United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1994-07-13 monographic deposited born digital GA 1.13:T-RCED-94-264 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-T-RCED-94-264 P0b002ee18037cecb f:trc94264 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-T-RCED-94-264 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-T-RCED-94-264 T-RCED-94-264 Litigation Civil procedure Legal services contracts Cost control Liability (legal) Contract administration Legal fees Data collection operations Accountability Testimony RCED The Department of Energy (DOE) has spent millions of dollars to defend its contractors against lawsuits, but has not kept track of total costs and has been lax in reviewing bills submitted by law firms, including those for travel, meals, and other expenses. DOE's only attempt to collect data on litigation costs showed that the agency spent about $31 million in fiscal year 1992 on outside legal fees. However, significant other costs, such as the development and operation of litigation databases--averaging more than $8 million annually--were excluded from DOE's estimate. DOE has yet to establish criteria directing contractors to seek discounted fees or to set limits on billing by law firms for administrative expenses. Also, DOE has not adequately reviewed legal bills to ensure that they are justified. These shortcomings have caused DOE to pay more than was necessary for contractor litigation. The need for strong DOE controls will become more critical as the details of past radiation experiments on humans continue to be disclosed. These revelations will likely produce more lawsuits against the operators of DOE facilities, thus increasing legal costs for the agency. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-T-RCED-94-264/html/GAOREPORTS-T-RCED-94-264.htm GAO/T-RCED-94-264 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-T-RCED-94-264 Testimony GAO/T-RCED-94-264; Managing DOE: Tighter Controls Needed Over the Department of Energy's Outside Litigation Costs; Litigation Civil procedure Legal services contracts Cost control Liability (legal) Contract administration Legal fees Data collection operations Accountability