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Form#: B-52 7/18/91 DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION DEPARTMENT: Office of Corporation Counsel DATE: 08/16/22 STAFF CONTACT: Keyra K. Wong PHONE: 808-961-8251 x4121 A. REQUEST: The Office of the Corporation Counsel requests;the attached draft resolution for Council's consideration be placed on the September 6, 2022 Finance Committee agenda. Pursuant to Section 6.5-5, Hawaii County Charter, the Council may approve, by two-thirds vote of its entire membership, the employment of special counsel. The attached draft resolution gives the Office of the Corporation Counsel the authority to hire special counsel for the County's workers' compensation related matters. The deadline for 9/6/22 Finance Committee is August 17, 2022 at noon. B. BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION (USE ADDITIONAL SHEETS AS NEEDED): The County's Department of Human Resources receives numerous workers' compensation claims. The Office of the Corporation Counsel does not currently have the expertise, personnel, or resources to provide the comprehensive legal representation necessary to represent the County in all of its workers' compensation matters. Corporation Counsel has procured the professional legal services of the law firm of Leong Kunihiro Brooke & Kim as special counsel for its workers' compensation matters. Pursuant to HRS §103D-304, the Office of Corporation Counsel convened a selection committee to rank and evaluate three potential law firms for the consideration of special counsel. The law firm of Leong Kunihiro Brooke & Kim was ranked the highest. Corporation Counsel now seeks approval pursuant to County Charter§6-5.5, to employ this firm as special counsel. The Corporation Counsel hopes to execute an agreement with this firm for services to commence on October 1, 2022. The law firm of Leong Kunihiro Brooke & Kim will be responsible for managing and handling all of the County's workers' compensation claims including but not limited to: - The investigationof injury claims related to serious medical conditions where the County's exposure may be significant (stress, cardiac, neurologic conditions, and employee deaths resulting from work-related injuries); -All matters heard before the Labor and Industrial Relations Appeals Board; - Investigation and filing fraud complaints, including representation at the Department of Labor hearings pertaining to fraud; - Depositions of parties as part of the investigation process; - Claims handling for the most complex cases, including multiple dates of injury and/or claims that have been open for significant periods of time, to bring the claims to closure/resolution; - Prepare settlement agreements for claims; - File any and all court pleadings and appear in court, as necessary; - General advising and consulting with the County representatives with regard to specific scenarios and claims handling d w Elizabeth Strance 2022.08.17 08:44:02-10'00' SIGNED: DATE: 08/16/22 Department Head