Fitial’s special legal counsel quits

Gov. Benigno R. Fitial’s California-based special legal counsel, Joel Bergsma, has quit his post, and a replacement has yet to be named as of yesterday, Saipan Tribune learned.

For three years, Bergsma served as the governor’s special legal counsel starting when Fitial assumed the top executive post in January 2006.

Bergsma, who was paid between $50,000 and $70,000 per year, also served as chief legal counsel to the 4th House of Representatives, of which Fitial was a member.

When asked for comment, press secretary Charles P. Reyes Jr. yesterday said, “Bergsma is taking some time off to focus on his practice” in San Diego, California.

“He has ties to the CNMI and wanted to help. The governor respects Bergsma’s decision,” Reyes said.

Bergsma was instrumental in helping the Fitial administration deal with NMI Retirement Fund issues, including the Defined Contribution Plan and the Defined Benefit Plan Reform Act, as well as issues relating to the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. such as the CUC-Commonwealth Development Authority equity conversion agreement recently, Reyes said.

His resignation comes at a critical time because of the NMI Retirement Fund’s ongoing lawsuit against the CNMI government over non-payment of employer contribution. Fitial wants a suspension of the ongoing court proceedings to make way for mediation, but the Fund board of trustees led by chairman Juan T. Guerrero said the parties to the case are way past the negotiation period.

Bergsma’s resignation also comes at a time when the governor has difficulty naming a new attorney general, after the two individuals he had approached turned down his offer.

Reyes said it is possible that the governor may hire an attorney on a contractual basis to fill the void left by Bergsma.

One of the names being considered is former Attorney General Matthew Gregory who resigned in September 2008, but no decision or contract has been signed yet.

“Mr. Gregory, a former AG familiar with critical policy issues, and highly qualified, may be selected to fill that void at no additional cost or even at reduced cost compared to Bergsma’s contract,” Reyes added,

In 1985, U.S. President Reagan appointed Fitial to be the chairman of the NMI Commission on Federal Laws. Bergsma was one of the four other individuals that made up the commission.

Bergsma continued to help Fitial on tax-related issues even during the 14th Legislature.

Bergsma, who received his bachelor’s degree with distinction in 1977 from George Washington University and earned his law degree from Harvard University in 1980, practices corporate law, international law, trusts and estates, and probate.

His involvement with the Northern Marianas started early on when he was admitted in the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands in 1982 and in the CNMI in 1985. He was president of the NMI Bar Association from 1989 to 1990. He is also a member of the San Diego County Bar Association and the State Bar of California.