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City Attorney Office <br />www.santa-ana.org/ca <br />Item # 20 <br />City of Santa Ana <br />20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701 <br /> Staff Report <br />December 7, 2021 <br />TOPIC: Approve Second Amendment with Burke, Williams & Sorensen to Amend the <br />Term and Compensation to Not Exceed $950,000 <br />AGENDA TITLE: <br />Approve a Second Amendment for Specialized Legal Services with Burke, Williams & <br />Sorensen to Amend the Term to June 30, 2023 and Set Compensation in an Amount Not <br />to Exceed $950,000 (General Fund) <br />RECOMMENDED ACTION <br />Authorize the City Manager to execute an amendment to the legal services agreement <br />with the law firm of Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP (“BWS”) for litigation matters <br />concerning the abatement of public nuisances, to amend the term of the agreement to <br />terminate on June 30, 2023 and increase the compensation, in an amount not to exceed <br />$950,000, subject to non-substantive changes approved by the City Manager and the City <br />Attorney. <br />DISCUSSION <br />BWS was engaged by the City Council on March 4, 2020 to represent the City in <br />specialized nuisance cases including the City’s lawsuit against the Orange County <br />Association for Mental Health, doing business as Mental Health Association of Orange <br />County (“MHA”), and BT Investment Properties, LLC. <br />Sheppard Mullin, a large nationwide law firm, is representing MHA, pro bono. On March <br />12, 2020, MHA filed an answer to the City’s complaint and a cross-complaint for <br />declaratory and injunctive relief. On April 7, 2020, the City was served with a Motion to <br />Intervene by Disability Rights California on behalf of three of their clients that allege they <br />would be negatively affected if MHA were closed as a result of the City’s lawsuit. These <br />filings show the difficulty and complexity of the issues involved and the need for outside <br />resources. <br />On April 21, 2020, the City Council approved a First Amendment to the Agreement to <br />increase the compensation for its agreement with BWS to $500,000. <br />The law firm of Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP is a well-regarded, municipal law firm <br />specializing in litigation and abatement of public nuisances. BWS was selected from a