City Attorney John Herin at his first Tamarac commission meeting on May 26.
By Cassandra Spohn
After five months, the City of Tamarac hired John Herin as their city attorney on May 12.
A partner at the Miami offices of Fox Rothschild LLP, Herin handles an array of clients in both the private and public sectors throughout Florida in environmental, construction, infrastructure and development estate, zoning, and land use, and government relations.
His experience includes serving as both city attorney and assistant city attorney to the Cities of Doral and Marathon, Palmetto Bay, Miami Lakes, and Islamorada. Herin obtained his undergraduate degree at the University of Central Florida and then attended Stetson University College of Law.
Though new to the position in Tamarac, he said his ultimate goal is to assist the commission and staff in achieving the goals set forth.
“Right now, I’m just getting my feet wet and trying to take care of things that the staff and commission have asked me to be involved with.”
His firm will receive a monthly retainer of $50,000 to cover general legal advice, procurement review and bid protests, planning and zoning advice, oversight of outside counsel, review and preparation, meetings, and travel time to city hall.
A board-certified attorney in city, county, and local government law, Herin is a member of the Florida Municipal Attorneys Association (FMAA), Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, and the Cuban American Bar Association (CABA). He is the recipient of the Martindale Hubbell, AV Preeminent and The American Lawyer & Corporate Counsel, Top Lawyer in Land Use and Zoning (2013).
Herin won’t have to drive too far to work. He and his wife Jackie live in Lauderhill. They have two children, Madison, 25, who attends Columbia University seeking her master’s degree in public health policy, and John III, 21, will be a junior at George Washington University, working towards his bachelor’s degree in finance.
A 4-1 vote to hire him comes after the December 2020 resignation of Samuel Goren, who served as Tamarac’s city attorney for 15 years, and after Interim City Attorney Hans Ottinot, who worked at the city from December 2020 until May 2021, was passed over for a permanent position.
Herin’s first commission meeting for the city was on May 26.
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