCE:
605 3605
General Liability - Fund Balance
from existing budget appropriations
FX1
from additional estimated revenues
from unappropriated fund balance
EXPLANATION:
This budget amendment is requested to provide for the following:
NO. BA- 09BA -044
AMOUNT: $742,000.00
Increase in Budgetary Fund Balance
X Decrease in Budgetary Fund Balance
No effect on Budgetary Fund Balance
To increase expenditure appropriations from General Fund unappropriated fund balance for outside council expenses
ACCOUNTING ENTRY:
BUDGETARYFUND BALANCE
Amount
Fund Account
Description
Debit Credit
010 3605
General Fund - Fund Balance
$442,000.00
605 3605
General Liability - Fund Balance
$300.000.00 `
-�NUE ESTIMATES (3601)
Fund/Division Account
Description
EXPENDITURE APPROPRIATIONS (3603)
Description
Division Number 0510
City Attorney
Account Number 8080
Services - Professional & Technical
$232,000.00
Account Number 8084
Services - Litigation
$150,000.00
Division Number 6021
General Liability - Non Tort
Account Number 8652
Attorney Fees
$300,000.00
Division Number
Account Number
Ngned:
>igned:
N
r
City Council Approval: City Clerk
Date
O� a
ate
Date
ATTACHMENT G
0
LITIGATION PLAN AND COST ESTIMATE
Caption:
Brief Case Summary
OCA Mtr No(s) :
Liability Evaluation (Give percentage):
Case No.:
Reasonable Range of Exposure:
Responsible Firm Attorney:
Proposed Staffing:
Case Evaluation/ Preliminary Research:
Review all file materials, client conference
Drafting Pleadings:
Fact Investigation:
i
-- Witness Interviews:
Witness Preparation for Deposition:
Taking Depositions:
Defending Depositions:
Drafting Discovery:
Discovery Responses:
Evaluation of Discovery:
I
0
TOTAL 0
W
9
M
G
J
9
0
0
TOTAL 0
III:MOTIONS .
(ldentt and =list.under each -heading) Est. Hours $ erHour Tota/
Procedural:
0
Discovery:
0
Summary Judgment:
0
In Limine:
0
Other:
0
TOTAL
0
IV: PRETRIALI TRIAL
(identify and,l sfiunder each heading) Est, Hours $ per Hour Total
Court Conferences: 0
Mediation/ Arbitration: 0
Trial Preparation: 0
Trial: 0
TOTAL 0
IV. MISCELLANEOUS
(Idenfify-A-40" under each heading) Est'.Kovrs., r , $ pgrH,our Total
Settlement Matters: 0
Administration/ Client Report/ Calls: 0
Expenses: 0
Expert Fees: 0
Miscellaneous: 0
TOTAL 0
Litigation Plan Cost Estimate
2 of 3 06/04/2010
VI. TOTAL PROJECTED EXPENSE FOR CASE
Est. Hours $per Hour Total
I. PREDISCOVERY
0
II. DISCOVERY
0
III. MOTIONS
0
IV. PRETRIAL/ TRIAL
0
V. MISCELLANEOUS
0
GRAND TOTAL
0
VII. TIME DURATION ESTIMATE (in Months)
A. Length of time before Settlement/ Trial
VIII. CITY ATTORNEY AND TRIAL COUNSEL'S CONSULTATION
A. LIST ADJUSTMENTS
1. Prediscovery:
2. Discovery:
3. Motions:
4. Pretrial/ Trial:
5. Miscellaneous:
Litigation Plan Cost Estimate
3 of 3 06/04/2010
ATTACHMENT H
CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY
CONFIDENTIAL ATTORNEY WORK PRODUCT A _ ,EW POn_
DATE: * * * * * * **
TO: File
FROM: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * **
Matter: * * * * * * * * * **
RE: Case Evaluation
CASE INFORMATION
CASE NAME: * * * * **
DOL: * * * * * * * * * * * * **
ATY /SUPER: * **
TORT CLAIM DATE: * * * * * * * * **
PLF ATY: * * * * **
DATE CP FILED: * * * * * * * * * **
CR/CR REP/ COVERAGE: * * * **
COURT DOCKET: * * * **
CASE STATUS
PARTIES: PI: * * * * * * * * * * **
Def:
FACTS & THEORIES: * * * * * * * * * * * * * **
COMPLEX LEGAL /FACTUAL ISSUES: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * **
INJURY /DAMAGE /LOSS: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * **
SPECIAL DAMAGES (Medical Specials: Loss ofEarnings• Lost Profits etc.): * * * * * * * * * * * * **
SPECIAL DAMAGES TOTAL: * * * * * * * * * * * * **
EVALUATION AND SETTLEMENT
A. LAST EVALUATION
Liability
' The issue of liability is a yes /no question. Give percentage chance of loss /victory.
Case Evaluation Memorandum
Date
Page: 2
Exposure:2 * * * * * * * * * * * **
B. SETTLEMENT POSTURE
PLAINTIFF DEMAND: * * * * * * * * * * * **
DEFENDANT OFFER: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * **
SETTLEMENT AUTHORITY:
SETTLEMENT STICKING POINTS: * * * * * * * * * * * * * **
O Recommend Mediation ?:
INITIAL LITIGATION PLAN
L. ANTICIPATED RESOLUTION
(Target)
IL DISCOVERY AND INVESTIGATION
A. WITNESSES / PARTIES
(Check one)
Settlement
Dismissal /Motion
A.D.R. (i.e. Arbitration)
Trial
Other (i.e. Tender)
NAME
INTW
DEPO
TRIAL
B. RECORDS (Healthcare Providers. Employers, Other):
2 Reasonable jury verdict range as reduced by comparative fault, if applicable. Give comparative fault
analysis.
Case Evaluation Memorandum
Date
Page: 3
Total
C. WRITTEN DISCOVERY:
10
D. [ME NEEDED: YES /NO SPECIALIZATION:
DOCTOR:
DATE SET:
REPORT RECEIVED:
E. OTHER INVESTIGATION: * * * * * * * * **
F. EXPERT RETENTION: * * * * * * * * **
ANTICIPATED MOTIONS & RESEARCH: * * * * * * * **
TRIAL
Jury or Court Trial Recommended: * * * * * * * * * * * **
Estimated Length of Trial: * * * * * * * * **
Estimated Time To Trial: * * * * * * * * * **
PENDING ISSUES /ACTION NEEDED
Current Action Needed:
0
ATTACHMENT I
CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY
DATE: December 23, 2009
TO: Outside Counsel
FROM: David R. y Attorney
Matter: Outside Counsel Management Matters;
[A09- 00224]
RE: Outside Counsel Billing Guidelines
POLICY:
Outside counsel services are to be provided to the City of Newport Beach effectively and
efficiently. The Office of the City Attorney ( "OCA ") retains outside counsel on an as
needed basis to address the legal needs of the City. We seek practical, solution- oriented
services. Services are to be realistically tailored to the task assigned and performed in an
efficient, capable manner. The goal of these guidelines is to set out staffing and billing
requirements to effectuate this policy. All billings must be consistent with these guidelines.
2. BILLING RATES:
Acceptable rates shall be established and confirmed prior to commencement of work on
any assigned matter. Written notice must be given of the intent to increase rates at least
ninety days prior to the effective date of the rate increase. Rates may be increased no
more often than once in a twelve month cycle.
3. APPROVED LEGAL TEAM AND PROFESSIONAL STAFFING:
Each subject of outside counsel service must have an approved legal team. No billing will
be accepted from any individual who is not part of the approved legal team. Depending on
the complexity of the matter, the team could be as few as one attorney to as many legal
professionals as the legal team requires. No matter the size of the approved team, the
City shall assign matters to one responsible attorney. That individual will be responsible
for the quality of the work performed and the efficiency of the billings.
Generally, the following rules shall apply to the utilization of billing professionals on City
legal matters:
• Legal work should be given to the least expensive billing professional qualified
to perform the work. The City encourages the use of paralegals in a manner
T consistent with the paralegal's experience and skill level. Paralegals are ideally
suited for performing the legal aspects of investigation, document management,
and discovery, as well as focused research of procedural legal issues.
Outside Counsel Billing Guidelines
December 23, 2009
Page: 2
No more than one legal professional may make an appearance or attend an
event, absent prior approval by the City;
Replacement billing professionals must familiarize themselves with the assigned
matter at outside counsel's expense. The City will not pay for new legal team
members "getting up to speed" in an assigned matter.
Legal professional shall not bill for support, clerical, or other administrative
support services.
LEGAL RESEARCH:
Outside counsel are chosen based upon their knowledge and skill in particular areas of the
law. Generally, therefore, extensive legal research should not be necessary. On the other
hand, the City recognizes that each assignment has its own unique circumstances and
those circumstances may require extensive legal research to be performed. No legal
research beyond three hours, however, is authorized absent previous approval by the
OCA. Any billing for legal research beyond the three hour maximum that has not been
previously authorized by the OCA will be reduced to the three hour maximum. Legal
research includes the research of the issue and the drafting of any memorandum or similar
document related to the research. A copy of the work product based upon the research
must be provided to the OCA.
4. CONFERENCES:
It is generally not acceptable to bill multiple firm attorneys in meetings and conferring
internally, whether face to face or through electronic means. If internal firm conferences
occur, absent prior approval to the contrary, only the most senior attorney may bill his/her
time. No junior attorney may bill the time for the conference. The City recognizes,
however, that in complex matters conferences or team meetings may be necessary on a
periodic basis to achieve the efficient handling of a matter. In those circumstances, if
previously authorized, periodic conferences may be billed by all billing professionals in
attendance. The conferences must be structured to be efficient, and provide significant
benefit to the handling of the matter. Any billing of internal conferencing or communication
must be broken out and fully itemized so that the amount of time spent on the
communication can be identified with specificity.
5. ACCEPTABLE COSTS:
General overhead costs are considered to be covered by the hourly rate billed by the legal
professionals and are not billable to the City. As such, library, legal research data bases,
clerical support and typing, ordinary long distance chargers and facsimile expense, and
other similar expenses, are all considered to be part of overhead and thus covered by the
hourly rate charged on a matter. Internal costs and out of pocket costs specific to a City
matter may, however, be billed at the actual cost incurred or at the best approximation of
that cost. Authorization must be obtained from City prior to incurring a cost in excess of
$250.
The following are costs acceptable for billing:
i
Outside Counsel Billing Guidelines
December 23, 2009
Page: 3
a. External out of pocket costs: Those costs incurred from service providers
outside of counsel's office will either be paid directly by the City or reimbursed at actual
cost incurred. These costs and expenses commonly include investigation costs, expert
witness fees, process service fees, jury fees, certification expenses, court and deposition
reporter and transcript expense, court filing fees, document filing fees and travel expenses.
Costs in excess of $1,000.00 may be forwarded directly to the City for payment directly by
the City. Advance deposits may be provided by the City if necessary and if the City is
provided sufficient time in advance in order to process the request.
b. Internal Costs. Internal costs that are actually incurred are reimbursable at
the best approximation of the expense. The following are acceptable approximations:
• Standard duplication expense or photocopying at 15¢ per page;
• Color duplication or photocopying expense 50¢ per page;
• Compact disc duplication $20.00 per disc.
C. Delivery Expenses: Delivery expenses are recognized as an appropriate
billable cost. The City will reimburse the expenses incurred in delivering materials as
necessary within the handling of an assignment. Counsel, however, shall avoid the need
for express delivery and the City will not reimburse for express delivery that is necessitated
solely due to counsel's failure to handle a matter in a more timely fashion.
Copies of invoices for all costs in excess of $250 shall be forwarded to the City prior to City
reimbursement and the City reserves the right to examine all invoices for billed costs prior
to reimbursement.
6. Billing Format:
The following billing format features are required:
a. Billing Period: Bills shall be generated no more often than monthly.
b. Summary Statement. Where outside counsel is handling more than one
matter for the City, outside counsel shall provide the City a summary statement identifying
all invoices being billed in a month, giving the total amount billed on each invoice and the
total billed by outside counsel in the billing period.
c. Itemization: Block billing is not acceptable. Each bill must be itemized in
sufficient detail so that the City can identify the amount of time spent on a particular task
performed by each billing professional. Therefore, you should itemize essentially the task
by billing professional on a daily basis. For example, if there is legal research performed
regarding a motion and drafting of the motion in one day that time can billed together. As
stated above, however, any internal conferences must be fully itemized.
d. Minimum Billing: 0.1 hour (6 minutes) shall be the minimum billing
increment. The City does not accept higher minimum billing increments.
Outside Counsel Billing Guidelines
December 23, 2009
Page: 4
e. Biller Identified: The legal services provider must be identified in the item
billed. No legal services professional will be accepted as a biller absent that individual
being an approved legal team member.
f. Recap of Billings: Professional services must be summarized at the end of
the billing. The summary must identify the professional service provider, the amount of
time spent, the rate charged, and the total amount billed for services from that professional
service provider.
e. Cost Billings: All costs must be clearly identified and the reasons for their
being incurred given.
8. Audit:
The City reserves the right to conduct a file and billing audit on any legal matter it refers to
outside counsel.
9. Litigation Matters:
The City requires that a Litigation Plan and Cost Estimate ( "Plan ") be prepared and
updated in all litigation matters handled by outside counsel. Outside counsel shall utilize
the form provided by the City in preparing the Plan. Outside counsel may execute the
actions in the Plan once it is approved by the City.
Outside counsel must obtain prior authority from the City before engaging in any activity
that is not proposed in the Plan. Outside counsel must always obtain express authority F
from City prior to:
• Filing any challenge to any pleading, either through demurrer or motion;
• Filing any cross - complaint or cross - claim;
• Initiating any law and motion proceeding;
• Engaging in affirmative discovery; or
• Proceeding with any writ action or appeal;
The City recognizes that a Plan provides only a cost estimate and is not definitive of the
actual cost that will be incurred. The Plan can, and should, be updated if or when it
appears to be in adequate to achieve the City's goals in the litigation. The City expects
outside counsel to update the Plan at critical points within the case. Outside counsel shall
update the Plan ninety days before trial, laying out the plan for all final discovery, experts,
and trial.
Outside Counsel Billing Guidelines
December 23, 2009
Page: 5
10. Controlling Document:
These Billing Guidelines shall be controlling in all outside counsel relationships. If the
retainer agreement or letter from outside counsel differs in any way from the provisions of
these guidelines, the provisions of the Guidelines shall control.
[A09- 002241— Outside Counsel Billing Guidelines — Revised Final
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