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Policies and Regulations → Section B → BO → Legal Services
Regulation: BOA-RA
Last revised: February 24, 2010
To define the nature and scope of a legal services management system and the roles and responsibilities of school system staff members, and to establish procedures for: (1) contracting with outside counsel pursuant to the policy and the selection process established by the Board of Education (Board); (2) appraisal of legal services; and (3) cost control, reference, recordkeeping, and reporting functions.
The purposes of a management system for legal services are threefold: (1) to ensure a continuing high quality of legal counsel and representation for the school system in a cost-effective manner; (2) to achieve stability and predictability in the cost of legal services; and (3) to provide prompt access by the Board, the superintendent of schools, and school system managers to legal opinions and judicial or quasi-judicial decisions.
Legal services management includes all internal matters relating to legal services for the school system. It comprises a process for the selection and approval of new outside counsel, a methodology for budgeting and renewal of contracts for services; a means for standardizing and monitoring billing practices of retained counsel; and a periodic systematic appraisal of legal services. It includes a process for authorizing direct access of certain members of the superintendent’s staff to retain counsel; a centralized reference and reporting system for efficient retrieval of legal opinions, decisions, and reports provided to the school system; a recordkeeping system; a quality and cost-control capability; and a cost analysis provision to provide information on the services requested and their cost.