The Legal Defense Fund offers financial support to municipalities facing litigation involving novel and significant legal issues. This assistance covers legal fees, court costs, and related expenses for cases where a favorable outcome could benefit a substantial number of Georgia municipalities.

The GMA Legal Defense Fund is governed by a 7-member board consisting of the president and vice-president of the GMA City Attorneys Section, the GMA Executive Director, the GMA General Counsel, and three members of the Executive Committee appointed by the GMA President in consultation with the GMA Executive Director. Except for the GMA staff serving on the board, all appointments are for a one- year period and until a successor takes office. The Legal Defense Fund board shall meet as needed on call of the GMA Executive Director and may meet by teleconference.

The criteria that will be used by the board in evaluating a request for assistance from the GMA Legal Defense Fund include all of the criteria for consideration for amicus assistance and include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Does this litigation or controversy involve important and novel questions of law, the favorable decision of which could provide a substantial benefit for a significant number of Georgia municipalities?
2. Is the full and vigorous litigating of such questions of law hampered by the limited resources of the requesting municipality or the extraordinary cost to the requesting municipality?

Matters eligible for consideration for funding by the GMA Legal Defense Fund must be significantly more substantial in importance and of more impact statewide than matters eligible for consideration for amicus assistance. GMA Legal Defense Fund assistance is not available for ordinary litigation or as a substitute for insurance or self-insurance coverage.

A request for Legal Defense Fund assistance may be submitted to GMA by an attorney representing a Georgia municipality, jointly signed by the chief elected official in accordance with powers granted under the city’s charter. All requests shall be in writing addressed to the Executive Director on a form provided by GMA and will explain the factual background and procedural posture of the case or controversy, the legal issues raised and the statewide municipal significance of one or more of those issues. All relevant pleadings, briefs, orders and decisions must be submitted with the written request.

The GMA Legal Defense Fund will be established by an initial direct allocation of funds from GMA and ongoing support from GMA membership dues. Establishment and support of the GMA Legal Defense Fund provides municipalities with assurance that novel and important legal issues impacting municipal authority, municipal revenues or expenditures, or judicial deference to legislative or policy decisions by municipal governing bodies are vigorously and competently litigated despite the limited resources of any individual municipality.

Financial assistance received from the Legal Defense Fund may only be used to pay for legal fees, court costs, and expenses directly related to litigation and cannot be used to pay for damages or settlement, for court awarded fees, charges or costs, or for more than one-third of the total cost of litigating the case for which it is provided. The receipt of financial assistance from the Legal Defense Fund is not intended to and shall not interfere with the independence of professional judgment of the attorney representing the recipient municipality and shall not interfere with such attorney-client relationship.

To ensure that communications, both written and oral, among GMA, the Legal Defense Fund requestor, and any proper third parties remain confidential and privileged to the greatest extent practicable, GMA requires Legal Defense Fund requestors to tender an offer to GMA to enter into a Common Interest Agreement available from GMA. Before submitting your request, please review the Common Interest Agreement and confirm that your client agrees to tender this offer. GMA reserves the right to accept or reject the offer at its sole discretion and will provide GMA’s decision to the requestor in writing.