August 23, 2016 This morning in Commissioners Court, local attorney Eric Yollick, spoke at 3 different times during the periods set aside for citizens’ comments. During one of those times, Mr. Yollick talked at some length regarding my salary as your elected County Attorney. Since I assume most members of the public do not know me, I thought it might be helpful to provide a bit of background as to who I am and the experiences and expertise I brought to the County Attorney’s Office. I hold Master of Science and Bachelor of Science degrees in Electrical Engineering from Texas Tech University and a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from South Texas College of Law. I am a member of the College of the State Bar of Texas, an organization in which only 8 percent of attorneys qualify to participate. Prior to being elected County Attorney, I was in private law practice for 13 years. During that time, I handled a broad variety of civil, family, and criminal cases from my office in downtown Conroe. Before opening my own law firm in 1999, I enjoyed a 25 year career at Shell Oil Co. and Shell E&P Technology Co. in Houston as a geophysicist / electrical engineer. During my employment at Shell, I managed numerous technical geophysical projects, both operational & research, in various areas around the world, including onshore & offshore continental United States, South America, Central America, and Southeast Asia. I served three terms on the Board of Directors of the Montgomery County Bar Association and 11 years as a Director and General Counsel of the Montgomery County Dispute Resolution Center. I am a 2010 graduate and former Board member of Leadership Montgomery County, and a 2009 graduate of the Conroe Police Department's Citizen Police Academy. Additionally, I am a member of the Conroe Noon Lions Club where I previously served on the Board of Directors, and I am a lifetime member of the Montgomery County Fair Association. On November 6, 2012, I was elected by the voters to serve as Montgomery County Attorney, and I was officially sworn in on January 1, 2013. I am in the final year of my first term, and I was re-elected to a second term this past March by an overwhelming 20,000 vote margin.
As the chief legal advisor for the County, the County Attorney oversees a staff of approximately 30, consisting of attorneys, legal support staff, a victim assistance coordinator, and law enforcement investigators. We provide legal advice and counsel to our elected officials, department heads and a total of some 2,200 employees. Shortly after taking office, I reorganized the County Attorney's office into 5 distinct divisions - Government Affairs, Litigation, Real Property, Children's Protective Services (CPS), and Juvenile prosecution. As part of these divisions, we also handle worthless checks, protective orders, and mental health hearings. As you can see, I had 38 years of real world work experience when I was first elected, and as I begin my second term, I have 42 years combined experience in both the public and private sectors. Quite likely I had more experience that anyone previously elected to a county-wide office in the history of our county. I think one of the greatest assets I brought to this position was the breadth and depth of my experience in the private sector. That leadership and managerial experience has been a major contributing factor in the tremendous success my office has enjoyed these past 3 and one half years. For example, under my leadership in my first year in office, the County Attorney's office was recognized as the Department of the Year for 2013. This is the first time in the history of this recognition program that the office has received this prestigious award. Then in 2014 I was selected as Montgomery County’s Boss of the Year out of a field of 17 nominees from throughout the county government. I was again the recipient of the Boss of the Year honor in 2015 – the first back-to-back winner in the history of the county. Additionally, one of my staff was selected as employee of the year and two others were recognized as employees of the month from a total of some 2,200 county employees. It should be noted that the recipient of each of these awards is chosen by a group of people outside of our county government. Even more important than these recognition awards is the almost daily feedback we receive from our clients praising my staff and I for the outstanding level of legal services we provide on a daily basis. We have been able to increase our effectiveness and efficiency so substantially that we have achieved such successful results with no increase in staff. Since I took office, we have essentially eliminated the use of costly outside legal firms. This has resulted in savings to the county of several hundred thousand dollars in just the past 3 years alone. Another thing that stands out about Montgomery County is the population density in the unincorporated areas and the vast size of our unincorporated areas. Our total population is approximately 500,000, but our largest incorporated city (Conroe) has only about 72,000 residents. Consequently, that places much greater demands on our county government to provide services since we have such small municipal governments. In terms of salary, I have never asked for nor have I received any salary increase since I took office except for the cost of living allowances (COLA's) given to all county employes by Commissioners Court. When I was first elected, I had 38 years of total experience. When my predecessor was first elected, he had less than 20 years of experience. Commissioners Court established my salary even before I took office, and my salary was again known and published when I successfully ran for re-election. I hope that this memo has given you some insight into my background and experience and the the high level of professional legal services my office provides. During my initial campaign I pledged to
do the right thing, for the right reasons, and in the right manner. Additionally I pledged to build my staff by hiring the best and the brightest attorneys and supporting staff. Together my staff and I have been extremely successful in achieving these goals, and I remain committed to doing so in the future. I am a true believer in leading by example. For your consideration, I have also attached an article written by Andy Dubois, the editor of the Courier, dated February 13, 2016 concerning my accomplishments and that of my staff these past 3 years. Mr. Dubois’ article provides insight into me and my office from the perspective of a complete outsider who conducted his own independent research.
J D Lambright
Montgomery County Attorney
Lambright Has Earned 4 More Years as County Attorney Posted: Saturday, February 13, 2016 9:59 pm
After two unsuccessful tries at landing a seat on the bench as a judge, J D Lambright won the County Attorney’s race in 2012. The Courier believes Lambright’s leadership and staffing hires have improved the office’s legal team while creating a more open and transparent county government. In The Courier’s experience, the County Attorney’s Office has become more responsive and cooperative regarding open records requests, with few exceptions. Under previous leadership, it seemed, any requests making it to that office were sent to the state attorney general for an opinion. We appreciate Lambright putting a team of five in place who can work with the requestors to provide as much information as possible in a timely manner. He also has shown a willingness to work with individuals on their requests to ensure an expedited process for releasing the correct and allowable information in a timely manner. In addition, Lambright has fulfilled his pledge to bring more cases in-house and take them to trial when possible. This includes defending the county in a $50 billion lawsuit in which Texcom (injection wells) claimed its constitutional rights were violated. The county paid nothing, and Lambright says he saved the county at least $150,000 in legal fees by having staff attorneys handle the case. Even if he’s a one-term county attorney, Lambright will be best remembered for securing an indictment and conviction in the brutal burning of Robbie Middleton in 1998. A complex case more than 15 years old, Lambright finally brought justice for the now-deceased Middleton and his family. While The Courier respects the legal experience and community service brought by challenger Gary Beauchamp, we believe Lambright’s three years in office prove he is a worthy county attorney. Lambright’s philosophy regarding cases brought against county employees are: 1. vigorously defend county employees; 2. keep (legal counsel) in-house; 3. settle if there is liability; 4. also try to settle cases if there is a “nuisance value” in terms of legal costs vs. settlement dollars; and 5. county commissioners make the final decision on how to proceed with cases. We value how serious Lambright takes his job and understand he believes he has the best interests of the county and taxpayers in mind in his handling of legal matters. We urge voters to re-elect Lambright as county attorney in the March 1 Republican primary.
