With 44 lawyers and more than 20 support staff, the city Office of General Counsel is one of Jacksonville’s larger law firms.
Its client is the consolidated government. The attorneys in the office specialize in all practice areas except criminal defense and immigration law, but much of their work happens behind the scenes.
“We get into areas a lot of people don’t think about. I think of us as the most high profile, under-the-radar law firm in the city,” said Jason Teal, whose appointment as the city’s top lawyer was confirmed Oct. 26 by City Council.
Teal, 51, a city of Jacksonville lawyer for more than 21 years, succeeds former General Counsel Jason Gabriel, who resigned and then entered private practice in August.
The office was created after the city of Jacksonville and Duval County governments were consolidated in 1968.
“There was a city attorney and a county attorney. One of them was going away. The framers of consolidation knew someone had to render binding legal opinions without any infighting. That’s why OGC was created – to be the intermediary between forces that have to live under the same roof,” Teal said.
The diverse practice areas in the office are required because of the range of services the government provides to residents and the functions it needs to perform.
“The city is a $1 billion business with thousands of employees. A private company that size is typically in only one or a few business models, but we are an electric company, a transportation company, an airport, a seaport, a school board, a contractor,” Teal said.
A process in place
Perhaps the aspect of OGC’s work most visible to the public is working with Council, Teal said.
City attorneys attend each Council meeting to answer questions about the law and procedure.
Attorneys in the office draft the ordinances and resolutions to be considered by the Council.
That process begins when a Council member has an idea and contacts one of the city’s attorneys assigned to work with the legislative branch.
“They talk it through and figure out exactly what the Council member wants to accomplish. Then we analyze it. It comes down to can we – is it legally permissible – versus should we,” Teal said.
“‘Should we’ is policy and we don’t get involved in that.”
The Council member is advised about possible ramifications of proposed legislation, such as conflicts among the city agencies or how proposed legislation might affect an existing contract.
“Then we put it on paper. It has to be clearly written because it has to be understood 20 years from now,” Teal said.
Not all the work done by the city’s attorneys is as high profile as helping develop new local laws and regulations.
Teal said a good example is when a resident runs afoul of the dog catcher.
“When Animal Care and Control confiscates a dog because it’s being mistreated or neglected, it’s somebody’s property. The government can’t take property without a basis to do it or compensation. We have to go to court to get a judge to award us custody of an animal.” Teal said.
Advising government entities
The city’s lawyers work with the independent authorities, boards and commissions established within government. They advise the bodies about issues such as electric and water rates, Downtown development, historic preservation and building codes, to name just a few.
People appointed to those groups have subject matter expertise, but they are volunteers and may have little, if any, background in government or how it works.
“We operate a lot more smoothly when OGC is in the room,” said Ryan Fryman, a professional engineer and chair of the Building Codes Adjustment Board.
The board meets monthly to consider and vote on requests for variances from the Standard Building Code, the Standard Fire Code, the Standard Plumbing Code and the Standard Electrical Code, as well as appeals of citations issued by the Property Safety Division under Chapter 518 of the city’s Municipal Code.
“OGC keeps the process legal and flowing. Our members understand building code, but we need someone who understands Robert’s Rules of Order and the legal ramifications of things that can happen at meetings,” Fryman said.
“We are business people, so we don’t always understand the legal implications. That’s the kind of detail lawyers think about.”
The city’s attorneys also work closely with quasi-judicial agencies empowered to rule on legal issues such as employment disputes.
“OGC is integral to our process,” said James Register, an insurance agent and chair of the Civil Service Board.
Register said when a civil service employee files a complaint or is facing a disciplinary action, OGC represents the city with the complainant represented by private counsel or sometimes, self-represented.
“We are an all-volunteer board, governed by the City Charter and civil service rules. We weigh the evidence and the rules and then render a decision. OGC ensures due process,” Register said.
“We make sure that decisions made are as legally supportable as possible. If they aren’t, we can spend months in court and if we lose, we have to do it again,” Teal said.
Sometimes, the answer is ‘no’
After graduating from Florida State University College of Law and being admitted to The Florida Bar in 1998, Teal joined a firm in Jacksonville Beach to practice environmental law.
He went to work for the city in 2000 after the state changed the regulations governing underground storage tanks.
Teal said that in the past 21 years, he has touched almost every area of the city’s law practice. The variety is what has kept him in the office at City Hall.
“I didn’t want to be pigeonholed,” Teal said.
A month after he joined OGC, the 2000 presidential election put the term “hanging chad” into the national conversation and Teal was assigned to advise the Supervisor of Elections office about the recount of votes.
His other career assignments include training code enforcement officers about what they can and can’t do when stepping onto private property and advising the Downtown Development Review Board about the specific design regulations that apply to Jacksonville’s urban core.
“I call myself the junk drawer of the office. Whatever couldn’t find a home usually ended up with me,” Teal said.
After Gabriel submitted his resignation, Teal became the interim general counsel. He was interviewed by a selection committee before Mayor Lenny Curry appointed him to the post permanently and Council confirmed him.
One question from the committee was whether he has the ability tell one of OGC’s clients, the mayor’s office, for example, “no.”
“I said sure, but an absolute no should be a rare occurrence. We try to help solve problems and help you understand what you want to do and the most efficient way to get there, so I’ll explain to you why the answer is no,” Teal said.