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Board approves five-firm legal roster and discusses on-call counsel use
Summary
After an RFQ the board approved a two-year pre-qualified roster of five law firms to cover the district's varied legal needs; trustees discussed specialization, impartiality, occasional in-person counsel and cost controls.
The board approved contract awards to establish a roster of pre-qualified legal service providers on March 12, 2025, authorizing staff to engage firms for specialized education, labor, facilities and transactional work.
Staff said nine proposals were received and five firms were recommended for the district roster to provide a range of legal specializations. Board members acknowledged the need for objective, apolitical legal advice, and discussed trade-offs between keeping a single general counsel on staff versus retaining specialized outside counsel as needed. Several trustees asked that staff use the roster strategically and consider having lawyers present for a handful of higher-risk or legally complex agenda items.
The board approved two-year contracts (with options to extend) for the recommended firms. Trustees also asked staff to clarify which firm(s) would be used for discrete practice areas and to minimize duplicative use of outside counsel on the same matter.
