Attorney sues Chippewa County over unpaid legal fees for embattled sheriff

An attorney who represented Chippewa County’s sheriff during a recent sexual harassment investigation is suing the county for refusing to pay the sheriff’s legal fees.

In a lawsuit filed Wednesday, attorney Richard Hodsdon claimed Chippewa County had an obligation to provide Sheriff Travis Hakes with legal representation during a county-led investigation into a complaint filed by a sheriff’s department employee.

The lawsuit asks the court to order county leaders to pay $27,753 for the services Hodsdon provided plus interest and legal fees.

“Under Wisconsin law, counties are obligated to provide legal advice and services for their elected officials,” Hodsdon told WPR. “In this case, Chippewa County corporation counsel — who would normally do that — clearly had a conflict of interest, and so the sheriff had no choice but to seek outside representation.”

The lawsuit filed by Hodsdon claims corporation counsel Todd Pauls and deputy corporation counsel Jim Sherman “failed or refused to make arrangements to provide legal representation or advice” for Hakes during the investigation. It also alleges the attorneys “revealed the contents of confidential communications to third parties,” including an outside law firm hired by the county to investigate Hakes.

Pauls and Sherman did not respond to WPR’s request for comment on Friday.

Hodsdon said the investigation into Hakes was due to his role as sheriff. But county leaders have previously characterized the investigation as being an employee misconduct issue.

The county board voted on Oct. 8 to deny Hodsdon’s claim for payment, following the advice of the county’s liability insurance company and outside counsel. The resolution states the employee’s initial complaint into Hakes “raised workplace concerns” related to the county’s human resources policies.

The county’s investigation into Hakes found he had “targeted a female job applicant and subordinate with inappropriate communications and special treatment,” according to a Feb. 26 letter from county administrator Randy Scholz and previous county board chair Dean Gullickson. 

The county board had a nearly unanimous vote of “no confidence” in Hakes for the conduct and for additional findings that he had lied about his work history.