Citizens group loses lawyer who also represents union

The citizens committee fighting both Seattle daily newspapers in court has lost its lawyer.

Dmitri Iglitzin said Tuesday he has concluded he can no longer represent the Committee for a Two-Newspaper Town. He announced his decision 10 days after the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild, which he also represents, voted to sever ties with the committee.

"It's pretty easy to see at least a potential conflict of interest, which I didn't have before," Iglitzin said.

Committee Co-Chairwoman Anne Bremner, a well-known Seattle trial attorney, said she would serve as the group's interim lawyer and that a permanent replacement should be on board in a few weeks.

Iglitzin has represented the committee since its formation in 2003. His departure is a blow to the coalition of labor, civic and political groups and individuals that says it speaks for the public in Seattle's long-running newspaper war.

Bremner said the new lawyer would need time to get up to speed, but added the group is undeterred. "I think we're unsinkable," she said.

The committee is an intervenor in a three-year-old lawsuit that could determine whether one Seattle newspaper closes, and who owns the survivor.

The Seattle Times Co. and The Hearst Corp., owner of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, are fighting over the joint-operating agreement (JOA) that has linked them for 23 years. The Times handles the business side for both papers, but they maintain separate news and editorial operations.

The Times has invoked an escape clause in the contract to end the JOA, close the P-I or both. It says it's losing money under the arrangement, and that the losses threaten its survival as a locally owned company.

Hearst has challenged The Times' reported losses. It says the smaller P-I can't survive outside the JOA.

The two-newspaper committee — which says its only goal is to keep both publications alive — has filed claims against both companies. It was created by the Newspaper Guild, which represents more than 700 employees at the P-I and The Times.

The chain of events that led to Iglitzin's resignation began March 30, when Hearst and The Times announced they would submit their dispute to binding arbitration, with no appeal.

The committee, which wasn't included in the arbitration deal, successfully fought off in court the companies' bid to put all legal proceedings on hold until after the arbitration. That, in turn, touched off a backlash among some Guild members at The Times, who argued the committee wasn't working in their interests.

Guild members voted to cut ties with the committee May 6.

Iglitzin said his resignation shouldn't have much immediate impact, since he hadn't planned to pursue the committee's claims in court anytime soon. "This is by no means fatal," he said.

In addition to finding a new lawyer, the committee must raise money. The Guild has provided 80 percent of its treasury, now mostly depleted.

Bremner said she would search out lawyers who might work as volunteers, as well as soliciting funds. "Every private person has a public responsibility," she said.

Bremner also said she's hopeful the Guild will reverse its stand at its next membership meeting in August.

Eric Pryne: 206-464-2231 or epryne@seattletimes.com