The mayor of Snellville, who recently won a state Supreme Court battle that let her fire the city attorney, has hired a new firm to do the city’s work.
Balch & Bingham LLP will represent Snellville and Christopher S. Anulewicz has been assigned as the new Snellville attorney. A partner in the Atlanta office of Balch & Bingham LLP, Anulewicz has focused on defending financial institutions and healthcare providers in class action suits and representing people and businesses against the government.
In a statement, Anulewicz said he was honored to take the role.
“I hope to provide clear and unvarnished direction on legal issues facing Snellville, and in doing so, represent the collective interests of Snellville’s citizens,” he said.
The Snellville city attorney has been a hot-button issue in the city since Mayor Kelly Kautz tried to fire Tony Powell from the post in December 2012. Members of city council claimed that the right to fire the city attorney was theirs, and they elected to maintain Powell’s services for the council.
After a string of lawsuits that rose to the state Supreme Court, the Court decided last month that the right to fire belonged to the mayor.
Kautz said previously that members of council had blocked her efforts to hire another attorney by withholding payment. She had questioned Powell’s billing, his relationships with some members of council and whether it was a conflict of interest for him to also serve as a city council member in Lawrenceville.
Kautz said then that she was exploring whether she will be able to recoup taxpayer money paid to Powell when he acted as city attorney at council’s behest after he was initially terminated.
Anulewicz and Powell met to discuss the transition, the statement said. The new city attorney will be assisted by others in his office.
Despite the end of the attorney fight, Snellville’s infighting continues. In another court case involving the jobs of the city manager and city clerk, decided in favor of the mayor, council members are appealing a ruling that granted Kautz tens of thousands of dollars in attorneys’ fees.
