2 Advocates for Poor Picked for Top Legal Posts

Fenty Says Choices for Attorney General and Counsel Will Offer a Wide Perspective

Adrian Fenty picked a family friend as counsel. (Nikki Kahn - The Washington Post)

D.C. Mayor-elect Adrian M. Fenty (D) yesterday named a pair of lawyers with broad backgrounds in social justice to become the District's top legal representatives.

Linda Singer, 40, executive director of Appleseed, a nonprofit organization dedicated to social causes, was chosen to become the city's attorney general. Peter J. Nickles, 68, a senior counsel at Covington and Burling LLP who has performed significant pro bono work representing plaintiffs against the D.C. government, will be Fenty's general counsel. Neither has government experience.

The attorney general represents the city's interests, and the general counsel represents the mayor's office. The attorney general nomination must be confirmed by the D.C. Council.

At a news conference outside the Frank D. Reeves Municipal Center, which houses his transition office, Fenty praised Singer and Nickles for dedicating themselves largely to ensuring that poor residents receive services and legal protection.

Although neither has government experience, Fenty said he believes Singer and Nickles can bring a broader point of view to his administration.

At Appleseed, Singer oversees 18 offices with 70 staff members nationwide. A member of the New York bar since 1992, Singer, who graduated from Harvard Law School, has an application pending before the D.C. Bar.

If confirmed by the council, Singer would replace Robert J. Spagnoletti, who recently stepped down.

Singer, Fenty said, "knows the law and knows law firms and policy and best practices. She's the best person to . . . ensure we have one of the best attorney general offices in the country."

Nickles, a longtime friend of Fenty's parents, Phil and Jan, practices corporate law. But at the news conference, Fenty focused on Nickles's commitment to representing the underclass. In 1974, Nickles filed a class action suit on behalf of homeless and mentally retarded residents in the District that resulted in the addition of several community-based services, Fenty said.

Nickles has worked on issues involving D.C. prisoners and the Oak Hill Youth Center, a detention facility for juveniles. Fenty said he would ask Nickles to advise him on issues related to the city's most troubled social service agencies.

"There are very systemic problems in these agencies. I know where the problems are," said Nickles, adding that before his appointment he had considered retiring.

Also yesterday, council Chairman-elect Vincent C. Gray (D) said he plans to have 11 council committees instead of the 10 under Chairman Linda W. Cropp (D).

Seniority, Gray added, will not be the primary factor for deciding who will head each committee. "I am not going to have a list of people who have been here the longest and say, 'It's your choice.' I want the best people for the committees," Gray said in an interview.

Thomas M. Downs, who was city administrator under Marion Barry, will oversee the orientation of new council members and the development of Gray's legislative agenda. Downs said that education, crime and other long-standing issues will be on the agenda and that the transition team's job will be to look at how the council should approach "the complex issues."