Information on U.S. Railway Association Contracts With Law Firms

Gao ID: CED-79-78 April 19, 1979

Procedures used by the U.S. Railway Association in contracting with law firms were reviewed, including the audit and administrative procedures used to assure that charges for legal service are accurate.

The criteria used to select contractors and award contracts for legal services were reasonable and in conformity with procurement policy and procedures. Costing and billing procedures used by two of the principal law firms followed good cost accounting practices; however, some invoices submitted by other firms did not contain the degree of specificity needed for good contract management. The Association relies on various informal controls to monitor contractors. Status reports and performance evaluations have not been required of two of the principal law firms.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

Director: No director on record Team: No team on record Phone: No phone on record


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