By Nate Jones

Staff Writer 

Can cheaper be better?

That’s the question South Portland Finance Director Greg L’Heureux is asking himself one year after the South Portland City Council unanimously supported changing how the city handles legal issues. 

Last July the city hired Sally Daggett – an attorney with the Jensen Baird Gardner & Henry law firm – to handle the city’s legal matters, instead of replacing Mary Kahl, the city’s last full-time corporation counsel who retired in March 2008.

Former South Portland Finance Director Rob Coombs at that time estimated the city could save approximately $163,000 by shifting to external legal representation. 

Last week, L’Heureux said the city has paid $120,000 to the law firm, $36,000 less than the budgeted amount of $156,000. He said the city also may have saved $14,000 from making the transition from a full time legal counsel to hiring an outside firm on a “As needed” basis. The savings is a fraction of early estimates, but savings nonetheless, he said. 

“Did we need corporation counsel a lot this year?” L’Heureux aked. “It’s hard to say.”

At a rate of $150 an hour – $80 per hour for paralegal work – L’Heureux said the amount paid to the law firm is comparable to costs for a full-time corporation counsel, who would collect more than $88,000 a year in hourly wages, $21,000 in benefits and delegate upwards of $19,000 for additional external legal opinions. But not all benefits to the city by using outside legal counsel are monetary, he added.

“With external representation you have access to specialization. If we have a case about zoning, we can get an attorney who knows a lot about zoning, for example,” L’Heureux said. “With internal [corporation counsel] you get a general attorney – you get one person’s knowledge.”

According to city litigation lists provided by South Portland Legal Secretary Mary Pary, the city in May 2008 had six active lawsuits, one pending appeal and three claim notices pending litigation. This month, Pary deleted two suits from the list – including a complaint of excessive force against South Portland Police Sgt. Steven Webster. That leaves two lawsuits and one claim notice on the city’s docket, one-third of legal cases the city faced when Kahl retired.

“I don’t know, I guess nobody wants to sue the city anymore,” Assistant City Manager Erik Carson joked of the decrease. “We won one, we lost one, some have been dismissed. A lot of this stuff is a function of time and mediation, it’s not a function of having a new firm.”

Although Carson attributed the docket’s decrease to “coincidence,” he said working with Daggett has been and will continue to benefit the city.

“[Jensen Baird Gardner & Henry] have people who have a very strong experience base,” he said. “On the other hand, somebody isn’t sitting here at our beck and call.”

Staff Writer Nate Jones may be reached at 282-4337 ext. 233.