by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
The City Council Finance Committee unanimously approved Tuesday legislation that increases the fee paid to attorneys hired by the City as outside counsel. However, that increase is significantly lower than the proposed legislation.
Under the provisions of the bill, the Office of General Counsel may pay partners, associates and paralegal fees for condemnation cases in Better Jacksonville Plan projects upwards of 16.5 percent more than the previous legislation approved in 2001. The new bill sets a maximum for partners at just under $220 and hour and just under $190 an hour for associates and paralegals. Those fees are substantially less than the proposed 46.15 percent, 39.4 percent and 66.7 percent increases for partners, associates and paralegals, respectively.
Finance member Stephen Joost said he has no problem with eventually raising the fees to the original proposal. However, he feels given the current economic climate staggering those increases over a four-year period makes more financial sense. Joost’s amendment, which passed, will require OGC to come before the Finance Committee each year to seek the next phase of the fee increase. The bill was passed at the Feb. 2 Finance meeting. However, it was rereferred to Finance at last week’s Council meeting.
“The question that should have been asked at the last meeting was, at these rates are we not able to find quality attorneys? We were told these are the rates of other cities. Then they are being overcharged,” said Joost.
Tom Beverly of OGC acknowledged that his office doesn’t employ outside counsel as often as it did during a stretch from 2001 through 2005. He also said JTA pays $250 an hour for outside counsel in condemnation cases. Beverly said the original rates were negotiated in 2001 as the local firms written into the contract included Austin & Austin, attorney Paul Harden and Smith Hulsey & Busey.
Since then, Austin & Austin has been paid $705,802.42, Harden $6,493.50 and Smith Hulsey & Busey $873,132.14.
“We have only recently used outside counsel for help on four cases,” said Beverly, adding his office will not employ outside counsel unless it absolutely has to.
Beverly also said the original fee increases were “negotiated compromises.” Joost said attorneys are not immune from the current economic downturn and he’s confident that quality legal representation can be found for the approved rates.
“Quite frankly, you ought to have a businessman negotiate the fees rather than lawyers,” said Joost. “My experience is they (attorneys) tend to agree with each other.”
Another facet of the bill was the use of local attorneys and law firms. Finance member Daniel Davis introduced that provision during the Feb. 2 meeting. However, there was some confusion regarding the formal inclusion of a local stipulation. Tuesday, the bill was clarified to include attorneys and firms in Duval County as well as the counties that abut Duval — Nassau, Clay, St. Johns and Baker. Those counties are the same ones included in the City’s Small and Emerging Business program, an initiative aimed at assuring small and minority-owned contractors are given equal opportunities to obtain City work.
Beverly said it’s likely any outside counsel hired would come from the five-county area since travel from anywhere outside of Northeast Florida may not be economically feasible for an attorney from Orlando or Tallahassee.
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