A law firm in Paris could receive thousands of dollars from a Jersey City agency.
Bureau Baillet, which is based across from the Seine near the Grand Palais, is slated to be paid 320 euros per hour by the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency (JCRA) in connection with the upcoming Journal Square Pompidou art museum project.
The amount is equivalent to an hourly rate of nearly $375.
A resolution that was adopted by the JCRA Board of Commissioners during its August 17 meeting says in part that “the Agency has a need for specialized legal services in connection with the Project…and its contractual relationship with the Centre Pompidou from an experienced and qualified law firm with an expertise in French Law.”
Bureau Baillet’s website says that the firm, which is also known as BBa, was founded in 2017.
The resolution authorized the execution of a professional services contract between the JCRA and BBa and notes that the firm would receive up to $15,000 in total for up to a year.
A July 25 letter from Etienne Baillet of BBa that was released by the JCRA states in part that “BBa is not in a position to estimate how long our assistance will take. In any event, we intend to offer you [the] most suitable price.”
The original Centre Pompidou opened in Paris more than four decades ago. The plans for a Pompidou location at the Pathside Building on Sip Avenue in Journal Square were announced in June.
New York Magazine reported that the project could cost Jersey City’s municipal government $6 million per year for five years for “project development, branding, educational programming, and the organization of exhibitions” and more than $40 million in total for renovations.
