By Sally Connell -- The county will use three firms from a special panel to handle its general litigation work in the future. The panel will replace Hall Hieatt and Connelly of San Luis Obispo, which had been the county’s primary contract general litigation firm. That relationship became complicated after it became widely known that partner Clay Hall and his wife bought an Arroyo Grande home with then-Assistant County Administrative Officer Gail Wilcox. The purchase created what some believed was an appearance of a conflict of interest and led county leaders in part to consider a panel of attorneys — which is used in other parts of the state. Such a panel is different than the no-bid relationship that Hall’s firm had with the county.

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