SR 06-25-2019 3S
City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: June 25, 2019
Agenda Item: 3.S
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Lane Dilg, City Attorney, City Attorney's Office
Subject: Research Subscriber Agreements for Purchase of and Access to Legal
Research Publications; Authorization of Additional Expenditures for E -
Discovery Resources
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with
Thomson Reuters, a Minnesota–based company, for a subscription agreement
for printed legal research publications for the City Attorney’s Office, in an amount
not to exceed $50,257 for three years.
2. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with
Thomson Reuters, a Minnesota–based company, for access to online legal
research materials for the City Attorney’s Office, in an amount not to exceed
$266,090 for three years.
3. Authorize additional expenditures of funds for a current a month-to-month
agreement with Thomson Reuters, a Minnesota–based company, for access to
online e-discovery resources for the City Attorney’s Office, in an amount not to
exceed $105,000 (including approximately 40% in contingency) over a three-year
period.
4. All recommended awards are made as an exception to the competitive bidding
process pursuant to Section 2.24.250 (b) and the total amount not to exceed is
$421,347, with future year funding contingent on Council budget approval.
Summary
The City Attorney’s Office (CAO) uses print and online research materials provided by
West, a business unit of Thomson Reuters, and also uses online e-discovery
resources (eDiscovery Online) provided by Thomson Reuters. West has exclusive
rights to license several publications that the CAO relies on to meet the City’s legal
needs. Staff seeks authority to negotiate and execute two new Research Subscriber
Agreements (RSAs) with Thomson Reuters: (1) a subscription agreement for printed
legal research publications for three years in a total amount not to exceed $50,257;
and (2) an agreement for access to online legal research materials for three years in a
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total amount not to exceed $266,090. In addition, staff recommends that the City
Council authorize additional expenditures of funds under a current month -to-month
agreement with Thomson Reuters for access to online e-discovery resources to be
used for litigation and to expedite public records review in an amount not to exceed
$105,000, which includes an approximately 40% contingency, over a three-year period
to account for uncertainty in cost, which is based on the volume of materials reviewed
and stored using the online tools.
The two proposed new RSAs would provide access to all of West’s online research
materials; eliminate charges for access to materials outside of the CAO’s current
subscription; allow the CAO to shift most of its legal research to online mate rials;
maintain the current 50% discount on the limited set of printed materials the CAO still
needs; and maintain the annual increase for online access at 1%, which is below
current market. Additionally, the two proposed new RSAs, together with the additional
expenditures under the existing month-to-month e-discovery agreement, will permit the
CAO to reduce total costs by approximately $10,000 per year, even after accounting for
additional costs to use the online e-discovery resources to expedite review of email
productions in response to public records requests.
Discussion
The CAO provides a full range of legal services, including legal research, to meet the
City's diverse needs. Each of the CAO’s four divisions - Municipal, Civil Liability,
Criminal and Consumer Protection - uses print publications and online databases to
conduct legal research. For many years, the CAO has contracted with West, now a
business unit of Thomson Reuters, as its primary source of legal research
publications. West has exclusive rights to license several publications that the CAO
relies on, including Rutter Group (California Practice), Miller & Starr (California Real
Estate), and McQuillin (Municipal Law) publications, as well as the West National
Reporter System, which has become a standard for courts.
The City's current Research Subscriber Agreement (RSA) with West, which includes
both print publications and access to online databases, began on July 1, 2015, and
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will end on June 30, 2020. The City Council approved this agreement on May 12,
2015. The Staff Report submitted to obtain this approval is attached as Attachment
A.
In recent years, the CAO has encountered increasing numbers of special projects
and unexpected legal issues that have required research outside of the subscription
set included in the current RSA, resulting in costs incurred over and above our fixed
monthly subscription cost. The proposed new RSA for online access includes
access to all of West’s online materials at a fixed monthly subscription cost. As
compared to the CAO’s current RSA and additional costs incurred under that
agreement, the CAO anticipates that the new online RSA will provide significant
savings in total online research costs. As a result of the scope of all of the CAO’s
agreements with Thomson Reuters, Thomson Reuters has further agreed to
maintain the current annual increase in online access costs of 1%, below the market
rate. The cost of the proposed new online Research Subscriber Agreement will be
$87,816 the first year, $88,694 the second year, and $89,580 the third year, for a
total cost not to exceed $266,090 over three years.
The CAO’s current RSA with West also includes a number of print materials that are
now available through online access. Consistent with the City’s overall shift to paper
on demand, the proposed new print RSA therefore eliminates many print resources
and the CAO’s overall reliance on print research resources. This results in
significant savings in total printed materials costs. As a result of the scope of all of
the CAO’s agreements with Thomson Reuters, Thomson Reuters has agreed to
continue our current 50% discount on printed materials, and limit the annual increase
for printed materials to 5% per year. The cost of the new print Research Subscriber
Agreement will be $15,942 the first year, $16,739 the second year, and $17,576 the
third year, for a total cost not to exceed $50,257 over three years.
Finally, the CAO has an ongoing month-to-month agreement with Thomson Reuters
for access to its e-Discovery Online service. This tool has historically been used
only rarely when litigation need arises on a case-by-case basis but the CAO has
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recently also used this tool to deduplicate and review large email sets generated in
response to requests under the California Public Records Act. The use of this tool
has made review of large email sets significantly more efficient, with reduced overall
review times, which is particularly important given the continually increasing scope of
emails that are requested and must be reviewed and redacted prior to production
under the PRA. The CAO is charged on a per-gigabyte basis for review and storage
of email sets. Based on current usage, the CAO is requesting authorization to
expend additional amounts under the current month-to-month agreement not to
exceed $35,000 per year, for a total cost not to exceed $105,000 over three years.
This includes a contingency of approximately 40% to account for the uncertainty in
costs, which is based on the volume of materials reviewed and stored using the
online tools.
Vendor Selection
Exception to Competitive Bidding
The CAO recommends that the City enter into the two proposed RSAs with Thomson
Reuters/West and authorize additional expenditures under the existing month-to-month
agreement with Thomson Reuters/West relating to online e -discovery resources as an
exception to competitive bidding per Section 2.24.250(b) of the Municipal Code.
Several publications the CAO on which the CAO relies are licensed exclusively by
West; and both exclusive and non-exclusive materials are offered as part of a bundled
package. The two proposed RSAs are the most efficient and cost-effective means of
obtaining the exclusive publications that the City Attorney’s Office has come to r ely on
to meet the City’s legal needs. The ongoing month-to-month agreement with Thomson
Reuters for online e-discovery resources meets the ongoing needs of a legally required
City operation (responding to public records requests) and is part of the overall bundle
of agreements with Thomson Reuters that has led to discounts on pricing. In addition,
reliance on these resources for review and storage of email sets is ongoing, and a shift
to a new provider would require significant staff time for the changeover.
b. Competition does not reasonably exist because only one vendor possesses the
unique ability or capability to meet the particular requirements of the solicitation,
such as when a good or service is copyrighted, patented or otherwise only available
form one license holder, including, for example, proprietary goods of original
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equipment manufacturers and/or their authorized exclusive distributors.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks authority to award two new Research Subscriber agreements to
Thomson Reuters and to expend additional funds under an existing month -
month e-discovery resource agreement with Thomson Reuters in a total
amount not to exceed $421,347 for three years. Funds are included in the
FY 2019-21 proposed budget.
Research Subscriber Agreement through Contract Payment
Request Amount
FY 2019-20
Budget Account #
Total Contract
Amount Vendor
$16,261 01120001.524510 $50,257 Westlaw Print
$87,816 01120001.524511 $266,090 Westlaw Online Services
$35,833 01120001.524511 $105,000
Westlaw eDiscovery
Online
Total Cost $139,910 $421,347
Future year funding is contingent upon Council budget approval.
Prepared By: Diana Burger, Office Administrator
Approved
Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Westlaw Thomsons Oaks
B. Westlaw Thomsons Living Wage
C. May 12, 2015 Staff Report
Appointments
West Publishing Corporation
**CONFIDENTIAL**
Company Name
West Publishing Corporation
Appointments
Name Appointed as
Brian Peccarelli President
Matthew Alevy Vice President, Finance
Michel Goodard Vice President, Finance
Edward Asher Friedland Vice President & Secretary
Andrew Martens Vice President & Assistant Secretary
Carolyn Blankenship Vice President & Assistant Secretary
Elsa P. Neto Vice President & Assistant Secretary
John Francis Bellizzi Vice President & Assistant Secretary
Linda J. Walker Vice President & Assistant Secretary
Marc Elliot Gold Vice President & Assistant Secretary
Sean Cannizzaro Vice President & Assistant Secretary
Steven A. Moll Vice President & Assistant Secretary
Christina Cristiano Vice President & Assistant Secretary
Joseph Scarfone Vice President & Assistant Secretary
Thomas F. Ludlow Vice President
Diane Gasser Senior Vice President, Global Benefits & Wellbeing
Eric Ruud Managing Director, LES
Tobias Lee Chief Marketing Officer
Paul Fischer Chief Financial Officer
Elizabeth Beastrom CFO, Large Law, Corporate & LMS
James F. Keane Assistant Secretary and Vice President, Global Payroll
Alejandro Medrano Assistant Secretary
Cynthia L. Hansen Assistant Secretary
Donna Gies Assistant Secretary
Donna LaVardera Assistant Secretary
Eileen McNeill Assistant Secretary
Ellen Gillespie Assistant Secretary
Gary Hartman Assistant Secretary
Helen V. Stamatiadis Assistant Secretary
Jaime Fuertes Assistant Secretary
Jennifer Chapman Assistant Secretary
John S. Nelson Assistant Secretary
Jon Olson Assistant Secretary
Joseph Kapustynski Assistant Secretary
Margaret Hamm Assistant Secretary
Randy Goetz Assistant Secretary
Scott Nelson Assistant Secretary
Susan Garcia Assistant Secretary
Tom Walrath Assistant Secretary
REFERENCE:
Contract No. 10876 - 10877
(CCS)