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Ex-Tracy City Attorney Bijal M. Patel?
Ex-Tracy City Attorney Bijal M. Patel?
In an interesting turn of events regarding Bijal Patel’s failure to renew her licensure with the CA State Bar Association and subsequent suspension from practicing law for the month of July, a clause in her contract Agreement with the city makes clear that Patel’s contract was terminated on July 1st or the first day of that suspension.
Below is a section taken from the April 2022 public hearing wherein the city council and Patel agreed to the terms of her contract. Highlighted below is the clear language regarding immediate termination of the Agreement.
The language clearly states that an “act” causing suspension from the CA State Bar Association results in termination. In the case of Bijal M. Patel, her “act” was failure to renew her licensure back in February 2023 which led to her ultimate suspension in July.
Based on the language in the Agreement, there is no room for negotiation or interpretation, and Patel is terminated from her position with the City of Tracy.
Patel will certainly argue that this was a simple clerical mistake that could happen to any busy attorney. However, she was given several notices to renew her licensure leading-up to the February deadline which she ignored. She then went another five months without taking any action which then caused the CA State Bar Association to suspend her license. Patel has no one to blame for this situation other than herself.
Monday’s closed door hearing will be one to keep an eye on.
Mayor Nancy Young called for a hearing to discuss personnel matters involving Bijal Patel. While the public won’t be privy to the closed door session, the outcome of the meeting will be of great interest to the residents of Tracy.
Again, there are a lot of unanswered questions about all city activity done by Bijal Patel as City Attorney while her license was suspended by the CA State Bar. Who else in the city knew that Patel’s license was suspended, or did Patel hide the matter? Was there a cover-up inside City Hall and who will be held accountable?
Does Bijal M. Patel have a job at all?
How will each of the city council members spin this issue to benefit their self-interests? There are lots of questions with too few answers. A signed Agreement is binding but perhaps not at Tracy City Hall where it’s often the wild west.
But based on our reading of the Agreement, one answer is clear for Patel:
