At the last coucil meeting, the City authorized more fees to the lawyers representing the City in the case of Strategic Alliance Group vs. City of Linden, et als. This case began in 2003. We have paid that law firm over a million dollars to date.
Our city attorney, Ed Kologi, who has referred to himself as the "overseer", has made remarks that the City hires outside counsel whose hourly rates are considerably less than what these law firms would charge a private client. Why would this be? I have my own suspicions, but let's pretend for a minute that these lawyers see themselves as a special friend to their taxpayer-funded clients and therefore cut their rates in half out of love.
A search on the internet reveals a "Report and Recommendation" entered by the U.S. District Court in this case. Read it carefully and you can draw your own conclusions as to whether the City gets a bargain for our taxpayer money. Note the missed deadlines and the Court's findings as to the Certifications filed by Linden's outside counsel.
Report and Recommendation here.
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4 comments:
It's a freaking joke for anyone to beleive that these lawyers will work at such a cut-rate. Where do we find them ... at the back of the Municipal Court room scrounging for clients?
I was never a believer in an attorney that charges $185 per hour, which is practically unheard of. No attorney worth their salt charges those low rates, especially if they have a specialty. Once an attorney developes a specialty, it goes against the grain to charge less than or equal to half their hourly rates. IT MAKES NO SENSE NO MATTER HOW KOLGOI WANTS TO SELL IT. This is not the first time a Judge questioned a lawyer's motivation and I wrote about it a while ago because we use that particular law firm as well. Let me go look it up.
The other case and I blogged about in an October 10, 2009 post. See linked Opinion and what the Judge had to say about Dan McCarthy and another law firm that we still retain.
Then there's DaTruthSquad case, as well and Dan McCarthy remains on our payroll. When you pursue and lose a basic First Amendment case, as long as the overseer says it's OK ... He's is BARGAIN!
Theoretically-why can't hired outside counsels cut their hourly rate in half and then pad the bill for twice the hours worked, as long as the city counsel is on board with the scam. Seems like an easy ploy.
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