CLEARLAKE — An amendment to the city”s agreement with its legal firm, Best, Best and Krieger was authorized the by Clearlake City Council on Thursday, Jan. 10, following a Closed Session discussion. The council appointed Malathy (Mala) Subramanian as City Attorney in place of Tom Gibson, who is leaving the firm to accept a position with the state.
“I”m sorry to see Tom leave,” said City Administrator Dale Neiman. “He has been the best city attorney I have worked with and always had the best interest of the city when making decisions and recommendations.”
Subramanian received her law degree from University of California, Hasting College of Law in 1999. She currently serves as city attorney for the cities of Lafayette and Livingston. She also serves as General Counsel to Merced County LAFCO, East Palo Alto Sanitary District and Lafayette Redevelopment Agency. She has been serving the City of Clearlake as General Counsel for the redevelopment agency.
According to BB&K”s Web site, Subramanian is experienced in providing advice in a variety of areas including conflict of interest, land use and planning, public works contracts and redevelopment.
In addition to appointing Subramanian, authorization was given to eliminate Dennis Cota as the attorney responsible for litigation matters and amend the agreement with a provision that states the attorney who handles litigation cases will be based on a recommendation by the city attorney and the city administrator.
“Mr. Cota left BB&K last year and therefore this provision in the agreement needs to be modified,” explained Neiman. “In the event of litigation we need to have the best person available based on their experience with the matter being litigated. For example, if there was litigation involving a personnel matter we would want a specialist in personnel. This person most likely would not have experience in matter involving land use issues. So, we would probably want a different person. I believe the best approach would be for the new city attorney and me to make a recommendation to the council for each matter being litigated.”
The city”s agreement with BB&K states in part “BB&K shall serve as City Attorney and shall perform legal services as may be required from time to time by the City and its officers as set forth in this Agreement. As part of the Services to be performed hereunder, BB&K shall be responsible for preparation for and attendance at all regular, adjourned regular and special City Council meetings; Planning Commission and/or other board, commission or committee meetings as necessary; and weekly attendance at City staff meetings, if required. BB&K shall also be responsible for the preparation or review of all City ordinances and resolutions, together with such agreements, deeds and other legal documents as requested by the City. Further, BB&K shall render to officers and employees of the City legal advice and opinions on all matter affecting the City, the City Council, the City Planning Commission and the City departments, boards, commissions or committees, as directed by the City Council and the City Administrator.”
With the exception of bond counsel and third party reimbursable services, BB&K receives compensation for all legal services as follows: $185 per hour for all general legal services; $205 per hour for all litigation services; and $115 for all paralegal services.
A complete copy of the agreement is available for public review upon request at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive in Clearlake. More information on Malathy Subramanian can be found at www.bbklaw.com.
Contact Denise Rockenstein at drockenstein@clearlakeobserver.com.
