Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutContract 1568r~~ w February 19, 2007 - ., ~ ,. Ms. Linda Magee City of Columbia Heights _, 590 40th Street N.E. Columbia Heights, MN 55421 ~~ f~ ~' f- ~~ I 1 C Re: Bradley &Guzzetta, LLC 2007 Rate Adjustment x}50 Piper.i, ray Plaza Dear Linda: 44~ CeC~f ' treat saint ~ [, ~`~'. _ our firm is dedicated to providing professional services to Local As you know ~ 1: ~ , Bove ants on cable and telecommunications matters. We beli~°ve that our firm cons2sC~nt~y provides t~~gn-quality legal, teg~s~at~ve and p1am~ v` , r~'~ves to ~4 C11entS at reasonable Tales. In the Twlrt `:hies area, our firir°t coitttitties tv^ represent _ ~~y te~'c' Lei R. ~rad~e~°~ the City of Minneapolis and numerous other franchising authorities and joint Stephen ~~ Ciuzzetta~ powers commissions in the Comcast territory. Gregory ~. Ci6a1 ~ptan F. ~,au[e Ac ~n t ~ a P a~ ar nnr r t e hav dot peen adjtsted since 2405. AlthOUgh we g .,u rn~y b~ ~ .~r`...e, _.. _a.e.. __~ . e _ t.e~at ssi~ta~t~ have tried to reduce or contain our overhead and related expenses over the last 3oseph Krv~e~,~er two years to the extent possible, the cost of living and doing business has increased during this time. To keep our discounted municipal rates at 2005 levels, r~~t~t~~e~ it is necessary to make a cost of living adjustment ("COLA") to our rates of That~tas ~'. PiunEcett approximately 2.7% cansistent with the urban consumer price index ("CPI-U") J. t7a~id Abra~7~sor~ for Minneapolis/St. Paul, effective with our March 2007 invoices, which means the professional hourly rate for partners will be $180 per hour. We have informally polled some non-Bradley &Guzzetta clients and have found that other public sector firms specializing in telecommunications are charging between $190 to $250 per hour for similar services. On the industry side, attorneys with our experience in telecommunications have hourly rates of $275 - $350 per hour. We continue to offer our services to the public sector at rates that are below the market rate for attorneys with our experience in our area of practice. Unlike most other firms, vJe will also continue to split our fees among our local government clients whenever possible, which effectively reduces our partner rate to $30 per hour or less in many instances. We trust that you will continue to find that our firnl provides value at a very reasonable cast. Thank you for your understanding and your continued business. Sincerely, B radley ~~ GUZZetta, LLC 950 Piper Jaffxay Plaza 444 Cedar Street Saint Paul, MN 55 t O 1 P/ (b51) 379-0900 F/(651)379-0999 Attorneys at Law Michael R. l3radley~- Stephen J. Guzzetta* Emily Faye Jewett Senior Project Manager Tracy J. Schaefer Legal Assistants Brian F. Laule Jennifer O. Mitchell Of Counsel Thomas C. Plunkett Gregory S. Uhl www.Uradi~g~guzzetta. com July 18, 2005 Ms. Linda Magee City of Columbia Heights S90 40th Avenue N.E. Columbia Heights, Minnesota 55421 Re: Bradley & Guzzetta, LLC 2005 Rate Adjustment Dear Linda: ~~ °`~ ~~, ~r`_~'~ `A C'r' ~ yqt 1,~ ~ ~. ~. ~... . As you know, our firm is dedicated to providing professional services exclusively to local governments on cable and telecommunications matters. We believe that our firm consistently provides high-quality legal, legislative and planning services to its clients. In the Twin Cities area, our firm continues to represent the City of Minneapolis and nearly all of the franchise areas in the Comcast territory. Unlike most other firms, we split fees between our local franchising authority clients whenever possible, which frequently allows the City to save a significant amount of money and to receive a signif cant amount of services at a reduced cost. Often times this translates to your City paying 1/6 or less of our discounted hourly municipal rates. If Comcast successfully acquires the Minneapolis-area Time Warner Cable systems, the City will likely receive even greater savings from this billing arrangement. As you may be aware, our rates have not been adjusted in over four years. Of course the cost of living and doing business has not remained static during this time. We have informally polled some non-Bradley & Guzzetta clients and have found that other firms are charging between $185 to $250 per hour for similar services. Effective with your next billing cycle, our municipal discounted rate for partners will be $175 per hour, which is still below the market rate for attorneys with our experience in our area of practice. All other rates will remain unchanged. Vile will also continue to split our fees, which effectively reduces our partner rate to $30 per hour or less in many instances. If there axe any contract amendments that need to be made to effectuate this rate change, please let us know. We tract that you will continue to find that our firm provides value at a very reasonable cost. Thank you for your understanding and your continued business. We look forward to continuing to serve you and your City. Sincerely, BRADLEY & GUZZETTA, LLC '"~~~ . /~i / ~,2 r! '~~ r~~ Michael R. Bradley Steph n J. „uzzetta .~ ., A1sa admitted in Wisconsin "'Also admitted in Massachusetts and the PLEASE NOTE: CITY HALL PHONE NUMBERS HAVE CHANGED. NEW NUMBERS ARE: MAIN NUMBER (763) 706-3600; TDD (763) 706-3692 November 17, 2000 Mr. Thomas D. Creighton Creiglitoli, Bradley, and Guzzetta, LLC 5402 Parkdale Drive, Suite 102 Minneapolis, MN 55416 Dear Tom: The purpose of this Letter of Agreement is to formalize terms for employment of Creighton, Bradley, and Guzzetta, LLC to represent the City of Columbia Heights as its law firm for cable and telecommunications. The services to be provided include: 1) Legal representation of the City of Columbia Heights in connection with its cable and telecommunications regulatory matters. 2) General legal advice and assistance relating to the administration of the cable and telecommunications franchise(s). 3) General legal advice and assistance relating to items requested by the Telecommunications Commission and/or referred to the Telecommunications Commission by the City Council. 4) Attendance at meetings. All services and representation will be provided by Creighton, Bradley, and Guzzetta, LLC. Other members of the firm or sub-contractors of the firm may provide backup services within the areas of their specialties. There will be no substitution of personnel except with prior client approval. Moreover, no project will be undertaken or service provided without the express authorization and direction of the client. Full control over use of time pursuant to this Agreement will rest with the City Manager or his designee. All services rendered pursuant to this agreement which involve decisions to undertake court procedures, actual court appearances, legal opinions or interpretation decisions which are within the authority of the City Attorney will be brought to the attention of and discussed with the City Attorney. Final judgment on legal interpretations and decisions to proceed with legal process shall remain with the City Attorney unless such responsibility is delegated otherwise. THE CITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE ON THE BASIS OF DISABILITY IN EMPLOYMENT OR THE PROVISION OF SERVICES EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER November 17, 2000 Thomas D. Creighton Page 2 of 2 Pages Services rendered will be billed on a monthly basis, at a rate of: Thomas Creighton $150/hour Michael Bradley $135/hour Stephen Guzzetta $135/hour, plus direct expenses such as postage and photocopying. Effective January 1, 2001, services rendered will be billed on a monthly basis, at a rate of: Thomas Creighton $160/hour Michael Bradley $145/hour Stephen Guzzetta $145/hour, plus direct expenses such as postage and photocopying. The bills must be itemized by date, services rendered, time expended and expenses incurred. Direct expenses must be itemized separately. If your work involves areas that will be reimbursed to the City by the Cable Company or some other source such as transfer of ownership or litigation, your billing rate will be $200 per hour. This agreement may be terminated by either party upon thirty days written notice. Sincerely, ~._ .~ _ ~~ Gary L. Pet son, Mayor Walter R. Fehst, ity Man ger CREIGHTON, BRADLEY, & GUZZETTA, LLC ~~ _~ ~ ~__w . s _._ ~~ ~-_ T as D. Creighton, orney Stephen Guzzetta; ttorney cb 2000/ 194 r ~ ~,~ February 5, 2008 Ms. Linda Magee <° ~ Assistant to the City Manager . F. ; -~- City of Columbia Heights 590 40`" Avenue, NE ~~~,~,~~~% Columbia Heights, MN 55421 xuzzetta~ 1.LC Re: Bradley &Guzzetta, LLC 2008 Rate Adjustment 444 Cedar Street, Suite 9.50 Saint Paul, MN 551.01. Dear Linda: P/ (651) 379-0900 1'i (651) 379-0999 As you know, our firm is dedicated to providing professional services to local Attorneys at Law governments on cable and telecommunications matters. We believe that our firm Michael R. Bradlev-Y consistently provides high-quality legal, legislative and planning services to its Stephen J. Guzzetta* clients at reasonable rates. In the Twin Cities area, our firm continues to represent Gregory S. Uhl the City of Minneapolis and numerous other franchising authorities and joint powers commissions in the Comcast territory. Of Counsel J. David Abramson Although we are always trying to reduce or contain our overhead and related expenses, the cost of living and doing business continues to increase. To maintain our discounted municipal rates at 2007 levels, it is necessary to make a cost of living adjustment ("COLA") to our rates of approximately 3.8% consistent with the urban consumer price index ("CPI-U") for Minneapolis/St. Paul, effective with our February 2008 invoices, which means the professional hourly rate for partners will be $185 per hour. We have informally polled some non-Bradley & Guzzetta clients and have found that other public sector firms specializing in telecommunications are charging between $195 to $250 per hour for similar services. On the industry side, attorneys with our experience in telecommunications have hourly rates of $275 - $450 per hour. We continue to offer our services to the public sector at rates that are below the market rate for attorneys with our experience in our area of practice. Unlike most other firms, we will also continue to split our fees among our local government clients whenever possible, which effectively reduces our partner rate to $40 per hour or less in many instances. We trust that you will continue to find that our firm provides value at a very reasonable cost. Thank you for your understanding and your continued business. Sincerely, BRADLEY & GUZZETTA, LLC www.bradleyguzzetta.conl Stephen J. Guzzetta fAlso admitted in Wisconsin *Also admitted in AQassachusetts and the District of Columbia