Guest Commentary: Mr. Dowd, for the good of Hanford, please resign

When a lawyer steps into the courtroom, it is that attorney's reputation for honesty which will resonate far louder than the human voice itself.

Lawyers owe their clients the highest duty of good faith and fair dealing. No matter how brilliant, charming, articulate or persuasive, when the public, judges and other lawyers know you are not a person of your word, then your own clients will suffer.

For, in every case, it is not only the client who is on trial, but the lawyer as well. If that attorney has a reputation for saying one thing but secretly intending something far different, then no matter how valid a client's case, doubt will find its way into those who sit in judgment...

Good cases are lost every day by lawyers who have acquired a reputation for not telling the truth. Pity the innocent client whose lawyer is known for questionable ethics and dishonesty.

In Small Town America, there aren't that many lawyers. Reputation travels quickly. Once severely damaged by dishonesty, greed or unethical conduct, poor reputation is a stain no (amount of) bleach ever invented can remove.. Hanford is indeed Small Town America.

Hanford's city attorney, Robert Dowd, has admitted to misrepresenting his true intentions to its residents. In his efforts to become city attorney, his sales pitch turns out to have been an insidious fraud.

"I will not bill more than $250,000 a year, no matter how busy I might get," stated Attorney Dowd to the City Council and those people sitting in the audience.

While he clearly was the least experienced and most expensive of all the law firms who submitted bids for the job, his most attractive selling point was that $250,000 limit on fees. It's like an agreement to purchase gasoline at a set price per gallon, regardless of how high prices go in the general economy. In medicine, this is called "capitation," where, for a set yearly fee, the doctor agrees to serve covered patients, regardless of how often they need to be seen. It is like the flat rate we pay for local telephone service. The phone company lets us talk a little, or for as long as we want to, for a set monthly fee. They have the assurance of a specific amount of money coming in each month, and we get to use the phone for as long as we want to.

Yet, Mr. Dowd billed the City of Hanford -- and has been paid -- close to $400,000 during the time he agreed to take no more than $250,000, claiming that he never really intended to honor that figure and blaming the City Council for accepting his offer!

This is like signing a contract to have your house painted for $5,000. Part way through the job, the painter tells you, "Pay me $2,000 more. Yes, I know what I said, but I really meant $7,000!" You pay. And you also tell the Contractor's State License Board. The painter could lose his license.

The California State Bar would take a long and serious look at any lawyer who did the same thing.

A city attorney represents the interests of the city and its residents. It is an extremely important position, and should be held by a lawyer who is respected for competence and outstanding ethics. That office should not be occupied by a lawyer who announces to the world that he does not mean what he says.

To some plaintiff's lawyers, cities are a giant piggy bank, just sitting there, ready to be cracked open. Where a city attorney is known for honesty in all things, a plaintiff's lawyer will think twice before filing suit if given truthful information which proves the city is free of blame. But where that city attorney is suspected of being unethical or dishonest, even if the city is innocent, his representations may not be believed.

This is a real issue for Hanford. A plaintiff's lawyer might easily think along these lines: "I know how he got his job. I can't trust what he tells me. Therefore, to protect my own client, I have no choice but to file a suit."

Mr. Dowd, if you truly love your town, do the right thing. Step down. Do not allow your tarnished reputation to hurt the city. It is time for you to keep your word.

Dennis Beaver is a Sentinel columnist and practices law in Bakersfield.

(May 6, 2007)