How can taxpayers know “whether we got our money’s worth” when lawyer doesn't disclose what he did for the money?
Statement
presented to the Town Council, October 7, 2013:
The
Town of Charlestown spends tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars every year on
legal costs. We have a right to know
where the money went, how it was used and whether we got our money’s worth.
Since
January 1, 2013, Charlestown has used the services of six different
attorneys - Peter Ruggiero, Robert
Craven, Joseph Larisa, bond counsel services through Moses Afonso Ryan Ltd, Dan
Kinder and John Mancini.
Attorney
Ruggiero’s bills provide a detailed breakdown of his time spent doing work
for the town. The bills include the
hourly rate, the amount of time spent, and a description of what the work was
related to. His bills explain how much
was spent on outside experts, and also the time his colleagues spent on
Charlestown matters. The taxpayers know exactly what we are paying for.
Attorney
Larisa’s bills also provide explanation and detail.
Charlestown
had one
bill from Attorney Kinder, who handles labor-management issues, for
$427.50. His services were only used
once and his bill included a breakdown of time spent and the matter that was
covered.
Moses
Afonso Ryan Ltd, Bond Counsel, also submitted
one bill for $9,225.00. This bill
included how much the town paid for each of the leases and loans investigated.
The
final bills presented were from the law offices of Michael Kelly for Attorney
John Mancini. There were two
bills submitted, each for $17,500 for a total of $35,000. On the first
invoice dated May 28, 2013, the description states “this amount will be applied as a retainer towards our fees as well as
towards the expert’s fees.”
The
second bill, dated July 15, 2013, requests the second payment of $17,500 and
notes, “The same will be applied to the
payment of legal fees, expenses and fees for the chosen experts.” No other detail was given.
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| Attorney John O. Mancini - What did he do for that $35,000? |
The
Engagement
of Legal Services letter dated May 14, 2013 and signed by Attorney Mancini
states, “My billing rate for this type of
matter is $275.00 per hour. The billing
rate for any of our associates shall be between $200.00 per hour and $225.00
per hour and $110.00 to $125.00 per hour for services provided by paralegals
and legal associates.”
The letter continues, “If payment is not received on an outstanding invoice within 30 days,
interest will be added at the rate of 12% per annum.”
The taxpayers are also paying a flat fee of the equivalent of 6% of the total invoice in lieu of charging for phone calls, postage, copies and other miscellaneous expenses.
The taxpayers are also paying a flat fee of the equivalent of 6% of the total invoice in lieu of charging for phone calls, postage, copies and other miscellaneous expenses.
[From Mancini's retainer contract] “The town will
be responsible for out-of-pocket expenses such as filing fees, printing and
copying. Additionally, the Town will pay
any and all fees and expenses for reports and testimony as may be necessary, in
a timely manner. These
charges will be direct expenses and will be itemized on the invoice. We will send a monthly invoice for our
services which shall itemize the time expended and any fees or costs incurred
on the Town’s behalf. If an
expense is significant, we may ask the Town of Charlestown for payment of this
expense in advance.”
Neither of these two bills, meet the terms outlined in the letter of agreement, and four months is plenty of time to submit an itemized bill.
According to the records provided, the Town made the second payment of $17,500 to Mr. Mancini on July 31, 2013 for a bill that once again tells us nothing about what we actually paid for. How much was spent on legal work and at what rate? $275.00 per hour? $200.00 per hour? $110.00 per hour? How much went towards paying for expert reports and testimony? Who are these experts? Will we receive copies of any reports we paid for?
If
you took your car in for repair and were handed a bill for $5,000 that simply
stated, “For fees”, would you pay it, or would you ask for a breakdown of what
your $5,000 went towards? I feel
confident most people would want to know what exactly they were paying
for. Was it the brakes? A new transmission? How much was the cost of labor? If you’re writing the check and the money is
coming out of your pocket, you’d want to know.
This
$35,000 is coming out of all of our pockets.
We have a right to know what exactly our $35,000 paid for. The bills note some of this money went
towards experts fees. Who are these
experts? How much were they paid of this
$35,000? On what days did they perform
services and for many hours?
What days
did Atty. Mancini perform services? How
much time did he spend performing these services? Was it him or a paralegal? We don’t know. The bills violate the terms of the Letter of
Agreement.
I
am asking the Council to support transparency in the legal bills submitted by
Atty. John Mancini. I am asking that his
bills mirror the same level of transparency provided by the other 5 attorneys
that represent Charlestown.
I ask that
the Council request a breakdown of the services provided by Atty. Mancini that
supports the $35,000 expenditure of taxpayer money.