HomeMy WebLinkAboutCAG2024-181 - Original - Ogden Murphy Wallace, PLLC - Legal Services Engagement Letter - 04/10/2024 FOR CITY OF KENT OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Sup/Mgr:
Agreement Routing Form Dir Asst:
• For Approvals,Signatures and Records Management Dir/Dep:
KE N T This form combines&replaces the Request for Mayor's Signature and Contract Cover (Optional)
WASHINGTON Sheet forms.
Originator: Department:
T. Reyes-Selden for C. Schuck Law
Date Sent: Date Required:
0 04/11/2024 N/A
CL Director or Designee to Sign. Date of Council Approval:
Q N/A
Budget Account Number: Grant?[:]YesZNo
Budget?R]Yes:No Type: N/A
Vendor Name: Category:
Ogden Murphy Wallace, PLLC Contract
Vendor Number: Sub-Category:
= 34908 Original
0
Project Name: Legal Services - Engagement Letter
E
C Project Details:Retention of Ogden Murphy Wallace, PLLC to provide legal services and advice, as
= needed, to the City of Kent regarding a construction dispute/bid protest received
from Strickland and Sons Excavating, LLC.
C
d
Agreement Amount: N/A Basis for Selection of Contractor: Direct Negotiation
`Memo to Mayor must be attached
Start Date: 4/10/2024 Termination Date:
Im
Q Local Business?F_1YesP'1No* If meets req uiremen ts per KCC 3.70.100,please complete"Vendor Purchase-Local Exceptions'form on Cityspace.
Business License Verification:Yes:ln-Process:Exempt(KCC 5.01.045)
Notice required prior to disclosure? Contract Number:
❑Yes No CAG2024-181
Comments:
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Date Routed to the City Clerk's Office: 4/1 1/24 Interlocal Agreement has been uploaded to website:
adccW22313_1_20 Visit Documents.KentWA.gov to obtain copies of all agreements
rev.20210513
C3G D E N OGDEN MURPRY WALLACE,PLLC T 206.447.7000 OMWLAW.COM
701 FIFTH AVENUE,SUITE 5600 F 206.447.0215
M U FOP H Y SEATTLE,WA 98104-7045
WALLACE
ATTORNEYS
ATHAN E. TRAMOUNTANAS
206.829.2709
athant@omwlaw.com
April 10, 2024
VIA EMAIL
Ms. Christina Schuck
Deputy City Attorney
City of Kent
220 Fourth Avenue South
Kent, WA 98032
cschuck@kentWA.gov
Re: Engagement Letter
Dear Ms. Schuck:
Thank you for engaging our firm to represent the City of Kent in connection with providing legal
services. The purpose of this letter is to confirm that we represent the City and to describe how
services will be provided by Ogden Murphy Wallace,P.L.L.C.("OMW"or"the firm").I will be your
primary service provider for purposes of this representation, and I will be assisted by other
professionals in our firm as necessary.
Terms of Engagement
In our representation of clients, we think it is critical that our clients and the firm share the same
understanding of the attorney-client relationship. To that end, enclosed is a copy of our standard
Terms of Engagement. This engagement letter and the enclosed Terms of Engagement set forth our
agreement with you. Please review them carefully, and if you understand and agree to both
documents,please sign this letter where indicated and return it to us by email,fax or U.S.Mail. Please
let us know if you have any questions or comments regarding our relationship.
Legal Fees
You will be billed for our services on an hourly basis. Member attorneys will be billed at a rate of
$495.00 per hour. Associate attorneys will be billed at a rate of$310.00 per hour. Paralegal services
for all matters will be billed at$215.00 per hour. These rates will increase annually in January, in an
amount equal to the highest increase in the Consumer Price Index (U) for the Seattle-Tacoma-
Bellevue area, from the preceding year.
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Ms. Christina Schuck
Deputy City Attorney
City of Kent
April 10, 2024
Page 2
Advance Fee Deposit to Commence Representation
We are waiving our customary advance fee deposit on this matter.
Supervising Attorney and Assistance
As supervising attorney,I will be responsible for seeing that the work is carried out in an efficient and
economical manner. I may be assisted by other attorneys and legal assistants in our office. They are
all bound to you by the same duties of loyalty and confidentiality that bind me.
Scope of Services
OMW will provide advice and representation to the City in connection with a construction dispute/bid
protest received from Strickland and Sons Excavating,LLC.
Other Matters
The provisions of this letter and the attached Terms of Engagement shall apply to any other work or
matter for which you engage us, including on behalf of any corporation or partnership in which you
have an interest, except as otherwise agreed and/or to the extent contingent fees or flat fees are
otherwise agreed.
We appreciate your expression of confidence in Ogden Murphy Wallace, P.L.L.C. and would like to
assure you that we will do our best to provide you with high quality legal services. If you have any
questions or concerns during the course of our relationship,we encourage you to raise them with me
or our Managing Member, Jessica Jensen. If you are in agreement with the provisions of this
engagement letter and the attached Terms and Conditions, please arrange for signature of this letter
where indicated below by the appropriate signatory and return it to me at your earliest convenience.
We look forward to working with you.
Very truly yours,
OGDEN MURPHY WALLACE, PLLC
ct'
z:l
Athan E. Tramountanas
AET:Ijv
Enclosure
cc: Accounting Department
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Ms. Christina Schuck
Deputy City Attorney
City of Kent
April 10, 2024
Page 3
On behalf of the City of Kent, I HEREBY ACCEPT AND AGREE to the Terms and
Conditions as stated herein this loth day of April , 2024.
CITY OF_ NT
By:.
Its: City Atto -ney
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OGDEN MURPHY WALLACE,P.L.L.C.
TERMS OF ENGAGEMENT
General Rates
The usual basis for determining our fees is the time expended by attorneys, paralegals, and legal
assistants of the firm. Our current rate schedule is always available upon request. Whenever it is
appropriate, we will use associate attorneys, law clerks or legal assistants in our office to keep your
costs as low as possible.
Other Factors in Rates
Although time expended and costs incurred are usually the sole basis for determining our fees, by
mutual agreement billings to you for legal services may, in some instances, be based on a more
comprehensive evaluation of the reasonable value of the firm's services. The firm is committed to
charging reasonable fees for its services. In certain situations, factors other than the amount of time
required will have a significant bearing on the reasonable value of the services performed. Such
factors include: the novelty and complexity of the questions involved; the skill required to provide
proper legal representation; familiarity with the specific areas of law involved;the preclusion of other
engagements caused by your work;the magnitude of the matter;the results achieved; customary fees
for similar legal services; time limitations imposed by you or by circumstances; and the extent to
which office forms and procedures have produced a high quality product efficiently.
In circumstances where our fees will be based on or include factors other than our normal hourly
charges and costs, we will notify you promptly and prior to proceeding. Any basic document fee
which we may charge in your business matters has been and will be set in light of these various
factors.
Billing Fees and Costs
We will bill you on a regular basis,normally each month,for all the time spent on your project(s)and
for other costs incurred relating to our work or on your behalf. The activities for which our time will
be billed will include: conference time, whether in person, on the telephone or through remote
platforms such as Zoom, Teams or Skype; document preparation and revision; negotiations;
correspondence; staff or attorney supervision; factual and legal research and analysis; travel on your
behalf; and other matters directly pertinent to and related to your business and/or litigation matters
handled by our firm. Typical of the costs for which you will be billed are: filing fees; delivery fees;
computer assisted legal research; copying; charges of outside experts and consultants; and travel.
Payment; Interest
You agree to make payment within thirty(30) days of receipt of our monthly statement. Outstanding
balances that are not paid when due will accrue interest at the rate of one percent compounded
monthly from the date of invoice until paid.
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Advance Fee Deposit
New clients are usually requested to provide an advance fee deposit to the firm. The advance fee
deposit is placed in a trust account as described below, and fees and expenses for legal services are
then charged against the account.Paying an advance fee deposit does not relieve the client's obligation
to pay monthly invoices.If an invoice remains unpaid,the firm reserves the right to apply the advance
fee deposit to the unpaid balance and require an additional advance fee deposit before commencing
further work. At the conclusion of our legal representation or at such time as the deposit is
unnecessary,the remaining balance or an appropriate part of it will be returned to you.
Trust Deposits
All trust deposits from you will be held in a client trust account. By court rule in Washington, funds
deposited to a trust account are subject to IOLTA(Interest on Lawyers Trust Account)participation
in a pooled trust account. The exception is when the deposit is large enough to earn interest in excess
of bank and administrative costs, and you request that it be held in a separate account, in which case
the interest earned will be added to the deposit for your benefit and will be taxable income to you.
IOLTA funds are used to support law-related charitable and educational activities.
Termination
You may terminate our representation at any time,with or without cause,by notifying us.Upon such
action, all fees and expenses incurred before the termination are due to the firm. If such termination
occurs,your original papers will be returned to you promptly upon receipt of payment for outstanding
fees and costs. If you wish to have a copy of your file at the conclusion of our representation,we will
provide it to you at the current copy rate per page then in effect at this firm.
Estimates
You may, from time to time, ask us for estimates of our fees and expenses either in whole or in part.
We are hesitant to give estimates because of their potential inaccuracy. However, if you require it,
and if we do provide you with such estimates,they will be based upon our professional judgment,but
always with a clear understanding that it is not a maximum or fixed fee quotation. We cannot
guarantee that the actual fees and expenses will be at or below the estimates because of factors outside
the control of the firm.
Dispute Resolution
If you disagree with the amount of our fee, please take up the question with your principal attorney
contact or with the firm's Managing Member. Typically, such disagreements are resolved to the
satisfaction of both sides with little inconvenience or formality. Any disputes relating to these Terms
of Engagement or the accompanying engagement letter(collectively this "agreement")or the amount
of legal fees related thereto, will be submitted to arbitration through the American Arbitration
Association (the "AAA") in Seattle, Washington, according to its then-effective rules, and Ogden
Murphy Wallace, P.L.L.C. and you agree to be bound by the results of such arbitration. Arbitration
expenses shall be borne equally by the parties. In the event of non-payment such that we have to
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pursue collection of your account, you agree to pay the costs of collecting the debt, including court
costs and fees, and a reasonable attorney's fee.
Withdrawal
We reserve the right to withdraw from representing you if,for any reason,our fees are not timely paid
in accordance with this agreement, or for any other appropriate cause.
Disclaimer
You acknowledge that we have made no guarantees regarding the disposition, outcome, or results of
your legal or business matters, and all expressions we have made relevant thereto are only our
opinions as lawyers based upon the information available to us at the time. Our beginning work on
your behalf will constitute your acceptance of this agreement unless we receive a written objection
from you within fourteen(14) days of the date of the accompanying engagement letter.
Conclusion
Thank you for retaining our firm. We look forward to working with you.
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