It’s not uncommon for a municipality to need extra legal help. Sometimes there’s too much work for your in-house staff to handle, while other times you may need special expertise.
Below, we discuss a few major reasons why outsourcing to a firm with municipal law services may be the best solution to your legal challenges.
Why Should Your Municipality Hire Outside Counsel?
1. Good For Small Municipalities
Small municipalities often have small in-house legal teams. If your municipality has only one in-house attorney and they need to take personal leave, you will need a backup. Even when your attorney is on the job, they may not be able to attend every meeting or look into every specific issue.
Having a contract with a law firm for as-needed services means you get more than just a dedicated attorney. You also get a team of legal and administrative staff as an additional backup.
2. Good For Specific Projects
Municipalities often use outside counsel for high-stakes or complex litigation. The outside counsel can either provide special expertise or free up time for the in-house team to focus on what they do best.
Outside counsel can often provide fresh, objective advice for whatever legal issue you face. They will be able to see the issue from a different perspective based on their unique experience.
3. Good for Filling Gaps
Local governments aren’t always the most attractive employers for lawyers, especially in major metro areas. As a result, some municipalities have high turnover and relatively inexperienced legal staff.
Outside counsel is a great way to fill a gap in your legal staffing. A local legal firm may have more experienced attorneys who are willing to build a long-term relationship with your municipality. With a reasonably sized firm, you can be confident that someone on staff has faced any legal issues you encounter before.
4. Support For Your In-House Team
Your in-house team likely has a lot on their plate. Hiring outside counsel makes a lot of sense when your municipality has unusual legal difficulties on top of the usual work. The outside team can free up your internal team’s time to take care of unusually challenging tasks.
During complex legal disputes, in-house legal teams will often work together with outside counsel. The in-house team may gather internal details and manage the legal hold process while the outside team brings in external information.
5. Financial Considerations
Outside counsel might not be as expensive as you think. For most government entities, employee expenses — salaries, benefits, payroll taxes, unemployment taxes, and training — are the most costly part of operations. When you compare outside counsel fees to employee expenses, you may well find that it’s more economical for some functions.
You can request an external, matter-level quote before the counsel starts work. If needed, you can ask your outside counsel if they’re willing to consider alternative fee arrangements, such as a flat fee instead of an hourly one to keep your expenses predictable.
A specialized legal team may be able to do certain types of work faster or more effectively than your internal team, especially when it comes to litigation. At the opposite end of the spectrum, you may be able to save by outsourcing inexpensive tasks to a firm with more affordable rates.
6. Outside Counsel Specialization
Hiring a law firm can give you access to a wide range of legal expertise. Outside counsel may be able to give you more specialized advice on issues like real estate law and labor law.
For example, the Anderson Hunter Law Firm’s municipal law practice focuses on special purpose districts. Our lawyers have in-depth expertise on open government, intergovernmental agreements, utilities regulation, real estate, general business, employment and labor relations, ethics, conflicts of interest, and risk management.
Outside Counsel For Western Washington Municipalities
Anderson Hunter maintains a niche practice in municipal law and often serves as special counsel for municipalities. We often work with special purpose districts in Western Washington, including public facilities, sewer districts, emergency service dispatch entities, and port districts.
Our municipal trial attorneys are well known for their outstanding litigation skills. If your municipality needs outside legal counsel, schedule a consultation with one of our lawyers today.