The city of Waterloo, Canada had a financing problem with one of their recreational facilities – RIM Park. As a result they launched a series of lawsuits. The local paper, The Record, notes today that the city has decided to change lawyers (paid subscription required):
The city hired veteran Toronto lawyer Morris Manning and launched its first lawsuit to recover losses in the park financing fiasco in March 2004.Manning was being paid $400 an hour to represent the city. That amount was to increase to $550 if the city won.
So the lawyer is being paid $400 an hour to lose?
And in another instance of the bureaucratic culture of secrecy in Canada, the city refuses to say how much this has cost them so far:
Waterloo refuses to disclose how much it has spent on legal fees so far, a decision being appealed by The Record under freedom-of-information laws.