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  • State Ethics Commission

Former Municipal Employee (G.L. c. 268A, § 18) Legal Opinions

Formal legal opinions by the State Ethics Commission about how the conflict of interest law applies to former municipal employees
  • EC-COI-83-28

    A member of two different state boards, both within the Executive Office of Environmental Management, who is a former municipal employee, may sell a parcel of land to the Town to set aside for conservation purposes where the purchase by the Town will involve a funding request to EOEA provided that he can comply with §§ 4, 6, 7 and 23 of the conflict of interest law as a state employee and §18 of the law as a former municipal employee.

  • EC-COI-83-81

    A former city corporation counsel who is now a lawyer in private practice as an associate in a law firm and who, as a city employee, participated substantially in a development matter, may enter into a contract on behalf of the law firm with the city agency handling the development matter to continue working on the matter without violating §18 of the conflict of interest law.

  • EC-COI-84-116

    A former city solicitor, whose law partner is the current city solicitor, may consult with clients on development matters in the city subject to the restrictions under §§ 18 and 23(c) of the conflict of interest law.

  • EC-COI-84-89

    A partnership for § 18 purposes of the conflict of interest law is not created when an attorney in private practice who also serves as the part-time town counsel becomes a shareholder in a corporation with two other attorneys in private practice for the purposes of owning the building where each shareholder attorney and one other attorney will engage in the private practice of law and there is no partnership or sharing of profits associated the the law practice of each of the attorneys. The town counsel remains subject to the restrictions of §§ 17, 18, 19 and 23 of the law.

  • EC-COI-84-78

    How the conflict of interest law applies generally to an assistant town counsel's private practice of law.

  • EC-COI-84-48

    An attorney in private practice is advised that § 18(d) of the conflict of interest law would prohibit his law partner from continuing to represent a client in a lawsuit against the town should the attorney be elected to the board of selectmen.

  • EC-COI-84-14

    A former municipal deputy assessor may, on behalf of a property owner, appraise the value of property and act on the owner’s behalf to contest an assessment without violating §§ 18 and 23(c) of the conflict of interest law because a prior appraisal he conducted as a deputy assessor is a different particular matter.

  • EC-COI-85-74

    A former municipal employee who previously worked for a municipality on the first phase of a reconstruction project may now consult for a company over the reconstruction of other buildings, because the proposed consultation would involve a new design and construction bid for a different set of buildings. The employee would be working on new particular matters in which she did not previously participate as a municipal employee.

  • EC-COI-85-59

    Two members of a city's sports facility commission were advised that they could not participate in negotiations to lease the facility to a private management company where the two members were involved in a management group which was a potential lessee. Further the members were advised that they could not act as the group's agent or otherwise appear on the group’s behalf before any city body in connection with the proposal. The commission restated the rule that "acting as agent includes not only personal participation in negotiations but also making any sort of contact on behalf of the outside entity with the city."

  • EC-COI-85-50

    The law partner of a city solicitor may not represent the city solicitor's daughter in a motor vehicle injury action brought against the city. The city solicitor must also guard against any actions which would result in special consideration being given to his daughter's case by the city solicitor's office.

  • EC-COI-85-49

    An attorney who contracts with a municipal redevelopment authority to provide legal services in a particular matter must limit his work, and that of his firm, to 60 days per year if the firm wishes to represent private parties before the authority on unrelated matters.

  • EC-COI-85-39

    The chief financial officer of a municipal housing authority will be subject to certain restrictions when he leaves to begin employment with a real estate management corporation. Specifically, he will be prohibited from receiving compensation from the corporation in relation to contracts he awarded to the corporation as a housing authority employee. Further, if he becomes a part-time consultant to the housing authority, he must limit his consulting to 60 days per year if he also wants· to receive compensation from the corporation in connection with any matters pending before the authority.

  • EC-COI-85-22

    A former member of the town planning board may not act as the agent for or receive compensation from a development team in which he is a partner, on matters in which he previously participated in as a board member. Further, he may not appear before the board on any matter which was pending before the board while he was a member. This restriction also prohibits the former municipal employee from sharing in the fee that the development team will receive for its work before the planning board. His partner is prohibited for one year from participating in any activity in which the former board member is prohibited from participating. A committee of church members promoting the development is not a municipal agency. However, the committee members who are also municipal employees should refrain from appearing on behalf of the committee before the town.

  • EC-COI-85-20

    The partner of a former city solicitor may represent a private client in a matter in which the solicitor previously participated, because more than one year has passed since the solicitor completed his municipal employment (§ 18(c)). However, the former city solicitor may not share those partnership assets which are attributable to the representation. Further, the proposed activity may violate the code of professional responsibility, and the partner should seek guidance from other sources on this point.

  • EC-COI-85-15

    A developer who also serves as an unpaid member of a state board is a special state employee. He may neither submit private proposals on property under the control of his board, nor officially participate in decisions in which he has a financial interest. He may seek development financing from other state agencies following his compliance with the disclosure provisions of § 7(d).

  • EC-COI-87-18

    An attorney may serve as special municipal counsel representing a board of health in a state lawsuit.

  • EC-COI-90-11

    A former municipal attorney may represent a private client in a lawsuit in which he neither participated nor had official responsibility for as a municipal attorney.

  • EC-COI-92-17

    Section 18(a) prohibits a former municipal employee, who participated in negotiating a contract for the municipality with a private vendor, from negotiating and implementing for the vendor a second contract that would, in effect, modify the first contract. The second contract is "integrally related" to the first contract.

  • EC-COI-95-11

    A former Chairman of a town Zoning By-Law Study Committee, who is a lawyer in private practice, may serve as paid counsel to the Committee. However, his private law practice will be subject to the restrictions of G.L. c. 268A, sections 17, 18, and 23, and his official actions subject to the restrictions of G.L. c. 268A, sections 19 and 23.

  • EC-COI-98-3

    A former city councilor may represent a client in a Superior Court appeal of a city Board of Health decision on siting a solid waste facility because his participation in certain city council votes in the siting decision was not sufficiently personal and substantial.

  • EC-COI-02-1

    Section 18 of G.L. c. 268A prohibits a retail real estate broker who served on a town task force from receiving compensation from, or acting as agent for, the developer of a town site to assist it in complying with the restrictions imposed by the town, including finding buyers or renters of retail space at the site, because his compensation would be in connection with the same matter in which he participated as a municipal employee and which remains of direct and substantial interest to the town.

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