Governor's Task Force Proposes Policies to Increase Opportunity for Minority and Women-owned Law Firms

ALBANY, (05/11/2009)(readMedia)-- Governor David A. Paterson's Executive Order 10 Task Force today adopted a comprehensive set of recommendations to increase opportunities for minority- and women-owned law firms to provide legal services to state public authorities, as well as to promote the utilization of law firms that have a history of hiring, training, promoting and retaining minority and women attorneys. It is expected that the recommendations will result in heightened competition for state business.The broad themes that run through the Task Force's legal services recommendations (full text here) include leveling the playing field, eliminating barriers to entry, providing opportunities for firms to demonstrate their qualifications, skills and expertise, and measuring performance.

Paul T. Williams, Jr., Chairman of the Task Force and Executive Director of the Dormitory Authority of New York State, said: "The best practices put forward today by the Task Force mark a bright new day in the way state authorities will engage and evaluate law firms. With outside law firms, we want the best and brightest which, starting today, will include those who understand the substantial benefits of bringing a diverse team to the table."

State public authorities periodically award contracts to outside law firms for a wide variety of legal services including bond counsel, litigation, real estate, labor and employment, and environmental matters.

The adoption by the Task Force of a set of best practices in the field of legal services follows similar Task Force recommendations issued in October 2008 to increase the utilization of MWBE underwriting firms (Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises) by public authorities that issue state-supported debt.

Success in improving state authority performance in the underwriter sector has already been striking. An interim Task Force report delivered last month to Gov. Paterson noted that designations to MWBE underwriting firms as a percentage of total designations for all firms by the five issuers of state-supported debt rose from 4 percent in 2007 to 23 percent in 2008. Designation fees paid to MWBE underwriting firms rose from a total of $507,000 out of $11.8 million in 2007 to $5.1 million out of a total of $21.9 million in 2008.The best practices for legal services adopted today by the Task Force include recommendations to:• Remove barriers to entry from the Request for Proposals (RFP) process that state authorities use to initiate a competitive procurement for legal services;• Encourage joint ventures and partnering relationships between MWBE law firms and majority law firms;• Include a Diversity Questionnaire in every RFP process to better ascertain the diversity policies and practices of law firms competing for public authority contracts;• Increase access to state contracting opportunities by shortening the RFP cycle which can run as long as five years , to a two-year cycle with up to two six-month extensions;• Conduct regular performance evaluations of law firms by authorities; and,• Track legal fees paid to law firms by each state public authority to assess whether work is being equitably allocated; and,• Enlist the services of professional organizations that serve women and/or minority attorneys to provide notice of RFP opportunities with state authorities.

These and other legal services recommendations were derived in part from proposals and comments gathered during a legal services panel discussion held by the Task Force on January 30, 2009 at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. Members of the legal community who participated in the panel discussions brought to the attention of the Task Force the best practices and successful approaches to diversity being used in other jurisdictions and by legal firms throughout the country.

Over the next few months, the legal services recommendations will be considered for adoption and implementation by the boards of state public authorities. The Task Force encourages state agencies to also adopt and implement the recommendations.

"Governor Paterson's Task Force is providing comprehensive leadership to encourage broad MWBE participation in all aspects of New York State's financial, legal, and professional service sectors," said Paul T. Williams, Jr. "Broader inclusion of MWBE firms will create healthy competition, provide the state with new ideas and create jobs in the financial and professional service sectors."

The Task Force is currently engaged in a fact-finding and public discussion process which is expected to result in the issuing of best practice recommendations in the field of professional financial services, which includes accounting services, banks, trusts, money market funds, financial advisors, and broker dealers.

Gov. Paterson established the Task Force in June 2008 when he signed Executive Order 10.

The Task Force is comprised of the executive directors or presidents of the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, the New York State Housing Finance Agency, the New York State Thruway Authority, the Empire State Development Corp., the Environmental Facilities Corp., and three members appointed by Gov. Paterson.

The Task Force will meet next on June 8 in Albany.

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