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LEGAL COUNSEL: The airport contracted firm Wright, Lindsey & Jennings for additional legal counsel. Mary Hennigan

Disagreements arose at the October Little Rock Airport Commission meeting as Executive Director Bryan Malinowski addressed the airport’s legal services. The commission is seeking to hire Wright Lindsey & Jennings to augment the airport legal team; the airport’s current attorneys raised the alarm about potential conflicts of interest.

On Tuesday, Malinowski updated the commission that the Wright Lindsey & Jennings contract could be signed sometime in the next three weeks. Attorneys from Cross, Gunter, Witherspoon and Galchus, the firm currently contracted to handle legal services for the airport commission, said members should consider potential conflicts of interest before signing a contract with Wright Lindsey & Jennings.

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Wright Lindsey & Jennings represents Turo, a ride-sharing company that provides cars for long-term use at airports. The Little Rock airport recently moved away from a contract with Turo. Wright Lindsey & Jennings attorney Jane Kim said Tuesday that she sees no conflict with representing both Turo and the airport “right now.” Kim said the work with Turo is largely lobbying efforts.

Attorney Stephen Bingham, an attorney with Cross, Gunter, Witherspoon and Galchus, said “a concurrent conflict of interest exists if the representation of one client will be directly adverse to another client without regard to the type of work … It’s not the type of work you’re doing, it’s the fact that you’re doing work at all.”

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As commissioners questioned how there could be a conflict of interest if the attorneys involved in the airport’s work are not the same attorneys that are involved with the Turo work, Bingham noted that “an attorney and the firm are essentially one and the same.”

Wright Lindsey & Jennings also employs At-large City Director Antwan Phillips.

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Options for dealing with conflicts of interest in legal work can include a waiver of conflict, which means that the public is made aware of the conflict and the client has given consent to continue.

During the interview process with Wright Lindsey & Jennings for the legal services, Director of Procurement Abdoul Kabaou said that addressing conflicts of interest did come up in the interview, but he said “we did not realize it [Turo] was a current client.”

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