Linebarger Wins Denver Contract; Named a Top Vendor for Mayors

Collection law firm and government collection specialist Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, LLP last week received a one-year contract to collect on some $9.6 million in debts owed to the city of Denver.

Austin, Texas-based Linebarger, which has an office in Denver, has been collecting for the city since 2003. The contract carries the option of three one-year automatic renewals if the city remains satisfied with Linebarger’s work.

The contract was awarded after a competitive bidding process since the contract Linebarger had previously been working under expired. Denver operates under a collection structure that allows a collection agency to add collection fees onto the total it collects from consumers. Some government entities don’t allow its agency to charge an additional fee, but instead let it keep a certain percentage of the money it collects.

Linebarger is one of the largest government collection agencies in the country with more than 1,600 employees in 45 offices across the country. The company expects to collect $1 billion in delinquent government receivables in 2007, according to spokesperson Joe Householder.

It’s the latest in a string of good news for Linebarger. In October, the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) named Linebarger a Platinum Partner, joining such providers as Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and Waste Management. Mike Vallandingham, Linebarger’s national marketing director, told insideARM.com that the platinum program is designed to "promote vendor firms with best practices to member cities countrywide."

Vallandingham said that Platinum Partners typically have a "long track record of excellence" and that the designation was made after a long due diligence process.

The USCM is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more, representing more than 1,130 cities.