The (Coto de Caza) Outsourcing of Decision Making and the $1,000.00/hr lawyers
August 25, 2007
The August 22, 2007 issue of the Wall Street Journal reports that hourly lawyer rates are increasingly hitting what was once considered a taboo level: $1,000 per hour. "A few attorneys crossed into $1,000 per hour billing before this year, but recent moves to the four-figure mark in New York, which sets trends for legal markets around the country, are seen as significant turning point", writes the WSJ's Nathan Koppel.
The article goes on to report that as of September 1, Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett LLP will raise its top rates to more than $1,000 from $950, whereas the top biller at New York’s Caldwalader. Wickersham & Taft LLP got up to the $1,000 mark earlier this year.
Of course, what can you expect not only from an inbreeding program that is increasingly being used as decision making service provider by either lazy, incompetent or otherwise un-interested executives?
Is there any doubt that the California Bar not only cuddles its own, but also throttles the number of lawyers joining its ranks? - The $1,000 rate in California is not too far away - Or what about executives hiding behind the “legal veil” to avoid transparency and/or accountability? Wit the Laguna Woods Village argument that “there is no such thing as valid CC&Rs, in spite of what the Title Company has to say”.
Or across the freeway, the CZ Master Association outsourcing decision making to legal counsel, arguing for example, about what can, or cannot be done under a “Broken Promise settlement of the 1980’s” – in that case, the board went on record stating the agreement had not been seen or read by any one on the board, as of last CZ board of directors meeting. To be clear, the outsourcing of decision-making is not necessarily restricted to the legal profession as Coto residents can attest. Recently, the “Arizona look” (as compared to the more traditional bucolic look) was en vogue thanks to a landscaping consultant’s decision, not to mention receiving "free mature trees" that ended costing the association $45,000.
As some one who manages a business dealing with attorneys in many countries, I can tell all that we set our goals and objectives and then instruct our attorneys to do the legal work to make them happen. When necessary, while it is never our intention to break the law, and we obviously don’t want to put something in place that will cause litigation, we can and do take prudent business risk. However, as President of a company, ultimately it is me calling the shots not our attorneys.
Specific to CZ and User Fees and charges for non-CZ Members, the CZ Board first needs to understand the fully loaded cost of doing business which I know is not the case today. We then need to recognize that The Estates and Village people, who pay no CZ dues, represent 11% of the residents of CZ impacting our security, major street and property management cost. In addition to them, non-members who come into Coto to play on our fields, ride horses on our trails and at the Equestrian Center and golf at the Country Club also impact CZ expenses. One way or another, the CZ Board should work with CZ’s attorney to devise legally defensible ways to charges non-members fees and charges reflecting the expense they cause the Association. I do not accept the silly notion that “subsidies are a cost of doing business”. Subsidies are instead a conscious decision by the CZ Board assuming they are permitted to occur. I have provided many ideas to end subsidies. Subsidies are the reason we experienced the two Varo/Mezger dues increases. The next dues increase will be called the Zipperman/Yocham increase so if these Board Members do not want the label; they better act to end the subsidies. JM - former CZ board member
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