The CBOC must be able to select its own independent legal counsel and other advisors.  The role of the district’s staff should be to assist the CBOC in conducting the procurement, but not to have any role in the selection of the independent legal counsel or other advisor.

The entire point of the CBOC having its own independent legal counsel is to have an attorney with the sole responsibility of working for the CBOC.  By its legal, ethical requirements, the district’s bond counsel is required to be responsible solely to its client(s) – which, depending on the specific legal details, would be the district, the bondholders, and/or other parties, but will never be the CBOC.  Therefore, it is totally unacceptable for the district staff to attempt to deny the CBOC its right to have its own independent legal counsel and try to force it to use bond counsel or another attorney that, under legal ethics, must be responsible only to the district and/or other parties other than the CBOC.

There are many situations where it will be useful to have the district’s bond counsel, and/or other district legal counsel meet with the CBOC or the CBOC’s independent legal counsel.  This is a normal and common situation; there is no need to have the CBOC’s independent legal counsel do independent research, which could take considerable time and cost if the CBOC’s counsel can obtain the desired information from the district’s counsel and then verify the information and analysis provided to its satisfaction.

(See also FAQs 18., “Is Your CBOC Independent,” and 46., “CBOC Legal Counsel Selection.”)