Brief

The City Attorney has submitted a report (R26-0284) recommending approval of outside counsel contracts with 11 law firms including Albright Yee, Baker and Hostetler, Bienart Katzman Littrell, Burke Williams and Sorensen, Clyde and Co., Cole Huber, Hurrell, Manning and Kass, Olson Remcho, and Ropers Majeski. The file is currently pending review in the Budget and Finance Committee, which will evaluate the scope, cost, and necessity of engaging external legal counsel on behalf of the City.

Full summary

City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto is asking the Council to authorize a package of funding transfers, contract amendments, and term extensions for a large group of outside law firms retained by her office. The centerpiece is a request for the City Administrative Officer to identify $4,534,722.37 to cover a budget shortfall across 17 existing outside counsel contracts, with the largest allocations going to Sanders Roberts ($2,330,000 across four contracts), Hurrell ($600,000), Ropers Majeski ($500,000), Clyde and Co. ($200,000), and Baker and Hostetler ($250,000), among others. That funding would be transferred into the City Attorney's outside counsel account at fiscal year end. The request also includes a separate rebalancing move: roughly $235,277.63 in unspent encumbrance balances from five prior-year contracts — including Hurrell, Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, Hueston Hennigan, Munger Tolles and Olson, and Olson Remcho — would be released back to the Reserve Fund and then reappropriated to fund two other contracts, Theodora Oringer and WSHB. Additionally, the City Attorney is seeking authority to increase the authorized spending ceilings on 15 contracts and to extend the terms of more than 20 contracts by two years. Two smaller standalone transfers are also requested: $2,000 from a consumer protection penalty fund to support the Rimon Law contract, and $65,449.94 in leftover Downey Brand encumbrance funds to be redirected to environmental compliance services through the Sidewalk and Curb Repair Fund. Because the underlying legal matters involve pending or anticipated litigation, the City Attorney has asked that the Budget and Finance Committee take up this item in closed session under California Government Code Section 54956.9, which shields discussions of active or threatened litigation from public disclosure. As of May 11, 2026, the report has been referred to that committee and no action has yet been taken. The file remains open with a two-year window before expiration.

Activity (2)

• 2026-05-11 City Attorney document(s) referred to Budget and Finance Committee.
• 2026-05-11 Document submitted by City Attorney, dated May 11, 2026.

Documents (1)

• 2026-05-11 Report from City Attorney · report