DATE: November 17, 2026
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Douglas T. Sloan, County Counsel
SUBJECT: Agreement with Service Provider Thomson Reuters
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Under Administrative policy No. 34 for competitive bids or requests for proposals (AP 34) determine that an exception to the competitive bidding requirement under AP 34 is satisfied and a Sole Source-Suspension of Competition is warranted, and that the best interests of the County would be served by entering into an Agreement with West Publishing Corporation Thomson Reuters (Thomson Reuters) as the only vendor suited, equipped and authorized to provide proprietary legal research subscription services; and
2. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute a sole source Agreement with Thomson Reuters for the West Proflex legal research subscription, effective December 1, 2026 not to exceed five consecutive years, which includes a five-year base contract, total not to exceed $265,372.
REPORT
There is no additional Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions, which will allow Thomson Reuters to provide County Counsel with West Proflex legal research subscription. The item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Your Board could not approve the Sole Source-Suspension of Competition and direct County Counsel to work with the General Services Department to do a competitive bid process for these services, however this would create a detrimental gap in the ability of County Counsel to do important and critical research required to support their clients.
SUSPENSION OF COMPETITION/SOLE SOURCE CONTRACT:
It is requested that the County find under AP 34 that an exception to the competitive bidding requirement is satisfied and a suspension of competition is warranted due to unusual and extraordinary circumstances, as Thomson Reuters is the only vendor that provides subscription services with proprietary access to publications that cannot be delivered by any other legal research vendor, specifically, Miller & Star Real Estate, Rutter Group Practice Guide and Witkin’s California materials and Westlaw Advantage. Based on this, a letter of interest was not necessary. The General Services Department - Purchasing concurs with the Department’s assessment that this stratifies the exception to the competitive bidding process required by AP 34.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. The total cost of the recommended Agreement over the five-year term is $265,372, which includes 6% annual increases after the first year. Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues are included in the County Counsel Org 0710 FY 2026-27 Adopted Budget and will be included in future recommended budget requests for the duration of the Agreement term.
DISCUSSION:
On October 1, 2021, the County entered into a Purchasing Agreement with Thomson Reuters for access to their electronic publication catalog for legal research purposes. The Purchasing Contract expired on September 30, 2026 and it was determined that these services are pivotal to the operations and efficiency of the County Counsel office.
The County Counsel's office's main function is to provide professional legal counsel to its clients. To do so, the attorneys engage in legal research on a daily basis in order to perform the work and provide advice to its clients and the County. It is in the best interest of the County and cost-effective for County Counsel to have access to an up-to-date, reliable, accurate, comprehensive legal research database to provide clients and the County with precise, efficient, and effective advice, rather than having to purchase publications piecemeal and rely on maintaining a physical law library.
Thomson Reuters offers an extensive electronic publication catalog that includes case law, State and Federal statutes, administrative codes, treatises, law reviews, and journals, including a second-source library with access to Black’s Law Dictionary, Treasury Regulations from the Research Institute of America, public records, and newspaper and magazine articles. This includes proprietary access to publications that cannot be delivered by any other legal research vendor; specifically, Miller & Star Real Estate, Rutter Group Practice Guide, and Witkin’s California Materials, as well as a product platform that contains a proprietary deep research feature, enabling attorneys to submit complex, multi-faceted legal questions and receive comprehensive, structured research in return, dramatically accelerating the initial research phase on complex matters. Thomson Reuters is the gold standard in comprehensive legal research database subscription services used by legal professionals in all fields of law, including both the public and private sectors.
If the recommended Agreement is approved by your Board the County Counsel office attorneys will continue to have the critical ability to conduct necessary research utilizing the extensive and unique resources and publications provided by Thomson Reuters. Continuing this ability will allow the County Counsel office to support their clients in an efficient and informed manner.
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Sole Source Acquisition Request
On file with the Clerk - Agreement with Thomson Reuters
CAO ANALYST:
Amy Ryals