In his 12 years as Jacksonville's general counsel, Rick Mullaney grew fond of describing his team of attorneys as one of the city's most dynamic law firms.

He doted on the breadth of work, from utility regulation to real estate deals to representing the School Board and airport, and often said the variety was key to his attracting experienced legal talent from some of the area's most prestigious firms.

But even with a $9 million annual budget and about 40 attorneys whose salaries average just more than $100,000, the office led by Mullaney spent about $5 million on outside attorneys and consultants since 2000, records show.

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Some of the firms were hired for seemingly routine governmental matters, including "labor consultants" for personnel issues within the General Counsel's Office and "special taxation counsel" as the city was crafting different fee and tax structures the past three years. Fees vary, but can climb upwards of $300 an hour.

Cindy Laquidara, Mullaney's successor, has pledged to trim that part of the budget unless it's absolutely necessary.

"I said that every year for 12 years," said Mullaney, one of the leading candidates for mayor next year.

Laquidara said she'll run the numbers on hiring full-time attorneys for specific cases versus paying outside firms and then let the elected officials decide which path to take.

But the reality, Mullaney said, is that the office will have conflicts, need expertise in a specific area or have an out-of-town case where the office can better represent its client by hiring outside help.

And as Mullaney builds his campaign, he's getting a boost, in part from some of the firms who worked for the city during his tenure.

Not counting Foley and Lardner, whose attorneys contributed substantially to managing partner Kevin Hyde who has since dropped out of the race and endorsed Audrey Moran, about half the contributions from attorneys and firms who had city work went to Mullaney.

Looking at all of the more than $185,000 contributions from attorneys and law firms through the end of September, about a third went to Mullaney.

He said the amount of money in question is insignificant. He's raised more than $534,000 so far and touts his support from the medical and business communities, adding he has support spread far beyond the Jacksonville Bar.

The city only hired private firms when it was forced to or it made the best sense for the city, Mullaney said, and stressed there is absolutely no tie between city work and campaign support.

Defending decisions

On a handful of personnel matters within the office, Mullaney turned to a special labor consultant on contract to deal with severance issues.

The office tried to handle those situations in-house first, Mullaney said, but once an employee hired an attorney or it appeared the employee was going to sue, the consultant took over.

Laquidara, who took over for Mullaney in July, said she plans to keep personnel matters in-house.

The city also paid the Rogers Towers firm about $22,000 in 2006 to facilitate discussions about changes in the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department. The department had been fraught with litigation over hiring practices and promotional exam testing, and Mullaney said it was important to go outside on that matter to have an independent voice both parties trusted.

When it came time to buy land needed for Better Jacksonville Plan projects like the new courthouse, overpasses and road widenings, the city hired a team of firms to handle those transactions. At the time, the city had one attorney who specialized in eminent domain work, but the volume was so high and it was for such a short period that the city chose to go outside, Mullaney said.

And although the city often has tax issues, tax law is so specialized that the city doesn't need it enough to pay an attorney full-time, Mullaney said.

As a rule, Mullaney said he needed to weigh the potential exposure to the city and determine if it's worth spending a little more money to get an attorney who specialized in the field.

For example, in the dispute with Waste Management over the Trail Ridge Landfill, the contract was worth upward of $900 million, according to a City Council Auditor report.

As negotiations heated up in 2009, Mullaney said the city was going have to hire a firm with expertise in the area and it would cost more than $1 million.

The council chose to bid the contract, prompting a suit from Waste Management, and within just a few months, the legal bills were more than $450,000 from Tanner Bishop. When Mullaney went to the council for another $750,000, many on the council balked.

Rather than pay any more, the council voted to settle the case.

City Councilman Richard Clark was critical of the legal fees in February, saying he was concerned at how quickly the money was spent with much more work to be done. Clark said Friday he got a detailed explanation from the General Counsel's Office after making those comments and is satisfied the money was well spent.

It's about respect, support

Smith, Hulsey and Busey, one of the city's most prestigious law firms, is on the short list for many businesses looking for legal help.

Over the past 10 years, the city turned to it often, too.

The firm made more than $950,000 representing the city - more than any other firm. City records show 15 attorneys in the firm have made financial contributions - all of them to Mullaney. One also contributed to Moran.

Smith, Hulsey was the firm picked to lead the team on the Better Jacksonville Plan land acquisitions. It also got the call when developer Water Street Investors sued over an abandoned downtown hotel project and, because the developer was a client of Laquidara when she was in private practice, the city and the office had a conflict.

When Mullaney himself was sued by a Duval County School Board member in 2001 for his ruling requiring the board to bid school bus contracts, Mullaney turned to Smith, Husley.

Mullaney cited his ability to negotiate a lower hourly rate for the city as another example of looking out for taxpayers. And he bristled at any suggestion that contributions were tied to work for the city.

"It has nothing to do with their representation on eminent domain cases or Water Street," Mullaney said. "I think it has everything to do with my respect for them and their respect for me."

Fellow Republican candidate Moran, also an attorney, said she's not surprised attorneys hired by Mullaney's office are contributing to his campaign, calling it "the nature of politics."

"People like to support people who have supported them," Moran said.

Moran made a point of reaching out to the legal community last year, with her campaign sending a letter to attorneys from other local lawyers already backing her.

At that time, Hyde was still in the race and Mullaney was considering a run, as was Publisher Jim Bailey, whose Financial News and Daily Record newspaper has strong business ties with the legal community.

Hyde has since dropped out, but Bailey and Mullaney are in the race.

Among all attorneys who've contributed, Mullaney has 36 percent of the contributions. Moran is second with 22 percent. Mullaney and Moran are also 1-2 in overall fundraising.

Financial considerations

The next multimilliondollar threat to the city is a class-action suit from employees who say they were denied entry into the city pension plan when they didn't pass a physical exam.

The case came when Mullaney was still with the city and he assigned it to Laquidara.

Laquidara said the case is one the office likely would have farmed out in the past, but she feels she has enough staff and expertise to handle it in-house. Mullaney said it's impossible to say what he would have done with the case and had no immediate plans to hire an outside firm.

When larger cases come up that may require a five- or six-week trial, Laquidara said she'd consider hiring a full-time attorney for that role. With salary and benefits, that's less than $200,000 - less than four months of work from some of the $300-an-hour firms the city has been paying.

She'd present both options to the mayor and City Council, leaving what she calls a "policy decision for the elected officials to make."

Mullaney said that could leave the city with a longer-term salary and pension obligation that might be more expensive in the long run.

matt.galnor@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4550

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2010-12-12/story/city-general-co...