Fate, TX – The City of Fate is about to lose the law firm that has represented it for years.
On July 9, Andrew Messer of Messer Fort, PLLC formally notified Mayor Andrew Greenberg and the City Council that it would terminate its legal representation of the City effective July 20, giving the City just eleven days to secure new legal counsel. The brief resignation letter offers no explanation beyond stating the firm “can no longer continue to represent the City.“
That single sentence is already fueling questions inside City Hall.
According to sources familiar with the matter, the firm’s departure may help explain why longtime City Attorney Jennifer Richie was absent from the July 6 City Council meeting. Instead, founding partner Andrew Messer personally attended the meeting, an unusual move that several observers immediately noticed. Sources within City Hall say the transition away from the City had already begun.
The resignation itself is remarkably concise.
In the letter dated July 9, Andrew Messer thanked the City “for the opportunity to serve as the City Attorney for the City of Fate,” before stating that the firm could no longer continue its representation and would assist with transitioning matters to new legal counsel through July 20. No reason for the departure is provided.
Under the City’s own published description of the City Attorney’s responsibilities, legal counsel serves in one of the most influential roles in municipal government. Those duties include advising the City Council and staff on Texas open meetings law, ethics requirements, public information requests, contracts, development agreements, employment law, litigation, municipal court matters, utilities regulation, and land use issues.
The City Council is ultimately responsible for selecting legal counsel, although municipalities commonly contract with outside law firms rather than employ an in-house attorney.
While neither the City nor Messer Fort has publicly announced why the relationship is ending, multiple sources told Pipkins Reports that concerns over recent legal advice may have contributed to the firm’s decision to withdraw.
One issue concerns the City’s handling of secret audio recordings that became the subject of disputes under the Texas Public Information Act.
In recent months, Messer Fort submitted two separate requests to the Texas Attorney General seeking permission to withhold portions of audio recordings requested under the Public Information Act. According to documents previously reviewed by Pipkins Reports, the Attorney General issued different rulings for the two requests.
Sources familiar with those proceedings contend the firm chose to apply the more restrictive interpretation to both rulings rather than favoring disclosure, despite Texas law generally presuming government records are public unless an exception clearly applies.
Another dispute centered on allegations that Mayor Andrew Greenberg improperly disclosed personal medical information concerning a City employee contained within one of the recordings.
According to sources, Messer Fort argued the information should remain confidential when requesting an Attorney General ruling. However, the request allegedly failed to disclose what those same sources describe as a significant fact: the employee had died before the recording was released.
Under Texas law, privacy protections that apply to living individuals may not continue in the same manner after death, depending on the information involved and the applicable legal standards. The omission of that fact, according to sources familiar with the dispute, may have affected the Attorney General’s review of the matter.
The issue has reportedly been returned to the Attorney General’s Office for further consideration regarding what information, if any, must ultimately be withheld and what must be released to the public.
Neither Messer Fort nor Jennifer Richie has publicly commented on those allegations, and Pipkins Reports has not independently confirmed whether those matters played any role in the firm’s resignation.
For now, the City must move quickly to retain replacement counsel before July 20.
Opinion
Government attorneys occupy a unique position. They don’t represent politicians. They don’t represent bureaucrats. They represent the municipal corporation, and ultimately the public interest within the bounds of the law.
That’s why transparency matters so much.
Texas didn’t write the Public Information Act to help governments hide embarrassing records. The Legislature deliberately built the law around a presumption that public records belong to the public unless a clearly established exception applies, and governments must seek permission to withhold information.
When legal advice appears to lean toward secrecy instead of disclosure, public confidence inevitably suffers, people begin wondering whether lawyers are protecting the law, protecting city hall, or protecting chosen politicians.
Of course, none of this proves why Messer Fort resigned. It would be irresponsible to claim otherwise.
But the timing is difficult to ignore. A law firm that has represented Fate for years suddenly announces it “can no longer continue” representing the City without explanation, just days after its lead attorney is absent from a council meeting and amid ongoing disputes over public records. Texans are entitled to ask questions.
And those questions deserve answers.
Whether the resignation stems from disagreements over legal strategy, internal business decisions, or something else entirely, residents should expect the City Council to explain how it intends to move forward, who will advise the City next, and whether the legal approach to transparency will change with new counsel.
The people of Fate deserve nothing less.