Lands Authority cancels tender as chosen few keep ‘milking legal fees’

A Lands Authority tender intended to introduce some form of meritocracy by doing away with direct orders for legal fees following years of abuse has inexplicably been cancelled.

The cancellation means Labour Party President Ramona Attard, former PN mayor turned Labour apologist Robert Musumeci and former Lands Parliamentary Secretary Deborah Schembri can be expected to keep earning thousands of euros in legal fees from the Authority through direct orders.

The Shift is informed that the tender, issued in 2021 and given to a group of around ten lawyers last year, was cancelled at the eleventh hour on the orders of Lands Minister Silvio Schembri.

It is unclear why the minister and Lands CEO Robert Vella cancelled the tender just before it was to be signed.

Lands Minister Silvio Schembri has not replied to The Shift’s questions asking him to explain the matter.

The tender’s cancellation will, however, benefit three particular lawyers engaged by the Authority by direct order worth several thousand euro a year.

There are those who benefit

Most of the Authority’s legal work, including court litigation, is currently being assigned by direct order to a handful of Labour-leaning lawyers – in particular to Ramona Attard, Robert Musumeci and Deborah Schembri.

The three handle most of the Authority’s many court cases and receive a cut from court fees based on the value of the case in question.

The value of the properties involved is significant, and consequently, so are Attard, Musumeci and Schembri’s payments.

As an example, the Musumeci-Schembri duo, who have set up the firm RD Legal for this specific line of work, earned over €10,000 for representing just one case.

In addition to acting as one of its lawyers, Musumeci also receives separate direct orders from the Authority for his architectural services.

Labour Party President Ramona Attard is also receiving legal work from the Authority. The Authority has turned down a Freedom of Information request for her contract, contending that releasing it would not be in the public interest.

The cancelled tender

The Authority issued the €2.1 million tender for legal services in February 2022.  Those selected through the tender were to enter into a four-year contract and be paid a maximum of €3,000 a month.

Around ten lawyers and legal firms were shortlisted and chosen.

These included former Gozo Minister Justyne Caruana; the sister of Public Works Minister Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi, Alexia Farrugia Zrinzo; former minister and current European Commissioner Helena Dalli’s son Luke and his partner Matthew Paris, among others.

But just a few days before the contract was to be signed, they were informed that the tender had been cancelled. No reason was given.

One of those shortlisted who spoke to The Shift said: “It appears that our colleagues who have been milking the Authority for years through direct orders were uncomfortable with us taking a slice of their pie and applied pressure to have the tender cancelled.”