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encourage you to report it to LMCIT right away, even before the litigation is formally commenced. While general legal advice from the city attorney is not normally considered part of the litigation costs, it is possible the city could incur some litigation-related costs in anticipation of the litigation. Keep in mind if the city incurs litigation costs before reporting the actual or anticipated litigation to LMCIT,those costs will be reimbursed at only 50 percent. How is litigation counsel selected? Litigation counsel is selected by mutual agreement between the city and LMCIT. If in some unusual circumstance we were not able to agree on an attorney to defend the city, LMCIT will give the city a list of five qualified attorneys who are experienced in that type of litigation. The city then can select any of the five. Except in very unusual circumstances, the city's own city attorney will not be appointed to represent the city in the covered litigation. We take this approach because the city attorney has often been intimately involved in providing legal advice to the city about how to handle the particular land use situation. If the city attorney was selected to represent the city in the litigation, it is conceivable the attorney could become involved in having to defend his or her own recommendations, and to some degree the city might lose the benefit of an independent, detached evaluation of the strengths and weakness of the case. Who manages the litigation and makes the decisions on strategy and settlement? With one exception, decisions on settlement and strategy are made by mutual agreement of the city and LMCIT, in consultation with the attorney the city and LMCIT have agreed to retain. Neither LMCIT nor the city has the authority to agree to a settlement without the other's consent. The one exception is litigation between LMCIT members. In cases of inter-city litigation, after selection of the counsel, LMCIT will not participate in the management of the litigation, except that settlement of any litigation involving the payment of damages must be approved by LMCIT. This collaborative decision-making process reflects the particular nature of this type of litigation. Unlike the tort claims that conventional insurance policies are designed to cover, the issues in this kind of litigation are often not just a matter of whether and how much money damages the city owes. The real issues at stake may be questions like whether or not a permit is issued, a financing package approved or a franchise granted—things which involve local policy issues and which may require legislative or other official action by the city council. At the same time, we also need to keep in mind the funds used to pay LMCIT's share of the costs are really the joint property of all of LMCIT's member cities. Those other member cities are entitled to know that their funds aren't being wasted on frivolous disputes or in pointlessly prolonging litigation in which the city has little chance of prevailing. Involving both the city and LMCIT in the decision-making process is a means of trying to balance those potentially competing interests. The cost-sharing provisions are incorporated in the coverage for much the same reason. l 5 Small Cities Track-2011 Planning&Zoning 10 1—23