The Jefferson County Health Department is changing law firms, but keeping the same attorney.
Health Department attorney Christi Coleman had worked at Sandberg Phoenix law firm, but now works for the Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard and Smith firm, which is based in Los Angeles but has offices across the country, including in St. Louis.
The Health Department Board of Trustees voted 4-1 to change law firms and keep Coleman as the agency’s attorney.
Chairman Dennis Diehl, board members Amber Henry, James Prater and Tim Pigg all voted in favor of changing law firms, and board member Suzy Davis voted against the change.
Davis said she does not agree with keeping Coleman as the Health Department’s attorney because she “encouraged” the board to intervene in the Robinson v. Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services lawsuit.
“I again feel like we’re not being very diligent and prudent with our resources that are given to this department and trying to enter into a lawsuit that we really have no business getting into,” Davis said. “Our policies are working just fine the way they are and we do not need more government overreach in our citizens’ lives.”
The department filed a motion on Dec. 17 to intervene in the lawsuit, but on Dec. 22 Cole County Judge Daniel Richard Green denied all motions to intervene. Jackson and St. Louis counties also had filed a motion to intervene in the case.
Diehl said the health department plans to be a party to an appeal of the case.
Davis brought up another lawsuit – Otto v. Jefferson County Health Department – which attorney and State Rep. Mary Elizabeth Coleman filed on behalf of parents who say their children have been denied access to free education because of orders and guidance issued to stem the spread of COVID-19. Davis said the Health Department lost the lawsuit so the agency should not keep Coleman. However, that lawsuit is ongoing.
On Nov. 16, Jefferson County Div. 5 Circuit Judge Victor Melenbrink issued a temporary restraining order in the case, and as a result, the Health Department had to send clarification to all schools that quarantine procedures and protocols are guidelines and that they should stop using a quarantine form.
A preliminary hearing and case management conference is scheduled for 9 a.m. Jan. 12, 2022, on Webex.
“I would love to see (different legal) representation to bring a new vibe to our meetings,” Davis said.
Diehl said he believes it is best to retain Coleman. “I think we should stay with the person who has the experience and has dealt with the issues that we’re facing, which now keep getting more and more complex, (is better) than finding the person who’s going to have to start from square one,” he said.
Coleman, who lives in Imperial, has been the Health Department’s attorney since September 2020, after the Wegmann Law Firm, which had represented the agency for 36 years, resigned. The firm gave notice on Aug. 28, 2020, the day after the board passed a mask mandate, which was revoked 24 hours later.
Coleman charges the Health Department a $280 hourly rate and said her rate will stay the same at the new firm.
Coleman said she submitted her resignation on Dec. 20 and started at Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard and Smith on Dec. 27.
“I am honored to be able to continue to work with the board,” she said.