An independent review of approximately $292,000 in legal invoices received by the Park Hospital District was not discussed Thursday morning. This was because three members of the five-member board did not attend the special meeting called by board member Tom Leigh, preventing a quorum.
Board members who were absent included board chair Cory Workman, board vice chair Steve Alper, and secretary Janet Zeschin. Board treasurer Brigitte Foust was present, along with Leigh. Without a quorum, the board could not convene to discuss the auditor's report or its potential impact on outstanding payments to Hall, Render, Killian, Heath and Lyman, P.C., the law firm handling Park Hospital District affairs, including business related to, and after, UCHealth’s acquisition of Estes Park Health.
According to Leigh, Workman indicated that client appointments prevented his attendance. Alper informed board members by email that he had no intention of attending, and Zeschin, who initially planned to attend, later changed her mind.
The review, conducted by Enisa Tutovic, senior counsel and managing director of Legal Fee Advisors, examined line-item billings for legal services provided to the Park Hospital District between November 2025 and July 2026. Tutovic’s report raised concerns about “billing judgment and improper billing practices,” citing "deficient information and a lack of transparency" as overarching themes in the invoices from Hall Render. The report identified 15 areas of concern.
Topping the list of concerns was block billing, a practice that groups various activities into a single entry, hindering a detailed analysis of the bill. The report also questioned the rates charged for tasks like administrative work and legal research, suggesting these could have been performed by personnel with lower hourly rates. Other questionable areas included vague or inadequately described work, excessive staffing or multi-teaming, inappropriate timekeeping, patterns in invoice entries, non-billable overhead disbursements, and travel time without substantive work being performed.
The auditor criticized the firm for not exercising proper billing judgment, stating that timekeepers failed to provide clear, concise, and understandable descriptions of their work. While Tutovic cautioned that the amounts charged do not necessarily represent overcharged funds or money owed back to the District, some billings were noted as not being representative of “Accepted Commercial Standards.” The report recommends additional documentation and explanations, along with reductions or credits for charges that cannot be justified. Tutovic referenced Colorado Rule of Professional Conduct 1.5, which prohibits attorneys from charging unreasonable fees or expenses, and cited court decisions regarding documentation needed to substantiate legal fees.
Leigh has been an outspoken advocate for greater transparency regarding legal billings since the beginning of the year. Over several recent meetings, he had requested a forensic review of invoices issued by Hall Render. When the majority of the board declined to act on his requests, Leigh independently commissioned the review.
Leigh had requested that a copy of the Legal Fee Advisors report be included in the board packet posted on the District’s website, but it was not. He distributed copies of the report to members of the public who attended the meeting, along with a spreadsheet detailing individually invoiced items. After sharing the spreadsheet, Foust and Leigh identified private information within several entries and requested the return of the copies, stating they would release a redacted version of the spreadsheet.
On Thursday, Leigh informed the Estes Valley Voice that he estimated the total legal billings to Hall Render now amount to approximately $350,000. If the Park Hospital District board decides to discuss the Legal Fee Advisors review publicly, the matter could be placed on the agenda as a separate item or addressed during the finance report at its regular meeting scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28. The agenda for that meeting also includes a public hearing on the PHD 2027 budget.
