Alabama's bankrupt Jefferson County yesterday hired a new top in-house attorney as officials put the finishing touches on an exit plan meant to end America's biggest-ever municipal bankruptcy, Reuters reported yesterday. Carol Sue Nelson, a Birmingham lawyer with Maynard, Cooper & Gale, was approved as county attorney by a vote of 3-2 by the county commission and is scheduled to start the new job on June 3. Nelson takes over a short-staffed county legal office with a backlog of cases. Her current practice includes employment litigation and arbitration, and she has worked with municipalities on affirmative action and other employment issues. This week, Jefferson County arrived at a $105 million agreement with two creditors in its landmark $4.2 billion bankruptcy. The deal, one of a series the county has reached since filing for municipal bankruptcy in late 2011, was approved yesterday by the Jefferson County commission.
