Squabble over attorney seems to be at an end
Proposed hourly rate under what many lawyers charge, Rutgers prof. says
BY JOHN DUNPHY
Staff Writer

Edison Township could soon have a redevelopment attorney for the Ford/Hartz Mountain property.

The Township Council recently tabled the appointment of the law firm McManimon & Scotland as attorneys for the redevelopment of the Ford plant site, which is now owned by Secaucas-based developer Hartz Mountain.

Mayor Jun Choi proposed an hourly rate of $195 for the attorney, which he said would be pulled from an escrow account funded by Hartz, and would not be paid for by township taxpayers.

The council went into closed session and returned an hour later with a reduced rate of $150 an hour for the firm and $90 an hour for paralegal assistants, which had originally been $115 an hour.

Councilman Peter Barnes III lashed out during the meeting at Choi and Joseph Baumann, the attorney from McManimon and Scotland, for what he considered to be a very high rate.

“Never do I recall us paying any lawyer $195 an hour,” Barnes said. “And $115 for a paralegal? That’s crazy. Our job is to drive a hard bargain. We’re trying to get the best deal for Edison.”

Choi said the $195 an hour rate was fair and far less than what some attorneys would charge.

“We need very qualified attorneys with specialty in redevelopment work focused on representing the community and government, not the developers,” he said. “It’s typical that developers pay their attorneys $400 to $500 an hour. Given that this amount [$195 an hour] is fully paid for by developers in an escrow payment, I believe it’s in our interest to pay them a competitive rate.”

John Leubsdorf, a professor with the Rutgers University Law School of Newark, noted that the attorney fees in the New York/New Jersey area are noticeably higher than in other parts of the country.

“Three hundred to $500 an hour for a lawyer wouldn’t be considered that much,” he said. “I don’t think $195 an hour would be a large rate.”

Noting that lawyers “tend to charge what they can get,” Leubsdorf said lawyers of larger firms tend to command a higher rate, as do lawyers with a large portfolio of credentials.

“From the town council’s point of view, they are comparing this to what full-time employees get, and it sounds like a lot of money,” he said. “They don’t have to spend any more than they feel like paying.”

Barnes told the Sentinel earlier this week his main concern was that, despite Choi’s assurances, Edison taxpayers could be left footing the bill for the redevelopment attorney.

“The contract is with the township of Edison,” he said. “What they kept saying is, the developer pays so it’s not taxpayers’ money. That’s not entirely true.”

“Edison is on the hook” if the developers of a site, whether it’s Hartz Mountain or any other area being redeveloped in Edison, back out of their obligation to fund attorney fees through an escrow account while the redevelopment attorney is still working for the township, Barnes said.

By Monday, Barnes said McManimon and Scotland had agreed to accept a lower rate of $185 an hour and add a provision to the contract, which states that in the event

a developer does not pay or chooses to pull out of an agreement prematurely, Edison would not be made responsible for redevelopment attorney fees.

Barnes said he felt this new agreement would be satisfactory to the rest of the council.

“Our main concern was that we don’t want Edison left holding the bag,” he said. “I’m satisfied that that is not going to happen.”

Choi said he expected the previously tabled appointment of the redevelopment attorney to be back on the agenda at next week’s council meeting, and he expected it would be supported by the council.

He noted that an established agreement with Hartz to replenish the escrow account automatically at a certain point would negate any concern that Edison would not have the money to fund the redevelopment attorney.

“The account never gets below a certain amount,” he said. “We’d start with $100,000. As funds are used, if it dips below $50,000, [Hartz] would have to pay an additional $50,000. That’s the whole point of this. We don’t ever anticipate running out of money.”

It was noted during last week’s council meeting that Hartz Mountain had not yet deposited the $100,000 into an escrow account. That led Councilman Charles Tomaro to question why the issue was even being discussed.

“Is the $100,000 in the bank? No?” he said. “Then why do we have to decide this tonight?”