08/04/2008 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Conflicts, Ethics and Compliance Regarding conflicts, we do not believe any of our current representations currently conflict with representation of the City or any of its officials. We are not aware of any professional or personal ties to Council members or members of the community which would raise doubts as to our fitness for the job. Kelly & Lemmons, P.A. does represent real estate developers as part of its real estate practice. To the best of our knowledge no developer clients of ours have current projects in City of Lino Lakes. We clearly would not represent any past or current clients on a development within the City if hired as City attorney, and would immediately notify our current development clients of the potential conflict if hired. Our firm keeps an electronic database of current and former clients, which allows us to quickly check for conflicts as needed. As noted above, the firm represents some other public organizations, namely the Minnesota State High School League and Teamsters Local 320. A conflict could arise if employees of the City were to choose Local 320 as a bargaining representative. Should a conflict arise, we would first seek a release of representation from the prior client, if feasible, and look to recommend conflict counsel for the City in cases where releases cannot be obtained. In the past 5 years, just two ethics complaints have been lodged against attorneys of Kelly & Lemmons or Kelly & Fawcett, P.A., our firm name prior to April, 2008. Both were resolved in favor of the attorney at the administrative level with no findings of unethical conduct. Neither the firm nor any of its attorneys have been named as a defendant against a former client in that time period. The firm carries malpractice insurance on all of its attorneys, at policy levels of $2 million per claim and $5 million aggregate. Work in securities law is an exception to our policy, and accordingly we do not advise on securities. Our firm takes pride in its ethical standards and has been honored to have its attorneys sit on the Second Judicial District Ethics Committee each of the last ten years. Kelly & Lemmons, P.A. is an equal - opportunity employer and complies with all applicable Federal and State laws, regulations and codes respecting civil rights.