To: Board of Supervisors
From: Thomas L. Geiger, County Counsel
Report Title: Contract with Everlaw, Inc. for e-Discovery
?Recommendation of the County Administrator ? Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the County Counsel, or designee, to execute a contract with Everlaw, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $40,000 for the period from June 25, 2024, through June 24, 2026.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Approval of this action will result in expenditures of up to $40,000 and will be funded by the Risk Management Liability Trust Fund.
BACKGROUND:
The County Counsel's Office reviews and manages voluminous documents. Everlaw as an eDiscovery tool used to review, redact, and produce documents in response to discovery requests while representing and advising the County and its various departments. Approval of this contract will allow the County Counsel's Office to retain Everlaw on a case-by-case basis for large scale document review (e.g. 2,500 documents or more). Everlaw will increase productivity, shorten response times to facilitate the review of critical documents necessary for case resolution.
This action constitutes authorization to contract with Everlaw on a case-by-case basis. Each instance or case will be governed by the Everlaw contract with the County. The contract limits Everlaw's liability under the agreement to the amount of fees paid or payable by the county during the 12 months preceding the date the liability first arises. The contract obligates the County to indemnify Everlaw for claims arising out of County's failure to perform its obligations under the contract, the use of any case materials in the service, and any litigation matter in which County is engaged.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
Without authorizing the ad hoc retention of Everlaw, County Counsel's office will be required to devote
extensive staff time to large scale document review, when other time-sensitive matters are also pressing.
County Counsel will, t...
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