BY DARRELL HALEN
Salem lawyer Bernie Campbell will continue to serve as legal counsel for the town of Windham.
Campbell’s firm, Beaumont and Campbell Professional Association, was selected by Windham selectmen from four firms that bid on a three-year contract to perform legal work for the town.
As the town’s general counsel, Campbell does about 90 percent of the town’s legal work, according to Town Administrator David Sullivan.
Campbell, a member of the Salem school board who has served many years as Windham’s lawyer, got competition for doing the town’s legal work when selectmen decided this year to put the job out to bid.
The three other firms that bid were Soule, Leslie, Kidder, Sayward and Loughman PLLC of Salem; Boutin Altieri PLLC of Londonderry; and Shaines and McEachern, PA, of Portsmouth.
A committee made up of Sullivan, Assistant Town Administrator Dana Call, Selectman Margaret Crisler and Planning Director Al Turner reviewed proposals submitted by the four bidders.
The Shaines firm was not selected for an interview. Sullivan told selectmen committee members favored the other three firms because of their experience working in municipal law and because they are local.
Sullivan said the committee recommended that the town continue using Campbell’s firm.
“We believe we can continue to be served well by (them),” he said.
Campbell bid to do the work at a standard (out of court), lead attorney rate of $122 per hour in the first year, and $128 per hour in the second and third years.
In comparison, the Soule firm offered to do the same type of work at $170 in the first year, $175 in the second year, and $180 in the third year.
The Boutin firm offered to do the work for $175 an hour each year.
The Shaines firm, the one eliminated from consideration, bid at an hourly rate of $150.
Bids also included hourly rates to pay associate lawyers and others to do work in and out of court.
Selectman Alan Carpenter, citing that there may be times when Campbell has a conflict of interest with a case, said he would like to see the town have a relationship established with a second firm.
Sullivan said the town has used other lawyers in the past, and that labor issues have been handled by Devine and Millimet, a firm in Manchester.