Board of Education Votes to Keep Shipman & Goodwin as Legal Counsel Despite 2019 Claim of Conflict

The Westport Board of Education voted unanimously tonight to keep the legal counsel of Shipman & Goodwin for Westport Public Schools.

In 2019, claims of a conflict of interest were brought up during a Board of Finance meeting. The claim stemmed from a Shipman & Goodwin attorney fighting the Town of Westport, while the Town paid the Stamford-based law firm for their services.

Timothy Hollister, a Shipman & Goodwin attorney, claimed that the town was preventing affordable housing after blocking a new housing development project in Saugatuck - leading to issues of diversity.

Hollister described to the Connecticut Mirror “Does anybody say we need to keep blacks and Hispanics out of Westport? No, but they talk about property values, safety and preserving open space — all the things that a town can do to prevent development that would bring up a more economically and racially diverse housing population.”

The housing development would have been in the Hiawatha neighborhood of Saugatuck, and would have included 187 apartments created by Summit Development LLC.

Hollister continued to The Mirror, saying “They don’t use the overt racial terms, but it’s absolutely clear to everybody in the room that’s what they’re talking about.”

Members of town leadership questioned the firm and fought back - some saying the District should get rid of their services due to the possible conflict and Hollister’s negative comments - a more than $200,000 annual blow to the group.

However the claims were ultimately not substantiated by law - and tonight - a unanimous Board of Education vote concurred that they will continue to serve the District after July 1. This continues a relationship between the town and the firm that has lasted over 30 years.

Board of Education Chair Candy Savin described the benefits of keeping the firm, and said that although other firms were interviewed, they were still the best choice for the District and its students. Savin also said that they would not be used for certain legal issues, such as special education circumstances. The firm’s attorneys who work on affordable housing, specifically in Westport, do not represent Westport Public Schools.

Click here to read the 2019 Connecticut Mirror article about the conflict.