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Re: Workers’ Compensation Legal Services
(a) Terminate Agreement Issued to Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP (LBBS) as Districts’ Workers Compensation Counsel Through June 30, 2030
(b) Authorize Hiring of Michael Sullivan and Associates LLP as Districts’ Workers’ Compensation Counsel Through June 30, 2030
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Summary
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Summary: On January 22, 2025, the Personnel Committee, comprised of the Chairpersons of all active Districts, endorsed issuing a Request for Proposals to evaluate firms for Districts’ general counsel and workers’ compensation counsel. Qualified proposals for workers’ compensation counsel were received from LBBS, Mullen & Filippi LLP (Mullen & Filippi), and Michael Sullivan & Associates LLP (Sullivan). All three firms were evaluated and interviewed. The two highest-ranked firms, LBBS and Mullen & Filippi, were awarded the work at the District No. 2 meeting on June 25, 2025. These two firms proposed partner rates of $260 and $195 per hour, respectively, as of July 2025. On August 10, 2026, LBBS notified the Districts that they had decided to cease workers’ compensation litigation support in California and advised that the workers’ compensation attorneys assigned to Districts work would transition to Sullivan by the end of the 2026 calendar year. Sullivan was the third-highest-ranked bidder. The former LBBS attorneys transitioning to Sullivan will continue providing services to the Districts at the same hourly rates currently charged by LBBS. Any other Sullivan counsel assigned to Districts’ work would be paid at their originally proposed partner rate of $215 per hour, as of July 2026. This item is consistent with the Districts’ Guiding Principle of commitment to fiscal responsibility and prudent financial stewardship.
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