COD board requests more information on in-house counsel issue
The College of DuPage board has agreed to table a resolution to hire in-house legal counsel until trustees can review more details about the proposal.
If approved, the resolution would create an office of in-house counsel at the college that would be staffed by at least one attorney and support staff.
The issue came up Thursday after the board's current attorney identified several areas of work being handled by outside lawyers that could be more effectively handled by in-house counsel - and likely for less money.
"There is a reluctance to involve outside legal counsel in day-to-day matters, either because it's inconvenient ... or there's a cost concern," said COD attorney Tim Elliott. "Having someone on staff is going to allow more ready access."
Some of the tasks in-house counsel would focus on include document collection and response to Freedom of Information Act requests, smaller claims filed against the college and internal general employment law questions. Additionally, in-house counsel could help manage the external law firms the college continues to hire.
Trustee Dianne McGuire said she didn't think a vote should occur, however, until the board had "a full discussion" on the concept.
"We need to talk about the pros and cons and what it could possibly cost," she said. "We've had exuberant legal bills now, but ordinarily we would've had more reasonable bills. I don't know that we're saving money once this finally gets behind us."
McGuire said she also was in deep disagreement with the proposal to have the in-house counsel "dual report" to both the college president and the board.
"I don't know how you serve two masters," she said. "I see it being problematic."
Trustee Erin Birt said she thought the decision should be delayed until the board can get input from the new president it expects to hire this spring.
"It's really just a timing issue," she said. "I'm not completely against the concept of in-house counsel, especially given how much money we spend on attorneys. However, this is about somebody who's going to work with the president. I would think that it would be significant to have that person's input on somebody that they're going to have to work with directly on a daily basis."
However, Vice Chairwoman Deanne Mazzochi said she was concerned that the board might "miss the budgeting window" for the position if the issue wasn't voted on Thursday. The next fiscal year begins July 1.
"If we do it now, then as a board we can determine where we want to be with cost and how much resources to allocate on it," she said. "It's just getting the process started for having that type of position."
Trustee David Olsen, who was sworn in Thursday night, called the concept of in-house counsel "very sensible." He said he appreciated the discussion and noted that in Downers Grove, where he has served as a commissioner since 2013, there is an in-house village attorney setup that works well.
Still, he agreed with McGuire's suggestion for the board to take a closer look at the proposal together.
"If we were approving the budget tonight, it might be a different story, but given that we're not, I'm happy to have a little bit further discussion," he said. "I think that actually might be productive for the board."
The board asked staff members to gather information about the issue, including potential conflicts of interest with the dual reporting and the benefits and disadvantages observed by other community colleges and municipalities using in-house counsel.
An update is scheduled to be given to the board next Thursday and a presentation is slated for the March 3 meeting.