Gilbert releases town attorney, town prosecutor resigns

Gilbert releases town attorney, town prosecutor resigns

Gilbert Town Attorney Michael Hamblin received his law degree from the University of Arizona and was admitted to the State Bar of Arizona in 1986.

Special to the Tribune

The Gilbert Town Council has decided not to renew the employment contract of Town Attorney Michael Hamblin.

Hamblin was hired in June 2013 and drew a salary of just over $200,000. He declined to comment.

Town Prosecutor Cathy Bohland, who was hired in February last year, has also left the city, resigning on May 17. Bohland drew a salary of just over $127,000.

The State Bar of Arizona doesn’t have any records of past discipline against either Hamblin or Bohland, and a spokeswoman confirmed that there are no current investigations.

“A nationwide search for a town attorney will be conducted in the coming months. It is also anticipated that the Town will soon begin recruiting for a town prosecutor to fill a current vacancy in the office,” wrote Jennifer Alvarez, a spokeswoman from the town communications office, in an email.

Town Council discussed the appointment of an interim town attorney during an executive session on Thursday.

Gilbert Mayor Jenn Daniels said the council “decided to go another direction.”

She said the two moves were not related.

“Any conclusion you might be drawing from the town attorney and the prosecutor being linked together would be speculation. That is not the case,” Daniels said.

Hamblin, a Gilbert resident, was hired from the city of Phoenix, where he worked for 27 years. He served as assistant chief counsel and managed five attorneys during the latter part of his job in that city.

The University of Arizona graduate was admitted to the State Bar in 1986.

A town resident, he was hired in Gilbert as its first in-house attorney after the town contracted with a private firm for its legal needs for years. Hamblin developed an internal legal team for Gilbert and received a 10 percent pay increase in 2014 for exceeding expectations during his performance review.

Hamblin received his law degree from the University of Arizona and was admitted to the State Bar of Arizona in 1986.

By Srianthi Perera, Tribune Staff Writer May 26, 2017