Supervisor-elect Picks Attorneys for Front Office

With 10 days until he is sworn into office, Supervisor-elect Larry Cantwell has announced he'll be relying on a new team of attorneys to help the guide the town. 

Elizabeth (Liz) Vail, who currently works for the Town of Southampton, will join the Town of East Hampton as the new town attorney, while John Jilnicki, the current town attorney, will take a step back to an assistant town attorney position. Also becoming assistant town attorneys are Elizabeth (Beth) Baldwin, a former town attorney who left when Supervisor Bill Wilkinson took office, and Michael Sendlenski, who is also coming from Southampton Town.

They will be sworn in, along with Cantwell and the rest of the town officials taking office, on Jan. 2. A reception starts at 9 a.m. with coffee, followed by the ceremony at 9:30 a.m. The town's re-organizational meeting is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.
"After interviewing the candidates, including the current staff, we believe these choices have the skill sets needed to manage the legal affairs of the town," said Cantwell.

Vail has been an assistant town attorney in Southampton for eight years. She previously worked for the Suffolk County District Attorney's office for three years. She is a graduate of St John’s University School of Law. 

"Liz has the broad municipal experience to manage the legal affairs of the Town of East Hampton and leadership skills to guide the Town Attorney’s Office with 
integrity and independent judgment," Cantwell said. 

Baldwin served the Town of East Hampton for five years until she was let go, along with Tiffany Scarlatto, now the Southampton Town attorney, when the Wilkinson administration took office in 2010, according to news reports at the time. They were replaced by Kathryn Santiago and Carl Irace, who left the town two years ago and ran unsuccessfully for town justice this fall.
Baldwin and Scarlatto started a private practice together in Sag Harbor.

Baldwin has strong experience in planning, zoning, and housing and land acquisitions, Cantwell said. She is a graduate of Syracuse University College of Law. She has been a practicing attorney for 10 years. For the past two years, she served as Associate Director and Counsel to the North Shore Land Alliance.

Sendlenski, a graduate of Harvard University and Suffolk University Law School, 
has served as Assistant Town Attorney in Southampton since 2007. "Michael has specific experience in drafting and enforcing quality of life, environmental and conservation law, obtaining search warrants, and prosecuting zoning and code violations in Town and State Supreme Courts and has litigated and argued appeals on municipal matters in the Second Department Appellate Division," Cantwell said. He also served as Chief of Staff for the Committee on Public Safety of the Massachusetts House of Representatives.

Jilnicki, a graduate of St. Johns University School of Law, has served as East Hampton Town Attorney and Assistant Town Attorney for over 20 years. "John has comprehensive knowledge of town government and the legal affairs of the Town and has been a dedicated public servant. He will be an integral part of the Town Attorney’s Office," Cantwell said. 

"Together these attorneys have broad experience and knowledge of municipal law and proven dedication to public service," he added. "We look forward to a town attorney’s office that maintains the highest ethical standards and provides solid legal support to town government."