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Amarillo council debate over outside legal counsel turns public and sharply divided
Summary
A public statement from the council’s outside counsel and a council member’s demand for invoice transparency sparked a contentious council debate about the oversight, purpose and amount of special-counsel spending.
A controversy over the city council’s engagement of outside legal counsel escalated into one of the meeting’s most heated exchanges.
At the mayor’s request, a statement from Hyde Kelly LLP — the special counsel retained to provide council-only legal services — was read into the record. The letter defended the firm’s role and argued that its services have saved the city money and provided specialized legal advice. It also admonished a council member who had publicly questioned the engagement. The statement said, in part, “If we place confidential information in our invoices and a request is made for those invoices pursuant to the…
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