William G. Faust Jr. is a resident of Dover.
I was very impressed with the reporting by Kaitlyn Cupelli about the search for the new Dover solicitor. She skillfully reported all the facts surrounding the two candidates. I was able to attend the meeting in person June 2. Note: This meeting did not allow the attendees to make comments.
I was shocked to learn that only two firms responded to the announcement to be our new city solicitor. This is not a big pool to pick from. With the city spending about $300,000 on legal fees a year, we need the very best. We should not be settling for the only two applicants who submitted their names.
During this meeting, the mayor and City Council offered no real information about the two possible candidates. I believe the key information left out was whether these individuals have any past discipline or suspensions on file. What is their track record in representing their former clients? Let’s face it: Attorneys are a dime a dozen. Just because they hang up a sign that they practice law does not mean they’re any good.
One option presented to the mayor and council members was an attorney who has no other colleagues in her practice. This seems to set the city up for failure. And then, if the other choice is picked — a firm that has associates actively representing clients who are suing the city of Dover — that would be a conflict of interest and the waving of a large red flag. Who in their right mind would consider hiring a firm that was also actively representing clients who are suing the city? This is like putting the fox in charge of the henhouse.
With everyone being lawsuit-crazy, we need the very best legal representation. I believe the city should repost the open position and seek out a larger firm that could handle more legal needs of Dover or a firm outside the state that can practice law in Delaware. At this meeting, it was also stated that, even if a new attorney is hired, there would still be a need to use other attorneys to handle situations that the city solicitor could not.
If the city does not reopen the job posting, I feel it will be doomed if the new solicitor fails to provide adequate legal representation. To pinch pennies now may cost the city a small fortune if a lawsuit is lost. The stakes are too high to gamble on the two applicants who are under consideration. It is like Russian roulette with the city’s revenue.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
