Mayor-elect Adrian Fenty Wednesday named the top lawyers for his administration, choosing two reformers with extensive experience working alongside the D.C. government, but little familiarity working in an administration, to lead the city’s legal team.
With future General Counsel Peter Nickles and Attorney General Linda Singer, Fenty selected two people who have spent years struggling to change District government — Nickles as an attorney with Covington & Burling and Singer as the executive director of Appleseed.
“We’re here to continue what we are considering andhoping will be one of the most aggressive and engaged, forward-thinking transitions in the city’s history, where we spend a lot of our time making sure we have the right leadership in place,” Fenty said during a news conference outside the Reeves Center.
Nickles, an old Fenty family friend, has served as lead attorney for numerous lawsuits against the D.C. government over the past three decades, specifically targeting treatment of mentally ill, prison inmates and juvenile detainees.
“He has served as lead counsel in literally scores of cases to help out people who have been wronged by the government,” Fenty said.
As general counsel, Nickles will serve as the attorney for the Executive Office of the Mayor. One of his chief duties will steer long-troubled human services agencies away from court-ordered oversight and the possibility of federal receivership, though Fenty said he would be involved in “all major decisions that go on in our administration.”
“We are not going to be patient any longer with false promises,” Nickles said, pledging to “get rid of” staff who are not on board.
Since 1993, Singer has served as executive director of Appleseed, a national nonprofit committed to tackling local issues through research, analysis and problem solving. D.C. Appleseed is well known for its work in HIV/AIDS.
She is a former staff attorney with the Legal Aid Society in New York City, where she handled thousands of cases in court.
Singer is not yet a member of the D.C. Bar, though she said her application is pending.
Part of the Washington DC Examiner’s 2006 election coverage
