In a 4-2 decision after hours of contentious public comment, the Douglas County School Board voted to hire Joey Gilbert as its legal counsel, and subsequently terminated its contract with Maupin, Cox & LeGoy.
Gilbert is a lawyer based in Reno. He ran for Nevada governor in 2022, but lost the primary election to current governor Joe Lombardo.
In his presentation to the board and the public, Gilbert said, "They're going to hire me based on my qualifications, number one, number two, I think which is most important is, my ability to be trusted and my ability to bring integrity to this process."
Trust was a key issue for the four board members – President Susan Jansen, Trustee Doug Englekirk, Trustee David Burns, and Trustee Katherine Dickerson – who voted in Gilbert’s favor.
During a lengthy discussion on whether to let other law firms bid for a contract with the school district, President Jansen said she considered the request for proposals written by Maupin, Cox & LeGoy “biased and exclusionary.”
“It was written by Mr. Hsu who has an interest in doing what’s best for him, and I believe it’s written to totally exclude many other law firms, including Joey Gilbert,” she said.
For several trustees, the crux of the issue was political.
"I've been witnessing the downhill spiral that our nation has been on since the 60s, but the rapid acceleration toward communism, Marxism in the last decade is particularly appalling,” Englekirk said after Gilbert’s presentation.
He continued, “My concern is that we are not wise counsel on how to effectively counter the negative influences that are affecting our schools.”
After the trustees’ vote to fire him, Maupin, Cox & LeGoy attorney Rick Hsu, who counsels the board, acknowledged the criticisms against his team.
“It’s been a pleasure serving you for the past 25 years. I only understand – and like I said, it’s never been anything taken personally – if you don’t have that trust, if certain members don’t have that trust, that relationship is broken. … Obviously this board is somewhat polarized, I would say. (Gilbert) may be able to try to build the bridges amongst yourselves,” he said.
The school district will pay Gilbert $7,500 monthly as a retainer fee, on top of a $325 hourly rate for counsel. It’s an increase from the contract the board entered with Maupin, Cox & LeGoy in 2014, when they agreed to $5,000 monthly and $225 hourly.
As the school district's attorney, Gilbert's responsibilities will include enforcing ethics policy and open meeting law, reviewing issues involving special education students, handling litigation against the district, and more.
Multiple times throughout the meeting, members of the public broke out in applause and verbal arguments over comments and board actions.
