IMLA Tag

The International Municipal Lawyers Association (IMLA) made history this year when Amanda Karras became the first woman to ever be its Executive Director and General Counsel.  This new leadership deserves a new introduction. In 14 years, Amanda has built a family (with her husband and two daughters) and legal career—majority of which has been with IMLA.  Her legal journey began after she graduated Colby College in Maine.  What would turn into a gap year, she worked in a social-worker-type position...

We are very saddened to report the passing of Henry Underhill, Jr., former IMLA President and Executive Director, on Sunday, October 18, 2020. Henry was the City Attorney for Charlotte, North Carolina from 1964 until 1994, and took over as Executive Director of IMLA in 1995, serving until 2007. During the time Henry was City Attorney for Charlotte, the city grew into a major metropolitan center, becoming the home to several Fortune 500 businesses and a major banking nucleus as...

IMLA confirms Tyrone Cooper as IMLA President from October 2020 - October 2021. In a business meeting held on October 3, 2020, virtually, IMLA confirmed the nomination of Tyrone Cooper of Beaumont, Texas to be President of IMLA. Mr. Cooper is currently the City Attorney of Beaumont, Texas. He has served in that capacity since being appointed in November of 2004. State and locally, he is a past President of the Texas City Attorneys Association (TCAA) where he served on the...

While the Supreme Court’s next term officially begins on October 6, its “long conference” is September 29.  At this conference the Court will review a backlog of petitions that have been piling up over the summer.  SCOTUSblog complies a list of petitions that it thinks have a reasonable chance of being granted.  Eight of the petitions the Court will consider either during the “long conference” or at a later conference directly involve or impact local governments.5554035521_f6b59ccafa_n Public nuisance.  A Brighton, Michigan, ordinance presumes that an unsafe structure will be demolished as a public nuisance if the cost of repairing it exceeds its value.  The owner has no right to repair the structure.  Brighton property owners wanted to repair two unsafe structures even though Brighton estimated it would cost almost double the property value do so.  In Bonner v. City of Brighton, Michigan, the property owners claim the ordinance violates substantive and procedural due process. Employment.  Under federal employment law to bring a discrimination claim a plaintiff must prove that an “adverse action” occurred, and to bring a retaliation claim a plaintiff must prove a “materially adverse action” occurred.  The question in Kalamazoo County Road Commission v. Deleon is whether either can be proven when an employer grants an employee’s request for a job transfer (and the new position turns out to be less desirable than the old position).  The International Municipal Lawyers Association (IMLA) filed an amicus brief in this case.

Be sure to check out details of the Supreme Court Practice Seminar that IMLA and the State and Local Legal Center will host on March 4, 2014. Lisa Soronen, executive director of the State and Local Legal Center, has invited some remarkable Supreme Court practitioners. It is a can't-miss program for anyone intersted in the Court. You can register here....