Comments on Advance Indiana™: City Attorney Calls Linehan Decision Weak; Plans To Spend More Tax Dollars On An Appeal

I would add that B&T would charge $50,000 just...

2009-09-02T09:42:52.444-05:00

I would add that B&T would charge $50,000 just for an appearance to be entered. Of course they would have to assign several attorneys to the case. That helps run up the bill on the city.

IPOPA, Let me make perfectly clear I was not com...

2009-09-02T09:35:46.537-05:00

IPOPA,

Let me make perfectly clear I was not commenting on the "talent" over at City Legal. I was commenting on the lack of experience. Those attorney could well prove to be very talented in the long run...they just don't have the experience NOW to be in leadership postiions directing a team of lawyers about legal matters though know very little about themselves. There is simply no substitute for experience, especially when it comes to litigation.

As far as prevailing on the appeal, don't you think Barnes & Thornburg's legal fees will be so substantial that it might well make the appeal not worth it?

FYI, I wouldn't say that the cost of City Legal is zero if they handle the case. The attorneys in leadership positions over there make excellent salaries, far higher than they would get at most law firms, especially considering their lack of experience. While you're right that there are no billable hours, work on the case does detract from other work they could be doing. Granted it is harder to measure.

over there make some excellent salaries

Thanks, AI, now I know the taxpayers really lost.....

2009-09-02T08:15:02.161-05:00

Thanks, AI, now I know the taxpayers really lost...very badly. Any idea how much those attorney's fees were?

And, actually, even if it is contracted out, we wo...

2009-09-02T08:11:01.556-05:00

And, actually, even if it is contracted out, we won't know whether this was "worth it" until the decision is rendered by the
7th Circuit. If they spend $40,000 to save $200,000, I'd say money well spent. Wouldn't you?

Would this appeal be handled in-house? If so, wou...

2009-09-02T08:09:09.020-05:00

Would this appeal be handled in-house? If so, wouldn't that mean there is nearly zero ACTUAL cost (photocopies for the brief and gas to get to Chicago for oral argument, if ordered) to pursue this but the chance to potentially save hundreds of thousands(assuming the 7th Circuit is as conservative as stated)?

My question is how COULDN'T the city do this? The only way it wouldn't make sense is if you believed the "opportunity cost" is too high, and according to Paul's assessment of city legal talent as pretty dismal, I seriously doubt whoever handles this appeal could do something else that would save us as much money potentially.

I wonder whether your slip is showing on this one, AI, and you'd just rather not have the 7th Circuit rain on the parade before you get to finish the route with your own lawsuits. We both know that if the 7th circuit substantially reduces Lineham's award that it changes the tenor of everything that happens thereafter.

B&T handled the appeal upheld by the EEOC comm...

2009-09-02T08:05:54.848-05:00

B&T handled the appeal upheld by the EEOC commission, Paul.

I would suspect in the appeal that the city will s...

2009-09-02T07:56:51.457-05:00

I would suspect in the appeal that the city will still lose the case. I would assume the judgment would still include the attorney fees. So even if the Chicago court would knock the (not a given) judgment down.The attorney fees for both the city and Linehan's lawyer would hardly make it worth the trouble to appeal. So much for our mayor saving the taxpayers money. Do any of these Bozo's at the city own a calculator? A bunch of idiots!!!

FYI, don't be surprised if this gets farmed ou...

2009-09-02T07:42:42.393-05:00

FYI, don't be surprised if this gets farmed out to Barnes & Thornburg, costing taxpayers a small fortune in inflated legal fees.

I have complained about this before, Gary. Joe Lo...

2009-09-02T07:17:41.702-05:00

I have complained about this before, Gary. Joe Loftus intentionally staffed City Legal with very inexperienced attorneys in leadership positions, exactly because they could be easily manipulated.

Chris Cotterill had just five years experience when he made him head of all of City Legal. Jon Mayes only had two years experience when he was named head of the Litigation Division. The Mayes decision was almost worse because litigation is the one area where there is no substitute for experience. Mayes knows as much about litigation as I knew when I was a two year attorney - not much. Side Note: Mayes actually represented to the Council that he was a "constitutional lawyer" when he misinformed the council that the panhandling ordinance would be easily upheld in any litigation.

What you're seeing is the product of legal inexperience in City Legal. Repeatedly they've given the Council and the administration bad advice not to mention poor litigation decisions. Mayes seems to not understand that part of an attorney's responsibiility is to keep his client out of litigation, which means getting them to change the behavior that led to the litigation.