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HomeMy WebLinkAbout920037.tiff RESOLUTION RE: APPROVE ENGAGEMENT OF SPECIAL COUNSEL AND AUTHORIZE CHAIRMAN TO SIGN WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County, Colorado, pursuant to Colorado statute and the Weld County Home Rule Charter, is vested with the authority of administering the affairs of Weld County, Colorado, and WHEREAS, pursuant to Article V, Section 5.5 of the Weld County Home Rule Charter, the Board is allowed to engage special counsel when it is determined to be necessary, and WHEREAS, the County Attorney has advised the Board to engage counsel with expertise in the securities field and local to California, to handle the matter of $4.6 million of county funds frozen by the Securities Exchange Commission, and WHEREAS, the Board has been presented with an Engagement Letter with Phillips, Haglund, Haddan & Jeffers, with the further terms and conditions being as stated in said letter, and WHEREAS, after review, the Board deems it advisable to approve said letter, a copy of which is attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County, Colorado, that the firm of Phillips, Haglund, Haddan & Jeffers be, and hereby is, engaged as special counsel. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the Board that the Chairman be, and hereby is, authorized to sign said letter. The above and foregoing Resolution was, on motion duly made and seconded, adopted by the following vote on the 15th day of January, A.D. , 1992. �/�am BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ATTEST: C ` WELD COUNTY, COLORADO Weld County Clerk to the Board / �V X V Geoorre Ken edy, Chairman -- BY: � �� / IV /J 1�11�1 GA' ��(.,✓�t1� r„F Deputy C rk to the Board Constance L. Harbert, Pro-Tem APPROVED AS RM: 7 C. W. Kirby C County Attorney Gordo . Lac A W. H. Webster 920037 Ofico( 8 c1 , f}c , t4 id 1'1. ( uw PHILLIPS, HAGLUND, HADDAN & JEFFERS ATTORNEYS AT LAW 4695 MACARTHUR COURT, SUITE 1150 NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA 92660 17141 752-6100 OF COUNSEL DANIEL M. RARKINS FACSIMILE (714) 752-6161 ROBERT V. GIBSON January 13, 1992 Bruce T. Barker, Esq. t ••,a/r • : y Assistant County Attorney l !1� Weld County J.,'d 1 x'92 915 10th Street . Greeley, CO 80631 :WELD COUNTY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE Dear Mr. Morrison: As a follow up to our telephone conversations today and those with Mr. Morrison on Friday afternoon this letter sets out the terms under which my firm, Phillips, Haglund, Haddan & Jeffers, would be engaged as special counsel to the Board of County Commissioners. The purpose of our engagement would be to assist the Board in (i) examining the relationship between the County and the investment advisory firm of Institutional Treasury Management ( "ITM" ) , (ii) determining the status of the County' s account and (iii) recovering the County' s funds. You have advised me that the County had approximately $4 .6 million under the management of ITM and that you have been unable to recover those funds. It is my understanding that the court appointed receiver for ITM has failed to identify or return any of your funds. Phillips Haglund is an eleven lawyer firm whose primary area of practice is corporate and securities law. Each of the six partners has specific specialties within securities law. Michael Jeffers and I are both specialists in investment advisor and investment company regulation. In addition, I am a specialist in broker dealer regulation and government securities, having served as general counsel to a government securities broker, general securities broker and registered investment advisor. Mr. Jeffers and I have more than thirty years of combined experience in securities regulatory law, thus uniquely positioning our firm to serve the needs of our clients in this area. I have enclosed a brief resume of each of the lawyers in the firm for your review. As I informed you, this firm is currently representing a former client of Denman Securities, an affiliate of ITM, in an attempt to locate and recover that client' s funds which had been entrusted to ITM/Denman. Much of the research into the procedures and operations of ITM/Denman that has been done is directly applicable to analyzing the relationship between ITM and Weld County. If we are engaged we would propose to review: ( 1) the County' s contractual relationship with ITM, (2) all trading activity in the County' s accounts under the control or influence of ITM, (3) the relationship, if any, which the County may have had with any other advisor, broker or custodian, (4 ) compliance by all parties with all applicable securities laws and contractual undertakings, (5) review all trading activity to determine if the County has suffered any loss as a result of unauthorized activity or non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations, (6) the identification of all parties who may have failed to meet obligations to the County under statutory, regulatory and common law and ( 7 ) plot a course for the recovery of all of the County' s funds. The overriding objective shall at all times be the timely recovery of the County' s funds . We will at all times act at the direction of and in conjunction with the office of the County Counsel. Reports on the results of our investigation will be made to the County Attorney, or his designee, in a format presentable to the elected officials of the County. As the County' s representatives we will endeavor to cooperate with the Securities and Exchange Commission, U.S. Postal Inspector, U.S. Attorney and all other governmental and regulatory authorities that are investigating the activities of ITM and its affiliates, officers, directors and employees. Our services will be billed on a monthly basis at an hourly rate of $175 plus reimbursement for all expenses reasonably incurred. Extraordinary disbursements will be submitted to the County Attorney for preapproval, which may be oral, and all monthly statements will be forwarded to the County Attorney for approval prior to payment. All statements will be due when received. In view of the complexity and immediacy of this matter, we are requesting an initial retainer of $15,000 which will be credited against our statements. This agreement will govern all services we may perform for the County on this matter unless we receive additional written instructions from the County. The County may discharge us at any time and for any reason but we may withdraw from the representation only with the County' s consent or for good cause. Please confirm that this letter accurately sets out the terms of our engagement by signing the enclosed copy in the space provided and returning it to us. Sincerely, Phillips,s,Haglund, H ddan & Jeffers By; �- '^p� Daniel M. Harkins Accepted and Agreed: tin Board of County Commissioners ATTEST: ,( f ._til VA� Weld County Colorado � il� i/ 777 TO IHE BOAj '>Y�i✓�By= BY: er �lO.5190-- DEPUTY CLERK 10 THE BOARD --",00-e-71 Hello