General News: Village Seeks to Replace Law Firm
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| Howard Protter at a village trustee meeting earlier this year. |
April 03, 2008
The village of Cornwall-on-Hudson is looking for a new law firm. Mayor Joseph Gross told News from Cornwall and Cornwall-on-Hudson that when the board of trustees meets in a reorganization meeting on Monday, April 7, he expects that the firm of Jacobowitz and Gubits will not be reappointed as village counsel.
Attorney Howard Protter, the managing partner of the firm, has been the village attorney for 26 years. Other members of the firm act as counsel for the planning and zoning boards.
Mayor Gross said that he has informally polled the village trustees, including Barbara Gosda and Rick Gioia, newly-elected trustees who will be sworn into office on Monday, and the consensus was that the firm had to go.
Gross said that the firm’s representation of several clients with which the village has or may have legal issues -- including Cornwall Commons and Legacy Ridge, the village of Kiryas Joel, and the River Bank restaurant -- led to concerns about conflicts of interest.
Gross noted, however, that attorney Protter had recused himself from village dealings with any of his firm’s clients. The village, Gross said, then had to hire another attorney to represent it, a practice he feared could generate additional fees for the village. Gross said that in 2007 the only cost to the village that he was aware of was the hiring of an attorney to represent the village in its dealings with the River Bank Restaurant.
“We are without counsel on critical issues,” Gross said, referring to the prospect of legal action the village may take with Kiryas Joel over its wells in Mountainville or the possibility of taking legal steps against the Legacy Ridge development in Woodbury. He said that it was difficult decision but that he had been feeling a lot of pressure from residents to make the change.
Attorney Protter contends that he went the extra step to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest by stepping out of legal matters between any of his firm’s clients and the village. But he noted that if the mayor perceives it as an issue, then it doesn’t matter if he agrees or disagrees with him. It’s the mayor’s decision, he said.
Protter noted that it has been “an honor to work with many fine and dedicated Cornwall citizens who have answered the call to serve the community.” He also said that for the first time in the 26 years he has lived in the village he will be able to write letters to the editor with impunity, something he was never free to do as village attorney.
Gross said that the village is requesting proposals from law firms interested in serving the municipality. In the meantime, Protter said he expects to continue in that role until a new attorney is appointed.
COMMENTS
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I would like to know which residents are "pressuring" the mayor to make this ridiculous change. The mayor has his own agenda but does not have the courage to admit it. Changing things just for the sake of change is a big mistake.
posted by village viewer on 04/04/08 at 5:20 PM |
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I know of several residents who most surely are calling for this change. If I still lived there, I'd urge the Mayor and the Trustees to do exactly what they are doing. It is both a blessing and the result of the hard work of many people that we have finally gotten to this point. I am happy that the Village will finally be able to move forward in a positive way. And I applaud Mayor Gross and the Trustees (new and old) for their courage. I also urge everyone to support them as they work to make a better life for all Village residents.
posted by cpmomcat on 04/04/08 at 7:15 PM |
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Pressuring? I believe Joe is doing what is best for the village and with the turn outs in the last few elections I believe residents are tired of the one sided agendas that only benefited the few.
Think of Joe as one that reinvigorates the forest with new shoots popping up each and every day (new thoughts and ideas are beneficial to us all)
posted by jcbike1 on 04/04/08 at 7:23 PM |
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To the Editor:
First, for the record, Howard Protter is Jaci's and my personal attorney, and friend.
We socialize and at times I've asked his opinion as Village Attorney, about complex issues confronting the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Planning Board (on which I sit). Without exception, whenever I've declared my opinion, Howard's response has been, 'Focus on the law, Lee, and not on how you or anyone else might wish to interpret it.'
He would go on to frame the specific law in layman's terms ... never once betraying the Village or its statutes ... NP matter what his personal positions may have been. And those he kept to himself.
As managing partner in a large community-based law firm, Howard will almost certainly do just fine. But if he leaves, the Village and its residents will be the clear losers in this patent political move.
Lee Murphy
posted by Lee Murphy on 04/06/08 at 2:54 PM |
I strongly disagree with Mr. Murphy's claim that this is a patent political move. Rather, it is a pragmatic action. As a planning board member, he should be acutely aware of the difficulties presented by Mr. Protter's conflict of interest as it pertains to the Yannone/Missere zoning dispute and the necessity of seeking outside counsel in Bob Fink. Considering what fundamentally large issues are now before the village -- Legacy Ridge, Cornwall Commons, and Kiryas Joel -- all three of which are represented by Jacobowitz & Gubits, we will find ourselves increasingly compromised by this conflict. Furthermore, as the mayor and board adopt the long-overdue ethics law, we would find ourselves with a village counsel forced to recuse himself more frequently than providing us with the unbiased legal advice and representation we need. It would simply be imprudent and inefficient to continue with the status quo.
This is not meant to be a judgment of Mr. Protter's character. Over the years he has shown himself to be professional and cordial, and his knowledge of our village's legal history is extensive, indeed. Mr. Murphy is right that we will feel this loss, but that shouldn't deter us from addressing this situation and doing what is in the best public interest for the future welfare of Cornwall-on-Hudson.
Rick Gioia
posted by rgioia on 04/06/08 at 10:57 PM
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The Yannone/Missere conflict is a result of The Village Government not following through on a perfectly legal agreement made by the prior administration. Now the only ones who are going to come out ahead are the attorney's representing Mr. yannone and Mr. Missere. In the final chapter the Village tax payers will be the big losers.
posted by Surfmom on 04/08/08 at 4:39 PM
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