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Corporation Counsel warns of rising litigation costs, FOIL backlog and staffing pressure
Summary
Utica's corporation counsel described higher outside counsel and expert witness expenses, a large FOIL backlog and recruitment pressures for attorneys, saying those trends are driving legal budget increases.
Bill Borrell, the citycorporation counsel, told council members his office is facing rising costs from outside counsel, expert witnesses and increased litigation complexity.
Borrell and first assistant Zach Roar said the office has increased spending on contracted services and outside counsel because of complex post-COVID litigation and the need for expert witnesses. Roar gave a concrete example: “Ispent $18,000 in experts on that case,” describing a vehicle stop that involved a non-compliant passenger and a taser deployment. Borrell said the office…
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