By Carol Britton Meyer

The select board named Mead, Talerman & Costa, LLC to serve as Hull’s new town counsel for a one-year term on a unanimous vote this week, following two separate one-hour interviews with MTC attorneys and also lawyers representing KP Law, PC.

A screening committee had already narrowed the number of candidates to two.

Whether the town will pay MTC a flat fee of $14,000 a month, a monthly “hybrid” fee of $9,000 a month, or pay for services at an hourly rate has not yet been determined.

MTC replaces longtime Town Counsel James Lampke, who will assist with the transition. Lampke was a town employee; the new firm will be paid as a contractor.

“We heard from two strong firms. Either would be a good choice,” Town Manager Jennifer Constable said.

Mead, Talerman & Costa, with offices in Newburyport, Millis, and New Bedford, has expertise in general municipal law, land use and zoning, energy and environmental matters, labor issues, and residential and commercial real estate law, and serves as town counsel in dozens of Massachusetts communities, as well as special municipal counsel to others.

Attorney Jay Talerman explained MTC’s team-based approach, while Brian Winner, the primary contact for the town, and co-primary Kate Feodoroff talked about the importance of good communication, accessibility to the attorneys working for the town, and proactively providing guidance along the way to avoid litigation if at all possible.

“If chosen, we will be here to learn from you and what works best for the town,” Winner said during the interview.

Attorneys Lauren Goldberg, Gregg Corbo, and Roger Smerage represented KP Law during the interview.

KP represents more than one-third of the cities and towns in the Commonwealth as city solicitor or town counsel, and provides special counsel services.

Dedicated attorneys

Both firms offered dedicated attorneys to work on a regular basis with the town – with assistance provided by other associates in specialized fields – and training seminars.

MTC also offers office hours for town officials to become acquainted with its attorneys “and to help [them] navigate the complexities of town government,” Feodoroff explained.

MTC represents a number of coastal communities.

“Coastal issues are near and dear to our hearts,” Talerman said.

Feodoroff has experience dealing with labor and employment issues, while Winner has a background in environmental law and working with local, state, and federal agencies.

MTC also has experience in dealing with railroad bed, beach, and dune-related issues, has its own real estate department, and will keep the town apprised about new state and federal laws and legislation that could affect Hull.

‘We are approachable’

“We would be there and approachable,” Feodoroff said before the vote. “We really love being municipal lawyers. Attending meetings is not a drag. Of course it’s work, but we make the choices that we do because we really like what we do.”

MTC will also provide assistance with town meeting and special town meeting preparations and have a presence there.

All five board members agreed that the MTC fee structure was the most beneficial to the town as well as the fewer number of communities served by MTC, although a significant amount, compared with KP Law, which select board member Greg Grey felt was “a better fit to respond to our needs.”

Constable said that the MTC fee structure also appealed to her because “it gives us some degree of certainty in our budgeting. My office has a financial responsibility to the town, and this is an important factor.”

‘A big bang for the buck’

Select board member Brian McCarthy noted that two of the MTC attorneys present at the meeting were former employees of KP Law “and took that experience to MTC,” a fact that was mentioned during the interview.

“We’re getting a big bang for the buck,” he said.

Due to the MTC team’s experience in this field, Constable said she doesn’t foresee the need to hire an additional land use counsel.

Board member Jerry Taverna noted that one of the payment options – a flat fee of $14,000 a month – “might seem like a lot, but that comes to $168,000 a year, an amount that wouldn’t cover the cost of hiring one lawyer” to serve as town counsel.

“If the attorney we hired had to work the hours that Jim Lampke worked, I figure the total to be about half a million dollars [a year],” Grey said. “Jim put in 2,000 hours a year. He went above and beyond because he was part of the fabric of our community. He is irreplaceable.”

The other two fee options include a hybrid rate of $9,000 a month, and a traditional hourly arrangement.

The flat fee includes virtually all general services (excepting labor-related) and substantially all routine litigation. The hybrid fee includes virtually all general services, excluding litigation matters, which are billed at an hourly rate of $225 per hour.

The traditional hourly fee arrangement would bill all matters on an hourly basis. No additional charges are assessed for services provided by the firm’s paralegals, staff, or other personnel or for brief consultations before a meeting, for instance.

Contract will be revisited in a year

Constable said the financial model will be determined once the contract is signed. The contract will be revisited in a year.

KP Law proposed town counsel services at the single, blended hourly rate of $245 through June 30, 2025, and also a retainer option, with varying hourly rates for specialty legal services.

The MTC team is looking forward to a smooth transition.

“We know Jim and really respect him,” Talerman said. “We have a great line of communication, and he will provide updates on [all the issues facing the town.”

This is “quite a change for Hull,” Constable said. “Jim has been town counsel for decades and then some.”

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