2023 Rutan & Tucker - Attorney Services Amendment 1AMENDMENT NO. 1
TO AMENDED AND RESTATED
AGREEMENT FOR CONTRACT LEGAL SERVICES
THIS AMENDMENT NO. 1 ("Amendment") to the current AMENDED AND
RESTATED AGREEMENT FOR CONTRACT SERVICES made and entered as of July 1,
2016 ("Current Agreement") by and between THE CITY OF LA QUINTA ("City"), a California
municipal corporation, the SUCCESSOR AGENCY TO THE FORMER LA QUINTA
REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY ("Agency"), a California public entity, the LA QUINTA
HOUSING AUTHORITY, a California public entity ("LQHA"), the LA QUINTA
FINANCING AUTHORITY, a California public entity ("LQFA"), and RUTAN & TUCKER,
LLP ("R&T") a Limited Liability Partnership, is effective as of October 1, 2023 ("Amendment
Effective Date"). The parties hereto agree as follows:
1. Revised Schedule of Compensation
The Schedule of Compensation attached to the Current Agreement as Exhibit `B" is hereby
superseded and replaced with Exhibit "B" to this Amendment.
2. All Other Provisions Remain
With the exception of the replacement of Exhibit `B" (Schedule of Compensation) attached
to this this Amendment, all other terms and conditions of the Current Agreement remain in full
force and effect.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Amendment as of the dates
stated below.
[signatures on next page]
698/015610-0041
19546691.4 a09/28/23
CITY OF LA QUINTA
Dated: W 1 i (-)Z j . ?► — By:
iIlen. City Manager
ATTEST:
Monika Radeva, C C, Cit Jerk
SUCCESSOR AGENCY TO THE FORMER LA
QUINTA REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY
Dated: [ ❑ R825 By:
cMillen, Executive Director
ATTEST:
/h
Monika Radeva, Cmk:,Agep4secretary
LA QUINTA HOUSING AUTHORITY AND
LA OUINTA FINANCING AUTHORITY
Dated:_1 O , 2023 By:
Millen, Executive Director
ATTEST: �—
Monika Radeva, CMC. AL6 ities' Secretary
RUTAN & TUCKER, LLP
Dated: 4,.f 2023 By:
William H. Ihrke, Partner
698/015610-0041
19546691.4 a09/28/23 —2—
EXHIBIT `B"
SCHEDULE OF COMPENSATION
I. CITY ATTORNEY AND AGENCY'S/AUTHORITIES' COUNSEL.
For services rendered by Rutan & Tucker, LLP, the City, Agency, LQHA and LQFA
hereby agree to pay the following fees:
A. Retainer Amount.
1. A flat retainer rate of $13,200 per month shall be paid:
(a) For Council Meeting Weeks: On Council meeting Tuesdays, the
hours at City Hall shall be 10:00 a.m. until the end of the meeting,
and 8:00 a.m. until noon, and then from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on
the following Wednesday. These hours will generally be handled
by the designated City Attorney unless ill or otherwise unavailable.
(b) For Planning Commission Weeks: On the Tuesday of the
Commission meeting, the hours at City Hall shall be one hour prior
to the start of the Planning Commission meeting until the end of that
Planning Commission meeting. These hours are optional and will
be handled by the designated Assistant City Attorney unless ill or
otherwise unavailable, and only if attorney attendance at these
meetings is requested.
(c) With the consent of the City Manager, the City Attorney may
occasionally adjust the City Hall hours to accommodate scheduling
needs.
(d) The retainer may be reduced by $5,000 for each bi-monthly City
Council meeting (and related Tuesday/Wednesday office hours) that
is cancelled and attendance of the City Attorney for those related
Tuesday/Wednesday office hours is not required.
B. Additional Amounts for General City Attorney Services.
1. All hours for general attorney services (in addition to the Retainer Time)
shall be billed at $265 per hour for attorney services, $150 per hour for all
paralegals, and $50 per hour for document clerks.
698/015610-0041
19546691.4 a09/28/23 B-1
II. SPECIAL SERVICES RATES.
For special services rendered by R&T, the City, Agency, LQHA and LQFA agree to pay
the following fees:
A. For services rendered in connection with any litigation or threatened litigation
matter as described in Section ILA. of Exhibit "A," or for special transactional services the
following fees shall apply:
$300 per hour for all partners. On special matters, and with the advance
permission of the City Council, a "Special Partner Rate" of $365 per hour
may be imposed for litigation matters requiring a high degree of specialty
outside the normal.
2. $270 per hour for all associates.
3. $150 per hour for all paralegals and $50 per hour for all document clerks.
B. For services rendered in connection with other special legal services, such as labor,
telecommunications, post -redevelopment, hazardous and toxic materials, and other "non -general
matter" legal services, but not including bond services, the following fees shall apply:
$300 per hour for all partners.
2. $270 per hour for all associates.
3. $150 per hour for all paralegals.
C. Bond Counsel.
For services rendered by R&T acting as Bond Counsel, the City, Agency, LQHA and
LQFA hereby agree to pay the standard hourly design rates for R&T attorneys who perform bond
services, subject to any maximum amount of payment for bond services, agreed upon by R&T and
the City, Agency, LQHA and/or LQFA, as part of any bond issuance. In no event shall R&T be
paid based on a percentage of a bond issuance, nor shall R&T be paid additional contingent
compensation based on whether and under what terms the City, Agency, LQHA or LQFA enters
into a separate contract for a bond issuance. Notwithstanding any provisions in the Agreement,
this Section II.0 of Exhibit `B" is applicable starting January 1, 2016.
D. Costs.
All travel time shall be billed (except for in conjunction with Retainer Work or Bond
Counsel work) but no travel charges to the desert area (i.e., mileage or hotel) shall be charged.
Charges for travel outside the Riverside or Orange County area will be subject to approval by the
City Manager. No long distance telephone charges within the Orange and Riverside County areas
would be billed. All other out-of-pocket charges (i.e., copying at $.19 per page, Lexis or Westlaw
charges, telecopying, messenger charges) shall be charged at standard rates.
698/015610-0041
19546691.4 a09/28/23 B-2
E. Reimbursement Rates.
For all matters for which the City, Agency, LQHA or LQFA is entitled to reimbursement
for R&T's services from third parties, R&T's rates shall be its standard applicable hourly design
rates. If the City is unable to obtain reimbursement for any reason, the City, Agency, LQHA or
LQFA shall be credited with the differential between the above scheduled rates and the standard
applicable hourly design rates, or shall be entitled to a refund of the differential, at its or their
option.
698/015610-0041
19546691.4 a09/28/23 B-3
CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM NO. 7
City of La Quinta
CITY COUNCIL MEETING: October 3, 2023
STAFF REPORT
AGENDA TITLE: APPROVE AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO AMENDED AND RESTATED
AGREEMENT FOR CONTRACT LEGAL SERVICES WITH RUTAN & TUCKER, LLP
RECOMMENDATION
Approve Amendment No. 1 to the Amended and Restated Agreement for Contract Legal
Services with Rutan & Tucker, LLP.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
• Current City Attorney, Bill Ihrke, was appointed by Council as City Attorney on July
1, 2014, and Rutan & Tucker LLP has served as the contract City Attorney's Office
since 2000.
Since the current City Attorney's appointment, there has not been a rate increase,
except for a modest adjustment to the retainer amount for attendance at City
Council meetings and office hours.
• Proposed Amendment No. 1 has modest increases, at very competitive rates, for
general municipal counsel services to account for inflation and other factors
impacting the costs to provide legal services.
FISCAL IMPACT
The proposed rates are set forth in Amendment No. 1 (Attachment 1) and would be
effective October 1, 2023. A summary of the proposed rates is below.
BACKGROUND/ANALYSIS
Because hourly rates (except for the retainer amount) for legal services have not been
increased since at least July 2014, increases are proposed to account for inflation and
changing industry standards for providing high -quality legal services for the City.
Changing industry standards include the increased expectations for expertise in a
multitude of legal practices. For example, the State Legislature over the last several years
enacted many laws affecting housing and land use planning, among other subject
matters. All of these new laws, and related court decisions and administrative directives,
impact the provision of legal services to the City Council, City Manager, and City Staff.
45
As with most contracted consulting services, the contract City Attorney's Office is paid
based on hourly rates that are set depending on a handful of factors, such as (i) seniority
of attorneys performing the work (e.g., partner or associate performing services), (ii)
specialized nature of the legal work (e.g., litigation involving challenges under the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)), and (iii) other mutually agreed upon criteria
(e.g., bond counsel design rates). A summary of the proposed rates are as follows:
Legal Service
Current Rate
Proposed Rate
Retainer Amount
$11,000 per month $13,200 per month
(subject to reduction)
General Account Legal
$210 per hour
$265 per hour
Services
(all attorneys' services)
(all attorneys' services)
Special Rate Legal
$240 per hour for partners
$300 per hour for partners
Services
$215 per hour for associates
$270 per hour for associates
Bond Counsel
Current hourly design rate for
Current hourly design rate for
attorney assigned
Current hourly design rate for
attorney assigned
Current hourly design rate for
Reimbursement Matters
(e.g., Dev. agmts.)
attorney assigned
attorney assigned
The proposed rates remain very competitive among contract city attorneys not only in the
Coachella Valley, but statewide. Moreover, the City Attorney's Office will continue to
provide services efficiently and effectively, recognizing that the City has limited funding
resources. Finally, based on the fact that the City Attorney's Office has come well within
budget at the conclusion of the most recent fiscal years, it is anticipated that there will not
need to be any budget adjustment for the current fiscal year (FY 2023-24) even if the
proposed rate increases are approved by the City Council.
L. TERNATIVES
Council may elect not to approve the proposed Amendment No. 1. However, because
the contract City Attorney's Office has not had a general rate increase for over nine years,
and because inflationary and other factors have impacted the provision of legal services,
it is recommended that Council approve this Amendment No. 1.
Prepared by: Bill Ihrke, City Attorney
Approved by: Jon McMillen, City Manager
Attachment: 1. Proposed Amendment No. 1 to Amended and Restated Agreement
for Contract Legal Services
46