Texas Lawyer: What criteria do you consider most important when selecting outside counsel?

Elaine Flud Rodriguez, general counsel for Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport: We obviously start with subject matter expertise. For us, that includes not just expertise in a particular area of the law, but also experience representing governmental entities and, in some cases, an airport in particular. For example, governmental entities can assert the sovereign immunity defense in certain types of matters. Choosing outside counsel that is already familiar with the nuances of representing a governmental entity helps ensure that we get effective representation and saves us time and money in the long run. As part of our airport-wide efforts to encourage diversity of business enterprises competing for business at the airport, we look for opportunities to include qualified minority- and women-owned law firms that can provide the services we need. On some complex legal matters, we’ve even paired up small minority firms with majority firms. That helps the small firm meet the manpower requirements that might be involved, and still ensures that we get the best representation possible. When hiring majority-owned firms, we encourage them to assign women and minority attorneys with the appropriate experience for the particular matter when possible.

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