Portsmouth council to hold public hearing on paying for $450,000 in outside legal fees

PORTSMOUTH — The City Council is slated to hold a public hearing Monday, Dec. 18 on the city administration’s request to spend $450,000 from city surplus funds to pay outside legal fees.

The council voted unanimously earlier this month to hold the public hearing on City Manager Karen Conard’s request to use the monies to pay the bills from two outside legal firms the city hired.

The city agreed to pay both the lead attorneys from two outside firms in excess of $600 per hour for their work, according to documents obtained by Seacoast Media Group through a Right to Know request.

The city hired the law firms to help them with two lawsuits they’re facing, including litigation regarding the McIntyre federal building, according to a memo from Conard to the City Council and other city documents.

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“The city is involved in two complex litigation matters that are being handled by outside counsel and require additional funds,” Conard said. “These matters are the City v. SoBow Square (the McIntyre litigation in the Superior Court’s Business Court that sits in the Hillsborough Northern District Superior Court in Manchester) and Banfield Road LLC v. the City, et al., (an environmental claim filed against the City and several other parties in Federal Court).”

Conard told the council the city hired law firm Hinckley Allen to represent it in the McIntyre-related lawsuit and the McLane law firm to work for the city in the Banfield Road litigation.

“In these two matters, there is no dedicated fund from which to pay the ongoing monthly invoices from outside counsel,” Conard said. “Both matters were initiated in the spring of this year, after the budget was published and before the litigation was significantly underway.”

She told the council Dec. 4 the $450,000 figure is believed to be the total from the two firms through the end of the city’s fiscal year.

City Councilor Kate Cook asked during that meeting, "When we have a litigation that could be longer term because of court scheduling in the future, will we be budgeting for any litigation?”

Conard replied “we will” and City Attorney Susan Morrell added “if we have that information in advance for the budget upcoming.”

“Next year we’ll have a good idea for these two cases,” she said during the Dec. 4 meeting. “But these two cases were not running at the time we did our budget for the current fiscal year.”

City Councilor John Tabor also asked for “a rough breakout” of how much of the $450,000 was going toward the McIntyre case and how much was aimed at the Banfield Road litigation.

Morrell said she could provide that information, but preferred not to because “it could reveal some strategy to the extent that the amount that’s going to be assessed on either one of these could reflect the work that’s going to be going into it.”

After the public hearing slated for Dec. 18, the council will still have to vote to decide whether or not to spend the $450,000.

The city hired the outside law firms despite having an experienced group of attorneys on staff.

They include City Attorney Morrell, former City Attorney Robert Sullivan (who now works part-time), Deputy City Manager and regulatory counsel Suzanne Woodland, Senior Assistant City Attorney Jane Ferrini and Deputy City Attorney Trevor McCourt.

Reached Monday, Mayor Deaglan McEachern said the city “looks to avoid litigation whenever possible, especially when we need to hire outside counsel, because of what they cost.”

Asked why not rely on the city’s Legal Department for the cases, he said, “I think when it comes to zoning issues and matters that are dealt with in municipal government on a regular basis, they would have the full confidence to do that.”

But he said both of the cases require “lawyers who are experts in litigation.”

“Although they might be familiar with McIntyre, I don’t think anybody (on staff) necessarily views themselves at litigation specialists,” McEachern said. “I yearn for a day where we’re not constantly in high-stakes litigation, but that day is not today.”

Top litigation attorneys receive the hourly fees the attorneys hired by the city are getting, he said.

“We want the best outcomes, whatever that is going to be for Portsmouth,” he said.

He stressed the council will work “to put Portsmouth in the best position financially and legally as we can.”

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth to hold public hearing on paying $450K in legal fees