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Council declines waiver of conflict for Von Briesen over excessive-assessment lawsuit request
Summary
The Common Council voted down a requested conflict-of-interest waiver for law firm Von Briesen, which asked to represent a plaintiff in an excessive property tax assessment suit while the firm also advises the city on police and fire labor matters.
The Waukesha Common Council on Aug. 19 declined to waive a conflict of interest that would have allowed Von Briesen law firm to represent a party suing the city on an excessive-assessment claim while the firm also represents the city in police and fire labor negotiations.
City legal counsel explained that the firm serves the city on labor negotiations and that a waiver would allow another client of the same firm to sue the city. The central concern, staff explained, is whether information gained by one arm of the firm could be used to the city's disadvantage in the excessive-assessment matter.
Council members asked whether the same attorney would handle both matters; staff said that the firm-level client relationship means different attorneys within the same firm could handle separate matters and that the risk of cross-use of information was the focus for the council to weigh. One alderman asked for the identity of the property owner seeking the lawsuit; a council member said they should know that before approving a waiver and said they would vote no.
A motion to approve the waiver failed 7–8. Council members did not record individual roll-call votes in the transcript that was read aloud, and staff did not recommend a specific position.
