Specifications include, but are not limited to: Services: The Proposing Attorney agrees to provide court-appointed attorney services and legal representation, when appointed by the Court, for parties involved in Adult Mental Health Commitment cases and Adult Paternity/Contempt (child support) cases. Representation shall include district court and appellate court representation. The Attorney shall perform all services that an attorney would be expected to perform if privately retained by the individual represented. Representation shall include district court and appellate court representation. Duties, responsibilities and expectations include: • To be available at reasonable times to be reached by telephone or e-mail for acceptance of appointment for specific cases or clients. • To be reached by telephone or by WebEx (or comparable technology) to consult with clients and other parties to the proceedings. • To be generally available for efficient scheduling of district court hearings to allow for the efficient calendaring of cases. • To attend proceedings on dates/times determined by the Court; and if unable to attend a hearing, arrange for coverage by one of the other attorneys contracted by Sherburne County to provide these services. If none of the contract attorneys is available, Attorney shall arrange for a substitute attorney who is qualified per statute to attend the proceedings and effectively and meaningfully represent the client at that proceeding. • To perform the level and quality of legal services for the client that an attorney would perform if privately retained by the individual represented. • To assume full responsibility for the case once assigned; and should the Attorney for any reason become unavailable, be responsible for securing substitute counsel as necessary. No additional compensation will be provided for substitute counsel. • To maintain a summary of the cases assigned and worked on during each billing cycle pursuant to the contract, to provide to the Court and County for monthly recap of the services and hours expended. • To provide all general administrative services, including scheduling of attorney court appearances necessary to ensure orderly and timely provision of all legal services, adequate office facilities to perform all legal services, and provide any necessary office supplies and equipment necessary to perform the work efficiently and effectively. Case Assignment: The attorney will be assigned cases by the Court Administrator's Office, as coordinated by the Court Administrator. The Court Administrator's Office will make all reasonable efforts to assign an equal number of cases to each attorney under contract. The Attorney shall conduct its due diligence in regard to conflict and communicate that with the Court. If the Attorney has a conflict, the Attorney will immediately notify the Court and ask that a different Attorney be assigned. Attorneys shall not be allowed to reassign their case to another Attorney without Court approval.
