Four attorneys have applied to become the next City Attorney for East Ridge.
Mark Litchford, the city’s Interim City Attorney, J. Estes Cocke, Alexander McVeagh and W. Gerald Tidwell all turned in applications prior to the deadline for filing on Friday afternoon.
Litchford, a partner with Grant, Konvalinka & Harrison, was appointed the city’s interim attorney at the first of the year, after Hal North stepped aside after four years in the position. In a special called meeting to accept North’s resignation and appoint a replacement, City Councilman Jacky Cagle asked City Manager Scott Miller to seek a legal opinion from the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Board of Professional Responsibility concerning potential conflicts of interest which Litchford may encounter.
Litchford’s law firm has done work for Exit 1, LLC, the business that built Bass Pro Shop and is currently developing Jordan Crossing near Camp Jordan Park.
Cagle said he thinks it’s a “mistake” to hire Litchford as City Attorney. “We don’t need to have a City Attorney involved in a firm that represents Exit 1, LLC,” he said earlier this week.
The board’s opinion said there was no conflict of interest regarding Litchford and his firm and that any potential conflict could be waived, or “there could be screening off of the attorney who represents the City Council.”
Mayor Brent Lambert said that he wanted Litchford to represent the city to “reconnect in some way” with the law firm that was responsible for helping East Ridge participate in the Border Region Act – a state law which encourages development and tourism and gives tax breaks to the participating cities.
Lambert said Friday that he and Litchford have had a personal relationship for many years. He said that he and Litchford’s children participate in youth sports together.
Lambert said there is no timetable for selecting a permanent City Attorney. However, he said he would like to have the issue decided within a month.
According to Litchford’s statement of qualifications, he graduated from the University of Memphis School of Law in 2008 and has been an attorney with Grant, Konvalinka since graduating.
His application states, “I have previously provided legal municipal services for the City of East Ridge from 2008-2012, including drafting municipal ordinances and resolutions, representing the City before city court, assisted with border region application, serving as assistant attorney on City litigation in state court.”
John Anderson, who is a partner with Grant, Konvalinka, was the East Ridge City Attorney from 2008 to 2012, records show. Anderson did not reply to an email asking about any relationship he may have with Exit 1, LLC or its principals, John Healy, Matt Wood and Ethan Wood.
In Litchford’s application, he states that his firm would charge an $8,000 per month retainer. The firm would charge $175 per hour for litigation and other special projects.
Cocke, an East Ridge resident who currently serves on the Industrial Development Board, has practiced law for 25 years. He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee School of Law and has been the Chief Legal Officer and Executive Vice President of ERMC for that past 17 years.
ERMC is a Chattanooga-based national facility services company that operates in 38 states with over 4,000 employees. Emerson Russell, the Chief Executive Officer of the company, has business interests in East Ridge.
Cocke’s application states that in his position with ERMC he has served as Chief Compliance Officer. He has experience in Human Resources, Worker’s Compensation and contract management. He states that he has “managed hundreds of premises liability related litigation matters for major clients including CBL & Associates Management Inc. and General Growth Properties, Inc.”
Cocke’s application notes that he has been involved in civic affairs in East Ridge for more than 35 years and is one of only a few attorneys who maintains an office in East Ridge. He has served on the East Ridge Charter Committee.
Cocke provided no fee schedule for his services if selected as City Attorney
McVeagh, a 2013 graduate of Vanderbilt Law School, is with the firm Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel. He states on his application that he has served the City for more than three years, sitting in as City Attorney during North’s absence. In that time he assisted with drafting resolutions and ordinances, researched legal issues and provided legal and practical guidance to City Council members and staff.
McVeagh’s application notes that Chambliss, Bahner has more than 60 lawyers and has served the community for over 130 years. He noted that two of the past three East Ridge City Attorneys (Hal North and Michael Stewart) are members of the firm. He listed a dozen attorneys from the firm who would be available to assist the city on a day-to-day basis.
According to the application, Chambliss, Bahner would charge the city a flat fee of $110,000 a year if McVeagh is selected as the new City Attorney.
W. Gerald Tidwell is a partner in the firm of Tidwell, Izell & Richardson. He graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1982.
Tidwell writes in his application that he has been a trial lawyer for over 34 years. During that time he has represented police officers in civil rights cases and “served as a contractor to the City of Chattanooga providing legal services to Chattanooga and its employees where their attorneys had conflicts of interest.”
Tidwell’s application states that he has litigated areas of municipal law involving open records, both federal and state law discrimination claims, interpretation of ordinances and charter provisions and pension plans.
The firm is proposing a retainer of $6,000 per month. It would charge $175 per hour for its partners to represent the city, $140 per hour for associates and $80 per hour for paralegal services against the monthly retainer. That would amount to about 30 hours of attorney services per month against the retainer, he states. Tidwell’s application states that his firm would be in “close contact with city officials to let them know if fees exceed the retainer and to what extent they will exceed the retainer that month.”
It is unclear how the selection process will proceed.
