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HomeMy WebLinkAboutContract 48813 RECEIVED CITY SECRETARY CONTRACT NO. CITY OF FORT WORTH TS*E COMMMIIRS 200 TELEPHONE: 1- 0 ATBRYANTIRVIN ROAD TAYLORtOLSO -AD KINS �Sf� lLLAILAM TOLL FREE:(800)318-3400 FORT WORTH,TEXAS 76107 LLP. FACSIMILE:(817)332-4740 EMAIL:TOASE@TOASE.COM ATTORNEYS & COUNSELORS WEBSITE:WWW.TOASE.COM WAYNE K.OLSON EXT. 210 wolsonna,toase.com February 6, 2017 Mark Barta Assistant Human Resources Director City of Fort Worth 200 Texas Street Fort Worth, Texas 76102 RE: Legal Services for the Civil Service Commission Matter Dear Mr. Barta: On behalf of the firm of Taylor, Olson, Adkins, Sralla & Elam, L.L.P., I would like to thank you for the confidence that you have shown in us by selecting our firm to assist the Civil Service Commission regarding a request for investigation under Chapter 143 of the Local Government Code. We will do everything within our power to justify the trust that you have shown in us by selecting us as your legal representative. The purpose of this Letter Agreement is to establish the attorney/client relationship which will permit us to claim privilege from discovery on certain types of communications involving this litigation matter. This Letter Agreement will be effective from the date it is executed by the City until such time as the City may decide to seek other representation, or until written notification is sent by either party that the terms of this agreement are no longer acceptable. This Letter Agreement will also govern future litigation matters and special projects for which the City may choose to engage us. It will be unnecessary to renew so long as the basic terms and conditions remain essentially the same. Under the terms and conditions of this agreement, our law firm will provide the City with representation on the following basis. The City shall pay the law firm $265 an hour for attorneys with 10 or more years of experience and $165 an hour for attorneys with less than 10 years of experience and $100 an hour for paralegal work. Administrative assistants will be billed at a rate of$25 per hour. George Staples will serve as the primary attorney working on this matter. Under this representation, we will attend meetings of the Civil Service Commission as requested to advise the Commission on matters related to its authority in conducting hearings and investigations related to the above matter. We are conscious of the fact that legal fees on a substantial matter can quickly accumulate, and we attempt to maintain reasonable fee levels under the circumstances by, among other things, minimizing duplication of effort on a project, and utilizing legal assistants, administrative assistants, and law clerks whenever practical.,-Moreoverwben_. OFFICIAL RECORD W:\Fort Worth\2017 civil service investigation request\Engagement.wpd CITY SECRETARY February 6, 2017 Page 2 unforeseen extraordinary fees or expenses appear necessary, we will consult with you beforehand when time permits. All out-of-pocket expenses incurred by us in connection with this representation are billed to you as a separate item on your monthly statement. Additional details on expenses can be provided on request. Invoices for certain types of individual expenses, such as deposition transcripts or printing charges, may be sent to you from time to time for immediate payment direct to our suppliers. Under our normal billing procedures, we will submit statements to you on a monthly basis. Statements are always due and payable upon receipt. Any owed amounts that are not paid within 30 days will bear interest at the rate of one percent per month. However, there may be occasions involving unforeseen circumstances when an account will go unpaid, and in such instances we will attempt to work with you, if you communicate the nature of the delay to us. However, we reserve the right to discontinue work on pending matters or to terminate our attorney-client relationship at any time that any statement remains due and unpaid or that a requested advance retainer deposit against any clearly foreseeable charges is not received. Occasionally, when a statement for a specific project is rendered near its conclusion, posting of some time and charges(such as telephone, reproduction,telecopier charges, court costs, or similar items) may be delayed, or there may be a delayed invoice for an expense which is not delivered to this firm until after the transaction has closed. In such cases, these "after closing" expenses will also be billed to you, even though you may have already received a "final' statement previously. Should you have any questions as to any statement, please contact me at your earliest convenience so that we can resolve any problems without delay. As you know, we cannot make representations to you as to the probability of ultimate success in any matter, and similarly we cannot guarantee any particular result. However, we do agree to exert in good faith our reasonable, ethical professional efforts in our representation of the City. Although we attempt to retain for a reasonable time copies of most documents generated by this law firm, the firm cannot be held responsible in any way for failing to do so, and the firm hereby expressly disclaims any such responsibility or liability. You must ultimately retain all originals and copies you desire among your own files for future reference. If at any time during this representation you have any problem or complaint, please do not hesitate to call me, and I will do whatever I reasonably can to resolve it to your satisfaction. I also wish to notify you that the State Bar of Texas investigates and prosecutes professional misconduct committed by Texas attorneys. Although not every complaint against or dispute with a lawyer involves professional misconduct, the State Bar WAFort Worth\2017 civil service investigation request\Engagement.wpd February 6, 2017 Page 3 Office of General Counsel will provide you with information about how to file a complaint. For more information, you may call toll free, 1-800-932-1900. If these terms are acceptable, please sign in the space indicated below and return one letter to our office for our records. The second letter is for your files. If for any reason the terms of this letter are not acceptable, please let me know immediately so that we can make any necessary changes. We truly appreciate the opportunity to be of service to you, and I look forward to a mutually beneficial relationship. Sincerely, TAYLOR, OLSON, ADKINS, SRALLA & ELAM, L.L.P. By: _ . 0 Wayne K. Olson WKO:kb APPRO D AND ACCEPTED- Mark Barta, Assistant Human Resources Director Date: � ^ l �-- 6 f / WAFort Worth\2017 civil service investigation request\Engagement.wpd Contract Compliance Manager: By signing I acknowledge that I am the person responsible for the monitoring and administration of this contract, including ensuring perfo ance and reporting requirements. Gerald Pruitt Deputy City Attorney A098W by 0��..•FD�T� . Mary , . r C' cry �xa. • OFFICIAL RECORD CITY SECRETARY FT.WORTH,TX M&C Review Page I of 2 Official site of the City of Fort Worth,Texas CITY COUNCIL AGENDA FoR TI-i COUNCIL ACTION: Approved on 3/7/2017- Resolution No. 4759-03-2017 DATE: 3/7/2017 REFERENCE NO.: G-18963 LOG NAME: 12CSC OUTSIDE COUNSEL 02-2017 CODE: G TYPE: NON- PUBLIC CONSENT HEARING: NO SUBJECT: Adopt Resolution Ratifying the City Attorney's Retention of the Law Firm of Taylor, Olson, Adkins, Sralla, Elam, L.L.P., as Outside Legal Counsel, Pursuant to Chapter VI, Section 3 of the City Charter, to Provide Legal Representation to the Fort Worth Firefighters' and Police Officers'Civil Service Commission in a Request for Investigation Brought by Police Officer William Martin (ALL COUNCIL DISTRICTS) RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the City Council: 1. Ratify the City Attorney's retention of the law firm of Taylor, Olson, Adkins, Sralla, Elam, L.L.P., as outside legal counsel, pursuant to Chapter VI, Section 3 of the City Charter, to provide legal representation to the Fort Worth Firefighters' and Police Officers' Civil Service Commission in a request for investigation brought by Police Officer William Martin; and 2. Adopt the attached resolution designating in advance, as far as practicable, that the amount to be paid to Taylor, Olson, Adkins, Sralla, Elam, L.L.P., will not exceed $20,000.00. DISCUSSION: On January 26, 2017, Police Officer William Martin, who was recently issued a 10-day disciplinary suspension, filed a request that the Fort Worth Firefighters'and Police Officers' Civil Service Commission (hereinafter"Commission") conduct an investigation to determine whether a City employee released confidential documents and records, including personnel documents and body cam video that were protected from release by state law.A local attorney, Lee Merritt, posted on the internet Officer Martin's body cam video as well as documents that were part of Officer Martin's confidential Police Department personnel file. Mr. Merritt did not reveal the name of the person who provided the documents and the video to him. Officer Martin requested that the Commission investigate to determine who provided the documents and video to Mr. Merritt. In response to this request, the Commission scheduled a meeting on this matter on January 31, 2017. Because the Commission scheduled its meeting only five days after the request for investigation was filed, the City Attorney was unable to submit the matter to Council for approval prior to retaining Taylor, Olson, Adkins, Sralla, Elam, L.L.P. to advise the Commission at this meeting. Although the Commission was authorized to conduct such investigations under Section 143.009 of the Texas Local Government Code to determine whether the civil service laws were violated,the present Commission has never conducted an investigation, and neither the statute nor the local Commission rules provide a specific procedure to follow when doing so. Due to the complexities of civil service law and the lack of a specific procedure to follow when conducting investigations, it was necessary for the Commission to have legal counsel when responding to Officer Martin's request. The attorneys in the City Attorney's Office did not counsel the Commission in this matter because they have been involved in advising the Police Department in regard to Officer Martin's suspension, as well as whether to release the documents and body cam video. The City attorneys have also had access to the documents and body cam video that are in issue, and some were questioned in an http://apps.cfwnet.org/council_packet/mc_review.asp?ID=24372&councildate=3/7/2017 3/8/2017 M&C Review Page 2 of 2 investigation of the release of the material. Due to this conflict, the City Attorney retained outside legal counsel to advise the Commission in its response to Officer Martin's Request for Commission Investigation. The law firm of Taylor, Olson, Adkins, Sralla, Elam, L.L.P. was selected to advise the Commission because this firm possesses the required knowledge and expertise in matters involving civil service law and Commission investigations. Council is requested to ratify the hiring of Taylor, Olson, Adkins, Sralla, Elam, L.L.P. and authorize payment for the time they worked related to advising the Commission on William Martin's request for an investigation on January 31, 2017. To date, the firm has expended $3,390.24 in advising the Commission in this matter. Furthermore, Council is requested to authorize retention of this law firm for future advice on the same issue. At this meeting on January 31, 2017, the Commission declined to investigate the matter, but indicated that it might revisit this issue in the future. For this reason, it may be necessary for Taylor, Olson, Adkins, Sralla, Elam, L.L.P. to provide further representation in this matter in the event that the Commission considers William Martin's request in the future. FISCAL INFORMATION/CERTIFICATION: The Director of Finance certifies that funds are available in the current operating budget, as appropriated, of the Risk Financing Fund. The Fiscal Year 2017 Budget includes appropriations in the amount of$667,436.00 for lawsuit expenses. As of January 26, 2017, the account has year-to-date commitments totaling $335,455.26; upon approval of the recommendation, remaining funds will be $331,980.74. TO Fund Department Account Project Program Activity Budget Reference# Amount ID ID Year Chartfield 2 FROM Fund Department Account Project Program Activity Budget Reference# Amount ID I I ID I I Year (Chartfield 2) Submitted for City Manager's Office by: Valerie Washington (6192) Originating Department Head: Sarah Fullenwider(7606) Additional Information Contact: Gerald Pruitt(7616) Judy Lacker(8006) ATTACHMENTS FORM 1295.pdf Taylor Olson Resolution (3).doc http://apps.cfwnet.org/council_packet/mc review.asp?ID=24372&councildate=3/7/2017 3/8/2017