§ 102-82. Selection of outside counsel.

(a)

The selection of outside counsel to represent the county, any elected or appointed officer or official, employee, board, agency, or office (collectively, "county-related entities") shall be made by the board of commissioners, upon consultation with, and recommendation from, the Fulton County Attorney.

(b)

Fulton County shall not retain or engage any outside attorney or law firm to represent a county-related entity if such outside attorney or law firm represents any person or entity in any pending claim or lawsuit against Fulton County and/or any other county-related entity, except as provided in section 102-371.5 (employment of law firms with suits pending against the county).

(c)

In the event that any county-related entity purports to retain or engage any outside attorney or law firm in violation of subsection (a) herein, whether the outside attorney or law firm was retained by the county-related entity to represent any person or entity in any pending claim or lawsuit against Fulton County and/or any other county-related entity, or for any other matter, any and all financial obligations, damages, or claims resulting from such purported retention or engagement shall not be paid from taxpayer funds, the county treasury or other funds included within any budget approved by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners.

(d)

In the event that, as of the effective date of this section 102-82, any county-related entity is utilizing the services of an outside attorney or law firm whose retention or engagement would be prohibited by this section, such representation shall be transitioned to other legal counsel in accordance with the procedures set forth in subsection (a) above within 60 days of the effective date of this section.

(e)

The Fulton County Attorney shall be authorized to waive the provisions of subsection (b) above on a case-by-case basis, if the county attorney determines that 1) such representation is not prohibited by the Rules of Professional Conduct of the State Bar of Georgia, 2) the separate representation does not involve a claim for any monetary damages against the county and/or other county-related entity, and 3) otherwise will not adversely affect the interests of Fulton County or any other county-related entity.

(15-1114, 12-16-15)