News

Chadwick Hired to Take Over Review of Family Court Contract

June 09, 2010

PHILADELPHIA, June 9, 2010—Chief Justice of Pennsylvania Ronald D. Castille has announced that the Supreme Court and the First Judicial District have engaged Chadwick Associates, a Washington, D.C., consulting firm led by William G. Chadwick, Esquire, to complete a review of a preconstruction development contract relating to a new courthouse for Philadelphia Family Court. Mr. Chadwick will replace the law firm of Ballard Spahr in completing a detailed review of the contract between the First Judicial District and Northwest 15th Street Associates. It is important to note that the contract under review, which has been terminated, involved preconstruction work on the planned Family Court building which is to be built at 15th and Arch Streets. Work under the contract included architectural and engineering plans which have been largely completed. In his review, Mr. Chadwick will examine expenditures to developers, potential conflicts of interest and other matters. While the preconstruction contract is being reviewed, the Family Court project is moving forward under the direction of the state Department of General Services. A construction contract will be awarded under a competitive bidding process. Governor Rendell has released $200 million in state capital funds for the construction of the building. Chief Justice Castille issued the following statement regarding the appointment of Mr. Chadwick: "For decades Philadelphia has struggled with inadequate and unsafe facilities for the adjudication of sensitive family court matters involving indigent children, battered spouses and broken families. Over the years several efforts to find a location and secure funding for a new building proved fruitless. "In 2008 when I became Chief Justice, I resolved to break this stalemate and made the construction of a new Family Courthouse one of my top priorities. I solicited Governor Rendell’s support for a new facility and enlisted the assistance of recognized experts in real estate development and government contracting to devise a strategy for building a new Family Courthouse in Philadelphia. "I am pleased that after several years of work on the project the Governor recently announced the release of $200 million of state funding to construct the courthouse. "In recent weeks, questions have emerged about conflicts of interest among some of the professionals involved in the site selection and preconstruction process. These have led to further questions about the structure of the transaction and fees that were paid in the development phase. "These questions are entirely appropriate and must be addressed in a manner that promotes public confidence in our institutions. A full public accounting must be forthcoming. Reimbursement must be pursued for funds that may have been inappropriately paid. "A precondition to taking these steps, however, is a thorough, independent and objective review of this project from its inception. The review must include a full accounting of all funds expended and a chronology of all relevant events. It must also examine the structure of the transaction, the terms of compensation, conflicts of interest and misrepresentations by any parties that resulted in losses to the court. "To this end, the Supreme Court and the First Judicial District have engaged Chadwick Associates, a Washington, D.C. based risk-consulting firm led by William G. Chadwick, Esquire, to review the process from its inception to provide an honest assessment and accounting of the actions of all involved. "As Inspector General of Pennsylvania during the Casey administration, as Executive Deputy General Counsel to the Governor during the Ridge administration, and, earlier, as a sixteen year veteran of the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, Mr. Chadwick’s bi-partisan background renders him uniquely qualified to tackle this task. Chadwick Associates will replace Ballard Spahr in conducting this review as Ballard has withdrawn from the review to avoid any appearance of impropriety. "I am confident that this initiative will assist the Court in taking all appropriate actions to restore public confidence in a project borne from the desire to help those among us most in need and, most importantly, keep the project moving forward so that Philadelphia has the Family Courthouse it so desperately deserves."