SELECT
COMMITTEE ON LEGAL REVIEW IN 2012
Mission
Statement for 2012 Legal Review Committee a bit
different...not just present Town Attorney to be
reviewed, but all legal opinion plus court
and other
action.
MISSION STATEMENT 2012 HERE.
New Commission Appointed at Selectmen's Meeting on June 21,
2012:
Members: Jeff
Eglash; Howard Aibel; Maryanne
Bolella;
Kevin Korsh; Angeles T. Rodriguez
LEGAL REVIEW
COMMITTEE 2008:
Weston FORUM), and includes only matters which were
concluded during this period; and
complete
this review June 30, 2008.
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League monitor to be at Board of Selectmen June 19,
2008 to particularly listen for this item:
"Discussion about the proposed conclusions and
recommendations from the Legal Review Committee- Legal
Review Committee-Dennis Tracey" and the main
points were, as
League Monitor heard it:
- Overall quality:
first rate, flexible
- Rates: OK
compared to other towns
- Recommendation:
Town Att'y relationship be reviewed every three years
by a similar procedure
- In-house attorney model:
for much larger town, NOT in our interest
- Improvements:
role
of town att'y should be increased as a "risk manager"
and should be consulted earlier in the process;
more coordination with Boards &
Commissions;
review and control of billing; on the town side,
any other legal or consulting help that may run
$10,000 should be reviewed by Town Attorney;
Town Att'y should read minutes of boards and
commissions to keep up with issues.
- Formalize process:
more detail in invoice review, checks and balances with Town
Administrator; quarterly report by Town Attorney/or
about the Town Att'y
- Advice: if
Selectmen do not want to follow Town Attorney's
recommendation, they should have to specifically vote
to do that.
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FORUM REPORTS
After legal review: 'Verdict' favorable
for town attorneys
Weston FORUM
Written
by Patricia Gay
Wednesday,
25 June 2008 11:44
The town
of Weston is being well served by its legal counsel — G.
Kenneth Bernhard and Patricia Sullivan, attorneys with Cohen
and Wolf.
That is
what Dennis Tracey, chairman of the Select Committee on Legal
Review, reported to the Board of Selectmen on Thursday, June
19. Winding up a six-month study
and investigation, the
committee gave its findings verbally to the board and said a
written report would follow shortly.
In
January, First Selectman Woody Bliss and Selectman Gayle
Weinstein appointed the seven-member ad-hoc committee to
review the performance of the town’s legal
counsel, and make a
recommendation as to whether the town should solicit proposals
from other law firms.
Over the
course of the next six months, the committee reviewed
extensive documentation, cases, contracts, bills and billing
statements, and information from towns
comparable to Weston.
It also interviewed 20 witnesses, and received written input
from the public and through testimony at a public hearing.
[Please read the rest of this article in the archives at the Weston FORUM website]
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Legal review public
hearing: Panel hears debate about Weston's town counsel
Weston
FORUM
by
Patricia Gay
Apr 2,
2008
There
was some support but also some criticism leveled at town
counsel during a public hearing held by the Select Committee on
Legal Review, Thursday, March 27.
The
committee is charged with analyzing the performance of the
town’s law firm, Cohen and Wolf, which includes town counsel
Ken Bernhard and assistant town counsel
Patricia
Sullivan. As part of its review process, the
committee solicited public input.
Several
weeks ago, it asked for written statements from Westonites. On
Thursday, members of the public were given a
chance to verbally express their concerns, offer
support, or
ask questions. The hearing was presided over by the
seven-member committee and its chairman, Dennis Tracey.
Each
speaker was allowed to have the floor
for 10 minutes to bring
forward issues or make comments concerning town
counsel.
[Please read the rest of this article in the archives at the Weston FORUM website]
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Weston's Legal Review
Committee: Public hearing is set for March 27
by
Patricia Gay
Mar 20,
2008
The Select
Committee on Legal Review is holding a public hearing Thursday,
March 27, in an attempt to obtain information
and input from town residents.
The public
hearing is being held to help the committee with its mission to
offer an opinion on the quality of the town’s legal
counsel, Cohen and Wolf. The committee is
also charged with
determining whether an alternate arrangement
might be in the best interest of the town.
To that
end, the committee is reviewing a number of the town’s legal
cases. It is also interviewing town officials and commission
members about the performance of town
attorney Ken Bernhard and
associate counsel Patricia Sullivan.
The
committee would like to hear from the public, said its chairman,
Dennis Tracey. He said he has received a number of
written submissions so far from members of the
public, which
have been helpful to the committee in its review.
“To be
sure that we have as much information as possible, we encourage
any Weston resident who has information concerning the
mission of the committee to attend the
public hearing,” Mr.
Tracey said.
[Please read the rest of this article in the archives at the Weston FORUM website]
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Select Committee on Legal Review: Weston group seeks
public input
Weston Forum
Feb 16,
2008
As part of
its review of the legal services supplied to the town of Weston
by its town attorney, Cohen & Wolf, the Select
Committee on Legal Review invites members of
the public to
submit written comments regarding the quality of those
services and/or the fee arrangements with the town attorney.
The scope
of the select committee’s review includes the period from 2000
through 2007, and includes only matters which were
concluded during this period.
Any
resident of Weston who wishes to submit comments or information
relevant to the committee’s review should send it no
later than March 12, 2008, by e-mail to
jdevito@weston-ct.com,
or by letter to Judy DeVito, Town Hall, 56 Norfield
Road, Weston CT 06883.
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