Law Firm Cuts Ties With Hinsdale D86
HINSDALE, IL – The Chicago-based law firm that Hinsdale High School District 86 hired as its lawyer earlier this year terminated the relationship earlier this month.
This information became available through a public records request filed by Patch.
Late last week, District 86 released emails to Patch about the relationship with Chicago-based Robbins Schwartz, which the board appointed as its attorney in January.
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The emails indicated that Robbins Schwartz informed the board it was ending the relationship, though the district entirely blacked out the text of the Sept. 9 letter where the firm did so.
By this point, though, the school board’s relationship with Robbins Schwartz may have already been on the rocks. Four days before the letter, the board voted to hire Oak Brook-based Engler, Callaway, Baasten & Sraga to handle “select students, special education and other matters.”
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In a Sept. 9 email to Superintendent Michael Lach, attorney Matthew Gardner, a partner at Robbins Schwartz, noted the termination of the firm’s representation.
A day later, Gardner wrote to board President Catherine Greenspon, “(W)e are remaining as Board attorney at this time, and any additional contracts that the District wants legal to review can be sent to me… (W)e will continue to provide guidance as requested.”
The same day, board member Heather Kartsounes, a lawyer herself, asked Joseph Perkoski, Robbins Schwartz’s managing attorney, for a “sense of how quickly Robbins Schwartz is looking for the district to transition work.”
Perkoski responded that his firm would continue to work for as long as needed to ensure an orderly transition.
“We are preparing a memorandum of all pending matters with this process,” he said. “I anticipate having that ready by tomorrow. In the meantime, we will continue to perform the legal services for which we are engaged. Please know that we have every intent to protect the interests of the District through this process.”
It was unclear why the termination letter itself was being kept secret. Under state law, a public body can withhold legal advice. But that does not apply to a letter in which a firm is terminating its relationship.
On Friday, Patch asked district officials to release the document. Resident Yvonne Mayer, who saw the emails and the redacted letter in the district’s online Freedom of Information log, filed a public records request for the unredacted letter. She said the district had no right under the law to withhold it.
“That is not privileged information and there is no reason to hide this information from the D86 public,” said Mayer, who is a lawyer.
Since the board hired Robbins Schwartz, the district’s legal costs escalated. When the budget year ended June 30, the district spent nearly $700,000 on legal bills. That was far higher than other districts, even those much larger.
Robbins Schwartz’s relationship with the district began with a secret meeting before a new board majority took office on May 3, 2023. The firm met with a few current and incoming members.
Upon taking office, the board hired the firm as a special counsel to handle the legalities of ousting then-Superintendent Tammy Prentiss.
Before the board chose Robbins Schwartz as the main law firm, members talked for months about issuing a request for proposals, comparing firms’ prices and offerings. In January, though, the board changed course and appointed Robbins Schwartz, bypassing competition. It did not explain.
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