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County attorney highlights case management procurement, digitization and outside counsel use as litigation rises
Summary
Albany County Attorney Jeff Jamieson told legislators the Law Department is digitizing old files, pursuing a shared case management system, and using outside counsel where specialized expertise is needed; he said new hires and modest salary adjustments are part of the proposed 2026 budget.
Albany County Attorney Jeff Jamieson and Deputy County Attorney Jordan Huberman presented the Law Department’s budget and operational priorities to the Audit & Finance Committee on Oct. 23, emphasizing digitization, a county‑wide case management procurement and targeted use of outside counsel.
Jamieson said the department represents county officers, employees and defends claims against the county; his office also handles certain prosecutions and juvenile matters. He said the department is digitizing older files using a state contract with NYSED, has implemented an electronic contract management system (ECMS) and is in the process of awarding a bid for a centralized case management system that could be used by multiple county legal entities (Public Defender, Alternate Public Defender, Assigned Counsel, and the Law Department).
Jamieson described outside counsel engagements for specialized legal areas — for example environmental work or employee‑relations litigation — and said some outside counsel arrangements can be cost‑effective when the firm’s scope covers multiple municipalities. He explained that a portion of the department’s increased fees‑for‑services budget goes to outside counsel engaged for labor and specialized litigation when in‑house capacity or specialization is not available.
The department requested modest salary adjustments and one additional attorney in the proposed budget to keep pace with rising family court and juvenile delinquency caseloads, Jamieson said. He said the department has been coordinating with other offices about case management needs and that the RFP for a case management system was written to permit a system usable across several county legal offices.
Jamieson also discussed the county attorney’s statutory role and cited case law and public officers law provisions describing when outside counsel is appropriate (for instance, when conflicts prevent the county attorney from representing particular officials). Committee members asked for more detail about outside counsel vendors and which matters they cover; Jamieson said most correctional facility litigation is handled in‑house but that some firms (for example, Goldberg Segalla) may handle specific matters and he offered to provide a written list of outside counsel and their primary areas of engagement.
No formal votes were taken during the presentation; Jamieson said the department will continue recruitment efforts and will share additional information with the committee in writing when requested.
