A Peoria law firm with a long history of litigating for the city of Galesburg as outside counsel will now provide day-to-day legal services for the city.
The city council voted unanimously on Monday to hire the James Kelly Law Firm. The one-year contract is for $115,000 with no additional benefits.
Founding partner James Kelly said the firm will have office hours in Galesburg a minimum of two days a week.
The role includes defending the city’s interest in litigation, prosecuting ordinance violations, providing legal opinions, and drafting contracts and ordinances.
Local law firm Barash & Everett has been serving as interim city attorney since the departure of in-house attorney Bradley Nolden last year.
Barash & Everett submitted notice of termination on May 2, but has stayed on while the city searched for a replacement.
Due a lack of qualified applications for the position, the city invited three law firms it has worked with in the past to submit proposals for city attorney duties.
The James Kelly Law Firm was selected based on pricing, availability of staff, and history of providing legal services for the city.
The firm most recently was engaged by the city in 2019 to conduct an external review of the city administration’s handling of discrimination complaints.
The firm found the city’s handling of complaints was proper.
According to the 2019 appointment memo, the firm has successfully handled a number of cases for the city since the 1990s.
Nolden had been with the city since 2015. Prior to that, John Hanlon served as the city attorney for nearly 40 years.
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