Posted in Pensacola

City legal expenses topped $7.7 million over past four years

   December 6, 2018

During his second term, Mayor Ashton Hayward’s administration spent over $5.4 million on 40 different law firms, according to the latest quarterly report for FY 2018 that CFO Dick Barker will present to the Pensacola City Council next week. Mayor Hayward spent another $2.2 million on his legal department. The combined total for city legal expenses was $7,714,777.

Fiscal Year  Outside Legal
2015  $        1,110,192
2016  $        1,428,814
2017  $        1,500,738
2018  $        1,428,532
 $        5,468,276

 

City Legal Department
2015  $         545,588
2016  $         538,830
2017  $         567,201
2018  $         594,882
 $      2,246,501

There’s little wonder that his successor, Grover Robinson, has his hands full determining how to better manage the city legal expenses. At his Monday press conference, he talked about asking the Tallahassee firm Nabors Giblin & Nickerson to review the city’s legal situation and offer recommendations on how to create a more complete legal department.

“My goal is to hire a good city attorney and allow them to put in a legal process,” said Mayor Robinson. “We have a variety of things going on here the city would like to get control of.”

 

Top Five Firms
Beggs & Lane  $        1,619,983 Contracts & Real Estate
Wilson Harrell  $           742,094 Claims & Litigation
Allen Norton Blue  $           383,167 Employee Matters
McCarter English  $           371,524 Natural Gas
Gray Robinson  $           355,163 Pension Plans

 

2015 2016 2017 2018 Total
Allen Norton Blue        73,203      101,758        94,173      114,034      383,167
Beggs & Lane      220,108      540,613      423,783      435,479   1,619,982
Bondurant Mixon & Elmore        62,367          1,658        27,961                –        91,986
Bryant Miller Olive PA        54,279        83,285        95,731      110,395      343,690
Carlton Fields                –                –          9,066        25,079        34,145
Colleen Cleary Ortiz                –          4,331          1,635          7,368        13,334
Galloway Johnson Tompkins Burr                –          5,080          5,495                –        10,575
Gray Robinson        55,437      123,140      107,326        69,260      355,163
Gunster Yoakley & Stewart        30,972          3,402          8,634        28,286        71,295
Hand Arendall Harrison Sale                –                –                –        18,907        18,907
Harriosn Sale                –                –                –        18,211        18,211
Hammons, Longoria, Whittaker             409                –                –                –             409
J Nevon Shaffer Jr                –             450                –                –             450
Jolly & Peterson        15,656        17,382        27,641        79,973      140,652
Klein Hornig          2,205                –        12,006                –        14,211
Law offices of W. Gault               63                –                –                –               63
Lewis Longman & Walker        91,453        18,202                –                –      109,655
Locke Lord          6,398          3,588          2,563          2,500        15,048
McCarter & English      144,979      144,947        36,149        45,449      371,524
McDonald Fleming             120                –                –                –             120
Messer Caparello          2,065                –                –                –          2,065
Michael Tidwell                –                –          2,200                –          2,200
Nabors Giblin & Nickerson             548             617          7,023             512          8,700
Philip A. Bates             445             483             674             150          1,752
Plauche Maselli Parkerson        52,052        16,877        54,023        31,180      154,132
Quintairos Prieto Wood & Boyer        36,332        34,047        38,961        60,875      170,215
Ray, Jr. Louis        23,802        24,969        22,330        34,452      105,553
Raymond, Mark E.          1,500                –                –          1,500          3,000
Roderic G. Magie        51,347        51,854        36,433        47,758      187,393
Sniffen & Spellman                –                –                –          6,501          6,501
Shell, Fleming                –             400                –                –             400
Smith & Associates                –          6,954                –                –          6,954
Smith & Sauer                –             330                –                –             330
Spero, Donald                –          1,573          2,688                –          4,261
Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis        21,313          4,228             245                –        25,786
Sergent, Stanley             800                –                –                –             800
Steinmeyer Fiveash                –      157,551        47,708        46,354      251,613
The Hammons Law Firm        12,581          1,348          2,515             305        16,748
Wooden Law Firm                –                –      113,687        51,505      165,192
Wilson Harrell & Farrington      149,758        79,748      320,090      192,498      742,094
  1,110,192   1,428,814   1,500,738   1,428,532   5,468,276

 

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