Running a city or town is a complex process that requires adherence at almost every turn to literally hundreds of federal, State and local constitutions, charters, laws and regulations. The failure to do so can have significant consequences for the government and, in some cases, for local officials and employees personally. The municipal attorney can be a constructive partner in helping the government accomplish what it wants to do in the best interests of the public and in accordance with controlling law and procedures. This article will introduce you to the municipal attorney and offer suggestions as to how the municipal attorney can best serve the city or town.

What does the municipal attorney do?

The municipal attorney is the chief legal official of the city or town. The city or town, and not any individual municipal official, is the client to whom the attorney owes a professional responsibility. Most municipal charters and codes contain brief references to the position of town or city attorney, and do not contain detailed job descriptions.

In general terms, a municipal attorney is an advisor, an advocate and a legal draftsman for the municipality. The actual job description for each municipal attorney depends, in large part, upon the size of the government, the types of services it provides and the types of authority it exercises. However, most, if not all, municipal attorneys:

- Provide legal advice and render legal opinions to the council, mayor, manager, departments, boards and commissions.

- Represent the interests of the city or town in court and before administrative bodies.

- Draft ordinances, resolutions, charter amendments, deeds, contracts and other legal documents to which the municipality is a party.

- Review for form and legal sufficiency all documents of a legal nature not prepared by the attorney.

In addition to these duties and responsibilities, the types of services the attorney can provide are limited only by the imagination and the needs of the city or town. Other services provided by some municipal attorneys include:

- Reviewing council agendas to identify potential legal problems before agenda items reach the council floor.

- Attending meetings of the council.

- Attending meetings of local boards and commissions such as planning commissions, boards of appeals, historic district commissions and port wardens.

- Preparing scripts and procedures for hearing boards to ensure that hearings are conducted properly and adequate evidentiary records are made.

- Prosecuting municipal infraction cases in District Court.

- Prosecuting disciplinary cases before personnel boards and police trial boards.

- Developing forms and procedures to standardize government operations.

- Negotiating for the city or town on labor matters.

- Assisting in land acquisition negotiations.

- Coordinating the codification of local ordinances.

How can your attorney work with your city or town most effectively?

A municipal attorney faces many challenges in serving the city or town - being familiar with numerous complex laws, serving many masters, working in a political environment, and others. In over 20 years of representing local governments I have developed a list of suggestions for local officials to make the working relationship with the municipal attorney more effective:

- Establish clear lines of authority and communications for the attorney. The attorney should know (i) from whom he or she may accept directions and requests for service, (ii) to whom the attorney is accountable, (iii) to whom the attorney may render advice, and (iv) under what circumstances may communications with individual council members or other officials be maintained as confidential.

- Wherever possible, provide the attorney with reasonable deadlines and priorities for completing assignments. Do not expect immediate answers to complex questions. Afford the attorney time to consider and weigh alternatives.

- Involve the attorney at the first sign of a potential legal problem. It is easier to for the attorney to provide advice and guidance before the damage is done. If consulted in a timely fashion, the attorney can assist in accomplishing the government's objective in a lawful fashion, or at least minimizing potential adverse consequences.

- Allow the attorney to maintain independence and objectivity. The attorney should feel free to provide the best legal advice possible without fear of the consequences. Do not ask the attorney to become involved in political disputes or to provide advice designed purely to accomplish a political objective. Leave the politics to the politicians.

- Try not to put the attorney on the spot in public meetings. This may (i) undermine the attorney's credibility if the attorney is unable to provide a satisfactory response to a difficult question, (ii) require the attorney to provide opinions without having adequate time to research the law and consider the advice carefully, (iii) require the attorney to give legal advice or opinions that are better discussed in private, and (iv) result in an answer you do not want to hear.

- Provide the attorney with the resources reasonably needed to properly perform the job.

- Make sure that the attorney has access to all relevant ordinances. This is particularly important if the municipality's ordinances are not codified, or if new ordinances have been adopted since the last supplement to the code was published. Not much is worse than an attorney providing advice based upon outdated ordinances.

- Work with the attorney to develop guidelines for the attorney to follow in responding to citizen inquiries about municipal matters. In some cases the attorney will be the most appropriate person to provide information to a citizen. A balance should be struck between preserving the attorney's professional responsibility to the city or town, and making the government "user friendly".

- Request all formal legal opinions in writing and clearly state the question the attorney is to address. The attorney should be provided with all relevant facts and background giving rise to the inquiry. Very often the attorney's analysis of a question may change based upon small variations in the facts. Working with a definite factual scenario will save the from having to consider issues that may not be relevant.

- Understand that the attorney is not trying to be an obstructionist if the attorney tells you that the law is not what you would like it to be. The attorney's primary obligation is to provide the best legal advice possible. Municipal attorneys have been held personally liable for damages under federal Civil Rights laws for providing incorrect legal advice.

- Provide the attorney with fair compensation for the work you expect the attorney to do.

What should you expect from your municipal attorney?

In becoming an attorney for a city or town, the municipal attorney takes on responsibility to the public at large as well as to the local officials. In working with the attorney, you should expect certain standards of service and conduct. Although there is no uniform set of qualifications and criteria for a good municipal attorney, an effective municipal attorney should have most of the following traits:

- An absence of conflicts of interest. The municipal attorney's utmost loyalty should be to the city or town. In some cases it may be necessary or desirable to select an attorney who lives and practices in another area in order to avoid conflicts of interests of local attorneys.

- Personal integrity. A municipal attorney has many difficult issues to confront in performing the job. Having a local official question the attorney's honesty or loyalty to the job should not be one of them. The attorney needs to have the confidence of those officials to be successful.

- A working knowledge of the many facets of law that the attorney will encounter in the day to day representation of a local government. This includes keeping informed about new laws and judicial decisions affecting the operations of the city or town. Even the most experienced municipal attorney will not know all the details of all applicable laws. However, a knowledgeable attorney will be able to identify legal problems quickly and be able to know where to find the answers. An attorney whose practice is limited predominantly to drawing wills, and handling personal injury, domestic, criminal and similar types of matters may not have the necessary background to effectively serve the needs of the city or town.

- A positive approach to problem solving. Many times the attorney will have to tell officials that the law will not allow what the officials want to do. At the same time the attorney also should be able to evaluate alternative ways to help the officials accomplish their objectives.

- Good personal relations skills in order to develop a positive working relationship with the local government officials and employees, the public and the press.

- A desire and dedication to be a part of the local government team, rather than viewing the city or town as just another client. The attorney should have a willingness to develop an understanding and appreciation of the workings of the entire municipal government and be responsive to the needs of local government officials.

- A pro-active approach to the practice of law that focuses on identifying and preventing potential problems before they develop, rather than being the fireman trying to put out the fire as it burns out of control.

- An ability to prevent the attorney's personal views on an issue from influencing the attorney's advice on that issue.

Why should you listen to your attorney?

In today's litigious society it is more important than ever for local government officials and employees to conduct the affairs of the government in accordance with all applicable laws or risk the consequences. Using your municipal attorney can help avoid situations which can result in costly litigation. If litigation does arise, public officials may be able to defend some claims by showing that advice from the attorney was sought, received, and relied upon in good faith. Even if an insurance company will provide an attorney to defend a case, and pay a judgment if one is awarded, the toll that litigation exacts in terms of lost productivity and emotional strain experienced by government personnel involved in the case cannot be accounted for adequately in dollars. An ounce of prevention with the municipal attorney is worth more than a pound of cure.