Douglas school district hires Joey Gilbert’s firm as legal counsel

RENO — Reno attorney and one-time gubernatorial candidate Joey Gilbert will now serve as the Douglas County School District’s legal counsel after its Board of Trustees voted to select his law firm for the job Wednesday.

Board members voted to approve a contract with Gilbert’s firm and terminate a nearly decade-old agreement with Maupin, Cox and Legoy, a Reno-based law firm that has represented the school district since at least 1995.

Gilbert admitted he doesn’t have a background in education law, but he vowed to build a team of “the best of the best.”

“I want you to know that I don’t come into this process pretending to be the expert, but I promise you. You have my word that you will be represented well by the best of the best in the industry,” Gilbert told board members. “I still do believe to this day that I have the best education team at my disposal.”

But the nearly six-hour-long special meeting grew contentious at times, with several members of the public and members on the board raising concerns about the process and Gilbert’s background.

Board Trustee Linda Gilkerson said the selection process was “not transparent,” while Trustee Carey Kangas said he was “110 percent positive” that the board needed to go through the process.

The special meeting comes after board members voted during their last regular meeting on June 13 to open an application for attorneys and firms hoping to apply for a contract with the school district and board following complaints by some members who said they had “lost trust” with current legal counsel.

But the application process was never approved by board members, and a special meeting was called by three of the members despite the process never being formally approved, Douglas County Superintendent Keith Lewis said.

“If certain members don’t have that trust, that relationship is broken,” Rick Hsu, a lawyer with Maupin, Cox and Legoy said following the vote. “I also wish Mr. Gilbert the best because I think that he may be able to mend some fences between you.”

Contact Taylor R. Avery at TAvery@reviewjournal.com. Follow @travery98 on Twitter.