Trustees table decision on legal counsel after presentations from Sugarman & Susskind and Pedro Herrera

The City of New Smyrna Beach Police Officers' Retirement Plan trustees heard rival presentations from Sugarman & Susskind and Pedro Herrera and decided to delay choosing legal counsel until their next quarterly meeting. Chair (speaker 1) described three options the board received: remain with Sugarman & Susskind, move to Herrera at Jones Walker, or issue an RFP for other firms.

David Robinson, a partner at Sugarman & Susskind, emphasized the firm's long experience representing public pension plans and offered what he described as a transitional concession: "we have offered ... a 25% fee reduction" to give trustees a low‑risk way to continue with the incumbent firm. Pedro Herrera, who said he left his prior firm to join Jones Walker, described Jones Walker as a larger national platform with additional back‑office support and said roughly 48 prior clients had followed him to the new firm. "I did decide to leave my prior firm," Herrera said, explaining that the move was driven by resources and support needs.

Trustees asked about transition costs, whether prior legal advice would be backed by the new firm, and whether the board had hired an individual or the firm; Robinson told trustees that any malpractice or professional responsibility concerns would rest with the attorney who gave the advice. After discussion about due diligence and the small number of trustees present, Trustee (speaker 4) moved to table the item until the next meeting when more members could participate; the motion passed and Sugarman & Susskind remains counsel until formally replaced.