Harrison – Attorney fee issues unresolved

Attorney fee issues unresolved

Last month, state Auditor Stacey Pickering and Gov. Phil Bryant claimed victory in their lawsuit to recoup attorneys’ fees provided to private lawyers hired by Attorney General Jim Hood to do legal work on behalf of the state.

But Pickering concedes that despite what he called “a victory not for me, but the taxpayers,” there might still be some issues to resolve in the legal fees dispute.

In two cases, by a 6-3 decision in one case and by a 5-3 decision in another, the state’s high court ruled that when the attorney general’s office contracts with private attorneys to handle lawsuits on a contingency fee basis, the fees cannot be paid directly to the attorneys.

djournal.com
6/11/12