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PrebenInAcapulco t1_iwwnw1d wrote

Disagree. Even high powered lawyers do not charge their commercial rate when doing pro bono or other public oriented work. It’s one thing for Exxon to pay 500 dollars an hour or whatever but it’s a misuse of city funds that can do good elsewhere. The city should not be paying this much. Very competent lawyers exist who would do this work for much less.

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Throwawayhelp111521 t1_iwz997o wrote

This isn't pro bono work. Pro Bono work is usually performed at no charge. The law firm makes a certain number of lawyers available for free and doesn't charge for expenses like photocopying, postage, service, and travel, which can be considerable. Pro bono work usually isn't open-ended. The law firm takes on discrete matters that can be resolved in a reasonable amount of time like a year or two, often less. Often law firm associates (as opposed to partners) are assigned to pro bono cases and in many large law firms with up-and-out systems, the associates leave after a few years to work somewhere else.

I don't think many competent lawyers with this level of expertise and experience would want to work for years on a project of this type for less than their normal fee. It doesn't seem to be very rewarding work and it appears that the lawyers don't have the power and political support to accomplish all that they need to. If you're going to work at less than your regular rate you want the experience to be fulfilling, to be good training for your associates, and to generate good PR for your firm.

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PrebenInAcapulco t1_iwzx4gb wrote

Agree to disagree as to whether this is an attractive project for a law firm. Big law firms would salivate at taking on a high profile project like this. And yah not purely pro bono but falls in the quasi pro bono realm where billing is lower usually.

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Throwawayhelp111521 t1_ix0p5by wrote

>Big law firms would salivate at taking on a high profile project like this

High profile but also high criticism, a not easily solvable problem: not that attractive.

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