05-15-17 Council Rules - Laserfiche WebLink

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Councilmember Ferlic answered, Very generally,just a really solid representation of the Common Council as a whole and being able to work really well with nine (9) unique individuals. Ms. Bauer asked, How long have each of your served on the Common Council and what is your profession outside of your role as a Council member? The Council members then went around the room and shared how long they have served on the Common Council as well as their alternate occupation. With no other questions from Ms. Bauer,the Council excused Ms. Bauer from the interview. Interview of Casey Cox and Kevin Podlaski Councilmember Ferlic reminded Mr. Cox and Mr. Podlaski that the interview is public and being recorded. He then stated, I will ask the first round of questions and we will then open the floor to questions from all Council members. We will conclude with any questions that you may have for us. For those Council members who weren't in attendance at the initial meeting, could you please tell us about your work experience and how it has prepared you for the requirements of this position? Casey Cox replied, We are a general practice law firm named Beers Mallers Backs & Salin LLP. We have four(4) offices. Our main office is out of Fort Wayne but we have offices in La Grange, Warsaw and Syracuse. Our growth is pushing northwest from the Fort Wayne area and so when we saw this opportunity, especially given our deep local government law presence in the firm, we had interest right away. Our firm generally represents a number of local governmental entities including Allen County, La Grange County, the Town of Shipshewana,the Town of Wolcottville,the Town of Freemont and I am personally the City Attorney for the second smallest city in Indiana, the City of Woodburn. We also represent a number of townships, libraries and public entities. Our law firm has twenty-nine (29) or thirty (30) lawyers. I've personally done a lot of work with public entities like libraries and fire departments. I've also done a bit of real estate and business law. Kevin Podladski stated, My experience is in liability and litigation. The last time we were here I spoke of having done work for city public safety officers, primarily prosecution work. Diana Bauer is a former partner of mine from Carson Boxberger. We both did city work. I was the litigator and she wrote briefs for me. Since then she has helped me with several cases at the appellate level and Indiana Supreme Court level matters. Mr. Cox continued, We have a diversity of lawyers in the firm that have handled inquiries from municipal and business clients. We are generally a broad and diverse civil law firm that has a significant focus in municipal and local government. Councilmember Ferlic asked, Please tell us about the toughest or the most challenging case you handled this year. 8