|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The Atherton City Council is poised to hire Wynn Furth as the town’s new city attorney.
Ms. Furth, of Oakland-based McDonough, Holland & Allen, has previously served as the acting city attorney for Palo Alto and as the city attorney of Claremont.
A member of the California Bar Association since 1973, she holds a law degree from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University, according to biographical information posted on her law firm’s Web site.
Approval of a contract with Ms. Furth is on the agenda of a special council meeting set for 3 p.m. Friday (Feb. 13) at the main house at Holbrook-Palmer Park, 150 Watkins Ave. in Atherton.
She will replace city attorney Marc Hynes, who announced his resignation in September.
“I am confident that we are selecting a very good candidate to represent our town,” Mayor Jerry Carlson told The Almanac. “I think she will give us excellent advice and push back on us when she needs to.”
Ms. Furth has been interviewed by all but one of the five council members and by key members of town staff, Mr. Carlson said. “I think it was a unanimous choice,” he said. “I think (the staff) comments were strongly in support of this firm.”
Mr. Carlson said that Ms. Furth’s law firm is well-regarded and large enough to handle most of the town’s legal services in-house. In recent years, Atherton has had to contract out for legal services on a number of litigation and other issues.
“They have the experience to take care of most issues (within) the firm rather than farm things out, and I think that’s a good thing,” Mr. Carlson said. “This ought to give us better cost controls.”
