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Bid deadline extended for city legal work

Deadline to bid on "conflict counsel" work now Feb. 22.

There's a little more time for lawyers interested in helping poor clients seeking to do a little less time.

The Nutter administration has extended a deadline for bids from firms interested in helping the city manage the hiring of lawyers in situations where the Defenders Association of Philadelphia has a conflict. The original deadline was Jan. 18, but the city recently rolled it back to Feb. 22, according to The Legal Intelligencer.

Mark McDonald, a spokesman for Mayor Nutter, said the city moved the deadline "to accommodate a number of potential applicants who were expressing interest."

The Defenders Association handles most clients who can't afford their own lawyers, but, like a law firm, it can't take multiple clients whose interests conflict. When that happens under the current system, the courts assign a lawyer to the client. The city considers the process unwieldy, though some defense lawyers say they are certain that it works as well as it can, given the poor pay for the work.

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