By Anthony HaHollister
– Hollister’s new city attorney, Stephanie Atigh, is an avowed
movie buff (she hosts an annual Academy Awards party in her home)
and an avid reader, so identifying her favorite fictional lawyer
should be a snap.
Hollister – Hollister’s new city attorney, Stephanie Atigh, is an avowed movie buff (she hosts an annual Academy Awards party in her home) and an avid reader, so identifying her favorite fictional lawyer should be a snap.
But when asked, Atigh seemed dubious.
“You mean, from a book?” she said skeptically. Luckily, enlightenment soon appeared. “Oh! Atticus Finch!”
Of course, almost anyone who’s read or watched “To Kill a Mockingbird” admires Finch, the brave lawyer who went up against his entire community to defend an innocent black man. But Atigh’s affinity is particularly unsurprising; after all, she became a lawyer because, in her words, “I wanted to effect positive change in society.”
Atigh is replacing retiring City Attorney Elaine Cass. To get the position, Atigh went through an application process that included paper screenings, interviews with lawyers and, finally, an interview with the City Council, after which the council unanimously voted to appoint her.
Councilmember Doug Emerson said Atigh stood out because of her previous experience as a city attorney, and because she was someone who could build relationships.
“She’s going to take ownership,” Emerson said. “She’ll be out there in front, leading, as opposed to just maintaining the status quo.”
Atigh grew up and went to school in San Jose. After obtaining her law degree from the University of Santa Clara in 1975, she worked in civil legal services, providing aid to low-income communities.
“When you’re starting out in traditional practice, you don’t talk to the client for a couple years,” she said. “In legal services, you’re thrown right into everything. It’s a real sink-or-swim situation.”
During those first few years, Atigh helped anyone who walked in the door, but she later narrowed her focus to family cases. Most of her work involved custody disputes and domestic violence; she also held divorce clinics where she was often assigned 15 cases to tackle in a single morning – usually only eight or 10 of them showed up, she said.
For many people, dealing with custody disputes, domestic violence and divorce would be bleak and depressing work.
“I didn’t see it that way,” Atigh said. “I was giving the client what they wanted. Sometimes, women would hug me after I’d helped them.”
Initially, Atigh worked for legal services in San Jose, but she eventually decided that it was time to get away from home, so she spent several years in Cape Cod, Mass. When she came back to California in 1984, Atigh worked as assistant city attorney, then as city attorney, in Salinas.
“Municipal law seemed to be a continuation of the same interests,” she said. “You’re working to create progress and change for the whole community.”
Atigh was in Salinas for 13 years, during what she described as a period of “great change.” Eventually, she went into private practice, doing legal work for a number of public agencies and cities. But Atigh wasn’t happy running her own firm, so she went to work for California’s Administrative Office of the Courts, assisting with the transfer of court buildings – including the local San Benito Courthouse – from counties to the state.
“I really didn’t like working for myself,” she said. “I didn’t like billing people and constantly thinking about the costs. When you’re in-house, you can give it your all.”
Working for the Office of the Courts had its drawbacks too; Atigh was living three days a week in San Francisco, then telecommuting from her home the rest of the time. When Atigh saw that the city attorney position was open in Hollister, she realized it was “a great opportunity,” particularly since the city isn’t too far from the Monterey Peninsula home Atigh shares with her partner of nearly 20 years.
Wednesday was her first day on the job, and she’s been busy working with Cass to get up to speed on coming issues, including November’s election.
“When you’re the city attorney, your agenda is the city council’s agenda,” Atigh said. “My goal in the next six months is to get to know people, not just the staff here, but in the community”
She added, “When I first got here, certain characteristics reminded me of Salinas. But people seem to be friendlier and happier; the community seems much more welcoming.”
