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Legal Services Analysis and Report City of San Leandro <br />February 2013 Municipal Resource Group <br /> <br /> <br /> 4 <br /> Other legal services excluded from the Basic Level of Services as determined by <br />the City Manager. <br /> Matters for which the City may recoup its expenses through cost‐recovery, such <br />as bond counsel matters, water rights and land use development matters, sewer <br />and solid waste matters, power company and energy matters, assessment <br />district formations and foreclosures, bankruptcy and foreclosures and code <br />enforcement matters subject to lien enforcement. <br /> <br /> A fixed monthly retainer of $28,765 (effective July 1, 2011) is provided for Basic <br />legal services. The monthly retainer is increased annually by a CPI factor. <br /> Additional legal services and litigation services are invoiced at $210 per hour for <br />attorneys and $105 per hour for paralegals, with no annual CPI increase provided in the <br />Agreement. <br /> Fees for legal services for which the City is reimbursed by third parties (“cost <br />recovery”) are set forth in the City’s adopted fees schedule and range from $250 to $400 <br />per hour depending upon the type of matter and the attorney assigned, and $125 per hour <br />for paralegals. <br /> The Agreement continues until otherwise amended or terminated. Additional <br />changes to the Agreement to increase rates and clarify the scope of services have been <br />discussed by the City Manager’s Office and Meyers Nave, but have not been implemented. <br /> <br />Legal Services Agreement ‐ Discussion Points <br /> The current legal services arrangement requires re‐evaluation and clarification in <br />various respects. <br /> <br />1. While the Agreement outlines in detail the legal services to be provided under the Basic <br />legal services (those subject to the retainer) and Additional legal services, its language is <br />still open to interpretation. <br /> For example, “baseline real estate transactions” are included under Basic legal <br />services, yet “non‐routine or specialized real estate and land use matters, such as <br />property acquisitions and disposition” are excluded from Basic legal services. <br />“Baseline”, “non‐routine” and “specialized” are not defined, often requiring discussion