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Home My WebLink About1448 Appointing Littler Mendelson, PC as Special Legal Counsel BILL NO. 2016-007 ORDINANCE NO. lqq � AN ORDINANCE APPOINTING LITTLER MENDELSON, PC AS SPECIAL LEGAL COUNSEL WHEREAS, Section 79.230 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri provides that the Mayor and Board of Aldermen may employ special counsel by ordinance. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN FOR THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE, MISSOURI, as follows: SECTION 1 — APPOINTMENT. That Littler Mendelson, PC is hereby employed as special legal counsel for the City of Riverside in connection with labor relations matters, and the Mayor and City Attorney are hereby authorized to execute the attached engagement letter agreement on behalf of the City. SECTION 2 — FURTHER AUTHORIZATION. That the City Administrator and such other officials of the City may execute any other additional documents or take such other actions as are necessary, incidental or expedient to carry out the intent of the agreement approved and the authority granted herein. SECTION 3 — EFFECTIVE DATE. That this ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after the date of its passage and approval. BE IT REMBERED that the above was read two times by heading only, PASSED AND APPROVED by a majority of the Board of Aldermen and APPROVED by the Mayor of the City of Riverside this 1 day of 2016. ayor Kathleen L. Rose ATTEST: Robin Kincaid, City Clerk Luer Littler Mendelson,PC 1201 Walnut Suite 1450 fttle Kansas City, MO 64106 Jeffrey M.Plans January 7 2016 816.627.4402 direct ry 816.527.4400 main 816.817.1645 fax jplaceclit8er.eom VIA EMAIL[PCAMPOOPUBUCLAWFIRM.COM] Mr. Paul Campo City Attorney City of Riverside 2950 NW Vivion Road Riverside, MO 64150 Re: Labor Relations Matters Dear Mr. Campo: Thank you for retaining Littler Mendelson to provide advice and counsel to the City of Riverside, Missouri in connection with labor relations matters. Specifically, you have engaged me to represent the City of Riverside with regard to potential union organizing among the City's police and fire personnel. Additional services may be rendered on an as-requested basis, at your discretion. Our Fees and Billing Policy As you know, our legal fees are based on how much time is spent on your matter and by whom it is spent. Legal fees may also reflect the substantial value of specialized work product prepared by the Firm prior to the engagement, but which has been adapted for your use. If we use that kind of work in this project, the fees charged may be greater than those which would be charged for the actual time spent making the adaptation, but substantially less than those that would be charged if all of the time spent creating the underlying work product was reflected on your bill. A minimum time of six minutes is charged for work performed, even though the actual time expended may be less. Work in excess of six minutes is billed similarly in increments of six minutes. Under the Firm's fee structure, the hourly fees for attorney time, paralegal time, and legal research assistance vary by individual. My standard hourly rate is $475. For my time on this project, however, we have agreed to charge you $330 per hour for 2016. I will be primarily responsible for the work performed on behalf of the City. If I believe it appropriate to involve an associate or paralegal on the City's projects, I will discuss it with you before assigning work to others. We will bill you for reasonable and necessary individual expenses of less than $2000 which we incur in connection with your representation. We will provide you with additional littler corn Mr. Paul Campo January 7, 2016 Page 2 details on these and any expenses upon request. Expenses will be billed at cost, without any markup. We will forward to you invoices from vendors in amounts in excess of $2000 and will expect that you will promptly pay the vendors. Failure to make prompt payments could adversely affect our relationships with the vendors and hinder our ability to successfully represent you. We will bill you for our services and expenses monthly, and you agree to pay our statements upon presentation. We believe that our billing procedures are simple and clear. Our billings, together with communications with you through telephone conversations, meetings, letters, facsimiles and copies of significant documents, serve to inform you of the work being performed on your behalf. However, should you have any questions or comments about hourly rates, hours charged, billing practices, or expenses, we strongly encourage you to contact us promptly. If you request or require any changes to the format of our billings, including the amount of detail or itemization of our work, or if you have concerns with the accuracy or amount of any billing to you, you agree to notify us in writing within 60 days of receipt of the billing of any such concern, request, requirement or objection. Upon the expiration of the 60-day period, all billings not previously objected to in writing shall be deemed accepted and a part of this written agreement. Termination of Representation We do not foresee any circumstance that would lead to termination of our attorney-client relationship, other than completion of all anticipated tasks on your behalf. However, the law allows a client the right to terminate the representation of an attorney or law firm at any time. Subject to our giving you reasonable notice for you to arrange alternative counsel, our Firm reserves the right to discontinue work on pending matters or terminate our attorney-client relationship at any time that a statement remains due and unpaid 60 days after it has been sent, at any time when we feel our relationship with you puts us in violation of the Bar's ethical principles and standards or the applicable Rules of Professional Conduct, or at any time termination of the relationship is required or permitted by law. All files and/or documents retained at the Firm relating to your representation are and remain your property, as the client, except for the Firm's internal and/or administrative documents, such as attorney time sheets. You may have access to these materials at any time, and upon termination of our representation, you may withdraw these materials with prior written notice. The Firm reserves the right to photocopy the client's files at the client's expense. We reserve the right to destroy all files ten years after the cessation of representation in a matter unless you request their return. In the event you choose to change representation Mr. Paul Campo January 7, 2016 Page 3 to any attorney outside this Firm, a written notice authorizing the transfer of your files must be submitted. We reserve the right to retain photocopies of any of these documents. If a Dispute Arises Between Us We appreciate the opportunity to serve as your attorneys. However, in the event you become dissatisfied with any aspect of our relationship including, for example, the quality or adequacy of our representation or the fees charged, we encourage you to bring such concerns to our attention immediately. It is our belief that most problems can be resolved by good faith discussion between us. Nevertheless, it is always possible that a dispute may arise which cannot be resolved by discussion between us. If a dispute exists between us regarding attorneys' fees and/or costs, you and the Firm agree that the dispute will be submitted as required or otherwise permitted under state law. Acknowledgment of This Agreement Please acknowledge this agreement by signing and returning it to us, keeping a signed copy for your records. We appreciate the confidence you have in Littler Mendelson. We look forward to serving you. APPROVED, ACCEPTED AND AGREED TO THIS / DAY OF ��Q.� t tccn11 201st ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE, MISSOURI a,)6d�z, RatWen Rose Mayyoor I EZA�7x Paul Cadipo City Attorney Mr. Paul Campo January 7, 2016 Page 4 Sincerely, yegug AL ffl&" Jeffrey M. Place JMP/skb Firmw4de:137913141.1 999999.3234