Colo. Governor Gave No-Bid Contract to Hogan & Hartson, His Ex-Firm
Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter hired his former law firm, Hogan & Hartson, to analyze the federal stimulus bill and make sure the state gets its share of federal funds.
Ritter hired Hogan & Hartson under a no-bid contract and has so far used $40,000 in federal funds to pay the firm, the Denver Post reports.
The Colorado attorney general’s office had offered to do the analysis for only $75 an hour, but Hogan & Hartson was better qualified to handle the work, the governor’s economic recovery team spokeswoman Myung Oak Kim told the Denver Post.
Lawyers at Hogan & Hartson are charging the state $290 or $450 an hour, a discounted rate, the story says.
Ritter joined Hogan & Hartson in February 2005 after serving as Denver’s district attorney for 12 years, the Am Law Daily reports. He stayed with the firm for a year before leaving to run for governor.
