DeKalb County residents will be paying another lawyer to represent an ex-school school administrator in the district’s lawsuit against construction manager Heery/Mitchell.
The board is expected to hire a firm to represent former chief operating officer Patricia Reid on Monday night, but legal fees will be capped at $100,000, district spokesman Jeff Dickerson said.
Gary Freed, of Atlanta firm RobbinsFreed, filed a notice of appearance with the court to represent Reid, but said he now plans to withdraw it because of a potential conflict of interest his firm has with the school system.
This will be the fourth law firm the DeKalb school board has hired to help with the suit. Heery sued the district in 2007, alleging breach of contract. The district filed a counter-suit for $100 million, alleging fraud and mismanagement of school construction projects. The school system has already paid $15.5 million in legal fees in the case.
Reid was indicted last year on charges she ran a criminal enterprise at the school system.
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