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CUC to hire new legal counsel
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Posted on Oct 03 2004
The Commonwealth Utilities Corp. is seeking a new attorney to represent the corporation in various litigations and provide other legal services.
This came after CUC’s former legal counsel, Brian Sers Nicolas, expressed disinterest in renewing his contract for another year. CUC’s offer to Sers Nicolas for the contract renewal cut the retainer’s fee from $9,000 to $7,000 a month.
“CUC is seeking the services of an attorney [or law firm] to provide representation and other legal services to the corporation,” CUC said in a request for proposals. “The attorney [or firm] would advise the board of directors as requested and CUC would refer a broad range of legal work, including contract, environmental, employment, tort, and administrative law matters.”
CUC put out the RFP on Sept. 23, and is giving interested parties until this Friday to submit their proposals.
Officials maintained that a speedy procurement was necessary, noting that CUC is currently involved in at least seven pending litigations. Sers Nicolas’ contract expired on August 31.
CUC had wanted to renew Sers Nicolas’ contract, but on the condition that his retainer fee would be cut by $2,000.
Under the recently expired contract, Sers Nicholas got a fixed monthly retainer fee of $9,000 for the first 36 hours of work he performed for CUC. He was also paid an hourly rate of about $225 to $250 for work done beyond the initial 36 hours.
But in its Aug. 31 meeting, the CUC board of directors decided as part of its cost-cutting measures to reduce the retainer fee to $7,0000 for the same number of work hours. This brings the lawyer’s rate to about $194 an hour.
Sers Nicolas actually used to receive $180,000 annually, or $15,000 monthly, in retainer fee.
In February 2003, the CUC board lowered it to $60,000 for 20 hours of work per month. The board, then chaired by Francisco Q. Guerrero, had noted that a $5,000 monthly retainer fee was “just right.” The board used to pay Sers Nicolas and his then partner Robert Torres $10,000 a month before the latter’s appointment to the Attorney General’s Office in early 2002.
