Two firms make pitch to provide city attorney services for Brookings

BROOKINGS The impending retirement of longtime City Attorney Steve Britzman leaves Brookings facing the very real possibility that its next city attorney might not live in town a prospect thats unfamiliar to a city used to the decades of Britzmans services.

Two firms responded to the citys request for services, and both are based out of Sioux Falls: Cutler Law Firm and Woods, Fuller, Schultz and Smith P.C. Law Firm. The latter has a satellite office in Brookings, and both made their cases to councilors during a City Council study session on April 10.

Attorney J. Vincent Jones of Woods Fuller spoke first. He was followed by attorney Nathan S. Schoen of Cutler. Either one could become the next city attorney for Brookings, depending on what actions councilors take at their April 22 meeting.

Jones pointed to a mix of strengths shared by him and Woods Fuller, including:

• The firm, with more than 40 attorneys, is one of the regions oldest, largest and most experienced legal teams with a wide range of in-house expertise to handle municipal legal needs.
• Jones has been with Woods Fuller for more than 20 years, with clients including banks, farmers, municipalities, construction companies and more.
• Joness key areas center on business, real estate and municipal law.
• He pointed out his experience in representing municipalities with administrative law and regulation, including being the city attorney for Marion the past four years.
• Jones said that in addition to his experience and expertise, he also is supported by a team of other attorneys, including: Seth Lopour, Susan Rasmussen, James Moore and James Wiederrich.

Next in the lineup was Schoen. He discussed several of qualifications for the job:

• He joined Cutler in 2004 and has more than 17 years of experience as a city attorney. The firm currently represents Garretson, Harrisburg, Chamberlain and Oacoma.
• Schoen said Cutlers 20 attorneys work on a collaborative basis to help its clients. Among them, and of particular use to Brookings, would be Ryan Taylor, Meredith Moore (utilities), Nichole Mohning (personnel) and Eric Erickson (lobbyist for the South Dakota Municipal League).
• The firms areas of experience, Schoen said, include such things as business contracts and agreements; ordinances and resolutions; real estate matters; open meetings and open records; and state law as it pertains to municipalities.
• Schoen noted that Cutler has specialized knowledge as well, including working with cities that have home-rule governance.
• He noted that he is familiar with public safety matters as well, especially as Chamberlains city attorney. The town has its own police force.

Following their presentations, Jones and Schoen were peppered with questions from councilors. These inquiries covered a wide range of topics, including how to avoid conflicts of interest, what the attorneys were most proud of in their careers, experience with regulatory agencies, weekend availability and the biggest challenge of providing service to Brookings.

Contact Mondell Keck at [email protected].