Comm No 0001.09 - Response from CC - Qualifications - Oct 26

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Honorable Douglass Shipman Adams Chairman and Members of the Hawai’i County Charter Commission October 26,2018 Page 2of 3 and personnel to provide the best legal services for the Countyand its employees and officials. At Least Five Years of Experience in the Practice of Law Requiring the Corporation Counsel to have at least five years of experience in the practice of law would help ensure that he or she has the acumen to handle the myriad of legal issues that the County deals with on a daily basis. He or she must provide legal advice, opinions and solutions regarding issues and risks, including creating and implementing County policies and procedures to preserve, protect and promote the resources of the County. Requiring the Corporation Counsel to have at least five years in the practice of law would also promote the likelihood that he or she will possessthe necessary skills to drive and support strategies and solutions for legal issues that are often complex and challenging. A minimum qualification of at least five yearsof legal practice experience is reasonable. For example, to be a judge of the district court,a person must have at least five years of experience in the practice of law prior to the nomination. SeeArt. VI- Section 3, Constitution of the State of Hawai’i. Moreover,several directorsof County departmentsmust have at least five yearsof experience in the related field.See Sections 6-6.2 (Finance Director), 6-7.2 (Planning Director), 6-8.2 (Director of Research and Development), 7-2.3 (Chief of Police), and 7-4.3(b) (Fire Chief) of the Charter. Finally, both the City and County of Honolulu and the County of Maui require the Corporation Counsel to have at least five years of experience in the practice of law. See Revised Charter of the City & County of Honolulu, Section 5-202; Charter County of Maui, Section 8-2.2. At Least Three Years of Administrative Experience A Corporation Counsel serves as a department head and is in charge of the County’s law firm. Currently, the office has 15 attorneys with 9in our counseling and drafting division and 6in our litigation division. Our support staff of 11consists of one private secretary, one accountant, oneclaims/investigatoradjuster, one legal assistant, 3 legal technicians, 3legal clerks and one clerk. Accordingly, the Corporation Counsel should bring some administrative experience prior to appointment. He or she should have the skills to manage, superviseand operatea governmental legal department, and should not learn on the job.He or she should be able to drive legal strategies without losing sight of the day-to-day operations. The position requires someone to provide thoughtful leadership, strategic insight and clear communication (written and verbal) to team members within andoutside of the office. A minimum qualification of at least three years of administrative experience is reasonable. Such minimum qualification is consistent with those required of some of