Specialty Legal Services

The vendor is required to provide specialty legal services.
- Common practice areas related to the needs of county include but are   limited to the following:
•Attorney conduct and professionalism;
•Appellate practice
•Bond and disclosure counsel;
•Collections and bankruptcy;
•Commercial transactions and litigation;
•Construction litigation;
•Contactual liability defense;
•Election and voter registration law;
•Eminent domain and relocation;
•Environmental law;
•Federal and state taxation matters
•General governmental practice (open meetings, public records, etc.);
•General litigation;
•Health care, including public health and managed care;
•Housing;
•Immigration law;
•Infrastructure design;
•Insurance contracts;
•Intellectual property;
•labor law and enforcement;
•Land use;
•Legislative matters;
•Medical malpractice;
•Mental health;
•Planning and zoning;
•Probate litigation;
•Property tax appeals, tax lien sales and foreclosures, treasurer’s matters;
•Public contracts and procurement;
•Public official liability;
•Public fiduciary;
•Real estate transactions;
•Road design, construction or maintenance liability;
•Section 1983 civil rights defense;
•Special taxing district law;
•Tort liability.    
- All counsel providing legal services on cases and matters shall be:
- Licensed in good standing with the state bar of state; or
- Licensed in good standing in the jurisdiction of the principal office in which they primarily practice law.
- Counsel’s legal services shall be carried out in cooperation with the county attorney in a manner consistent with counsel’s ethical obligations.
- counsel shall promptly furnish copies of all pleadings, discovery requests and responses, disclosure statements, medical reports, investigative reports, appellate briefs, and all significant correspondence to the county attorney.
- Deposition requests and retention of consultants or experts must be reviewed and pre-authorized by the county attorney; deposition summaries will not be paid for; counsel will instead provide the county attorney with a not more than two page report of the highlights of the deposition and a disc containing the entire transcript.
- Unless waived in writing as to a small matter, as soon after receipt of a lawsuit as is practical, counsel shall furnish the county attorney with a written evaluation of the merits of the case, an assessment of the exposure to county and a legal budget;  thereafter, counsel shall provide semi-annual status reports by the 15th day of January and July of each year in which the representation continues, as well as a special report of all events that significantly affect the merits of the lawsuit or the exposure of the county; counsel shall attend meetings to discuss the lawsuit’s status at the time and place as requested by the county attorney.
- Unless waived in writing as to a small matter, all offers of compromise shall be promptly transmitted to the county attorney together with counsel’s recommendation; the county attorney’s office will be responsible for obtaining authority to respond to settlement proposals, and scheduling of any matter before the county board of supervisors.
- Unless waived in writing as to a small matter, as soon as discovery has been completed and in any event no later than three months prior to the date set for trial, counsel shall discuss with the county attorney the status of the lawsuit with any recommendations as to settlement; counsel shall, at all other times, discuss with the county attorney the advisability of attempting to settle a lawsuit when it is in the best interest of the county to attempt settlement.
- All requests received from the state auditor general relating to an assessment of liability and damages exposure in any matter which has been referred to counsel shall be forwarded to the county attorney for response; counsel shall cooperate with the county attorney, in responding to the auditor general as efficiently as possible in order to minimize the cost to the county.
- Counsel agrees to act as co-counsel with the county attorney on those cases where the county attorney’s office determines that it is advisable to do so.