Could a Louisiana city pay its attorney a flat monthly fee for legal work?

Plain-English summary

Counsel to the City of Kenner police chief asked whether a municipality could pay an attorney a fixed fee each month for legal services. The Louisiana Attorney General said the described arrangement was valid if no payment was made in advance and the attorney actually performed the work each month.

The office still advised against flat-rate contracts and called hourly billing the preferred practice. Its constitutional concern was payment for future or unperformed services with public money. The opinion addressed the stated payment terms, not a particular contract's performance record or fee amount.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2006. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Did the AG forbid flat-fee legal contracts for cities?

No. The office advised against using them but said they were not inherently improper. It found the described contract valid when payment followed legal work actually performed each month.

Could the city pay at the start of the month for later legal work?

No. The opinion said the municipality could not prepay for future services; payment had to be for services already rendered.

Did the AG prefer a different payment method?

Yes. Quoting an earlier opinion, it called an hourly contract the preferred practice, while allowing a flat fee under the stated conditions.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion applied La. Const. Art. VII, Sec. 14 to municipal spending for legal services. It quoted Attorney General Opinion No. 91-589-A for the rule that a lawful flat rate contract requires actual monthly work and no payment before that work is performed.

Citations

• La. Const. Art. VII, Sec. 14 (public-funds provision discussed by the AG).
• Attorney General Opinion No. 91-589-A (prior flat-rate contract analysis quoted in this opinion).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/06-0155

Original opinion text

September 1, 2006
OPINION NUMBER 06-0155

90-A-1 PUBLIC FUNDS & CONTRACTS
Mr. Philip J. Boudousque’
3021 35th Street
La. Const. Art. VII, Sec. 14
Suite D
A flat rate contract fee for legal services would be valid
Metairie, Louisiana 70001
provided there is no advance payment and the work is
actually performed each month.
Dear Mr. Boudousque’:

As counsel to the Chief of Police for the City of Kenner, you have requested an Attorney General’s opinion regarding a contract for legal services. You question whether it is lawful for a municipality to pay a flat rate contract fee to an attorney for legal services to be performed monthly, as long as there is no advance payment and the work is actually performed each month.

Our office advises against the use of this type of contract. That being said, a flat rate contract for legal services is not per se improper. In Attorney General Opinion No. 91- 589-A, our office opined on the use of flat rate contracts as follows:

The hourly contract certainly is the preferred practice: for the flat rate contract to be lawful and not violate Art. 7 Sec. 14 of the La. Const.1974, payments should not be made prior to the work being performed, the work must be actually performed every month.

In order for a flat rate contract to be lawful, the municipality can only pay for legal services which are actually rendered, and may not pre-pay for future services. Therefore, in the situation described, where there is no advance payment and the work is actually performed each month, such a contract would be valid and the payments made under such contract would be constitutional.

Trusting this adequately responds to your request, we remain

Yours very truly,

CHARLES C. FOTI, JR.
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY: _________
KENNETH L. ROCHE, III
Assistant Attorney General
CCF, JR/KLR, III/jv

Page 2

Opinion Number 06-0155

90-A-1 PUBLIC FUNDS & CONTRACTS

La. Const. Art. VII, Sec. 14

A flat rate contract fee for legal services would be valid provided there is no advance payment and the work is actually performed each month.

Mr. Philip J. Boudousque’
3021 35th Street
Suite D
Metairie, Louisiana 70001
Date Received:

Date Released: September 1, 2006

Kenneth L. Roche, III
Assistant Attorney General