March 31, 2008
Contact: Bill Murray / 609-292-5199Senator Bill Baroni (R-14), Senator Jennifer Beck (R-12)
Senators Bill Baroni and Jennifer Beck, members of the Senate Judiciary Committee in a letter today asked committee Chairman John Adler to bring Bob Gilson the Director of the Division of Law to answer questions surrounding the contract between the state and the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, and Flom. The letter is attached.
“It’s bad enough that the state wasted even a single dime trying to impose an 800 percent toll hike on New Jersey Families. We are very troubled by published reports that indicate that the contract awarded to the law firm advising Governor Corzine on his Toll Road Tax Plan did not go to the lowest qualified bidder,” Senator Beck stated.
To date, New Jersey taxpayers have paid nearly $4 million to Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, and Flom; an additional $1.6 million is outstanding. The firm charges New Jersey $548 per hour for work performed.
“As the Director of the Division of Law, Mr. Gilson is in a unique position to answer questions about this contract which is of great concern to us and the taxpayers we represent,” Senator Baroni concluded.
March 31, 2008
Honorable John Adler
Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee
State House
P.O. Box 099
Trenton, NJ 08625-0099
Dear Chairman Adler:
We are writing to respectfully request that you bring before the next Judiciary Committee, Bob Gilson, Director of the Division of Law, to answer questions about the contract between the State and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, and Flom (Skadden) who serves as the $548 per hour National Counsel to the State for the Governor’s monetization proposal. This contract is crying out for an investigation not only because of the nearly $6 million in legal costs that have been incurred preparing for an 800% toll increase that has little or no support, but because of the selection of Skadden when at least one other competent firm proposed to do the work for far less.
Yesterday, it was reported that another bidder (Nossaman, Guthner, Knox, Elliott, and Allen & Overy) for National Counsel submitted a proposal that was deemed technically superior throughout the procurement process until an unusual second interview. Additionally, Skadden indicated in its bid that it represented global financial companies that may bid on future financing proposals related to monetization while the main competitor was relatively free of such conflicts. Finally, Skadden’s price was 10% higher than it’s main competitor. As the director of the division responsible for the selection and oversight of Skadden the following are questions we would like Mr. Gilson to publicly address:
1. Who was on the review committee that chose Skadden and how did you screen the selection committee members against conflicts of interest?
2. Why was there a need for an unusual second interview with the two main vendors when Skadden’s main competitor had been deemed technically superior after a review of proposals and an interview?
3. Why was Skadden selected if it seems likely that it will eventually have conflicts because of its representation of global financial companies that will ultimately seek opportunities from the monetization proposal?
4. Why was Skadden selected if it was more expensive than its main competitor which could have competently performed the role of National Counsel?
5. Why did the Division of Law pay, and not challenge, $4 million in legal bills received from Skadden for work performed through October, 2007 when a number of the 17 attorneys named in the bid did no work at all on the matter and when more than 50 other lawyers, whose qualifications were not provided in the bid, billed the State - some for more than $100, 000 in time spent on the matter?
As the head of the Division of Law, participant in the procurement process and recipient of most of the documents to the Governor recommending the selection of Skadden, Mr. Gilson is in a unique position to answer questions about this contract which is of great concern to us and the taxpayers we represent.
Sincerely,
Bill Baroni and Jennifer Beck
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