By Naomi Hatch Shawn Lautz has resigned as attorney for the Town of Taylor. “I wanted to discuss how the council might like to move forward in the selection of legal counsel,” Town Manager Gus Lundberg noted during the council’s Jan. 7 meeting. He recommended that council members who were on the selection committee approximately two years ago serve on a new committee because they had interviewed applicants. Vice Mayor Shawn Palmer noted that he was on the previous committee and would be willing to serve on the new one. He said it had been very close between two candidates, which he did not name, and suggested that the other candidate be considered first. Councilman Carl Cosper also served on that committee and offered to serve on the new committee. Two years ago, the council hired Karl Lautz as the town’s attorney. In June 2015 he was dealing with some disciplinary issues with the Arizona State Bar, and was required to make disclosures to all clients of the Lautz Law Group and make arrangements for those clients/files to be transferred to other counsel. Karl Lautz made arrangements with two separate attorneys/firms to take over representation. His brother Shawn Lautz took over as the town’s attorney, with Karl working under him as a paralegal. At the Oct. 1 town council meeting, Karl Lautz stated that he had agreed to an interim suspension while the investigation and exchange of information continued. He should have a final ruling by the state bar on his status as an attorney soon.