Woodruff & Smart (formerly Woodruff, Spradlin and Smart) has provided City Attorney services to the City of Garden Grove since May 1992.  These services include counsel on general City matters, counsel for the Planning Commission and other City hearing bodies, contract review, claims review, code enforcement prosecution, and litigation related to a wide variety of matters, including personnel issues.  Since 2011, the agreement has had an annual CPI adjustment with a cap of 3%.  

In the last five years, the CPI has risen in excess of 3%, which has kept Woodruff & Smart from keeping up with their rising costs along with the difficulty in hiring and retaining attorneys due to the current market.  For example:

• In 2018, the CPI was 4.3%
• In 2019, the CPI was 3.4%
• In 2020, Woodruff & Smart opted not to implement an increase due to the Pandemic
• In 2021, the CPI was 4.5%
• In 2022, the CPI was 8.2%

The current rates are $233/hr. for attorneys and $134/hr. for paralegals/law clerks.  The attached amendment would adjust their rates by 5% to $245/hr. for attorneys and to $145/hr. for paralegals and law clerks (rounded to the nearest dollar), and would increase the CPI cap to 5%.  The amendment also includes a rate for developer reimbursable legal costs at the rate of $295/hr. (which is still substantially lower than what developers pay their own attorneys).

It is recommended that the City Council:

• Approve the attached amendment to the agreement with Woodruff & Smart for City Attorney services; and
• Authorize the City Manager to execute the amendment on behalf of the City.