Rehoboth Beach commissioners left without legal representation

After less than one year, Baird Mandalas Brockstedt & Federico attorney Alex Burns is no longer the city solicitor for Rehoboth Beach. The move marks the end of a nearly two-decade run of the law firm representing the city.

Lynne Coan, city spokesperson, said that, as of Oct. 23, Baird Mandalas Brockstedt & Federico had withdrawn from representing the city in all capacities. The city is appreciative of their legal representation and counsel, said Coan in an email Oct. 28.

The law firm’s decision came less than a week after city commissioners agreed during a meeting Oct. 18 to begin the process to find a new city solicitor. The city never went through the request for proposals process to hire Burns.

Attorney Glenn Mandalas, a partner at the law firm and former city solicitor, began representing the city in 2006. In November 2023, Mandalas announced he was stepping down because of added responsibilities at his law firm. He recommended his replacement be Burns, who was a junior attorney at his law firm and had been shadowing him at city meetings for months. In the name of continuity, commissioners went along with Mandalas’ recommendation.

There was no official announcement from the city regarding the departure of Burns and his law firm. Instead, it issued a special meeting notice for Monday, Nov. 4, prior to the commissioners’ monthly workshop. The first agenda item for that meeting is to discuss and consider the appointment of Newark-based Connolly Gallagher LLP as interim city solicitor.

In an interview Oct. 28, Mandalas confirmed the law firm’s decision. He said the firm is available to help the city on an as-needed basis as it navigates through hiring another attorney. He said he does not anticipate his law firm will participate in the city’s request-for-qualifications process.

The city hopes to appoint a new city solicitor as soon as possible, Coan said.

Lauren P. DeLuca, a partner at Connolly Gallagher, will serve the city at the upcoming workshop meeting, she said.

It doesn’t appear Connolly Gallagher’s temporary appointment will be permanent, as the firm has indicated it will not be submitting a request to become the full-time city solicitor, said Coan.

In addition to Burns and Mandalas, firm attorney Luke Mette had represented the planning commission until recently. Earlier this month, after a little less than two years, the law firm relieved Mette of his planning commission responsibilities because of a conflict of interest. When he was hired, Mette was a partner at the Wilmington-based law firm Armstrong Teasdale. He now works at Baird Mandalas Brockstedt & Federico.