An independent review has raised questions about the reasonableness and necessity of nearly $292,000 in legal fees and expenses billed to the Park Hospital District. The audit, which cited billing practices that may warrant further scrutiny, found insufficient descriptions of legal work, potentially unnecessary charges, and entries that could reflect duplicate billing. The Park Hospital District Board of Directors has scheduled a special meeting for Thursday, Oct. 15, at 8 a.m. to discuss these findings. The meeting will be held at the Park Hospital District Administration Office, located in the Vert Coworking Conference Room at 1230 Big Thompson Ave.
The 24-page report, dated Sept. 30, 2026, was prepared by attorney Enisa Tutovic of Legal Fee Advisors, a firm specializing in attorney fee audits and legal cost reduction. The review examined $289,204.50 in attorney fees and $2,471.95 in expenses charged by Hall, Render, Killian, Heath and Lyman, P.C., the law firm representing the District. These charges covered work performed between November 2025 and July 2026. Board member Tom Leigh independently commissioned and paid for the review, though the audit report was not included in the publicly available board packet for the special meeting, despite his submission for its inclusion.
A significant concern identified in the report involves block billing, a practice where attorneys combine multiple tasks into a single time entry without detailing the time spent on each activity. The audit found that 59% of the legal fees, totaling $170,856, involved this billing method. The auditor identified 228 block-billed entries, representing 356 hours, which prevent clients from determining how much time was allocated to individual tasks. For example, a March 31 entry by an attorney combined several activities, including preparation for and attendance at a board meeting, travel, and discussions, billing 5.7 hours for these without a breakdown. The auditor questioned whether travel time was appropriately billed and if substantive legal work occurred during that travel.
Additionally, nearly 34% of the legal fees, amounting to $97,915.87, involved descriptions the auditor considered vague or inadequate. The report identified 143 such entries, making it difficult for the District to assess the necessity or reasonableness of the services. An example provided was a Dec. 19, 2025, entry billed for $148.50 for 18 minutes of work described only as “Conduct call.” These categories of block billing and vague descriptions often overlap. The auditor clarified that these amounts do not necessarily represent overcharged money, but rather call for additional documentation and explanations, with reductions or credits if charges cannot be justified. The report concluded that Hall Render failed to exercise proper billing judgment in providing clear work descriptions, although a comparison with industry benchmarks found the firm’s hourly rates to be reasonable.
The audit also raised concerns regarding the time Hall Render attorneys spent communicating with each other. The review identified 118 billing entries for internal communications and coordination, totaling 129 hours and $63,821.50, which accounts for 22% of the total legal fees. While internal communication can be necessary, the auditor questioned the efficiency reflected by the volume of these discussions and found that billing descriptions often lacked justification for the time charged. The report cited examples of attorney discussions about Colorado Open Records Act requests, District governance, financial matters, and employee retirement plans. Further scrutiny was applied to $21,831.50 in entries for legal research, $2,765 for work that might have been assigned to lower-cost personnel, and $1,868 for potentially administrative or clerical tasks, noting these represent entire entries containing questioned work.
Beyond broader billing practice concerns, the audit identified instances of identical descriptions for work performed on the same day, raising questions about possible duplicate charges. One example cited three 1.3-hour entries on April 14, 2026, for an attorney related to a retirement plan termination, appearing on two invoices and totaling $1,930.50. Another instance noted three 0.8-hour entries for an attorney on July 22 for preparing forms and updating a work plan, totaling $1,188. While the report did not conclude these were definitive duplicates, acknowledging they could represent distinct services, it called for documentation to verify this and for credits if duplicates are confirmed. Additionally, five Hall Render invoices lacked hourly billing rates, a requirement of the firm’s engagement letter. Evaluating these invoices revealed a $107.50 discrepancy on one invoice, related to the UCHealth affiliation. Three expense entries totaling $1,176, including an $899 charge for consulting work involving an audit review of emergency department claims, also required additional documentation to establish their purpose and reasonableness.
This audit comes as the Park Hospital District continues its transition under a management agreement with UCHealth, which commenced on Dec. 1, 2025. Under this affiliation arrangement, the District collects approximately $4.6 million in annual property taxes, remitting all but $200,000 to UCHealth, while retaining funds for administrative and governance expenses. The amount allocated to legal representation has become a point of contention among board members, particularly Tom Leigh, who has previously questioned the District’s legal expenditures. At a Sept. 7 special meeting, the board voted 3-2 to approve payment of legal bills, with Leigh among those who opposed the payment. The independent audit provides an assessment of the billing practices underlying these ongoing concerns.