City of Mission to hire new attorney

The city of Mission plans to hire a new attorney, though it won’t say which attorney just yet.

 

On Tuesday, Mission City Council discussed designating legal representation for the city and possibly naming an in-house city attorney or engaging with an outside law firm for legal services.

 

That discussion took place entirely behind closed doors in executive session, and afterward council voted to proceed as discussed in executive session without saying what that vote actually entailed.

 

 

Mayor Norie Gonzalez Garza said Tuesday that the vote entails hiring new legal counsel.

 

“That is the plan,” she said.

 

Garza, however, declined to name that attorney or law firm, saying the city hadn’t fully negotiated an agreement with them.

 

“Because it’s not a done deal yet I’d rather not answer that,” she said. “Because it’s not, there are still some negotiations that need to happen. So it’s not a done deal.”

 

Negotiations were close to being complete Thursday morning, she said, but not finished when the Progress Times went to press.

 

Council’s vote to hire a new law firm Tuesday comes just two weeks after it voted to hire Jones, Galligan, Key & Lozano as interim legal counsel for a three-month term.

 

Garza says opinions on city council have shifted in the intervening time.

 

“Maybe some of the council members had some additional information or second thoughts on it, so it was placed back on the agenda for this time around for re-discussion, so basically that’s what happened,” she said.

 

According to Garza, the city will likely bring its new attorney on board within a month.

 

“But it could be sooner than that. It could be sooner than that. It’s possible,” she said.

 

Mission’s city attorney position has been in limbo for months.

 

In November City Attorney Patricia Rigney announced her resignation after about a year-and-a-half on the job.

 

Rigney initially planned to resign at the end of 2025, though that date has been pushed back repeatedly and she’s still working for the city.

 

As of Wednesday, Garza said Rigney was planning to stay on through this Friday.

 

“Because there was some stuff that needed to be finished up,” Garza said.

 

Rigney had offered last month to continue working with the city in a transitional role.

 

Last month the city also heard presentations from five other lawyers and firms that wanted to work with the city.

 

>>> Mark Swaim

>>> Jones, Galligan, Key & Lozano

>>> O’Hanlon, Demerath & Castillo

>>> Griffith Law Group

>>> Palacios, Garza & Thompson

 

After hearing those presentations, council voted in late February to hire Jones, Galligan, Key & Lozano for a three-month term.

 

Bob Galligan, who works with that firm, has long represented the city and has often stepped in as an interim city attorney, a role the city said he’s playing again.

 

According to its contract with Galligan’s firm, Mission is paying it $10,000 a month for day-to-day legal services like handling public information requests, reviewing contracts, drafting ordinances, dealing with personnel matters and attending meetings.

 

 

The city agreed to pay a rate of $300 per hour for work related to litigation and arbitration.

 

If the city chooses to, it can terminate its agreement with Galligan’s firm with a 30 day written notice.

 

An open records request for existing legal services agreements or contracts with the city filed by the Progress Times on March 6 did not net any agreement with Rigney, who appears to still be doing some of the day-to-day legal work for the city.

 

On Tuesday, for example, a request for a Texas Attorney General opinion written by the city in response to a Progress Times open records request was signed by one of the city’s paralegals on Rigney’s behalf.