Attorney defends fees in response to GOP gripes
Firm says large number of lawsuits drove up costs
BY MICHAEL ACKER Staff Writer
Republicans want to reduce Sayreville's legal expenses, possibly by switching to an in-house attorney.

The GOP, which swept in the Nov. 6 election for the mayor's seat and two spots on the Borough Council, has in part called for the removal of the borough's designated law firm, citing legal fees that they say are excessive.

While Republican Mayor Kennedy O'Brien has broached the issue in the past, on Monday it was Republican Councilman-elect David Kaiserman who voiced concerns with the latest bill from Weiner Lesniak LLP, the Parsippany-based law firm of Borough Attorney Brian Hak.

Hak has been serving since 2006, appointed by the Democrat-controlled council at that time. Democrats in 2007 hold all six council seats, but will lose two to the Republicans come Jan. 1.

Before the council voted unanimously Monday to pay the firm's legal fees, Kaiserman said the costs associated with the borough's appointed law firm are too high, citing more than $62,000 in bills during the month of October.

"It kind of freaked me out," he said.

Kaiserman suggested the council hire an in-house attorney in order to reduce costs. He said the attorney who served before Hak cost the borough roughly $200,000 less in a one-year period.

"[The current firm has] already been paid about half a million dollars, which to me is a lot of money," Kaiserman said. "… Why not consider a different law firm?"

Democratic Councilwoman Kathy Makowski said that as a member of the council's finance committee, she thinks the attorneys' fees should be assessed with comparative services in mind. She added that while Weiner Lesniak has reduced fees, the costs remain high due to the amount of litigation, which has increased in the past year. Weiner Lesniak drafted many borough ordinances in the past year, Makowski noted.

"They changed the fee schedule so that we are not charged per ordinance," she added. "I think it's litigation [that is] driving this up, and that is a concern of mine."

Council President Thomas Pollando said the borough has 13 active litigation files that Weiner Lesniak is working on. He added that this number is significantly higher than the number of cases that the borough's prior firm, DeCottis, Fitzpatrick, Cole & Wisler, handled per year.

Hak said the high number of active litigation files is driving up the cost of the borough's legal fees.

"Litigation is a question mark always," Hak said. "You never know when you're going to be sued."

The firm billed the borough for $528,000 in legal fees from January through October, Hak said. Of that, $251,000 was strictly related to litigation files. Hak said that based on the net amount of $277,000 in legal fees related to litigation, the borough pays his firm an average of $27,000 per month. He said this figure is less than what the De- Cottis firm billed while it was handling three or four litigation files per year.

Kaiserman said that while the net income of Hak's firm is $277,000 as of October, it could go up to $300,000 by the end of the year.

Hak confirmed this, but added that $300,000 is about the same as the borough paid to the previous appointed law firm.

Weiner Lesniak began to bill the borough on a flat-fee basis in an effort to cut down on costs, Hak said. He added that in light of the significant amount of ordinances that his office drafts for the borough, it is more economical to bill the municipality on a flat-fee basis.

"My predecessor billed on an hourly basis," Hak said.

"My office has made a considerable attempt to put a lid on litigation fees," he added.

Most of the cases that Weiner Lesniak handles for the borough are related to quality of-life issues, often involving clubs and liquor license holders, Hak said. The governing body will have to pay similar fees, he said, if it appoints another legal firm, because of the large amount of litigation.

Kaiserman thanked the council for hearing his recommendation, adding that whatever savings the borough can manage to get would be helpful.

"I think that a 10 percent discount would help," Kaiserman said.

Sayreville Economic Redevelopment Agency Commissioner Michael D'Addio spoke during Monday's meeting, saying that his experience with human resources in a private company has shown him there are additional costs involved with an inhouse attorney, including a benefits package and Social Security.

"I don't understand where you think you're going to get an attorney for $100,000," D'Addio said. "That's not an attorney I'd like representing me on 13 cases."