Alabama's Jefferson County, readying a plan to emerge from the largest U.S. municipal bankruptcy, yesterday hired a judge to replace the county's top in-house lawyer, who was fired nearly two weeks ago, Reuters reported yesterday. Alabama Supreme Court Justice Mike Bolin will step down from that post to succeed Jeff Sewell, who took involuntary retirement on April 12, officials said. Bolin will earn $224,000 per year, or a bit more than half the nearly $400,000 salary of his predecessor. Bolin was probate judge for Jefferson County for 16 years and has a deep familiarity with the legal history of the county's sewer system, which is at the heart of the $4.27 billion chapter 9 bankruptcy filed by Jefferson County in November 2011.
