Legal Fees Report: June 2005 Analysis
Legal Fees Report: June 2005 Analysis
AGENDA
SAVE
INFORMATION 13.1 Office of the Superintendent of Schools MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS Rockville, Maryland September 13, 2005 MEMORANDUM To: From: Subject: Members of the Board of Education Jerry D. Weast, Superintendent of Schools Legal Fees Report for June 2005
This report covers expenditures for legal fees to outside counsel for the month of June 2005 and the fiscal year ending June 30, 2005. A complete set of bills submitted and paid to each firm is available for your review in the Board office. The charts in Attachment A compare current expenses with those from the same period last year and provide information on the following: Non-special education legal expenses by firm Special education expenses for outside counsel, parent attorney fees, and other miscellaneous charges Special education expenses by firm I also have provided, in Attachment B, a list of the categories that better reflects the type of legal advice and litigation services being provided to the Montgomery County Public Schools by outside law firms for nonspecial education matters. The categories in Attachment B are defined as follows: Personnel: Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) complaints, appeals by personnel Facilities: construction, capital projects, use of facilities Procurement: contracts, bids Student: appeals, subpoenas Policy: development, implementation, interpretation (includes regulations) Financial: expenditures, state aid Collective bargaining: negotiations, arbitration hearings, grievances Miscellaneous: many categories grouped together under one charge
Members of the Board of Education
September 13, 2005
Non-special education legal expenses The total charges for non-special education legal expenses in June 2005 were $128,894. The cumulative total for the twelve months of FY 2005 was $1,298,864. This is 30 percent higher than the amount in FY 2004. Unusually high one-time legal bills in May are responsible for the majority of this annual increase. The Venable bill for June totaled $65,530. The largest single amount ($53,275) was for facilities matters, including six cases all charged to capital projects. The largest facilities matter ($27,603) related to Oakland Terrace Elementary School. The next largest amount was for policy development matters totaling $7,941, all of which related to kindergarten admissions. Student issues totaled $2,230 of which $912 related to expulsions and suspensions. Collective bargaining issues totaled $1,913, and personnel matters totaled $171. The Reese and Carney bill for June totaled $61,730. The single largest amount ($31,770) was for policy development matters, of which the largest amount ($11,678) involved policy on the distribution of flyers. Facilities matters totaled $11,338, including eight cases charged to capital projects. The largest amount ($6,460) involved litigation concerning a leased out property. The next largest amount was for personnel matters totaling $6,345. The largest personnel amount ($3,760) related to a sex discrimination case. The next largest amount was for student matters totaling $5,028, of which $4,206 related to subpoenas of student records. Procurement matters totaled $2,209, the largest amount ($1,504) involved legal work for a license and distribution agreement. Financial matters totaled $329. Miscellaneous issues totaled $4,711 for the month of June, the largest part of which $2,102 related to general counsel duties. The Hogan and Hartson bill for June was $1,614, all relating to policy development issues. The largest amount ($1,109) was for policy issues related to facilities for graduation ceremonies. Additional invoices for June are being reviewed and will be noted in the next monthly report. Other charges in June for court reporters, hearing officers, and other legal services totaled $20 that related to student matters. Special education legal expenses Special education legal fees for outside counsel for June 2005 were $106,542. The total for FY 2005 of $879,460 is $233,181 (36 percent) higher than the previous fiscal year. Total special education legal costs for FY 2005 of $974,132 are $392,984 (68 percent) higher than the FY 2005 budgeted amount of $581,148. Legal settlement costs incurred in July ($48,009) and a case currently on appeal in the Supreme Court ($252,971) contributed to the higher level of legal costs in FY 2005. Hogan and Hartson accounted for $58,844 in charges for June involving a case on appeal in the Supreme Court.
Members of the Board of Education
September 13, 2005
Jeffrey A. Krew had charges of $36,599 in June, including work on eleven cases, seven of which involved administrative hearings ($21,621) three of which are on appeal in federal court ($14,005), and one on appeal in the Supreme Court ($400). In addition, there were charges for general special education matters ($572.94). Reese and Carney accounted for $11,099 in charges for June involving four cases, one of which involved an administrative hearing ($383) and one of which is on appeal in the Supreme Court ($826). If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Larry Bowers at 301-279-3626 or Dr. Marshall Spatz at 301-279-3547. JDW:LAB:MCS:sr Attachments
FY 2005 NON-SPECIAL-EDUCATION LEGAL EXPENSES
Outside Counsel GENERAL LEGAL EXPENSES Reese and Carney Hogan and Hartson Venable Miscellaneous SUBTOTAL Capital Budget TOTAL JULY $ 44,232 6,997 35,864 $ AUG 48,970 7,367 27,749 6,121 $ 90,207 22,603 $ 112,810 $ SEPT 42,184 2,520 39,542 5,878 $ 90,124 12,724 $ 102,848 $ OCT 27,960 7,115 22,992 3,280 61,347 12,677 74,024 $ NOV 27,830 4,169 10,304 663 42,966 12,696 55,662 $ DEC 32,210 2,365 2,377 4,774 41,726 21,369 63,095 $ JAN 44,558 7,012 23,774 140 75,484 23,311 98,795 $ FEB 37,514 9,495 7,560 4,724 59,293 20,176 79,469 $ MAR 51,464 9,983 17,083 $ APR 27,337 1,033 6,649 413 35,432 38,173 73,605 $ MAY 59,915 164,328 13,917 4,399 242,559 43,274 285,833 $ JUNE 50,493 1,614 12,254 20 64,381 64,513 128,894 FY 2005 YTD FY 2004 YTD 494,667 223,998 220,065 30,412 $ 969,142 329,722 $ 1,298,864 $ $ 374,707 115,836 223,022 45,324 758,889 239,837 998,726 % Inc/(Dec) 32.01% 93.38% -1.33% -32.90% 27.71% 37.48% 30.05%
87,093 22,414 $ 109,507
$ $ $
$ $
$ $
$ $
$ $
78,530 35,792 $ 114,322
$ $
$ $
$ $
$ $
FY 2005 SPECIAL EDUCATION LEGAL EXPENSES
Type of Cost SPECIAL EDUCATION LEGAL COSTS Special Education Outside Counsel Hearing Officers, Court Reporters, Misc. * Parent Attorney Fees Other Settlement Costs TOTAL Outside Counsel ATTORNEYS Reese and Carney Blum, Yumkas, etc. Hogan and Hartson Knight, Manzi, Nussbaum, LaPlaca Venable Jeffrey Krew TOTAL JULY $ 30,233 1,203 160 48,009 79,605 JULY 3,278 $ AUG 85,037 1,671 2,436 6,018 95,162 AUG 44,383 $ SEPT 39,015 2,106 31,018 72,139 SEPT 14,239 $ OCT 43,727 140 $ NOV 63,786 32 $ DEC 68,905 190 $ JAN 58,416 273 $ FEB 47,549 82 73 47,704 FEB 22,526 7,105 105 64,005 68,905 52,034 58,416 17,813 47,549 MAR $ 101,768 239 $ APR 91,587 266 $ MAY 142,895 336 $ JUNE 106,542 420 FY 2005 YTD FY 2004 YTD $ 879,460 6,958 2,669 85,045 974,132 $ 646,279 6,008 70,607 120,890 843,784 % Inc/(Dec) 36.08% 15.81% -1130.79% -596.62% 15.45% % Inc/(Dec) 28.28%
43,867 OCT 5,900
63,818 NOV 5,709
69,095 DEC 4,900
58,689 JAN 6,382
$ 102,007 MAR 8,312 63,649
91,853 APR 19,037 41,170
143,231 MAY 12,742 79,232
106,962 JUNE 11,099 58,844
FY 2005 YTD FY 2004 YTD $ 158,507 250,000 555 470,398 879,460 $ 123,562
450 26,955 30,233 40,654 85,037 24,776 39,015 37,827 43,727 57,627 63,786
29,807 $ 101,768
31,380 91,587
50,921 142,895
36,599 106,542
11,193 21,998 489,526 646,279
-8.61% -3.91% 36.08%
ATTACHMENT B
STATISTICS FOR JUNE 2005 LEGAL FEES EXCLUDING SPECIAL EDUCATION
Category
Personnel
Total Charge
$6,516
Firm
Reese & Carney Venable Reese & Carney Venable Reese & Carney Venable Other Reese & Carney Hogan & Hartson Venable Reese & Carney Venable Reese and Carney Reese and Carney
Charges by Firm
$6,345 171 11,338 53,275 5,028 2,230 20 31,770 1,614 7,941 329
Facilities
64,613
Student
7,278
Policy Development
41,325
Financial
329
Collective Bargaining Procurement Miscellaneous
1,913 2,209 4,711
1,913 2,209 4,711
TOTAL
$128,894
