board-members-inauguration-and-business-meeting-january-14-2013

OPSB Business Board Meeting January 14, 2013

ORLEANS PARISH SCHOOL BOARD BOARD BUSINESS MEETING Edward Hynes Charter School 990 Harrison Avenue New Orleans, Louisiana 70124 January 14, 2013 10:00 a.m.

CALL TO ORDER - ROLL CALL PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA Additions/ Deletions/ Modifications SUPERINTENDENT’S AGENDA: 

Recognition of Armed Forces

ACTION ITEMS: The Orleans Parish Board is asked to act upon the following action items: 

Action Item No. 1: Election of Board President and Vice President



Action Item No. 2: Resolution 01-13. A Resolution authorizing the Board President and Vice President as signatories on behalf of the Board.

Recommendation: That the Orleans Parish School Board adopts Resolution 01-13, which authorizes the Board President to sign contracts and other official documents on behalf of the Board and authorizing the Vice President to sign in the President’s absence.



Action Item No. 3: Resolution 02-13. A resolution authorizing the appointment of Fishman, Haygood, Phelps, Walmsley, Willis & Swanson, LLP, as special counsel.

Rationale: Orleans Parish School Board attorney, Brent B. Barriere, who is currently the OPSB’s lead counsel in certain complex litigation, is moving from Phelps Dunbar, LLP, where he is currently a partner, and is joining the law firm of Fishman, Haygood, Phelps, Walmsley, Willis & Swanson, LLP. Resolution 02-13 will allow Brent B. Barriere to continue as lead counsel in said lawsuits and other complex litigation after his transition.

Recommendation: That the Orleans Parish School Board adopts Resolution 02-13, which authorizes the Office of General Counsel to seek approval from the Louisiana Attorney General to retain Fishman, Haygood, Phelps, Walmsley, Willis & Swanson, L.L.P., in particular Brent B. Barriere, as special counsel for complex litigation, under the same terms and conditions as currently exists for Phelps Dunbar, LLP.

1 REVISED AGENDA 01/12/13

OPSB Business Board Meeting January 14, 2013

 Action Item No 4: Request Amendment for Einstein Charter School Operating Agreement Recommendation: That the Orleans Parish School Board approves the request for the amendment to the Einstein Charter School Operating Agreement to increase its enrollment and add a second site.

ADJOURNMENT

2 REVISED AGENDA 01/12/13

ORLEANS PARISH SCHOOL BOARD RESOLUTION NO. 01-13 The following resolution was offered by

and seconded by

.

A resolution authorizing the Orleans Parish School Board President, , to sign contracts and other official documents on behalf of the Board and authorizing the Board Vice President, , to sign said documents when the Board President is unavailable or unable to do so.

WHEREAS, the Orleans Parish School Board had authorized and directed its immediate past President, Thomas Ainsworth Robichaux, to execute all contracts and other official documents for and on behalf of this Board, at its annual meeting on January 24, 2012; and WHEREAS, effective January 14, 2013, ______________has been duly elected President of the Orleans Parish School Board at the Orleans Parish School Board’s Regular Business Meeting held on that date, and that _________________ has been duly elected Vice President of the Orleans Parish School Board at that same meeting; and WHEREAS, the Orleans Parish School Board desires to adopt a resolution formally authorizing its President, _______________, to execute all contracts and other official documents for and on behalf of this Board, including any contracts and other official documents bearing the name of Thomas Ainsworth Robichaux, from January 14, 2013, until a successor is duly elected.

WHEREAS, the Orleans Parish School Board desires to adopt a resolution formally authorizing its Vice President, _______________, to execute all contracts and other official documents for and on behalf of this Board in those instances when the Board President is unavailable or unable to fulfill those duties.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that ______________________, duly elected President of the Orleans Parish School Board, be and is hereby authorized to execute contracts and other official documents for and on behalf of Orleans Parish School Board, including any contracts and official documents bearing the name of the Thomas Ainsworth Robichaux, from January 14, 2013, until a successor is duly elected; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that __________________, duly elected Vice President of the Orleans Parish School Board, be and the same is hereby authorized for the same period to execute contracts and other official documents for and on behalf of the Orleans Parish School Board in those instances when the Board President is unavailable or unable to fulfill those duties.

This resolution having been submitted to a vote, the vote thereon was as follows: YEAS: NAYS:

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ABSENTS: ABSTENTIONS: PASSED AND ADOPTED AT THE ORLEANS PARISH SCHOOL BOARD BUSINESS MEETING, at Edward Hynes Charter School, 990 Harrison Avenue, New Orleans, Louisiana, on this the 14th day of January, 2013.

ORLEANS PARISH SCHOOL BOARD

________________________________ , President

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ORLEANS PARISH SCHOOL BOARD RESOLUTION NO. 02-13 The following resolution was offered by

and seconded by

:

A resolution authorizing the appointment of Fishman, Haygood, Phelps, Walmsley, Willis & Swanson, LLP, as special counsel.

WHEREAS, Louisiana Revised Statutes § 42:263 authorizes the retention of special counsel by any school board upon a statement of reasons why such counsel is necessary and upon the approval by the Attorney General; and WHEREAS, the Orleans Parish School Board (the “Board”) assigned Phelps Dunbar, LLP, to represent it in the following complex and significant civil actions: 1. Orleans Parish School Board v. Lexington Insurance Company, Aon Risk Services, Inc. of Louisiana, James Lawler, ABC Insurance Company, Clarendon America Insurance Company, Essex Insurance Company, Westchester Surplus Lines Insurance Company (An ACE USA Company), and RSUI Indemnity Company, CDC No. 2006-7342 (the “Insurance Litigation”); 2. Orleans Parish School Board v. State of Louisiana, Division of Administration, and the Board of Supervisors, Louisiana State University Agricultural and Mechanical College, CDC No. 2011-3281, consolidated with Orleans Parish School Board v. Dale N. Atkins, Clerk of Court for the Parish of Orleans, CDC No. 2011-6884 (the “Expropriation Litigation”; 3. Eddy Oliver, Oscarlene Nixon, and Mildred Goodwin, et al. v. Orleans Parish School Board, et al., CDC No. 2005-12244; and, 4. Orleans Parish School Board v. Paul G. Pastorek, in his capacity as State Superintendent of Education, The Louisiana Department of Education and the Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, 19th JDC No. 601037 (hereinafter collectively referred to as the “Complex Litigation”); and WHEREAS, Brent B. Barriere, a partner in Phelps Dunbar, LLP, who has served as lead counsel in the Complex Litigation since said Complex Litigation was assigned to Phelps Dunbar, LLP, will withdraw from Phelps Dunbar, LLP, and join the law firm of Fishman, Haygood, Phelps, Walmsley, Willis & Swanson, LLP, as a partner, effective January 15, 2013; and WHEREAS, the Complex Litigation requires counsel with significant experience in sophisticated and complex litigation and, in particular, litigation involving statutory construction, multi-faceted insurance claims and complex appeals; and WHEREAS, Brent B. Barriere possesses more than 30 years of experience handling complex litigation; and WHEREAS, the Board desires that Brent B. Barriere continues to represent it in the Complex Litigation and in future complex litigation after his transition to Fishman, Haygood, Phelps, Walmsley, Willis & Swanson, LLP. Page 1 of 3

WHEREAS, Fishman, Haygood, Phelps, Walmsley, Willis & Swanson, LLP, shall be paid at the same hourly rates and under the same contingency arrangements, whichever is applicable, as previously agreed between Phelps Dunbar, LLP, and the Board and as previously approved by the Louisiana Attorney General, as more specifically set forth below; and WHEREAS, in the Insurance Litigation, Fishman, Haygood, Phelps, Walmsley, Willis & Swanson, LLP, shall be substituted for Phelps Dunbar, LLC, in the Lawyers Consortium arrangement and shall be paid, as a member of the Lawyers Consortium, on a contingency basis, provided that in the event of a recovery by the Board in the Insurance Litigation, the amount thereof shall first be applied to reimburse the Lawyers Consortium for any expenses incurred by it in connection with the Insurance Litigation and the balance to be allocated in the range of five percent (5%) at a minimum to twenty-five percent (25%) at a maximum of the total recovery to the Lawyers Consortium and the remaining ninety-five percent (95%) to seventy-five percent (75%) of the total recovery to the Board; and WHEREAS, in the Expropriation Litigation, Fishman, Haygood, Phelps, Walmsley, Willis & Swanson, LLP, shall be paid on a contingency basis, provided that in the event of a recovery by the Board, the amount thereof shall first be applied to reimburse Fishman, Haygood, Phelps, Walmsley, Willis & Swanson, LLP, for any expenses incurred by it in connection with the Expropriation Litigation and the balance allocated in the range of the lesser of five percent (5%) or the attorney’s fee that Fishman, Haygood, Phelps, Walmsley, Willis & Swanson, LLP, would have charged had this engagement been on an hourly basis at a minimum, to thirty percent (30%) at a maximum of the total recovery to the Fishman, Haygood, Phelps, Walmsley, Willis & Swanson, LLP, and the remaining ninety-five percent (95%) to seventy percent (70%) of the total recovery to the Board; and WHEREAS, in the remaining matters and in any future matters paid on an hourly basis, Fishman, Haygood, Phelps, Walmsley, Willis & Swanson, LLP, shall be paid in accordance with the following rate schedule: • $240 per hour for attorneys with experience of ten (10) years or more in the practice of law; • $150 per hour for attorneys with experience of five (5) to ten (10) years in the practice of law; • $125 per hour for attorneys with experience of three (3) to five (5) years in the practice of law; • $120 per hour for attorneys with experience of less than three (3) years in the practice of law; • $75 per hour for paralegal services; • $45 per hour for law clerk services.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT DULY RESOLVED by the Board that it hereby appoints Fishman, Haygood, Phelps, Walmsley, Willis & Swanson, LLP, in particular Brent B. Barriere, as special counsel to handle complex litigation; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Fishman, Haygood, Phelps, Walmsley, Willis & Swanson, LLP, be paid according to the above-described contingency arrangements and rate schedule; and Page 2 of 3

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the General Counsel for the Board is hereby authorized and instructed to do such other and further acts and to execute such further instruments as may be necessary and appropriate to accomplish the engagement of the Fishman, Haygood, Phelps, Walmsley, Willis & Swanson, LLP, and, in connection therewith, submit a copy of this resolution to the Attorney General for the State of Louisiana for approval.

This resolution having been submitted to a vote, the vote thereon was as follows: YEAS: NAYS: ABSENTS: ABSTENTIONS: PASSED AND ADOPTED AT THE ORLEANS PARISH SCHOOL BOARD BUSINESS MEETING, at Edward Hynes Charter School, 990 Harrison Avenue, New Orleans, Louisiana, on this the 14th day of January, 2013.

ORLEANS PARISH SCHOOL BOARD

________________________________ , President

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