Newsday, December 15, 2006, Friday

Newsday

New York City
MTA spent $1.7M on outside legal counselThe MTA relied heavily on a Manhattan law firm in its battle over transit contracts
By Chuck Bennett
amNewYork Staff Writer
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/am-law1215,0,2217814.story?coll=ny-nycnews-headlines

December 15, 2006
The MTA spent at least $1.69 million on outside legal counsel during its protracted battles with the transit union, internal agency documents show.
Proskauer Rose LLP, one of the nation's largest law firms with headquarters in midtown, billed the MTA $1,690,152.07 for work related to the transit union for the year ending this September, according to copies of the invoices obtained by amNewYork through a Freedom of Information Law request.

The total cost is expected to rise even further because of contract arbitration sessions this October and November, at which Proskauer Rose also represented the MTA.
"Had there not been threats to strike and in this case actually an illegal strike there wouldn't have been outside lawyer bills," said Gary Dellaverson, the MTA's director of labor relations.
The MTA has more than 500 people between its legal and labor relations departments, but Dellaverson said they lack the specialized expertise to handle the TWU-related litigation. Further, he said, those workers are busy with more mundane legal tasks such as fighting claims by riders and grievances by workers.
MTA critics, however, didn't buy that explanation.
"It's like waving a red flag in the union's face. We have no money for raises but can pay these incredible lawyers' bill," said Gene Russianoff, senior attorney for the Straphangers Campaign. "It's really not a savings now."
Proskauer Rose billed the MTA at least monthly for work during the lead-up to the strike, throughout the strike and during post-strike talks. Proskauer also worked during the TWU's two contract ratification votes, the April trial of transit union officials for staging the illegal strike, and binding-arbitration proceedings.
The firm also represented the MTA in a lawsuit with the transit union over the consolidation of private bus lines in the outer boroughs.
Proskauer Rose has done more than labor law for the MTA. In 2003, the MTA paid Proskauer Rose $644,925 for its work to fight challenges to the subway and bus fare hike from $1.50 to $2.
Roger Toussaint, president of TWU Local 100 and who was cross-examined by Proskauer Rose partner Neil Abramson in Brooklyn Supreme Court in April, called the latest $1.7 million bill a waste.
"This is just another example of the MTA blatantly wasting taxpayer dollars to feed their ridiculous vendetta against their own workforce," Toussaint said.
Abramson, a graduate of Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations, billed the MTA at a rate of $540 an hour for a total of $415,471.52.
He did not return a call for comment.
Proskauer Rose partners were meticulous in their invoices -- even billing the MTA for time in 15 minute increments.
Dellaverson, however, said the MTA receives a 20 percent discount on Proskauer Rose's regular rate.
The MTA is the only state agency to rely so heavily on outside counsel for its labor-related legal issues.
"We've always used inside counsel," said Craig Dickinson, spokesman for the Governor's Office of Employee Relations, which negotiates contracts with more than 165,000 state workers.
Likewise, the Port Authority uses inside counsel for their labor matters, according to a spokesman.