Richland 1 board members question payments to two law firms for bonds

Two Richland 1 school board members are questioning why two law firms, one co-founded by the board chair’s wife, received more in legal fees for bond work than all other firms combined during the last 10 years.

Of the $1.55 million the district spent since 2010 on legal services for bond work, $805,000 has gone to Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein and Jabber & Isaac, the latter of which was co-founded by Devine’s wife, Tameika Isaac Devine. Tameika Isaac Devine is also also a Columbia City Councilwoman.

The law firm that was paid the third-most money was McNair Law Firm, which received $441,306.

Richland 1 board members discussed the spending during a virtual meeting on June 23. The issue was raised during the meeting by board member Jonathan Milling, who pointed out that some firms were being paid more than others for legal work. Jamie Devine recused himself from the discussion, citing the connection between himself and Jabber & Isaac.

The State has reached out to Jamie Devine for comment.

Milling, an attorney who joined the school board earlier this year, questioned why two law firms received more legal funds than the others.

“It certainly looks bad,” Milling said.

Tameika Isaac Devine questioned whether the figures are misleading.

The amount a law firm is paid depends on how many bonds its attorneys participated in, the dollar amount of each bond, and the role an attorney played in getting the bond issued, Tameika Isaac Devine said in an email to The State.

For example, attorneys who oversee the bond issuance are paid more than attorneys who oversee disclosure of legally required information, Devine said. Her firm frequently oversaw the issue of bonds.

Richland 1 selects attorneys by approving annually a slate of possible attorneys to use, and then rotating legal work among that group, Richland 1 attorney Susan Williams said during the meeting.

Since 2010, seven law firms have been a part of the rotation for bond work, Williams said through a district spokeswoman. Questions about payments to Parker Poe and Jabber & Isaac came as the board considered renewing the rotation on June 23.

Board member Beatrice King said the seeming disproportionate amount of work assigned to Parker Poe and Jabber & Isaac raises questions about how the district hires attorneys.

“I think we need to be clear on how this rotation of work is done and that it’s equitable,” King said.

King noted the issue was tabled at Tuesday’s meeting, which means it will come up at a future meeting.

The district sometimes chooses a specific firm outside the rotation or outside the slate because the firm has expertise in a particular area, Williams said.

The majority of the payments to Parker Poe and Jabber & Isaac — $525,000 — were listed as simultaneous payments to both firms. Milling objected to this, saying billing this way made it difficult to determine how much money each firm received, he said.

“That’s not how you maintain transparency,” Milling said.

Outside of those payments, Parker Poe received $205,000 in payments and Jabber & Isaac received $75,000, documents show.

This story was originally published June 30, 2020 at 2:10 PM.