Councilman’s wife: forget hiring in-house attorney

“Few things are as expensive as a cheap attorney.” That’s one of the thoughts that the wife of an Oconee County councilman left with the entire County Council last night. The wife of District Five’s Reg Dexter, Jaime Dexter, rose from the back of the room for public comment and delivered a message to keep Tom Martin and the McNair law firm for the county’s legal services. She said that research by Scott Moulder, county administrator, indicates the savings to be realized from switching to an in-house attorney and a paralegal would be no more than $50 thousand. And that’s not enough, Mrs. Dexter said, to justify losing or downsizing the services that Martin and the McNair law firm offer. As announced early this year, council’s intent to save money on legal expenses is to hire an attorney to work out of an office in Pine Street and use the McNair law firm only for the kinds of complex issues for which the in-house attorney would not be capable. She said in the Upstate, Martin is considered an elite lawyer and the firm he works for has received accolades. The council made no comment in reaction to the councilman’s wife, and the in-house attorney’s job remains posted.