Paterson BOE hires new law firms at $210K each

Joe Malinconico, Paterson Press Published 4:05 p.m. ET Sept. 7, 2018

PATERSON – The city school district’s lucrative legal contracts are changing hands, with the work shifting to two private law firms with Paterson political connections.

The Paterson Board of Education last week approved separate $210,000 contracts for the firms – Hunt, Hamlin and Ridley of Newark and Inglesino, Webster, Wyciskala and Taylor of Parsippany. A third private lawyer, Robert Murray, will continue working for the district under his $260,000 contract, officials said.

The district is not renewing its contracts with four other firms that handled parts of its legal caseload last year.

The school board hired the two new firms based on separate unsolicited proposals they submitted, officials said. The district did not conduct a competitive process and seek price quotes or qualifications from any other firms interested in getting the contracts, officials said.

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One of the partners at the Hunt firm, Kenyatta Stewart, is a prominent Paterson community member who graduated from the city’s school system and last year had considered running for mayor.

Meanwhile, Elnardo Webster Jr. of the Parsippany-based firm has engaged in political fundraising for various candidates for state offices, including Paterson Assemblyman Benjie Wimberly. The new business administrator in Paterson city government, Vaughn McKoy, has handled cases for Webster’s firm, officials said, but is not an employee there.

“I wouldn’t say it’s politics,” said school board vice president Nakima Redmon. “We’re hiring two local people from the area. I think this is going to be a benefit for the district and our students.”

Board member Jonathan Hodges, who voted against hiring the two firms, said he objected to the way they were picked and said he was never given copies of their resumes or proposals. “This is not the appropriate way to do things,” Hodges said.

The district’s legal costs have been an ongoing topic of debate among school board members in recent years. Paterson Public Schools spent a total of $6 million during the past four years on legal services, including the salaries and benefits for in-house staff as well as fees paid to private firms, according to a district report compiled earlier this year.

In 2016, the district eliminated its staff position of general counsel and started using a private lawyer, Murray, for that role. Board members said the change produced substantial savings. A district report shows that its total legal tab dropped from $1.8 million for 2015-16 to $1.5 million for 2016-17. Officials said the final cost figure for 2017-18 was not yet available.

Board president Oshin Castillo said Stewart’s status as a prominent Patersonian was an attractive aspect of hiring his firm. “That’s what we really need in Paterson, people who care about the city and who care about the children,” she said.

Stewart, who works full time as the head of the City of Newark’s legal department, said he planned to attend Paterson school board meetings. He said partner Ronald C. Hunt would work directly at the school district’s headquarters on Delaware Avenue.

“I’m honored to represent the school district that I came from,” Stewart said. “When has the district ever had a lawyer who went to Paterson schools? I’m invested in the process.”

Stewart said his firm also represents school districts in Irvington and Orange in Essex County.

Meanwhile, Webster said his firm has represented numerous school districts over the years, including West New York and Hanover Township. Webster said the bulk of the Paterson school district work will be handled by his firm’s R. Scott Eveland, who he said served as Jersey City Public Schools’ general counsel for about a decade. McKoy, the Paterson business administrator, will not be handling any school district cases, he said.

Webster, a former law partner of Sen. Cory Booker, said he has handled some legal matters for the Paterson Housing Authority in the past. Webster also said he has conducted campaign fundraisers for Wimberly ever since the Patersonian became a member of the state Assembly in 2012.

The practice of picking the two law firms without seeking proposals from other attorneys is similar to what the district has done in the past, said board members Castillo and Redmon.

Board member Kenneth Simmons noted one distinct difference from the selection process of previous years. In the past, Simmons said, whoever served as general counsel would pick the private firms that were used by the school district. In this instance, Simmons said, Board of Education members picked the two firms. Castillo and Redmon played the lead roles in that selection, officials said.

“I’ve heard people say these firms are politically connected, but I don’t know of a law firm that isn’t,” Simmons said.

The two new firms are being paid $160 per hour, the same rate that the district paid the private firms it used in the past, said Paterson Public Schools spokesman Paul Brubaker.

The four firms whose district contracts are being discontinued are Appruzzese, McDermott, Mastro & Murphy; Barto & Barto; Florio, Perrucci, Steinhardt & Fader; and Abdelhadi & Associates.

 

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