It's looking pretty clear that the new Democratic majority on the Wake County school board will not be retaining the legal services of Republican attorney Kieran Shanahan.
Shanahan's legal contract came up last week during the school board's discussion of a proposal to increase Tharrington Smith's hourly legal rate by $5. During the work session discussion, it was noted that Shanahan's law firm is still under contract through June to receive up to $25,000.
The new unanimously approved contract will pay Tharrington Smith's partners $190 per hour, $175 an hour for associates and $95 per hour for paralegals. It's roughly a 2.7 percent increase for partners and 2.9 percent for associates.
Chief Business Officer David Neter said that the rates Tharrington has been charging Wake are two to three times less than what law firms typically charge.
Board members from both political parties praised Tharrington Smith's work, saying they had no problems with the rate increase. A prior legal audit done by Thomas Farr had praised Tharrington Smith's work but suggested hiring an in-house counsel to replace the law firm.
Neter said that Charlotte-Mecklenburg, which has an in-house school attorney, has sharply higher legal bills than Wake.
School board member Jim Martin asked how much it would cost for this mid-year increase for Tharrington Smith. Neter said that, based on usage remaining the same, about $13,000 more this fiscal year.
Then Martin pointed to the contract adopted by the prior board with the Shanahan Law Group.
Shanahan was hired for up to $25,000 to perform various legal services, such as working on the redistricting plan and the Open Meetings lawsuit. The firm has only been paid $370 so far this fiscal year as most of the work was done before July.
Martin suggested coming up with the money for Tharrington by taking the roughly $13,000 encumbered to cover potential costs for the rest of the fiscal year for Shanahan.
School board member Chris Malone argued they should leave the money there just in case they need the flexibility of using Shanahan over the next six months.
During the discussion, board member Susan Evans asked if Farr was still under contract. She was told the answer was no.
The board wound up approving the Tharrington Smith rate increase without taking the funding from Shanahan. But the implication is clear that the contract won't be renewed during the annual meeting in June.
Shanahan and attorneys from his firm gave money to the Republican school board candidates during the campaign.
Click here for a handout from the board meeting.
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