Palm Beach County selects David Adi as next county attorney after public interviews

Palm Beach County commissioners selected David Adi as the county attorney on Oct. 25, following a public interview and selection process with four finalists.

The board held a televised session during which each finalist—Denise Hare, Mike Jones, Michael Napoleone and David Adi—answered a set of standardized questions in rotating order. Each candidate had up to three minutes per question and one minute for follow-ups. After closing statements, commissioners cast ballots and announced Adi as the choice. Mayor Baxter said the mayor’s office will negotiate Adi’s contract with attorney Kaufman.

The interviews focused largely on the county attorney’s role as legal advisor, risk manager and office leader. Denise Hare, a board-certified local government law attorney who described herself as a long-time Palm Beach County resident, emphasized a collaborative approach and experience in litigation, appeals, contracts and land-use matters. "I am board certified in local government law," Hare said, citing the specialty certification as part of her qualifications.

Mike Jones, who said he has worked in the county attorney’s office for 25 years and supervises attorneys, told the board his tenure gives him institutional knowledge: "I've had on-the-job training for the last 25 years for this position," he said, arguing that experience helps anticipate issues that arise at the dais.

Michael Napoleone, mayor of Wellington and a private-practice attorney, framed his candidacy around bringing private-sector perspective and rebuilding office morale. He urged greater technology adoption, including artificial intelligence, telling commissioners, "AI is gonna replace lawyers who don't know how to use AI," and recommended integrating tools and training to keep the office competitive.

David Adi, who described a career in the county attorney’s office and said he has led litigation teams and handled transactional work, presented a performance and efficiency plan he said he would implement if selected. He outlined upgrades to case and matter management, expanded Westlaw tools with AI components and a formalized system of evaluations. "My approach would be one of proactive leadership, proactive legal advice to the board," Adi said.

Commissioners pressed all candidates on specific management priorities. Recurring proposals from candidates included reinstating regular office-wide staff meetings, building formal mentorship and training programs, conducting regular performance reviews and using centralized digital systems to reduce duplicate work. Multiple candidates said improving retention and diagnosing office culture were priorities.

On questions about balancing legal advice with political or public pressure, candidates described instances where legal constraints limited policy choices and cited the attorney’s duty to identify legal risks. In one example described by a candidate, an ordinance passed to protect minors was later overturned on appeal; the candidate said the board had balanced public interest against legal risk when it enacted the measure and the office defended it as able.

Board members also discussed administrative matters that arose during the meeting: Commissioner Flores noted that Napoleone requested (if selected) to remain in his elected mayoral role through a March election and said he would resign effective the election date; Attorney Kaufman flagged charter and dual-office issues and noted the contract would not be finalized until a resignation resolved any dual-office holding concerns.

At the session’s close, Administrator Abruzzo and multiple commissioners congratulated Adi. Commissioners gave additional directions unrelated to the hiring decision, including staff follow-up on Century Village precinct consolidation for roughly 113 voters and a request that homeless service providers report jointly to the board. Mayor Baxter said she will circulate a memorandum on the countywide transportation master plan’s scope regarding land-use review.

The board’s public selection completes this phase of the recruitment; the mayor’s office will negotiate the employment contract. The board did not announce a public start date for the new county attorney during the session.