Name: Lawyer hired to defend Texas AG Ken Paxton in whistleblower case will cost state $540 an hour
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Lawyer hired to defend Texas AG Ken Paxton in whistleblower case will cost state $540 an hour

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4:46 PM on Dec 14, 2020 CSTUpdated at 6:40 p.m. with comment from a special prosecutor pursuing criminal fraud charges against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.AUSTIN — The state of Texas will spend more than $500 an hour on the lead lawyer hired to defend Attorney General Ken Paxton , according to an employment contract.The agency brought in outside attorneys from the Houston firm Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard &amp; Smith to handle that four former senior staffers filed against Paxton last month. The employees because they accused the attorney general of abusing his office to help real estate developer Nate Paul, a friend and campaign donor.The office of the attorney general will pay William Helfand, the lead attorney, $540 an hour, according to the contract. An associate attorney and paralegal will make $350 and $215 an hour, respectively. The agency will also reimburse the lawyers for travel, meals, lodging and other expenses associated with building Paxton’s defense. to help Paul, stating he fired the employees due to their “own misconduct, lack of competence, and/or disloyalty to the Office.” This year, on a range of legal matters before his agency that involved or helped Paul.Eight senior members of Paxton’s staff, including his then-second in command, raised concerns about the interventions with law enforcement officials. Five were fired and three resigned. The FBI is now investigating Paxton and Paul’s ties, .Related:The whopping hourly rate for Helfand and his associate counsel is higher than the $300 an hour sought by the special prosecutors who have been pursuing . Paxton’s lawyers in that case, which has yet to go to trial, , arguing their hourly rate violated state law and was egregiously high.Brian Wice, one of the two special prosecutors on the case, issued a statement Monday calling it “ludicrous” for Paxton to plan to pay the associate attorney and paralegal “more for defending him than two lawyers with over 80 years of combined experience should be paid for prosecuting him.“And it is outrageous that the taxpayers of Texas will be obligated to pay the legal fees for defending Paxton’s alleged misconduct that has reportedly triggered an FBI investigation,” he added.The prosecutors have not been paid for their work since 2016. The case, which has been stalled for years, is related to allegations that Paxton duped investors to buy stock in a North Texas technology company when he was a state lawmaker representing McKinney. He faces two first-degree felony securities fraud charges and one third-degree charge for failing to register with the state as an investment adviser representative.Paxton has raised more In his five years as attorney general, Paxton has also been investigated for criminal conduct relating to real estate transactions in McKinney, investigated for bribery and charged with securities fraud by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. , and .Paxton, a Republican, was the face of the recent Texas lawsuit seeking to overturn the presidential election results in four battleground states that delivered the win to Joe Biden. .CLARIFICATION at 5:20 p.m.: This story was updated to reflect a breakdown of the lawyers’ hourly rates.Related:Receive the latest political news delivered every Tuesday and Thursday from reporters in Austin, Dallas and Washington.By signing up you agree to our

4:46 PM on Dec 14, 2020 CSTUpdated at 6:40 p.m. with comment from a special prosecutor pursuing criminal fraud charges against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.AUSTIN — The state of Texas will spend more than $500 an hour on the lead lawyer hired to defend Attorney General Ken Paxton , according to an employment contract.The agency brought in outside attorneys from the Houston firm Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard &amp; Smith to handle that four former senior staffers filed against Paxton last month. The employees because they accused the attorney general of abusing his office to help real estate...

Lawyer hired to defend Texas AG Ken Paxton in whistleblower case will cost state $540 an hour

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