Del. pays outside lawyers big fees
The News Journal (Wilmington, DE)
March 9, 2008
By Cris Barrish
Delaware taxpayers have paid more than $17 million since 2003 to private law firms for work state lawyers are supposed to handle -- from defending against lawsuits and responding to federal investigations to routine tasks such as closing real estate deals. Spending on outside legal fees keeps growing despite a 1995 government report that Delaware taxpayers could save up to $1 million a year by cutting back. Instead, outside firms continue getting lucrative deals, The News Journal found while analyzing state checkbook payments and nearly three dozen active contracts.
