New Shoreham reappoints town solicitors; council discusses retainer and litigation billing

At its Jan. 8 meeting the New Shoreham Town Council voted to reappoint Robert Craven, Nick Solitro and James Callahan as town solicitors and to appoint Karen Browning of DeSoto Browning Law as land-use counsel.

Council members used the appointment discussion to press for clarity about the contract terms and billing practices for legal services, asking whether the existing retainer covers months with more than two meetings and which services are billed at litigation hourly rates.

"What happens when we have 4 or even 5 meetings in a month?" asked Council member Nance during the contract discussion. James Callahan replied that the firm has treated extra meetings as part of the retainer and does not charge additional fees for more frequent meetings: "It's still in the retainer... we've always treated that within our retainer. No extra charge." Nick Solitro added that court appearances and clearly litigation matters are billed separately at litigation rates and that the firm attempts to classify charges fairly.

The council also discussed related engagements: Tim Kavaza serves as the town's labor lawyer and is preparing a revised engagement letter; Ellen Corno remains the town's bond counsel. Solicitors said they will provide updated engagement letters where needed.

A motion to reappoint the solicitors was made and approved by voice vote; the transcript records ayes and no opposing votes. The council subsequently approved reappointing Karen Browning as land-use attorney.

The council asked that the town and counsel be explicit about which matters would be billed as litigation and which fall under the retainer going forward; counsel said they strive to bill litigation rates only for matters that are in or imminent for court and gave examples such as show-cause hearings and trials that had required travel to the island.