City Solicitor Neal M. Janey will come before the City Council and the public this afternoon to make his case for keeping his job as Baltimore's longtime top lawyer.
Mr. Janey, appointed by Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke in 1987, is expected to glide through the question-and-answer hearing, scheduled for 5 p.m. in City Hall, despite criticism from some council members last year about perceived conflicts of interest and city legal work given to private firms.
The council is scheduled to vote on whether to reconfirm Mr. Janey during Monday's council meeting.
"I don't think there will be any problem or controversy," said 1st District Councilman John L. Cain.
In the past, he said, the solicitor's office had sometimes been slow to give the legal opinions required for all proposed council legislation, and sometimes the opinions weren't detailed enough. However, Mr. Cain said, "they have not done it lately because I think we took them to task."