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| To enact sections 9.49, 9.491, 9.492, 9.493, 9.494, | 1 |
| 9.495, and 9.496 of the Revised Code to provide | 2 |
| transparency in contracts between the state and | 3 |
| private attorneys. | 4 |
| Section 1. That sections 9.49, 9.491, 9.492, 9.493, 9.494, | 5 |
| 9.495, and 9.496 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as | 6 |
| follows: | 7 |
| Sec. 9.49. Sections 9.49 to 9.496 of the Revised Code shall | 8 |
| be known as the transparency in private attorney contracts act. | 9 |
| Sec. 9.491. As used sections 9.49 to 9.496 of the Revised | 10 |
| Code: | 11 |
| (A) "Contract" means a contract with a private attorney for | 12 |
| any legal matter in which the budget for legal fees is estimated | 13 |
| by the attorney general to be one hundred thousand dollars or | 14 |
| more. | 15 |
| (B) "Legal matter" means any administrative proceeding, case, | 16 |
| group of cases, or legal issue for which the state requires legal | 17 |
| representation or advice. | 18 |
| (C) "Private attorney" means any attorney in the private | 19 |
| practice of law or a law firm but does not mean an attorney | 20 |
| appointed by the attorney general pursuant to section 109.08 of | 21 |
| the Revised Code for the purpose of collecting debts certified to | 22 |
| the attorney general for collection under any law or debts that | 23 |
| the attorney general is authorized to collect. | 24 |
| (D) "State" means this state and any officer, department, | 25 |
| board, commission, division, bureau, council, or unit of | 26 |
| organization, however designated, of the executive branch of | 27 |
| government of this state and any of its agents. | 28 |
| (E) "Securities class action" means an action brought as a | 29 |
| class action that includes a violation of the "Securities Act of | 30 |
| 1933," 15 U.S.C. 77a and following, or the "Securities Exchange | 31 |
| Act of 1934," 15 U.S.C. 78a and following. | 32 |
| Sec. 9.492. (A) The state shall not enter into a contract | 33 |
| with a private attorney unless the attorney general or the | 34 |
| attorney general's designee makes a written determination prior to | 35 |
| entering into that contract or within a reasonable time after | 36 |
| entering into the contract that private representation is both | 37 |
| cost-effective and in the public interest. Any written | 38 |
| determination shall include findings for each of the following | 39 |
| factors: | 40 |
| (1) Whether there exist sufficient and appropriate legal and | 41 |
| financial resources within the attorney general's office to handle | 42 |
| the matter involved; | 43 |
| (2) The nature of the legal matter for which private | 44 |
| representation is required so long as divulging that information | 45 |
| would not violate any ethical responsibility of the attorney | 46 |
| general or privilege held by the state. | 47 |
| (B) If the attorney general or the attorney general's | 48 |
| designee makes the determination described in division (A) of this | 49 |
| section, the attorney general or the attorney general's designee | 50 |
| shall request qualifications from private attorneys to represent | 51 |
| the state, unless the attorney general or the attorney general's | 52 |
| designee determines that requesting qualifications is not feasible | 53 |
| under the circumstances and sets forth the basis for this | 54 |
| determination in writing. In any case in which the attorney | 55 |
| general or the attorney general's designee determines that it is | 56 |
| not feasible to request qualifications, the attorney general shall | 57 |
| select from the list compiled under division (C) of this section a | 58 |
| private attorney to represent the state. | 59 |
| (C) The attorney general shall prepare and publish on the | 60 |
| attorney general's web site a list of private attorneys who are | 61 |
| qualified to represent the state if requesting qualifications | 62 |
| under division (B) of this section is not feasible, the criteria | 63 |
| for inclusion on the list, and the names of the private attorneys | 64 |
| that have been accepted for inclusion on the list. The attorney | 65 |
| general shall specify the types of legal matters for which private | 66 |
| attorneys on the list are qualified to represent the state. The | 67 |
| attorney general shall update the list as necessary. | 68 |
| (D)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (D)(2) of | 69 |
| this section and subject to divisions (D)(3) and (4) of this | 70 |
| section, the state shall not enter into a contingency fee contract | 71 |
| with a private attorney that provides for the private attorney to | 72 |
| receive an aggregate contingency fee in excess of the total of the | 73 |
| following amounts: | 74 |
| (a) Twenty-five per cent of any damages up to ten million | 75 |
| dollars; | 76 |
| (b) Twenty per cent of any portion of any damages of ten | 77 |
| million dollars or more but less than fifteen million dollars; | 78 |
| (c) Fifteen per cent of any portion of any damages of fifteen | 79 |
| million dollars or more but less than twenty million dollars; | 80 |
| (d) Ten per cent of any portion of any damages of twenty | 81 |
| million dollars or more but less than twenty-five million dollars; | 82 |
| (e) Five per cent of any portion of any damages of | 83 |
| twenty-five million dollars or more. | 84 |
| (2) Except as provided in division (E) of this section with | 85 |
| respect to security class actions, the aggregate contingency fee | 86 |
| under division (D)(1) of this section, exclusive of reasonable | 87 |
| costs and expenses, shall not exceed fifty million dollars, | 88 |
| regardless of the number of lawsuits filed or the number of | 89 |
| private attorneys retained to achieve the recovery, unless the | 90 |
| contract expressly authorizes a contingency fee in excess of fifty | 91 |
| million dollars. The attorney general shall not enter into a | 92 |
| contract authorizing a contingency fee in excess of fifty million | 93 |
| dollars without the approval of the controlling board. | 94 |
| (3) A contingency fee in a contingency fee contract under | 95 |
| division (D)(1) of this section shall not be based on penalties or | 96 |
| civil fines awarded or on any amounts attributable to penalties or | 97 |
| civil fines. | 98 |
| (4) The amount of a contingency fee paid to a private | 99 |
| attorney under a contingency fee contract between the state and | 100 |
| the private attorney shall be the percentage of the amount of | 101 |
| damages actually recovered by the state to which the private | 102 |
| attorney is entitled under division (D)(1) of this section. | 103 |
| (E) In any contingency fee contract covering a securities | 104 |
| class action in which this state is appointed as lead plaintiff | 105 |
| pursuant to section 27(a)(3)(B)(i) of the "Securities Act of | 106 |
| 1933," 15 U.S.C. 77z-1(a)(3)(B)(i) or section 21D(a)(3)(B)(i) of | 107 |
| the "Securities Exchange Act of 1934," 15 U.S.C. 78u-4(a)(3)(B)(i) | 108 |
| or in which any state is a class representative, division (D)(2) | 109 |
| of this section applies only with respect to the state's share of | 110 |
| any judgment, settlement amount, or common fund and does not apply | 111 |
| to the amount of attorney's fees that may be awarded to a private | 112 |
| attorney for representing other members of a class certified | 113 |
| pursuant to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or | 114 |
| state class action procedures. | 115 |
| (F) A contract entered into between the state and a private | 116 |
| attorney under this section shall include all of the following | 117 |
| provisions that apply throughout the term of the contract and any | 118 |
| extensions of that term: | 119 |
| (1) An assistant attorney general shall retain complete | 120 |
| control over the course and conduct of the case involved. | 121 |
| (2) An assistant attorney general with supervisory authority | 122 |
| shall oversee the litigation of the case. | 123 |
| (3) An assistant attorney general shall retain veto power | 124 |
| over any decisions made by the private attorney. | 125 |
| (4) Any opposing party in the case may contact the assistant | 126 |
| attorney general directly without having to confer with the | 127 |
| private attorney unless the assistant attorney general instructs | 128 |
| the opposing party otherwise. | 129 |
| (5) An assistant attorney general with supervisory authority | 130 |
| for the case may attend all settlement conferences. | 131 |
| (6) Final approval regarding settlement of the case shall be | 132 |
| reserved exclusively to the discretion of the attorney general. | 133 |
| Sec. 9.493. The state shall not enter into a contract with a | 134 |
| private attorney located outside this state unless the attorney | 135 |
| general determines that at least one of the following applies: | 136 |
| (A) There are no private attorneys with an office in this | 137 |
| state that are willing to accept the legal representation. | 138 |
| (B) All private attorneys with offices in this state that | 139 |
| possess the necessary experience or capability are conflicted and | 140 |
| unable to represent the state or the attorney general or lack | 141 |
| necessary personnel and capacity in the firm to take on the | 142 |
| engagement. | 143 |
| (C) The attorney general is prevented from engaging a private | 144 |
| attorney with an office in this state under the rules of the | 145 |
| controlling board regarding waiver of competitive selection. | 146 |
| (D) There are no private attorneys with offices in this state | 147 |
| that possess the necessary experience, capability, or capacity | 148 |
| required by the contemplated engagement. | 149 |
| Sec. 9.494. (A) A copy of the contract between the state and | 150 |
| a private attorney pursuant to section 9.492 or 9.493 of the | 151 |
| Revised Code and any corresponding submission by the attorney | 152 |
| general to the controlling board for a waiver of competitive | 153 |
| selection shall be posted on the attorney general's web site and | 154 |
| shall remain posted on the web site for the duration of the | 155 |
| contract. | 156 |
| (B) A private attorney under contract to provide services to | 157 |
| the state pursuant to section 9.492 or 9.493 of the Revised Code | 158 |
| shall maintain from the inception of the contract until at least | 159 |
| three years after the contract expires or is terminated detailed | 160 |
| current records, including documentation of all expenses, | 161 |
| disbursements, charges, credits, underlying receipts and invoices, | 162 |
| and other financial transactions that concern the provision of the | 163 |
| attorney services. The private attorney shall maintain detailed | 164 |
| contemporaneous time records for the attorneys and paralegals | 165 |
| working on the legal matter and shall promptly provide these | 166 |
| records to the attorney general upon request. | 167 |
| Sec. 9.495. By September 1 of each year, the attorney | 168 |
| general shall submit a report to the president of the senate and | 169 |
| the speaker of the house of representatives describing the use of | 170 |
| contracts with private attorneys in the preceding fiscal year. The | 171 |
| report shall include the following: | 172 |
| (A) Identification of all contracts entered into during the | 173 |
| fiscal year and all previously executed contracts that remain | 174 |
| current during any part of the fiscal year or that have been | 175 |
| closed during any part of the fiscal year, and for each contract a | 176 |
| description of all of the following: | 177 |
| (1) The name of the private attorney with whom the state has | 178 |
| contracted, including the name of the private attorney's law firm | 179 |
| if the private attorney is an individual; | 180 |
| (2) The nature of the legal matter that is the subject of the | 181 |
| contract so long as divulging that information would not violate | 182 |
| any ethical responsibility of the attorney general or privilege | 183 |
| held by the state; | 184 |
| (3) The state entity the private attorney was engaged to | 185 |
| represent or counsel; | 186 |
| (4) The total legal fees approved by the attorney general for | 187 |
| payment to a private attorney by the state for legal services | 188 |
| rendered during the preceding fiscal year. | 189 |
| (B) Copies of any request for qualifications received by the | 190 |
| attorney general pursuant to division (B) of section 9.492 of the | 191 |
| Revised Code. | 192 |
| Sec. 9.496. Nothing in sections 9.49 to 9.495 of the Revised | 193 |
| Code shall be construed to expand the authority of any state | 194 |
| agency or state agent to enter into contracts if no such authority | 195 |
| previously existed. | 196 |