Today CLPA highlights Prince Geroge's County Office of Law. The Office of Law plays a vital role in the County government as they are the entity that provides County agencies with board and commission advice and review on any legal matter. The Office of Law is led by the County Attorney. They are responsible for all legal affairs of the County's government they also serve as the legal advisor to the County Council, the County Executive, and other officers and agencies of the County Government. The County Attorney is also responsible for all civil litigation involving the County, its officers, and employees. It should be noted that the Office of Law does not represent clients not employed by Prince Geroge's County government.
There are three divisions of the Office of Law that the County Attorney overseas: government operations, litigation, and the transactional division.
The government operations division has the most visibility in the Council Council. This division reviews draft legislation and provides their legal opinion on legislation to provide insight on the potential impact enactment will have on the County. In addition, this division is responsible for providing support and legal opinion for administrative hearings and code enforcement cases and responding to Maryland Public Information Act requests. This division also reviews County Executive appointees to County Boards and Commissions.
The litigation Division serves as the de facto attorney for the County and its representatives in state and federal courts. In addition to these duties the Litigation Division also represents the Department of Social Services in cases involving Child in Need of Assistance and Termination of Parental Rights. These cases could potentially cover a wide range of issues from employment discrimination to personal injury.
Established in 2011, the Transactional Division is a newer department of the Office of Law. As its name suggests, this division is responsible for the legal issues generated by the County's business dealings. The Transactional Division. is responsible for drafting contracts and real estate transactions. It also works on financial matters related to Treasury and tax issues.