Procurement legislation and legal fees

THE EDITOR: The recent disclosures by Attorney General John Jeremie, SC, about the $1 billion in legal fees accrued under the previous administration demand urgent attention leading to systemic reforms.

While the Joint Consultative Council for the Construction Industry (JCC) commends the AG’s transparency, this crisis stems directly from the 2021 amendment to the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act, which exempted legal services from oversight by the Office of Procurement Regulation (OPR).

This exemption created a dangerous precedent by allowing unchecked retention of private counsel through non-competitive processes. As noted by the AG, this led to the selective employment of a few attorneys, with no accountability for the resulting fees that now burden taxpayers.

The San Juan Business Association has also rightly highlighted in the press how exorbitant fees harm private-sector access to justice.

We therefore urge the government to:

1. Repeal the OPR exemption for legal services to restore competitive bidding and transparency.

2. Implement standardised fee structures based on case complexity and hourly rates.

3. Require parliamentary approval for legal expenditures exceeding $500,000.

We understand that the AG may have a very busy legislative agenda. However, we believe it is prudent to revisit this procurement loophole to ameliorate future fiscal crises and ensure equitable access to legal representation.

FAZIR KHAN

president, CCJ