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Fees in Leopold discrimination case top $40,000

By ALLISON BOURG, Staff Writer | Posted: Tuesday, October 23, 2012 11:00 am
Private counsel for Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold has charged the county
government more than $42,000 for work on a federal discrimination and retaliation case brought by a
former county media liaison.
The Oct. 12 invoice, released by the county this week, shows lawyers with Greenbelt-based Thatcher
Law Firm billed taxpayers $21,752.60 during September, doubling the amount charged to the county
the previous month.
Karla Hamner, Leopolds spokeswoman in 2007 and 2008, sued the county executive two years ago.
Hamner claims she was fired after she complained about Leopolds behavior.
She is seeking $300,000 in damages.
Last week, Leopold released a statement saying he would pay for his legal defense if he lost the case.
But he said he remained confident he would win.
The County Council is mulling a bill that would make county employees judged liable in a lawsuit pay
for their own legal expenses.
State Sen. Bryan Simonaire, R-Pasadena, who publicly called on Leopold to pay his legal fees, said he
would introduce similar legislation in the General Assembly next year.
Byron Warnken, a professor of law at the University of Baltimore, said he suspects those measures
prompted Leopold to promise to pay his own legal fees.
It may well be that his advisers went to him and said, This statute is going to be enacted, why dont
we take the high road? Warnken said.
Taxpayers, though, have a right to be concerned, Warnken said, adding the legal fees are likely to top
$250,000. If the case goes to trial, that alone could cost $50,000 to $100,000, he said.
Under the states Local Government Tort Claims Act, which allows residents harmed by government
officials to seek compensation, the county is obligated to provide a defense for Leopold.
The county executive hired the Thatcher Law Firm to represent him in August at the recommendation
of County Attorney Jonathan Hodgson. Partner Linda Hitt Thatcher is charging the county $450 an
hour; associate Robert Barors rates are $350 an hour.
Hodgson, who still represents the county in the Hamner case, hasnt elaborated on why he advised
Leopold to get private counsel. Legal experts speculate there could have been a conflict of interest.
Leopold hired Thatcher and Baror several days after three depositions from county police officers were

10/24/2012 12:59 PM

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filed in U.S. District Court. In the depositions, officers testified they knew about Leopolds orders to
fire Hamner.
Leopold also has been sued by his former constituent services specialist, Joan Harris, who claims she
was fired for not supporting his 2010 re-election campaign and for helping with Hamners case.
Hodgson is still representing Leopold in that case.
The county executive also is awaiting trial on a separate criminal case.
He was indicted in March on misconduct and misappropriation charges for allegedly misusing his
executive protection detail. That trial is scheduled for January.

10/24/2012 12:59 PM