Board to Consider Plan for Paying Attorneys

The Board of Supervisors will meet in special session Monday to consider agreements under which taxpayers would pay seven of Orange County’s top lawyers to defend two supervisors and the auditor-controller against civil charges stemming from the county bankruptcy.

Under the agreement, the attorneys would be paid no more than $295 an hour for their services--said by county officials to be significantly lower than the rates they normally charge. To keep costs down, the county is requiring attorneys to break down their charges into tenths of hours.

The meeting comes three months after the board voted to cover the officials’ defense costs. But concerned about large bills, the board asked Chief Executive Officer Jan Mittermeier to work out a plan for limiting expenses.

If the proposal is approved, Supervisors Roger R. Stanton and William G. Steiner as well as Auditor-Controller Steve Lewis would have their bills paid retroactively from Dec. 20, 1995, a few days after the Orange County Grand Jury accused them of neglecting their duties by allowing the bankruptcy to occur.

The agreement lists several expenses the county will not cover, including word processing and computer time, overtime for clerical personnel, and meals for attorneys and clients.

If more than one attorney attends the same conference or hearing, only one of them will be paid.

Stanton is being represented by Wylie A. Aitken, who will earn $295 an hour, as well as Vincent La Barbera and William Kopeny, who will each receive $285. Steiner is represented by Allan H. Stokke and John D. Barnett, who will both earn $295. Lewis has retained the services of attorneys Michael Greene and Brian Sun, who will each receive $295 per hour.

“In each case, the hourly rates are less than those normally charged by counsel,” a county report stated. “The hourly rates are within range of rates being paid to other outside counsel for matters arising out of the county’s bankruptcy.”