By Gina Passarella
Of the Legal Staff
The firms mentioned in the article in today's Legal titled "Attorneys Forced to Defend PHA Billing, Staffing Practices" were just a few of the many that did work for the Philadelphia Housing Authority since 2005.
Below is a list of those other firms and the rates they charged for a variety of legal work. All contracts have a two-year base period and allow for three additional one-year option periods, totaling a maximum of five years. The ranges provided are the rates the firm agreed to for the two-year base period through the third one-year option period.
- Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis: The firm was awarded two contracts: one for general legal services in April 2007 for a possible total of $7.5 million, and one for regulatory and administrative work in December 2005 for a max of $5 million. Under the 2007 contract, the firm charged the same amount for senior partners, partners and associates over the life of the contract. That range was between $310 and $335. Paralegals made between $125 and $140 an hour over the life of the contract.
Under the 2005 contract, the firm charged between $375 and $435 an hour for partners, between $225 and $275 for associates, and a blended rate of between $295 and $320 an hour. Paralegals billed between $125 and $140.
- Blank Rome: The firm was awarded a regulatory and administrative contract in December 2005 for a possible total of $5 million. It charged between $340 and $400 for partners, $295 and $355 for associates and a blended rate of between $325 and $385. Paralegals billed between $150 and $210 an hour.
- Hangley Aronchick Segal &Pudlin: The firm was awarded four contracts since 2005 for a total possible amount of $18.25 million. For the regulatory and administrative, labor and employment and one of the general legal services contracts, the firm provided a blended hourly rate of $285 to $330 an hour over the life of the contracts. All three contracts were signed in 2005.
The general legal services contract the firm signed in 2007 provided rates between $300 and $345 equally for senior partners, partners and associates. Paralegals made between $145 and $175 an hour.
- Wolf Block: The firm was awarded five contracts for a total possible award over their lifespan of $25.2 million. The general legal services contract signed in 2005 provided partner rates ranging from $270 through $315 and broke that down depending on whether the partner was consulting or attending hearings. Associates charged between $240 and $285. The firm offered a blended rate of between $250 and $295.
The 2005 regulatory contract had partners charging between $240 and $280, associates charging between $175 and $210 and a blended rate of $215 to $245. The 2005 labor and employment contract provided blended rates of between $220 and $260, and a $400,000 title review contract signed in 2005 was based on a blended rate of between $260 and $280 over the life of the contract.
The firm's 2007 general legal services contract had senior partners charging between $320 and$340, partners between $285 and $305, and associates between $235 and $260.
- Cozen O'Connor: The firm was awarded a general legal services contract in 2007 for a maximum of $5 million and also took over the contract of Klett Rooney Lieber & Schorling when some of those partners joined Cozen O'Connor in 2006.
Under the general legal services contract, the firm charged between $275 and $325 for senior partners, between $250 and $300 for partners, between $215 and $275 for associates, and between $75 and $90 for paralegals. The Klett Rooney work for "ongoing legal matters" that was transferred to Cozen O'Connor was done at a rate of between $250 and $285 for senior attorneys, and between $175 and $225 for junior attorneys. Those were the rates negotiated by Klett Rooney.
- Kolber & Freiman: The firm handled labor and employment work under a $550,000 contract in July 2005 for blended rates of between $200 and $230. That was the same range that senior partners made over the life of a $2.5 million general legal services contract the firm signed in May 2007. Partners working under that contract made between $185 and $215 and associates billed between $175 and $205.
- Kelly Monaco & Naples: The firm was awarded three contracts worth a potential $5.4 million.
For the 2007 general legal services contract, it charged between $225 and $275 for partners, between $200 and $250 for associates, and between $175 and $225 for paralegals.
Under the 2006 regulatory and administrative contract, the firm charged a blended rate of $185 to $215 and provided breakdowns for partners and associates separately. Attorneys on the $400,000 title review contract charged between $200 and $225.
- Greenberg Traurig: The firm was awarded a $2.5 million regulatory and administrative contract in 2005. It charged $250 for partners for the entire contract period, $225 for associates, a blended rate of $238, and $90 for paralegals.
- Cohen & Grigsby: The firm worked with minority-owned firms Harvey C. Johnson P.C. and the Law Offices of Denise Smyler. In a $2.5 million general legal services contract signed with Denise Smyler, the firm charged between $290 and $320 for senior partners, between $240 and $270 for partners, and between $180 and $210 for associates.
Smyler agreed to charge under that contract the partner and associate rates charged by Cohen & Grigsby. Under her own $2.5 million contract with PHA for general legal services, Smyler charged between $200 and $215 for senior attorneys, $180 to $190 for partners, and $170 to $180 for associates.
Gina Passarella is the senior reporter for The Legal. She can be contacted at [email protected]. Reporter Amaris Elliott-Engel also contributed to this piece.
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