[1980 Code § 4-29]
There shall be a Department of Law, the Director of which shall be the Municipal Attorney. The Municipal Attorney shall be appointed by the Mayor, with the advice and consent of the Town Council, and shall serve during the term of office of the Mayor appointing him and until the appointment and qualification of his successor in accordance with Subsection 2-14.3. The Municipal Attorney shall receive such compensation as shall be provided by contractual agreement. Prior to his appointment, he shall have been duly admitted to the practice of law in this State for at least five years. He shall be permitted to engage in private practice.
[1980 Code § 4-30; Ord. No. O-9-84; Ord. No. O-8-92]
The Municipal Attorney shall be the legal advisor to the Mayor, to the Town Council and to all departments, except as may be otherwise provided by the Charter. The Municipal Attorney shall prosecute and defend actions and proceedings by and against the Town and every department thereof. In furtherance of these general powers and without limitation thereto, the Municipal Attorney shall:
a. 
Advise the Council as to the form and sufficiency of all ordinances and resolutions prior to their passage.
b. 
Review and approve all contracts, deeds, documents and instruments prior to the execution thereof by or on behalf of the Town.
c. 
Conduct appeals from orders, decisions or judgments affecting any interests of the Town as the Municipal Attorney may, in his discretion, determine to be necessary or desirable or as directed by the Mayor or Council.
d. 
Subject to the approval of Council, have power to enter into any agreement, compromise or settlement of any litigation in which the Town is involved.
e. 
Render opinions, in writing, upon any question of law submitted to him by the Mayor, the Council, the Business Administrator, the Municipal Clerk or the head of any department with respect to their official powers and duties.
f. 
Maintain a record of all actions, suits, proceedings and matters which relate to the Town's interest, and report thereon, as the Mayor or Council may require.
g. 
Defend or provide for the defense at the request of any present or former Town officer or employee any action brought against such officer or employee (other than an action brought against such officer or employee by the Town) for any act or omission arising out of or incidental to the performance of the duties as an officer or employee of the Town, provided, however, that such officer or employee shall first execute a written agreement obligating the officer or employee to reimburse the Town for all costs incurred in the defense of such action in the event that (1) the Council (or other judicial or quasi-judicial body) shall determine, and/or (2) the facts found in such action clearly demonstrate that the act or omission at issue was done in the opinion of the Town Council or other judicial or quasi-judicial body in bad faith on the part of such officer or employee and/or outside the scope of his employment.
h. 
Have such other and different functions, powers and duties as may be provided by the Charter or ordinance.
[1980 Code § 4-31A]
If the Municipal Attorney believes the interests of the Town require, he may appoint an Assistant Municipal Attorney, who shall serve at the pleasure of the Municipal Attorney. Prior to his appointment, any Assistant Municipal Attorney shall have been admitted to the practice of law in the State of New Jersey for at least three years. He shall receive such compensation as shall be provided by contractual agreement subject to approval by the Town Council as required by the Local Public Contracts Law. He shall be permitted to engage in private practice. The Assistant Municipal Attorney shall assist the Municipal Attorney in all of the duties of his office with respect to such matters as should be assigned to him by the Municipal Attorney. The Assistant Municipal Attorney shall, during the absence or disability of the Municipal Attorney, possess all the powers and perform all the duties of the Municipal Attorney, and, in the event of the death, disability or resignation of the Municipal Attorney or of the occurrence of a vacancy in the office for any other reason, the Assistant Municipal Attorney shall act as Municipal Attorney until the office is duly filled pursuant to the Charter.
[1980 Code § 4-31 B; Ord. No. O-2-08]
a. 
Appointment; qualifications; term. The Mayor shall, with the advice and consent of the Town Council, appoint a Municipal Prosecutor. The Municipal Prosecutor shall be an attorney-at-law of the State of New Jersey in good standing. He shall have criminal law experience as a County or Municipal Prosecutor, as a Public Defender or as a defense attorney appearing in municipal or State courts. The Municipal Prosecutor shall serve for a term of one year from the date of his appointment.
b. 
Duties. The Municipal Prosecutor shall represent the Town in the prosecution of all offenses within the statutory jurisdiction of the Municipal Court as defined by law, including municipal ordinances and municipal code violations pertaining to zoning, land or property use violations, property maintenance, building or construction. The Municipal Prosecutor shall be responsible for handling all phases of the prosecution of an offense.
c. 
Compensation. The Municipal Prosecutor shall be compensated at a rate to be fixed by contract. He shall be permitted to engage in private practice.
[1980 Code § 4-31 C, D]
a. 
Appointment by municipal attorney. Whenever the Municipal Attorney believes the interests of the Town require, he may appoint special counsel to assist him in specialized legal matters and in the preparation, trial or argument of such legal matters or proceedings as he may determine. The employment of special counsel shall be on a contractual basis and shall be within the limits of available appropriations, with the approval of the Mayor and subject to approval by the Town Council as required by the Local Public Contracts Law.
b. 
Appointment by mayor. If the Municipal Attorney should be disqualified with respect to any matter, the Mayor, upon request of the Municipal Attorney, shall appoint special counsel. Such appointments by the Mayor shall be on a contractual basis and shall be subject to approval by the Town Council as required by the Local Public Contracts Law.
[1980 Code § 4-32]
All papers, documents, memoranda, reports and other materials relating to the administration of the office of the Municipal Attorney shall remain the property of the Town. Upon the termination of his service with the Town, the Municipal Attorney shall promptly surrender to his successor all such property, together with a written consent to substitution of his successor in all legal actions and proceedings then pending in which the Town is a party. Any Assistant Municipal Attorney, special counsel and Municipal Prosecutor shall have a like duty and obligation upon the termination of his service with the Town.
[Ord. No. 4-98]
a. 
Appointment; qualifications; deputy municipal public defender. At least one Municipal Public Defender shall be appointed by the Mayor. If determined to be necessary, there shall be a Chief Municipal Public Defender and such Deputy Municipal Public Defender(s) as required. The Municipal Public Defender and any Deputy Municipal Public Defender shall be qualified as an attorney-at-law of the State of New Jersey in good standing and shall be appointed for a term of one year from the date of appointment and may continue to serve in office pending reappointment or appointment of a successor. The Municipal Public Defender shall receive such compensation as negotiated by contract.
b. 
Representation of indigent defendants.
1. 
The Municipal Public Defender shall have all the duties provided by P.L. 1997, Ch. 256 in the representation of indigent defendants in proceedings over which the local Municipal Court has jurisdiction.
2. 
It shall be the duty of the Municipal Public Defender to represent, except in the case of temporary unavailability or conflict of interest, any defendant charged with an offense in Municipal Court who is an indigent municipal defendant entitled to representation pursuant to Paragraph b4 below. All necessary services and facilities of representation, including both expert and lay investigation and testimony as well as other preparations, shall be provided in every case.
3. 
The Municipal Public Defender shall be responsible for handling all phases of the defense, including but not limited to discovery, pretrial and post-trial hearings, motions, removals to federal district court and other collateral functions reasonably related to the defense. As used in this subsection, "post-trial hearing" shall not include de novo appeals in Superior Court.
4. 
The Municipal Public Defender shall represent an indigent defendant charged in Municipal Court with a crime as specified in N.J.S.A. 2B:12-18 or, if in the opinion of the Municipal Court there is a likelihood that the defendant, if convicted of any other offense will be subject to imprisonment or other consequence of magnitude.
5. 
If there is a vacancy in the office of Municipal Public Defender, if the Municipal Public Defender is temporarily unavailable or if a finding of conflict of interest precludes the Municipal Public Defender from representing an indigent defendant, the Municipal Prosecutor may prosecute the offense if the Municipal Court appoints a qualified attorney to represent the indigent defendant. Unless rates are otherwise established by the municipality, the attorney shall be entitled to compensation at the same rate as attorneys hired by the Office of the Public Defender in conflict cases, with payment to be made within 30 days of submission of an approved, executed purchase order to the Director of Finance. Once appointed, the attorney shall carry out all duties of the Municipal Public Defender in connection with the case that is the subject of the appointment.
6. 
All communications between the indigent defendant and the Municipal Public Defender or any other attorney appointed to act as a Municipal Public Defender shall be fully protected by the attorney-client privilege to the same extent and degree as though counsel has been privately engaged. This shall not preclude the use by the Municipal Public Defender of privileged material for the preparation and disclosure of statistical, case study and other sociological data, provided that in any such use there shall be no disclosure of the identity of or means for discovery of the identity of particular defendants.