ARE YOU ON BOARD?
Boardmanship Insights
Tips for hiring a park district or forest preserve attorney
Dr. Ted Flickinger
IAPD Executive Director
Lawyers don't come cheap, but in todays economy they
are much more competitive and some will be receptive to
money-saving payments from park districts. However, before you negotiate with attorneys, you must understand
one basic point: It's no bargain to hire an attorney who
lacks experience in park district law or who is rarely accessible. Fred S. Steingold practices law in Ann Arbor, Mich.,
and is the author of The Legal Guide for Starting and Running a Small Business, published by Nolo Press. Some of
his ideas shared here are adaptable to park districts.
1. Volume Discounts. An attorney who regularly charges
$125 an hour might charge $100 an hour if you guarantee 80 hours of legal work. If your attorney represents more
than one park district, you should explore with the attorney sharing costs with other agencies for research or other
work products of common interest or concern.
2. Contingent Fees. If you're trying to collect a bill or
obtain compensation for a broken contract, maybe your
attorney will accept a contingent fee which is usually one-third of the money recovered — only if he collects the
money due. However, the attorney will expect out-of-pocket
costs. As an alternative, some attorneys might consider
charging one-half of their regular fee per hour, plus 20
percent of the monies recovered.
3. Fixed Fees. This is usually appropriate for the completion of a specific legal project. Instead of an hourly fee, the
park district would agree to a fixed amount to handle a
transaction. For some transactions, your attorney has collected a library of legal forms that can be adapted to your
park district.
4. Ceilings. In this situation, your attorney will agree to
charge on an hourly basis, but not to exceed a predetermined ceiling on fees. We caution that such a ceiling system works well only if you clearly define the total job your
attorney is expected to complete. The attorney will absorb
the extra time if a job takes longer than expected.
5. Budgets. Some attorneys will not work with ceilings,
but they will provide you with a budget of the estimated
costs associated with various steps in stages of a case or
project (such as investigation, research, preparation of
kwsuit papers, pre-trial discovery and trial). Some procedures are more important than others, and your attorney can advise you as to where time and money can be
saved.
6. Retainers. Some attorneys will agree to be on-call,
attend board meetings and other duties for a flat, monthly
fee.
Pay is a big issue, but the park district attorney is an
invaluable member of your agency's team. In the paragraphs that follow, we hear from Robert W Roiek, partner with the law firm ofAncel, Glink, Diamond, Cope
& Bush, PC. and a former director of the Round Lake
Area Park District for 15 years. Roiek shares some issues
to consider when hiring a park district or forest preserve
attorney.
Rolek serves as counsel to many Illinois park districts,
school districts and municipalities. He is a co-author of
the Handbook on Illinois Park District Law, 3rd Edition,
which is available with a companion CD-Rom from the
Illinois Association of Park Districts. His firm is an Ambassador-level member of the Friends of Illinois Parks.
Roles of an Attorney
In order to make efficient use of park district counsel,
it is important to ensure that the personalities of the staff
and the board and the attorney match and that all parries understand the role of the attorney. That is, the
attorney works for the board, although the director and
staff are most likely to have direct contact on a day-today basis. The board, staff and attorney should decide
who will contact the attorney and whether the attorney
is required to communicate to the director when a board
member contacts them. Also, it is important that the
board understands that it is not cost-effective for every
board member to have access to the attorney. All questions, except those pertaining to the director, should be
channeled through the director or staff whenever possible or to the board president or a designated board
member.
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It is important that
the board understands that it is not
cost-effective for
every board
member to have
access to the
attorney.
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6/Illinois Parks and Recreation
BOARDMANSHIP INSIGHTS
Knowledge of Parks and Recreation
The park district attorney should also have some knowledge of parks and recreation. A potential attorney should
be asked what he or she does for recreation to give a park
district an idea of how practical their advice will be. It is
one thing to give legal opinions. It is another thing to
make legal opinions work so a park district can achieve its
goals.
Does your attorney attend state and national conferences and are they up on the cutting-edge of legal changes
in the recreation field?
Legal Knowledge
Park district counsel should be familiar with the following eight areas, which are specifically related to parks
and recreation.
• Conducting the Business of the Park District (Record
Keeping, Open Meetings Act, Freedom of Information
Act, Ordinances, Resolutions and Motions)
• Required Annual Actions (Budget Appropriate Ordinance, Truth in Taxation Hearing, Tax Levy, Prevailing
Wage Ordinance, Publication of Meeting Dates, Park
District Financing)
• Employment (Employees Right to Review Personal
Records, Hiring of Employees, Conditions of Drug and
Alcohol Testing, Termination of Employees, Collective
Bargaining, Fair Labor Standards Act)
• Property (Acquisition of Property, Lease of Property, Tax
Exemption, Disposal, Governmental Property Transfer
Act)
• Construction Practices (Hiring Engineers/Architects,
Interest in Contracts, Economic Disclosure Requirements,
Public Works Contracts)
• Tort Immunities
• Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
• Intergovernmental Cooperation Act
• Gift Ban Act
• Investment Policy
Size of the Law Firm
From a cost-effective perspective, it is very hard for a
sole practitioner or a small law firm that does not have any
other park districts or governmental entities as clients to
serve a park district well. Although it can be done and
may save the local park district dollars in paying a local
attorney a lower fee, this arrangement should be weighed
against me long-range costs of a park district. Often a park
district attorney who has several park district clients can
demonstrate a less expensive method or a more efficient
and effective way of implementing policy.
Legislative Influence
A park district attorney should also serve as legislative
lobbyist under certain circumstances. An attorney who has
contacts with his or her local elected officials as well as
administrative contacts with various state agencies is also a
plus for a park district.
Communication
Does your attorney distribute regular white paper reports or summary reports of new legislation and new case
law developments? Does the firm produce a newsletter or
other informational brochures that would help the park
district and staff in their decision-making?
A park district attorney should be required, without
charge, to meet with new board members on an annual
basis or immediately after an election or appointment for a
briefing on the legal role of a board member.
Does your attorney attend your big events (e.g., dedications and ground-breakings) ? Is your attorney knowledgeable about your long-range plans and what you are trying
to accomplish in the short-term? Does your attorney know
the politics of your area?
Compensation: Retainer Versus Hourly Rate
If a retainer is preferred (although this is not the more
common practice in the state of Illinois), it should include:
attendance at a certain number of meetings per year, a review of the budget and appropriation ordinances, the taxation hearing documents, the tax levy ordinance, the prevailing wage ordinance and any other required ordinances
or administrative procedures. It should also include phone
calls if no research or written response is required. Litigation
is always billed separately as well as a flat-fee billing for all
bond work.
If an hourly rate is preferred, it should be clarified up-front whether phone calls are charged or whether answers
to questions that are quickly referenced or
known by the attorney are chargeable. It is
also recommended that on an annual basis
you meet with your attorney and review the
billing and what areas of assistance were the
most commonly charged. This will help the
attorney and director to train staff to lessen
the economic impact on specific legal issues.
Although park district law is a serious business, it often brings up very unusual situations or problems. A park district attorney
with a good sense of humor is always important in minimizing the tension and issues. In
summary, a park district attorney is no longer
simply someone who quotes the law but
rather someone who is "counsel at law." The
best attorneys work to achieve specific goals
and have knowledge of their clients' needs
and objectives. •
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Often a park district
attorney who has
several park
district
clients can
demonstrate a less
expensive method or
a more efficient and
effective way of
implementing policy.
|
September/October 2000 / 7