Budget committee approves addendum allowing parish to bill for a law clerk under Neal firm; vote 6-3

The Terrebonne Parish Budget and Finance Committee approved an addendum to the parish’s 2024 legal-services contract with Michelle Lyons Neal LLC to permit billing for a law clerk at a lower rate than attorney billings. The committee vote was 6 in favor, 3 opposed.

Parish Attorney Michelle Lyons Neal told the committee the change would allow the law firm to bill the parish for work by a law clerk at a lower hourly rate (described at the meeting as $80 per hour) for appropriate tasks, while attorney work would continue to be billed at attorney rates. Neal said the arrangement could free attorney time for higher-value work and reduce overall billings for some matters.

Neal presented recent billing figures to illustrate savings: general-government billables were reported at about $2 million for 2023, about $640,000 for 2024, and roughly $203,000 year-to-date through May 2025 for general government work; risk-management billables were discussed separately. Neal said a candidate the firm had identified, referred to during the meeting as Mr. Maguire, was studying for the bar and was expected to work part time; she gave estimates that 20 hours per week through October could cost about $25,000 and 30 hours would cost about $38,500 through October, with longer-term annual estimates provided as context.

Committee members asked whether the addendum required a budget amendment; Neal said the work would fall within existing service budgets and that the contract modification was needed because the current contract specified billing only by attorneys. Several members commended Neal and county staff for reducing legal spending overall; opponents expressed concern that adding a billed staff position could increase costs if workloads rise.

The committee approved the addendum by roll call, 6-3. The motion to approve was moved by Councilman Danny Babin and seconded by Councilman Champagne. The committee record shows follow-up steps for adapting billing and for possible future hiring decisions dependent on the candidate’s acceptance and admission to the bar.

Ending: The addendum was approved and will allow the firm to bill a law clerk rate under the amended contract; committee members said they expect to monitor actual billings against the projections presented at the meeting.