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Home My WebLink AboutENGAGEMENT LETTER MCKENNA LONG ALDRIDGE DISADVANTAGE BUSINESS ENTERPRISE PROGRAM t.( Albany Atlanta Brussels McKenna Long &: 4!~tiL~geLLP cf~ c New York Philadelphia Sacramento San Diego San Francisco Denver 303 Peachtree Street, NE · Suite 5300 · Atlanta, GA 30308 Tel: 404.527.4000 · Fax: 404.527.4198 www.mckennalong.com Washington, D.C. Los Angeles ROSALIND RUBENS NEWELL (404) 527-8124 EMAIL ADDRESS rnewell@mckennalong.com July 26,2007 Stephen E. Shepard, Esq. County Attorney Consolidated Government of Augusta-Richmond County 701 Greene Street Suite 104 Augusta, Georgia 30907 RE: Engagement for Legislative Drafting and Litigation Support Related to Augusta-Richmond County's Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program. Dear Steve: We appreciate the opportunity to work again with Augusta-Richmond County, this time in connection the consolidated government's Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBI'.) Program. We will provide advice and counsel to you related to an analysis of the current constitutional law, drafting new ordinances and policies, analysis and review of a disparity study, as well as advice related to issues raised in the matter of Thompson Building If'recking Campa,!}, Jnc v. Augu,rta, Georgia, pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, CAFN 1 :07 -cv-019. I will assume primary responsibility for the coordination of this representation and will involve other professionals in the fIrm when their experience and other considerations indicate that their involvement would assist in providing the most effIcient professional services to you. I expect that Partner Bruce Brown, Associate Petrina Hall and Paralegal Shaunda Stafford may assist in this representation. "W'e will bill for our services at the standard hourly rates of the attorneys and professionals involved. My current billing rate is $370 per hour. Mr. Brown, Ms. Hall and Ms. Stafford bill at the hourly rates of $430, $250, and $150 respectively. In addition, McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP (MLA) charges separately for certain costs incurred in the representation, including the following: travel expenses, long distance telephone charges, photocopying, support staff overtime, computer assisted research, overnight express ATLANT A:4924044.1 Stephen E. Shepard, Esq. July 26,2007 Page 2 services, messenger services, and postage, fIling fees, and the fees of consultants. Augusta- Richmond County will be responsible for direct payment of any third-party costs of $500 or more incurred in connection with this representation unless you provide us with a disbursement retainer of a suffIcient amount to cover anticipated expenses. If we have not received a disbursement retainer or the funds in the retainer are exhausted, invoices of $500 or more for disbursements to third parties will be sent directly to you for payment. We will bill Augusta-Richmond County on a monthly basis for services performed and costs incurred. Payment is due not later than 30 days following the invoice date. Past due amounts will be shown on the invoice, and the fIrm reserves the right to charge interest on any delinquent amount at the rate of ten percent (10%) per annum compounded monthly. Any waiver of such right will not be deemed a waiver of any future right. The fIrm's record retention policy provides for clients' fIles to be kept for ten (10) years after the matter has been closed. At the conclusion of the retention period, the me will be destroyed unless the client requests alternate arrangements. Upon request, we will return any personal property or original documents furnished to us in the course of representation as soon as the matter is closed. MLA is a law fIrm of several hundred lawyers and non-lawyer professionals with offIces in multiple states and Brussels, Belgium. From time to time, clients of MLA will have business dealings, negotiations, and sometimes disputes (including litigation) with other clients of the fIrm. In consideration of MLA's acceptance of this engagement, Augusta- Richmond County agrees that MLA may in the future represent existing or new clients in any matter involving or related to Augusta-Richmond County including, without limitation, litigation against Augusta-Richmond County, component entities and other matters directly or indirectly adverse to the interests of the consolidated government or its component entities, so long as those matters are not substantially related to this representation or to any other matter on which Augusta-Richmond County engaged MLA. For example, Augusta- Richmond County agrees that we may represent debtors, trustees, examiners, or offIcial committees in bankruptcy cases in which Augusta-Richmond County is a creditor or a party in interest and in regard to which Augusta-Richmond County may have an adverse interest to those debtors, trustees, examiners, or offIcial committees so long as such representation is not substantially related to MLA's representation of Augusta-Richmond County. If these terms are acceptable to you, please sign in the space below and return the letter to me. I have enclosed a copy for your me. We look forward to working with you on this opportunity to ensure equal access to contracting opportunities. A TLANT A:4924044.\ Stephen E. Shepard, Esq. July 26, 2007 Page 3 Very truly yours, Ko~~ ?~~ n.~ef-Q Rosalind Rubens Newell /rrn xc: Yvonne Gentry, Augusta-Richmond County DBE Coordinator Bo Moore, Managing Director Bruce Brown, Esq. AGREED AND ACCEPTED: ~'1 ' UC' 0-1/. ~ o f'\A ~ dl/\. ~&II /r1 - ~(\. (jF Cod1~ '~ AUGUSTA - RICHMOND COUNTY ~I ~StcPhen E. Shepard, Esq. ~ County Attorney ~F h6 ~ ~ 7 (J J I (( 7 A TLANT A:4924044.\