By Gregory Korte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

William R. "Billy" Martin, the Washington lawyer who took the lead role in negotiating the police reform agreements for the city of Cincinnati, will slip out of town for what may be the last time after one final meeting at the courthouse Friday.

Martin

"As we near the end of the monitor selection process, I believe it is an appropriate time for me to diminish - if not conclude - my role as special counsel," Mr. Martin said in a letter to city leaders Wednesday. He said he would be available to consult with the city on an "as-needed" basis.

Mr. Martin's departure comes one week after Dr. Alan Kalmanoff, the court-appointed monitor for those agreements, quit in a dispute with the city over an invoice of $55,241 for his first month of work.

But unlike Dr. Kalmanoff, who some critics say was "run out of town" by City Council, city officials were more gentle in nudging out Mr. Martin.

Councilwoman Minette Cooper first proposed that the city re-examine its employment of Mr. Martin two weeks ago, after City Council voted to seek the removal of Dr. Kalmanoff. Wednesday, she credited Mr. Martin with helping the city through a difficult time in its history.

"Mr. Martin did a lot of good work for us, and he's terminating at a point where he thinks our solicitor can handle it," Ms. Cooper said.

With a resume that included stints in the Cincinnati solicitor's office and the U.S. Justice Department, city officials thought Mr. Martin was uniquely qualified to help the city deal with a "patterns and practices" investigation by the Justice Department.

He also took the lead role for the city in negotiating a separate settlement on racial profiling that came to be called the "Collaborative Agreement."

Officials said his departure makes sense for a variety of reasons:

Mr. Martin's bills had reached the $1 million mark at a time when the city is trying to cope with a $35 million budget deficit.

The new city solicitor, J. Rita McNeil, has been more of a hands-on litigator than her predecessor, Fay Dupuis.

The agreements are entering a phase in which there should be fewer legal arguments.

"There should be less of a need for all of the lawyers and more of a need for implementation by administrative staff," Mr. Martin said in an interview.

Mr. Martin said he will leave town feeling good about what he was able to accomplish.

"I was there since just after the civil disturbance. At first I was hopeful we could reach a settlement prior to anything being rekindled," he said. "When we arrived there, the morale was low with the rank and file of the Police Department. We were able to show that there were a few bad apples, but by and large Cincinnati has a very fine Police Department."

Mr. Martin downplayed any role that his legal fees had in his decision to leave. Ms. Cooper had sought a review of those bills in the aftermath of the Kalmanoff dispute, and billing records revealed that his bills, at $225 an hour, were more than Dr. Kalmanoff's.

"I would just say that my firm and I are confident that the city received its money's worth. After nearly 27 years of practicing law I represented several billion-dollar corporations and multi-million athletes, and the fees I charge and receive reflect a lot of work for our clients, who have a lot to lose," he said. "Part of the advantage of having Washington lawyers with knowledge and experience with the Department of Justice is you are able to deal with a lot of issues with a phone call in Washington, and prevent those issues from being contentious."

Mr. Martin, who represented the Lewinsky family during the 1998 Clinton impeachment saga, also represents the family of slain Washington intern Chandra Levy. His next big case: representing Jayson Williams, the New Jersey Nets star accused of killing a limousine driver and trying to cover it up.

E-mail gkorte@enquirer.com