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Committee members demand review of outside legal fees and contracts with Michael Joyce firm
Summary
Members said the district pays a long-running outside law firm more than $200,000 annually without a formal contract and criticized billing practices; the superintendent said some legal costs are covered under an indirect cost agreement and staff will provide budgeted amounts.
Several committee members raised sharp concerns on Nov. 10 about the district's use of outside counsel, highlighting the contract status and billing practices of Michael Joyce's law firm. One member said, "We pay that firm over $200,000 a year. We still have no contract with them," and added that billing practices included charging for emails at roughly $250 per quarter-hour.
Mister Dias and others asked whether public-records work and routine requests should be handled by the city's corporation counsel rather than high-cost private firms. "My opinion is that public records requests should be handled by the city's corporation counsel and not going to the big law firms," Dias said.
Superintendent Curley said the district pays legal fees for district-specific matters and described the indirect-cost arrangement: "So it's up to $40,000 of work for the attorney, and anything over we pay for. And then anytime they consult with outside outside legal, we pay for that." Committee members pressed for clarity on annual budgeted amounts for outside legal and whether a formal contract or controls exist; one member asked staff to provide the budget line and to explore alternative arrangements.
The committee did not approve any new contract or hire. Members requested that staff provide the amount budgeted for outside legal, the current contract status with Michael Joyce's firm, and any written policies governing when outside counsel is engaged.
