Shasta County has signed an agreement with Van Dermyden Makus Law Corporation for impartial employment-related investigations through Sept. 20, 2029, according to the 18-page personal services agreement.
The agreement allows the county’s Office of County Counsel to request investigations that may include reviewing documents, interviewing staff and preparing written findings and supporting documentation. It sets a maximum of $150,000 in payments without prior written county authorization and says the county does not guarantee the firm any minimum amount of work.
For investigations initiated before Dec. 31, 2026, the listed hourly rates range from $190 for a paralegal to $625 for a senior partner. The contract says investigations and related communications and work product are intended to receive attorney-client and attorney-work-product protection to the extent legally permissible, and it requires the parties to protect confidential information.
The agreement also permits the firm to use generative artificial intelligence under attorney supervision. It bars the firm from entering confidential county information into an AI system that retains data for model training or shares it with third parties, and requires enterprise-grade data protection and compliance with confidentiality and ethical rules.
The contract does not identify a specific complaint or investigation, and the agreement itself does not show how much the county has spent or whether a matter is currently active. Its term begins on the date of the last signature and is subject to annual Board of Supervisors appropriations; if funds are not appropriated for a fiscal year, the agreement can end June 30 of the last funded fiscal year.
