COD hires new law firms

Two law firms initially hired on a temporary basis by College of DuPage's new board majority will continue representing the school for the foreseeable future.

Meanwhile, two other firms that previous COD boards used for legal advice are on the way out.

COD trustees this week voted 4-2 to keep working with the law firms of Rathje & Woodward of Wheaton and Chicago-based Schuyler, Roche & Crisham.

"I am very confident in their abilities and I'm excited to retain them," board Chairwoman Kathy Hamilton said Friday.

Both firms were hired on April 30 to work on an interim basis for up to four months until the college was able to complete a competitive request for qualifications for legal services.

Hamilton said the process of selecting new legal counsel hasn't been completed because trustees want to interview several firms.

Nevertheless, the board moved ahead to retain Rathje & Woodward to provide general legal counsel. Schuyler, Roche & Crisham, which is doing internal investigations of the college, will handle labor relations and employment issues, officials said.

"We couldn't kick the can down the road on hiring general counsel because that four months is up," Trustee Frank Napolitano said Friday. "We needed to take at least some action related to general legal counsel. Otherwise, we wouldn't have had legal counsel at the next board meeting."

Still, Trustees Joseph C. Wozniak and Dianne McGuire voted against the hiring of both firms.

"I think we should do the interview process first," Wozniak said Thursday. "Voting on this tonight is wrong to me because it's like putting the cart before the horse."

Thursday night's vote also terminated COD's retention agreements with the firms Robbins Schwartz and Franczek Radelet. They had represented the college for years.