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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1015 - Williams&Campo as Special CouncilBILL NO. 2010-040 ORDINANCE NO. ~ ()' AN ORDINANCE APPOINTING WILLIAMS 8~ CAMPO, PC AS SPECIAL COUNSEL FOR LEGAL SERVICES RELATED TO EMINENT DOMAIN, REAL ESTATE ACQUISITION AND OTHER REAL ESTATE ISSUES, INCLUDING REPRESENTATION, COUNSEL AND ADVICE IN ANY LITIGATION RELATED TO SUCH MATTERS WHEREAS, Section 110.110 of the Riverside City Code provides that one of the duties of the City Attorney is to oversee the retention and supervision of outside counsel where specialized work is deemed necessary; and WHEREAS, the City deems it necessary and desirable to contract with a qualified attorney for special counsel legal services related to eminent domain, real estate acquisition and other real estate issues, including representation, counsel and advice in any litigation related to such matters; and WHEREAS, Williams & Campo, PC is qualified to provide said special counsel legal services to the City; and WHEREAS, the procedure by which special counsel is retained is governed by Section 79.230 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri which provides that the employment of special counsel shall occur by the Mayor and Board of Aldermen pursuant to adoption of an ordinance; and WHEREAS, the Board of Aldermen find it is in the best interest of the citizens of the City of Riverside to authorize and approve a letter of engagement with Williams & Campo, PC to provide such services; NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN OF THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE, MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS: THAT Williams & Campo, PC is hereby appointed as special legal counsel for the City of Riverside for legal services related to eminent domain, real estate acquisition and other real estate issues, including representation, counsel and advice in any litigation related to such matters, subject to the supervision of the City Attorney; FURTHER THAT the City Attorney is hereby authorized to execute the engagement letter agreement for such services which is attached hereto as Exhibit "A" together with such other documents necessary to carry out the terms and conditions of such representation. BE IT REMEMBERED that the above was read two times by heading only, PASSED AND APPROVED by a majority of the/ _B~~oa-rd of Alder and APPROVED by the Mayor of~ the City of Riverside, Missouri, this ~ day of , 2010. . ,..ATTEST: a ,. Robin Littrell, City Clerk Mayor Kathleen L. Rose Approved as t form: n pson, ity Attorney 255 NW Blue Parkway, Suite 202 Lee's Summit, Missouri 64063 Yhone: 816524.4646 Facsimile: 816.524.4645 u~uu~.E~ublicluw~irni.com May 21, 2010 City of Riverside Attn: Ms. Nancy Thompson, City Attorney 2950 NW Vivion Road Riverside, Missouri 64150 Re: Special Counsel Legal Services Dear Ms. Thompson: 'r-~ f ~. ~'-'~~ i j ~i ~n I C~, I ,`~ ~'~ ,. ;5~ J U N O 1 2010 ~,` ~ J~1 i i, I You have requested that we serve as Special Counsel for the City of Riverside, Missouri. I am submitting this letter to you to serve as the written agreement for our firm's engagement to provide legal services concerning eminent domain/real estate acquisition and related matters. We look forward to serving as counsel in this engagement. The City of Riverside will be our client in this engagement. I will be responsible for the engagement on behalf of our firm. Our fees will be $195.00 for Chris Williams and me, $185.00 for Robert Handley, and $180.00 for Joe Lauber, Jennifer Baird and Betsy Blake. The rates are subject to inflationary increases beginning on January 1, 2012. The enclosed Additional Terms of Engagement shall govern the relationship unless otherwise agreed in this engagement letter, but please note the following: • We will not charge attorney fees for our travel time to and from City Hall for any meetings with the Board of Aldermen, Staff, etc.; • We will not charge the City for local facsimiles; • We will not charge the City for long-distance telephone charges (including facsimiles); • We will not charge the City for in-house photocopies which do not exceed 100 copies in a month; • We do not charge for regular mail. If you have any questions concerning the terms of our engagement, or if you ever have a question about our charges, or their reasonableness, please contact me at your convenience to discuss the matter. Our engagement as counsel for the City will begin upon our receipt of a signed copy of this agreement (by fax, mail or hand delivery). Thank you for choosing us to provide these important legal services to the City. We look forward to a good and productive relationship. `~w.~:, `~' ~ ~ s € ``~i_.r ~l~s~~r~:[, `~~~1~11'T (~9:~1:~ 1_~'CiIZ ~~~~C.AI_, ~it~~,~J~;J~ial'ti.1.f I`v'I'` Best regards, WILLIAMS & CAMPO, P.C. P~ Paul A. Campo Enclosure ACCEPTED AND AGREED: CITY OF RIy,~RSIDE, MISSOURI Its Additional Terms of Engagement Williams & Campo, P.C., appreciates the opportunity to serve you. Our goal is to provide legal services that address your legal needs effectively and efficiently through our office in Lee's Summit. The following information explains the client service practices and billing procedures that apply to our representation of your interests (unless you have reached a different written understanding with us). We encourage you to discuss these practices with our lawyers whenever you have questions during the course of our engagement. Provision of Legal Services. This engagement is for provision of professional legal services, and not for the provision of business, personal, accounting, technical or other advice not constituting legal services. It is agreed that the client is not relying upon counsel in this engagement for advice in areas other than professional legal services, even if such matters should be discussed in connection with the engagement. Entire Agreement. The accompanying engagement letter together with these Additional Terms of Engagement shall constitute the entire agreement between us concerning the engagement, and shall not be modified or supplemented, except in a subsequent writing signed by the parties. Subcontractors. From time-to-time, it may be necessary to engage subcontractors to assist in the provision of services to you. It is agreed that we are not authorized to engage any such subcontractors without your prior approval. Periodic Billings for Legal Services. Unless other arrangements have been made, it is our policy to render periodic statements for legal services on a monthly basis. We normally base these statements on hourly rates of lawyers working on the matter. Statements will be due upon presentation, and are to be paid no later than 30 days following the invoice date. If any statement amount remains unpaid 60 days after the invoice date, the firm reserves the right to terminate its services, consistent with applicable Rules of Professional Conduct. Client Disbursements. Most matters require, from time to time, certain monetary advances to be made on your behalf by the firm. Some "client disbursements" represent out-of-pocket charges we advance, others represent internal costs (including costs such as fees for service of process, court filing fees, deliveries, etc.). It is understood that while acting as your lawyers, we have the authority to use our best judgment in making such expenditures on your behalf. Unless we have made prior arrangements with you, we will send you monthly billings for client disbursements incurred during the preceding month. Substantial individual items in excess of $250, such as expert witness fees, the costs of deposition transcripts, etc., may be billed directly to you by the vendor of such services. File Retention. After our services conclude, we will, upon your request, deliver the file for this engagement to you. If you do not request the file, we will retain it for a period of ten years after the matter is closed. If you do not request delivery of the file before the end of the ten year period, we will have no further obligation to retain the file and may, at our discretion, destroy it without further notice to you. At any point during the ten year period, you may request delivery of the file. Disbursements and Other Charges. We will also charge you for certain expense items listed below that we provide in connection with our legal services: Photocopyin~. We will not charge the City for in-house photocopies which do not exceed 100 copies in a month. If in-house photocopies exceed 100 in a month, then we reserve the right to charge $0.10 per page (or our cost, whichever is less) but only for each page over 100 in number. If the need for an outside copying job (e.g., Kinko's) arises, we only bill the actual cost incurred for photocopying without markup. Computer Research. We do not charge for our service agreement with Westlaw in which we have computerized legal research access to Missouri, 8`" Circuit (federal) and U.S. Supreme Court databases, as well as databases for the Missouri and federal statutes, among others. In the event that computerized research in databases other than these is necessary, the actual cost we incur is charged without markup. Telecommunications. We do not charge for local or long-distance phone calls or facsimiles. Mail/Messengers. We do not charge for regular mail; however, bulk mailings, packages and special postal services may be charged at our actual cost. Messengers are used as appropriate to assure expedited delivery. The actual cost of such messenger services is charged without markup. Internet Usage. We may be asked to use the Internet as a means for communicating about matters concerning your representation. Ariy such communication could be randomly intercepted and otherwise used or disclosed by anyone, including someone specifically interested in your matter or business. This could cause you to lose your confidentiality and attorney/client privilege protections. However, to facilitate your representation, you approve the use of Internet communications during your representation by us unless we are instructed otherwise. Termination of Services. In the event that you choose to terminate our services, please advise us of such in writing. We retain the right to cease performing legal services and to terminate our legal representation for any reason consistent with ethical rules, including conflicts of interest or the failure to pay legal fees and expenses when due. Our termination or your termination of services does not affect your obligation to pay legal fees and expenses incurred prior to the effective date of such termination. Questions. One of our goals is to ensure that legal services are delivered effectively and efficiently, and that all billings are accurate and understandable. Please direct any questions about services, billing, or payment status of your account to Paul A. Campo.