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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 17 Retaining of Special Legal Counsel for State Road 50 Community Redevelopment Agency Matters : FOLEY AGENDA ITEM COVER SHEET Meeting Date: March 15,2005 11 Item # Contact Name: Contact Number: Paul E. Rosenthal, City Attorney 407 -244-3248 Reviewed By: Department Director: City Manager: Paul E. Rosenthal, Ci: Attomey ~ Subject: Retaining of Special Legal Counsel for State Road 50 Community Redevelopment Ageney Matters Background Summary: The City has retained HHI to provide services in connection with the establishment of the proposed SR 50 Community Redevelopment Agency. The Cardwell Law Firm, which has recognized expertise in community redevelopment matten, is part of the HIll team. The City Attorney and City Manager have concluded that it would be in the best interests of the City to have David Cardwell of the Cardwell Law Firm serve as special counsel to assist the City in matten related to the proposed CRA. Mr. Cardwell's hourly rate is $200. Associates in his finn would be billed at $175/hour. Issue: Should the City Commission retain The Cardwell Law Firm as special counsel to the City on matters related to the proposed SR 50 Community Redevelopment Agency? . . . Recommendations The City Attorney recommends that the City Commission retain The Cardwell Law Firm as special counsel to the City on matten related to the proposed SR 50 Community Redevelopment Agency and authorize execution of an engagement agreement by the City Manager. Attachments: Draft of Engagement Letter Financial Impact: Additional expenses will be incurred by the City for legal services associated with the fonnation of the SR 50 Community Redevelopment Agency. Type of Item: o Public Hearing o Ordinance First Reading o Ordinance First Reading o Resolution xxO Commission Approval o Discussion & Direction For Clerk's DeDt Use: o Consent Agenda o Public Hearing o Regular Agenda ~"'>e!-"'~" o Original Document/Contract Attached for Execution by City Clerk o Original Document/Contract Held by Department for Execution Reviewed by City Attorney Paul E. Rosenthal Reviewed by Finance Dept. Reviewed by ( ) ~..",e.A~oiI o NJA o N/A o N/A : FOLEY FOLEY & LARDNER LLP ATTORNEYS AT LAW MEMORANDUM CLIENT.MATTER NUMBER 020377..0658 TO: FROM: DATE: RE: The Honorable Mayor and City Connnissioners Paul E. Rosenthal, Esq., City Attorney March 7,2005 Retaining of Special Legal Counsel for State Road 50 Connnunity Redevelopment Agency Matters Staff Reggr! ISSUE: Should the City Connnission retain The Cardwell Law Firm as special counsel to the City on matters related to the proposed SR 50 Community Redevelopment Agency? . . BACKGROUNDIDISCUSSIQN The City has retained HHI to provide services in connection with the establishment of the proposed SR 50 Community Redevelopment Agency. The Cardwell Law Firm, which has recognized expertise in community redevelopment matters, is part of the mn team However, the scope of services between Mr. Cardwell and .HHI is limited. The City Attorney and staff would like to expand the scope of Mr. Cardwell's representation and allow for a direct relationship with the City as the client, rather than as a subcontractor ofHlll. The retaining of David Cardwell would compliment the legal services provided by the City Attorney in connection with the CRA. The addition of Mr. Cardwell to our team would allow the City to more effectively negotiate necessary agreements with Orange County and with developers who may wish to enter into redevelopment agreements with the City. The City Attorney and City Manager have concluded that it would be in the best interests of the City to have David Cardwell of The Cardwell Law Firm serve as special counsel to assist the City in matters related to the proposed CRA. Mr. Cardwell's hourly rate is $200. Associates in his firm would be billed at $175/hour. Mr. Cardwell is currently serving as special counsel to the City of Maitland in connection with its CRA ~ ~,e.AtY')" of March 6, 2005 Paul Rosenthal Foley & Lardner Re: City of Ocoee; Community Redevelopment; Speci sel Services Dear Paul: This letter follows up on our recent telephont\..CI Hall on March 1 st regarding the City of Ocoee (the "€hy") re "Firm") to advise the City with respect to th ise 0 within the community redevelopment area in th s Statutes (the "Redevelopment Act"). discussion at City I Law Firm (the . t powers 63, Florida ed pursuant to this engagement ments of the Redevelopment h property owners and questeq'il your or your designee, intent, development agreements s of representatives of the City, elopers; when requested by the you or your r public bodies; and (vi) responding to application of the Redevelopment Act and with you and will be undertaken only when of our serv resentatives gm upon ill be d,inated with you as the City\ Attorney and any other e City>e:g., the City Manager. Our representation of the City on tAT approval of these terms of engagement. The purp.~t this~'fter is to set forth the terms of our engagement as special legal counsel and to provig~ .you certain information concerning our fees, billing and collection policies, and other tefln~!inat will govern our relationship. Although we do not wish to be overly formal in our relationship with you, we have found it a helpful practice to confirm with our clients the nature and terms of our representation. Attached to this letter are the Firm's standard terms of engagement. Please review these and let me know if you have any questions concerning our policies. Our fees for handling this matter will be based on customarily assigned hourly billing rates to the attorneys, legal assistants or other professionals working on this matter from time to Paul E. Rosenthal March 6, 2005 Page 2 time. I will be primarily handling this matter and my current hourly billing rate is $200. Should other attorneys associated with the Firm be needed, then I will so recommend that they be included at their billing rate of $175 per hour. Any costs (e.g., travel, long distance telephone, copying) incurred by the Firm in the course of this engagement will be billed in addition to our fees. 0 . ings for this matter will be submitted to you shortly after the end of each calendar month s provided and costs incurred during the preceding month. If you would prefer so form d timing of billing, please let me know. Any travel costs will be billed in a ith the limits set forth in Section 112.061(6), Florida Statutes, or such other limits he City. If the terms described above and in the att you and the City, please so indicate by having t the City and return a copy of this letter to me. We look forward to working with you. e satisfactory to re~lfntative of s. Ap B ,2005. TERMS OF ENGAGEMENT We appreciate your decision to retain The Cardwell Law Firm as your legal counsel. This document explains how we work, our obligations to you, your obligations to us, what we will do on your behalf, and how our charges will be determined and billed. Experience has shown that an understanding of these matters will contribute to a better relationship between us, and that in turn makes our efforts more productive. Our engagement and the services that we will pro you are limited to the matter identified in the accompanying letter. Any changes in e Qur representation as described in the letter must be approved in writing. We wi services of a strictly legal nature related to the matters described in that letter. ide us with the factual information and materials we require to perform the se~it ~~tifie tl:11!t e letter, and you will make such business or technical decisions and dete[.t'Jl'rt~H 1ts are apff iate. You will not rely on us for business, investment, or accoun . decisions, or expect investigate the character or credit of persons or entities wi yo ay be dealing, g,.lotherwise specified in the letter. representation, several n which we represent a In addition to legal fees, our statements will include out-of-poc hav advanced on your behalf and our internal charges (which may exceed allocated overhead expenses) for certain support activities. Advanced expen will include such items as travel, postage, filing, recording, certification, and r fees charged by governmental bodies. Our internal charges typically include suc' ms as toll calls, facsimile transmissions, overnight courier services, certain charges for te inal time for computer research and complex document production, and charges for photocopying materials sent to the client or third parties or required for our use. We may request an advance cost deposit when we expect that we will be required to incur substantial costs on behalf of the client. We outsource to a printing/coping firm (e.g., Kinkos) for printing or copying of documents that exceed 50 pages in length. We will bill you the actual cost charged by that firm for those print or copy jobs. Terms of Engagement Page 2 During the course of our representation, it may be appropriate to hire third parties to provide services on your behalf. These services may include such things as consulting or testifying experts, investigators, providers of computerized support, and court reporters. Because of the legal "work product" protection afforded to services that an attorney requests from third parties, in certain situations our firm may assume responsibility for retaining the appropriate service providers. Even if we do so, however, you will be responsible for paying all fees and expenses directly to the service providers or reimbursing us for these <::;~penses. Billing. We bill periodically throughout the en and our periodic statements are due when rendered. If 0 amount of our time devoted to the matter, our statemen statements contain a concise summary of each matter fOf fee is charged.i~ a particular matter, are ba d primarily on the :rendered monthly. Our . ces are rendered and a Regardless of the actual time sp~ any service is 6 minutes or 1/10 of an hdttr communication is now b e-mail, we bill for e-mail m do not bill for e-mail messages that are solely inquin Also recognizing the significant use . cemail messag voice messages received or left by us. time for ey client . ed or sent if stantive. We a us, availability or scheduling. also bill for lengthy substantive r, we reserve the right to paid within 30 days from the percent per month (a 15 percent e date he statement until it is paid in full. on an individual statement basis. Any ,e apf)lie to the oldest outstanding statement. We e~tlOn activities are necessary. servIces. customary fo formats we have We invite you to discuss freely with us any questions any matter. We want our clients to be satisfied with es and, e reasonableness of the fees that we charge for those rovid€ as much billing information as you require and in such t you des , and are willing to discuss with you any of the various billing able th~~!best suits your needs. Relationships with Other Clients During the term of this engagement, we agree that we will not accept representation of another client to pursue interests that are directly adverse to your interests unless and until we make full disclosure to you of all the relevant facts, circumstances, and implications of our undertaking the two representations, and confirm to you in good faith that we have done so and that the following criteria are met: (i) there is no substantial relationship between any matter in which we are representing or have represented you and the matter for the other client; (ii) any confidential information that we have received from you will not be available to the lawyers and other The Cardwell Law Firm personnel involved in the Terms of Engagement Page 3 representation of the other client; (iii) our effective representation of you and the discharge of our professional responsibilities to you will not be prejudiced by our representation of the other client; and (iv) the other client has also consented in writing based on our full disclosure of the relevant facts, circumstances, and implications of our undertaking the two representations. If the foregoing conditions are satisfied, you agree that we may undertake the adverse representation and that all conflict issues will be deemed to have been resolved or waived by you. Terminaje11 representation a , or upon spip will end uW s you and we atf~rs. We hope, of course, that able at will by either of us. The . on to pay fees and expenses By making this agreement, we are establishing th exercise of your right under applicable ethical rules to object client whose interests are adverse to yours. If you contest in confirmation to you that the specified criteria have been reasonably supporting those facts. Upon completion of the matt earlier termination of our relationship, the attorney-c have expressly agreed to a continuation with respect to such a continuation will be the case. epresentation is t termination of the representation will inate your 0 incurred prior to the termination. Your terms and conditi resolve any differences relationship. is engagement consti s your acceptance of the foregoing is unacceptable to you, please advise us now so that we can c , c~.fjlete, and consistent understanding of our