Election denier might get new client in Nevada school district

RENO — The Douglas County School Board is slated to consider hiring Joey Gilbert’s law firm as the district’s legal counsel during a special meeting Wednesday.

Board members voted 4-3 during their last regular meeting on June 13 to open an application for attorneys and firms hoping to nab a contract with the school district and board, with some members, including Board Trustee David Burns, saying they had “lost trust” with current legal counsel.

“I want somebody in there that’s going to represent what we see in this community and where we take a stand to represent this community,” Burns said. “My position is going to be that we need to look at and see other legal counsel to represent us now.”

Board members, who represent a district of approximately 5,000 students, did not vote to terminate the contract with Maupin, Cox and Legoy, a Reno-based law firm that has represented the Douglas County School District since at least 1995, according to Rick Hsu, a lawyer with the firm.

But board members will again be asked whether to terminate or alter that contract during a Wednesday meeting, during which they’ll also consider an application from Joey Gilbert Law, a law firm run by failed gubernatorial candidate and election denier Joey Gilbert.

It’s Gilbert’s latest venture into local school boards. Late last year, the Reno attorney applied to and was rejected for a position on the Washoe County School Board.

Douglas County School Board President Susan Jansen said during the June meeting that she had reached out to Gilbert previously about the position.

But Hsu and district board members urged the continuation of the contract with Maupin, Cox and Legoy. Hsu said the board could vote to retain its own legal counsel while continuing its contract with the firm to deal with the district’s legal matters separately, pointing to the Clark County School District and its board of trustees.

Douglas County Superintendent Keith Lewis said he was disappointed that he had not been consulted by board members about the possible termination of the firm’s contract.

“They are amazing educational attorneys who have represented Douglas County School District,” Lewis said of the firm’s education lawyers. “I support if you want someone else to represent you, by all means do so. But please listen to my staff.”

Contact Taylor R. Avery at TAvery@reviewjournal.com. Follow @travery98 on Twitter.