From Maureen Donald's article, one could deduce that the Town Board has spent $21,000 in order to avoid paying a $25,000 severance package. Few attorneys would recommend that course of action. Is there something else they are trying to protect?
If the object of the attorney's effort was to uncover the truth or obtain evidence, the Board could have done that at little or no expense by exercising their power of investigation:
"§ 160A‑80. Power of investigation; subpoena power.
(a) The council shall have power to investigate the affairs of the city, and for that purpose may subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, and compel the production of evidence.
(b) If a person fails or refuses to obey a subpoena issued pursuant to this section, the council may apply to the General Court of Justice for an order requiring that its order be obeyed, and the court shall have jurisdiction to issue these orders after notice to all proper parties. No testimony of any witness before the council pursuant to a subpoena issued in exercise of the power conferred by this section may be used against him on the trial of any civil or criminal action other than a prosecution for false swearing committed on the examination. If any person, while under oath at an investigation by the council, willfully swears falsely, he is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor."
The only downside is that allegations would have to be made and responded to in the light of day rather than in the shadows.
Secrecy can be expensive.
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