The use of outside law firms by the Boston Redevelopment Authority is being reined in. Documents obtained from the BRA reveal that from 2010 to 2014 the agency paid external lawyers $3.6 million to handle many of its routine legal issues such as landlord/tenant, labor, eminent domain, title, and environmental matters.

While noting that it is important to maintain ongoing relationships with outside attorneys, BRA director Brian Golden wants to strengthen what his own in-house staff can handle themselves. “We’re now attempting to build our capacity to deal with things that we can do and should be able to do internally,” he said in an interview.

The BRA paid the most in legal fees ($2 million) to the Boston law firm of Englander, Leggett & Chicoine, which handles most of the agency’s litigation.

The second highest amount ($990,000) was paid out to the firm of Greenberg Traurig, $505,000 of which was to handle the controversial selling to the Boston Red Sox the rights in perpetuity to close off Yawkey Way on all game and concert days for use as a food and entertainment court.

That deal also allows the team to maintain the storied Green Monster seats in the air space over Lansdowne Street. The payment to Greenberg Traurig included $155,000 for the firm’s work on the state inspector general’s investigation of the agreement.

Golden now says that the BRA will handle any future dealings with the inspector general on its own. “We’ve made the decision that it’s time for us to sever the tie with Greenberg Traurig,” he said. “And if there are more inquiries that come from the IG, we will deal with them ourselves. … A good general practitioner could have handled the matter with the IG.”

The BRA also paid Greenberg Traurig another $485,000 to handle an eminent domain case involving the taking of property in Roxbury. But the court ruled against the BRA and the agency had to pay the plaintiff $2 million – $800,000 more than the agency had offered him to settle the case.

Besides Greenberg Traurig, and Englander, Leggett & Chicoine, other top earners were Deutsch Williams Brooks ($294,000) and Robinson Cole ($121,000).

Although Englander handles the BRA’s litigation matters, the firm did receive a payment of $345,000 to advise the agency on what was called “public records policy.” Questioned about this charge, Golden now says that component will end as well. “Going forward what I think is important,” he said, “is to have sufficient capacity in-house to deal with legal matters that are basic in nature.”