Mary Jarrett, senior assistant general counsel, was named acting general counsel today following the departure of Cindy Laquidara to the private sector.
Jarrett has been with the City’s Office of General Counsel since 2007 and specializes in providing labor and employment advice and defense to City agencies, according to her City biography.
“I am honored by this appointment and Mayor Brown’s confidence in me,” said Jarrett. “I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Office of General Counsel to provide strong legal representation to our clients throughout consolidated government.”
Prior to joining the Office, she was a shareholder with Coffman, Coleman, Andrews & Grogan and provided counseling, supervisor training, collective bargaining, administrative and court litigation defense to private and public employers.
“Mary Jarrett is a distinguished attorney whose experience and leadership will allow the Office of General Counsel to continue to offer the best legal support possible for Jacksonville’s government agencies,” said Brown. “I greatly appreciate her willingness to serve.”
Laquidara, the first woman to serve as general counsel, was appointed to the position last year when Rick Mullaney left to run for mayor. She was reappointed after he took office July 1 to serve through the end of this month.
According to City Charter, a permanent General Counsel will be selected following an appointed five-person committee of Florida-licensed attorneys to receive applications and recommend three applicants to the mayor. The mayor will make a selection, which must be confirmed by City Council. The mayor may choose to decline the recommendations and the committee will then conduct another search for more recommendations.
The term coincides with the term of the mayor who made the appointment.
As of last week, no committee had yet been chosen.
“We will announce the selection committee very soon,” Chris Hand, Brown’s chief of staff, told the Daily Record last week.
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