The search for a new East Baton Rouge Parish Attorney has netted three applicants so far, including interim parish attorney Andy Dotson.
The deadline for candidates to apply is May 17, according to Metro Council administrator Ashley Beck.
The two other applicants are Elizabeth Smyth Rambin, a Baton Rouge attorney, and La Koshia R. Roberts, an attorney based in Lake Charles, according to their resumes submitted to the city-parish.
Roberts, a compliance and CRA officer at Lakeside Bank, has prior experience as an attorney in local and state government positions, including formerly serving as Monroe’s assistant city attorney. She is also a member of the Louisiana Ethics Board.
Rambin is a trial attorney at Zurich American Insurance Company and has worked previously for law firms in Mandeville and Metairie.
Before being appointed interim parish attorney, Dotson served as city prosecutor for the past four years and has worked within the parish attorney’s office for nearly 10 years.
After the 60-day application period, a search committee will review and recommend candidates for the parish attorney position, which came open in January when Lea Anne Batson abruptly resigned amid an effort to remove her from the job.
The last time the council had to hire a parish attorney in 2015—after the firing of Mary Roper—it followed the same protocol, a process that took months.
The parish attorney position has been in question since December when councilman LaMont Cole initiated an effort to oust Batson. Cole never gave a reason for the move. Before the Metro Council could hold a removal hearing, though, Batson resigned on Jan. 22.
The search committee will consist of designees from the LSU Law Center, Southern University Law Center and the Baton Rouge Bar Association, as well as Metro Council members Erika Green and Trae Welch, both attorneys.
Welch, who also served on the 2015 search committee, said he expects more applicants to apply as the May 17 deadline draws closer.
