Nassau Interim Financial Authority to audit county's spending on private law firms
County Executive Bruce Blakeman at a news conference in Mineola on Thursday. Credit: Newsday/Howard Schnapp
Nassau’s financial oversight board plans to audit the county’s spending on outside law firms over the past year, which has more than doubled since 2022.
On Thursday, the Nassau Interim Financial Authority, or NIFA, posted a request for proposals seeking bids on its website. It marks the first time NIFA has voluntarily opted to audit the county’s administration.
Nassau County has far surpassed its budget for private law firms since County Executive Bruce Blakeman took office. The administration has a track record of approving contracts — some as much as $1,200 per hour — without legally mandated approval by Nassau’s Interim Finance Authority, as previously reported by Newsday.
"Taxpayer-funded spending on outside counsel services is spiraling out of control," Rory Lancman, NIFA’s vice chair, wrote in a statement to Newsday.
It’s "raising questions about the County Attorney office’s operations, the County’s procurement process and politically rooted litigation that I hope an independent comprehensive audit will get to the bottom of," Lancman wrote.
A spokesperson for Blakeman declined to comment for this article.
Before Blakeman’s tenure, the county spent between $3 million and $6 million a year on private lawyers. Last year, that number was $9 million, according to county records.
This year, the county again budgeted for $9 million, then moved another $10 million from reserve funds — totaling nearly $20 million for outside law firms, or a 111% increase, according to NIFA officials. The spike, they say, stems in part from an exodus of experienced attorneys working for the county and the Blakeman administration hiring costlier law firms than past county executives.
In April, the Blakeman administration and County Legislature sued New York to oppose the so-called even-year election law, shifting most local elections from odd to even years, Lancman said. The move came just two weeks after Onondaga County filed a similar suit.
At least eight counties and governments across New York sued the state opposing the even-year election law, according to Lancman, prompting the private law firm representing Nassau to consolidate its suit with Onondaga’s.
"This was a duplicative and wasteful lawsuit that should never have been filed," Lancman wrote in a statement to Newsday.
Blakeman was also listed as a plaintiff "individually and as a voter" in the suit. Using taxpayer money to legally represent Blakeman as a private citizen is unlawful, according to Lancman.
Last year, Nassau County paid $2.5 million to a law firm to defend itself against Hofstra University, which sued the county after it issued a lease to Las Vegas Sands for the Coliseum property without conducting the proper public review process. It wasn’t until eight months later that lawmakers approved the contract, meaning the county attorney’s office signed away millions to the law firm without legislative approval.
The county doles out cash for smaller contracts, too. Last summer, Blakeman spent $5,000 on an attorney to patent a new county slogan: "Golden From Coast to Coast," Newsday previously reported.
NIFA is accepting bids from firms until Dec. 13, and plans to select a company around Jan. 24. It is unclear how much the group has budgeted for this effort.
Asked for a ballpark number, NIFA Chairman Richard Kessel said, "It’ll be a heck of a lot less than the county attorney is paying outside counsel."
Nassau’s financial oversight board plans to audit the county’s spending on outside law firms over the past year, which has more than doubled since 2022.
On Thursday, the Nassau Interim Financial Authority, or NIFA, posted a request for proposals seeking bids on its website. It marks the first time NIFA has voluntarily opted to audit the county’s administration.
Nassau County has far surpassed its budget for private law firms since County Executive Bruce Blakeman took office. The administration has a track record of approving contracts — some as much as $1,200 per hour — without legally mandated approval by Nassau’s Interim Finance Authority, as previously reported by Newsday.
"Taxpayer-funded spending on outside counsel services is spiraling out of control," Rory Lancman, NIFA’s vice chair, wrote in a statement to Newsday.
It’s "raising questions about the County Attorney office’s operations, the County’s procurement process and politically rooted litigation that I hope an independent comprehensive audit will get to the bottom of," Lancman wrote.
A spokesperson for Blakeman declined to comment for this article.
Before Blakeman’s tenure, the county spent between $3 million and $6 million a year on private lawyers. Last year, that number was $9 million, according to county records.
This year, the county again budgeted for $9 million, then moved another $10 million from reserve funds — totaling nearly $20 million for outside law firms, or a 111% increase, according to NIFA officials. The spike, they say, stems in part from an exodus of experienced attorneys working for the county and the Blakeman administration hiring costlier law firms than past county executives.
In April, the Blakeman administration and County Legislature sued New York to oppose the so-called even-year election law, shifting most local elections from odd to even years, Lancman said. The move came just two weeks after Onondaga County filed a similar suit.
At least eight counties and governments across New York sued the state opposing the even-year election law, according to Lancman, prompting the private law firm representing Nassau to consolidate its suit with Onondaga’s.
"This was a duplicative and wasteful lawsuit that should never have been filed," Lancman wrote in a statement to Newsday.
Blakeman was also listed as a plaintiff "individually and as a voter" in the suit. Using taxpayer money to legally represent Blakeman as a private citizen is unlawful, according to Lancman.
Last year, Nassau County paid $2.5 million to a law firm to defend itself against Hofstra University, which sued the county after it issued a lease to Las Vegas Sands for the Coliseum property without conducting the proper public review process. It wasn’t until eight months later that lawmakers approved the contract, meaning the county attorney’s office signed away millions to the law firm without legislative approval.
The county doles out cash for smaller contracts, too. Last summer, Blakeman spent $5,000 on an attorney to patent a new county slogan: "Golden From Coast to Coast," Newsday previously reported.
NIFA is accepting bids from firms until Dec. 13, and plans to select a company around Jan. 24. It is unclear how much the group has budgeted for this effort.
Asked for a ballpark number, NIFA Chairman Richard Kessel said, "It’ll be a heck of a lot less than the county attorney is paying outside counsel."
'A spark for them to escalate the fighting' A standoff between officials has stalled progress, eroded community patience and escalated the price tag for taxpayers. Newsday investigative editor Paul LaRocco and NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie report.
'A spark for them to escalate the fighting' A standoff between officials has stalled progress, eroded community patience and escalated the price tag for taxpayers. Newsday investigative editor Paul LaRocco and NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie report.
