The City of Hollister is accepting bids for legal services to represent the Hollister City Council.
“The council requested we do this a few months ago, we went and had it prepared,” City Manager Bill Avera said.
The request for proposal process will be open until some time in January, he said.
“Usually our legal services work directly with the council,” Avera said. “The city wants somebody or a firm that has general experience in municipal law and can cover all facets from planning to human resources. We don’t necessarily need a trial attorney. We contract that out if necessary.”
The council went out to a request for proposals process for legal services a few years ago, Avera said, and decided to stick with the current contracted law firm L+G, LLP, Attorneys at Law. The city first contracted with L+G, now known as JRG, in December 2013.
Once bids are received in January, city staff will assist the council in narrowing down choices. The city council will then conduct interviews and make its selection from the top selected individuals or law firms.
“We’d have a professional services agreement prepared,” Avera said. “If it ended up being L+G still, we’d continue on with the current contract.”
The city-contracted law firm announced a name change on November 28.
Managing Partner Jeff Gilles said the law firm would change its name from L+G to Johnson, Rovella, Retterer, Rosenthal & Gilles, LLP. The new law firm began doing business as JRG Attorneys at Law as of December 1.
Gilles started the practice in the 1970s and now has offices in places including downtown Hollister, Salinas and Monterey.
