Who Does Special Counsel Work For in New Orleans?
"I have counseled many individuals and companies grappling with
investigations, but this is the first time I've provided this type of
advice to a municipality." When I saw this quotation in <a href="http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202433051829" target="”_blank”">the <i>National Law Journal</i></a>, I thought, "Yeah, that's because municipalities aren't investigated, people
are."<br>
<br>
This quote is from David Laufman, former federal prosecutor and partner
in the large law firm <a href="http://www.kelleydrye.com/home" class="linelink" target="new" target="”_blank”">Kelley Drye & Warren,</a> which has
been hired by New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin to give the city advice on
the three ongoing federal investigations. Only the city isn't being
investigated, city officials are, including the mayor.<br>
<br>
The <a href="http://www.cityofno.com/Portals/Intelliport/Resources/HomeRuleCharterCN…; target="”_blank”">city charter</a> (§4-403, p. 73) requires the approval of a 2/3 majority of the city
council before special counsel may be hired, approval the mayor did not
seek, according to <a href="http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2009/08/mayor_ray_nagin_has_sign…; target="”_blank”">an
article in the New Orleans <i>Times-Picayune</i></a>.
This emphasizes the fact that special counsel is not representing the
city, even if that is what the mayor and special counsel say.<br>
<br>
The contract with Kelley Drye (currently limited to $15,000) is small
compared to the contracts with another large law firm, <a href="http://www.bdlaw.com/" target="”_blank”">Beveridge & Diamond</a>, totaling
$245,000. These contracts relate to similar matters, including suits
involving document requests and the disappearance of city government
e-mails (see an earlier City Ethics <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/691" target="”_blank”">blog post</a> for more on
this). Neither firm has an office in New Orleans.<br>
<br>
A <i>Times-Picayune</i> <a href="http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/08/jarvis_deberry_behind_new_or…; target="”_blank”">column
by Jarvis DeBerry </a>puts the conflict issue very clearly:<br>
<br>
"While his contract makes clear that
Laufman will be representing the
city and not any employee or official, it has been a persistent tactic
of this administration to conflate the mayor's interests with the
interests of the city. Laufman's expertise in white-collar defense work
and Nagin's refusal to seek council approval add to the suspicion that
his ultimate objective is protecting himself -- without reaching into
his own pocket."<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
<br>
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