EAST PROVIDENCE — The East Providence solicitor's office is in need of an assistant, it was formally made public during the September 3 meeting of the City Council.

The matter was broached within an item placed on the agenda that evening by Ward 2 member Anna Sousa, "Discussion and possible vote to hire temporary legal counsel for ordinances and resolutions – discuss and vote."

The previous holder of the position, city native Dylan Conley, has resigned the post in the last few weeks, leaving only Solicitor Michael Marcello in the office.

Robin Lefebvre, the tenured Executive Legal Secretary for the city, also remains as an experienced member of the city's legal department.

Conley, the son of former City Councilor and State Senator from the city William "Billy" Conley and an associate for the elder's firm Conley Law and Associates in Providence, stepped away from the position citing personal reasons. He and his wife, Jenica, recently welcomed their second child.

Conley was an assistant solicitor for the city since originally appointed by the then-seated Council in December of 2016. He was reappointed by incoming and newly-elected Mayor Bob DaSilva, again with Council approval, in 2019.

Among Conley's still pending cases for the city is on the Rumford Motor Inn dispute.

Reached for comment late last week, Conley expressed his gratitude for the chance to give back to his hometown in some capacity.

"I just want to say how thankful I am for the opportunity," Conley, who is also Chairman of the City of Providence Board of Licenses, said. "It hurt to walk away. I love East Providence and I loved that job, but with the birth of our second child, it was just time for me to be with my family more often."

During the discussion, Sousa asked Marcello, "What is capacity (of the solicitor's office) to do or take on additional work?"

In reply, Marcello said, "There really hasn't been that much" extra work to date.

Ward 4 member Rick Lawson questioned how he and other members seeking to have ordinances written might be affected. Both he and Marcello agreed Lefebvre to be well versed in how an ordinance should be properly prepared and that the solicitor is available to assist her if something unique arises.

As for filling the vacancy, the job has been posted at a handful of on-line venues like Indeed.

The listing offers a salary of $90,000 plus benefits package.

The job description reads, "the Assistant City Solicitor is responsible for drafting and reviewing legal documents, advising municipal officials and representing the City’s interests in a variety of legal forums. The Assistant City Solicitor is appointed by the mayor, subject to City Council approval, and serves at the pleasure of the Mayor."

The general responsibilities are:

• Conducts legal research.
• Drafts and reviewing legal documents, ordinances, regulations, contracts and agreements, memoranda of law, motion, pleadings, discovery, and other documents relating to litigation.
• Represents the City in lawsuits filed in the various state and federal courts.
• Prepares witnesses, conducting and appearing at depositions.
• Consults with the City Solicitor and with outside legal counsel.
• Appears before the City Council and the various boards and commissions of the City, as necessary.
• Advises employees and elected officials on such matters as ethics, open meeting, and public record laws, City ordinances and regulations, municipal land use/zoning, real estate, bankruptcy, employment, municipal finance, environmental, and procurement.
• Prosecutes criminal matters in Rhode Island District Court and related matters in East Providence Municipal Court.
• Performs related work as required.

Marcello said so far, the city has received "a couple of applications" and has set up one interview for the week of September 8.

The solicitor, however, admitted, his office has "not received a lot of qualified applicants."

Marcello said he has already had to tap into his firm, Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP located in Providence, for some minor assistance.

About the status of the solicitor's office without an assistant, Marcello said, "Is it more busy? absolutely, but at this point I think I'm OK. And hopefully in the next couple of weeks the mayor will make a recommendation for you to hire an assistant city solicitor, but right now I think we're OK."

The Council maintains a line item within its annual fiscal budget to hire outside legal assistance if required. The body took no action towards using any appropriations at the time following the September 3 meeting talks.