Attorney Kahl to leave city government for solo practice (Printed Jan. 25, 2008)
By Amanda Estes
Staff Writer
Nearly a year after surviving a pitched battle with former City Manager Ted Jankowski and former Mayor Claude Morgan, South Portland’s City Attorney Mary Kahl announced she will resign her position on March 7 to pursue a solo practice.
“If I am going to do it, I need to do it now so the practice has time to develop and I still have good years to put into it,” Kahl wrote in an email on Tuesday.
Kahl, who has provided in-house legal counsel for the city for more than 16 years, said she will miss working with the “wonderful” people in the community, but said she won’t be going far.
“I will be looking for office space in South Portland,” she wrote. “I will continue to practice municipal law and would love to have some matters referred to me by South Portland as outside counsel.”
The city council is responsible for hiring the city’s legal counsel.
Mayor James Soule said the council will likely use the city’s outside counsel while conducting a search for a new attorney. Soule said there was some discussion last year as to whether the city should seek counsel from an outside firm rather than have an in-house attorney.
In March 2007, a protracted row over Kahl’s performance spilled into the public, placing Kahl at odds with Jankowski and Morgan, with Morgan saying to Kahl, “I now longer have faith in your ability to provide objective legal advice to this council.”
That controversy seemed to dissipate following Jankowski’s resignation on May 24. Soule replaced Morgan as mayor in December. Morgan remains on the council.
“I would say [Kahl’s] done an outstanding job and I wish her well,” said Soule.
Kahl said she is also excited for the opportunity to practice new areas of law including mediation and animal law.
“I have become interested in mediation because there are many situations where the more traditional (and adversarial) legalistic approach does not resolve the underlying issues,” she wrote. “When there are neighborhood or employee issues, for example, the people involved have an interest in getting along; being combative doesn’t serve anyone.”
Kahl said nationally, animal law is an emerging field.
“What initially interested me was how people can plan for their pets if something happens to them – I’ve seen a lot of situations where a person is injured or dies and the pets end up put down or sent to the shelter,” Kahl wrote. “My exploration of this problem has led to many linked issues. I have a lifelong love of animals and would like to use my professional skills in a way the benefits them.”
Kahl worked for the city of Saco prior to coming to South Portland. A New York City native, Kahl grew up in both New York and California and attended high school in Los Angeles. She attended Barnard College and New York Law School. Kahl has lived in South Portland for 17 years and said she will remain on the Art in the Park committee.
Staff Writer
Nearly a year after surviving a pitched battle with former City Manager Ted Jankowski and former Mayor Claude Morgan, South Portland’s City Attorney Mary Kahl announced she will resign her position on March 7 to pursue a solo practice.
“If I am going to do it, I need to do it now so the practice has time to develop and I still have good years to put into it,” Kahl wrote in an email on Tuesday.
Kahl, who has provided in-house legal counsel for the city for more than 16 years, said she will miss working with the “wonderful” people in the community, but said she won’t be going far.
“I will be looking for office space in South Portland,” she wrote. “I will continue to practice municipal law and would love to have some matters referred to me by South Portland as outside counsel.”
The city council is responsible for hiring the city’s legal counsel.
Mayor James Soule said the council will likely use the city’s outside counsel while conducting a search for a new attorney. Soule said there was some discussion last year as to whether the city should seek counsel from an outside firm rather than have an in-house attorney.
In March 2007, a protracted row over Kahl’s performance spilled into the public, placing Kahl at odds with Jankowski and Morgan, with Morgan saying to Kahl, “I now longer have faith in your ability to provide objective legal advice to this council.”
That controversy seemed to dissipate following Jankowski’s resignation on May 24. Soule replaced Morgan as mayor in December. Morgan remains on the council.
“I would say [Kahl’s] done an outstanding job and I wish her well,” said Soule.
Kahl said she is also excited for the opportunity to practice new areas of law including mediation and animal law.
“I have become interested in mediation because there are many situations where the more traditional (and adversarial) legalistic approach does not resolve the underlying issues,” she wrote. “When there are neighborhood or employee issues, for example, the people involved have an interest in getting along; being combative doesn’t serve anyone.”
Kahl said nationally, animal law is an emerging field.
“What initially interested me was how people can plan for their pets if something happens to them – I’ve seen a lot of situations where a person is injured or dies and the pets end up put down or sent to the shelter,” Kahl wrote. “My exploration of this problem has led to many linked issues. I have a lifelong love of animals and would like to use my professional skills in a way the benefits them.”
Kahl worked for the city of Saco prior to coming to South Portland. A New York City native, Kahl grew up in both New York and California and attended high school in Los Angeles. She attended Barnard College and New York Law School. Kahl has lived in South Portland for 17 years and said she will remain on the Art in the Park committee.
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