REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
August 5, 2025
FROM
LUTHER SNOKE, Chief Executive Officer, County Administrative Office
SUBJECT
Title
Amendment to Contract with Hartnell Law Group, APC for Appointed Legal Representation Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve Amendment No. 2 to Contract No. 23-450 with Hartnell Law Group, APC, to provide court-appointed specialized legal representation services, increasing the contract amount by $132,012, from $710,000 to a total not-to-exceed amount of $842,012, with no change to the contract term of July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2028.
(Presenter: Matthew Erickson, County Chief Financial Officer, 387-5423)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Improve County Government Operations.
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item may result in the use of additional Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The total cost of Contract No. 23-450 (Contract) will be funded with existing Discretionary General Fund allocated for these services and will not exceed $176,004 per year which includes court approved special fees of $50,000. Adequate appropriations for this contract are included in the 2025-26 recommended budget (Cost Center 1250001000) and will be included in future recommended budgets.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
San Bernardino County (County) administers the Indigent Defense Program (Program) for the San Bernardino Superior Court (Court). The Program provides Court-appointed legal representation services for indigent persons, including those that may require treatment for a mental disorder.
On May 23, 2023 (Item No. 31), as the result of Request for Proposals No. CAO123-CAO-4878, the Board approved Contract No. 23-450 with the Hartnell Law Group, APC (Hartnell) to provide legal representation services for specialized conservatorship cases under appointment by the Court in the amount of $710,000 for a five-year term from July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2028.
On July 9, 2024 (Item No. 15), the Board approved Amendment 1 to Contract No. 23-450 to include representation services for Laura’s Law Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) and Community Assistance Recovery and Empowerment Act (CARE) clients with no change to the total contract amount of $710,000 or the contract term of July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2028.
The recommended amendment will accommodate the unforeseen increase in weekly appearances in Superior Court to two full days each week. If cases appointed by the Superior Court exceed the projection, an amendment to increase expense authority may be presented to the Board of Supervisors (Board) for approval.
PROCUREMENT
Not applicable
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Julie Surber, Principal Assistant County Counsel, 387-5455) on July 9, 2025; Purchasing (Ariel Gill, Supervising Buyer, 387-2070) on July 21, 2025; and County Finance and Administration (Celia McDonald, Administrative Analyst, 387-4286) on July 21, 2025.