By Jack Simon

Santa Monica has finally hired a permanent City Attorney after a two-year search. He recently served as Fresno City Attorney.

At its meeting on May 10, the City Council appoint Douglas Sloan as the new City Attorney. He will replace interim City Attorney Susan Cola who took over that post last month.

Sloan worked for the City Attorney's office of Fresno's for 16 years and served its City Attorney for the last nine years.

Sloan will start his new post with a base salary of $320,136 on June 6. His five-year, employment contract will be ratified by the Council on Tuesday night.

A graduate of the University of Missouri Kansas City School of Law, Sloan has over 30 years of experience practicing law. He was admitted to the California State Bar in 1998 and began serving as the Fresno assistant city attorney in 2006 before becoming City Attorney in 2013.

Prior to serving as a city lawyer, Sloan was a private sector lawyer in Missouri, Kansas and California. He has handled trial and appellate matters in state courts, the United States District Courts and United States Circuit Courts of Appeals.

Sloan's appointment comes after two years of interim leadership at the city's legal affairs department.

In April 2020, veteran city lawyer George Cardona was appointed interim City Attorney to replace City Attorney Lane Dilg, who was appointed to serve as Interim City Manager after the abrupt resignation of Rick Cole.

Dilg left her post last June as she relocated with her family to Washington D.C. Cardona was then replaced by another veteran city lawyer Joseph Lawrence in September 2021 and then Susan Cola in April 22.