Michael P. Smith, the son of new Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith Jr., represented a property owner in a meeting with the county planning director while serving as a key adviser to his father on hiring and firing within the administration.

Both Smiths said they see no impropriety in the meeting, and Planning Director Arnold F. "Pat" Keller III said he did not feel pressured to make decisions in favor of the development.

But some county politicians, government watchdogs and ethics experts said Michael Smith's dual role is worrisome and could contribute to public mistrust of government.

"He's recognized as the top adviser for his father, and right now [James Smith] is reviewing all the current department heads and directors as to whether they're going to keep their jobs," said County Councilman Joseph Bartenfelder, a Fullerton Democrat. "It's just hard to believe."

The meeting does not appear to violate county or state ethics laws, which regulate the conduct of government officials and employees - not unpaid, unofficial advisers like Michael Smith, who is a lawyer in the Reisterstown firm of Bodie, Nagle, Dolina, Smith and Hobbs.

"I'm not aware that there's anything improper about Michael representing clients in matters before departments," said James Smith, a Democrat and former Circuit Court judge. "I'm not aware he's done it since I was sworn in, but I'm not aware that there would be anything wrong even after the swearing-in."

Michael Smith said the meeting with Keller took place Nov. 21, before his father's Dec. 2 inauguration. He said he has had no other meetings with county officials on behalf of private clients since before his father was elected Nov. 5.

Both Smiths said now that top aides have been hired for the new administration - a chief of staff, a senior adviser and an administrative officer nominee begin work this week and next - Michael Smith will return to his law practice full time.

"I assume he will continue in campaign activities for me, but he isn't going to be helping me out in my office as county executive," James Smith said.

'Play by the rules'

James Browning, executive director of Common Cause Maryland, said it is better for Smith to rely on formal advisers because county laws bind them to a code of conduct. If Michael Smith continued as an informal adviser, it would give the appearance of impropriety, he said.

"It sounds like his son has access to the levers of power with none of the burdens or responsibilities that come with it," Browning said. "If you want to be in the room, you've got to play by the rules."

Michael Smith, 36, was not a formal member of his father's transition team, but several current and former county employees have said he has interviewed county employees as the executive decides who will stay and who will go.

County government insiders said the most influential advisers in the Smith administration have been the executive's sister, M. Teresa Cook; Michael Smith; and Stuart Kaplow, a Towson lawyer who also handles land-use issues.

Last week, James Smith began interviewing county department heads, such as the planning director, to decide whether he will retain them.

"I'm not aware that the status of Pat Keller has been determined," said Council Chairman Kevin Kamenetz, a Pikesville-Ruxton Democrat. "If the son still has a role in determining Pat Keller's future, it's clearly inappropriate."

Michael Smith's car frequently has been parked outside the courthouse in Towson in the past month with a county executive office staff placard in the window. But James Smith said he hasn't talked to his son about transition matters within the past week.

Meeting with Keller

In the meeting with Keller, Michael Smith was representing the owners of an undeveloped tract near Grey Rock Mansion. Planning on the housing development is in the early stages.

In the county's comprehensive rezoning process in 2000, Kamenetz changed the property's designation from commercial to density residential against the owners' wishes. Michael Smith represented the owners as they fought that zoning change.

County records show that Michael Smith spoke and corresponded with Kamenetz in an attempt to block the zoning change, but the county has no record that he registered as a lobbyist with the council secretary, as required by law.

Michael Smith said he couldn't remember whether he formally registered but said there are public records showing that he represented the owners.

"It's not like I was trying to hide my representation of them," he said.

Now the property owners are trying to sell the land to a developer who plans to build about a dozen villa-style, single-family detached homes on the site.

Keller said Michael Smith's role in the meeting was limited because he represented the seller, not the developer. In any case, Keller said, Michael Smith's presence didn't affect him.

"I like to think I treated them just like I would have anyone else," Keller said. "They really weren't asking for anything above and beyond what anyone else would have asked for."

But Bartenfelder said, "He wouldn't say anything otherwise. If it were me, I'd feel edgy."

Public perception

Regardless of whether the meeting represented a conflict, that sort of activity could create a perception of the county government that could be just as damaging as actual conflicts of interest, said Peggy Kerns, the director of the Denver-based Center for Ethics in Government.

"Even though something may be legal and the person may think it's ethical, another measure of it is how does it look to the public," Kerns said. "We have a higher responsibility here. We carry the public trust and therefore should try to avoid any action that may undermine that."

Michael Smith is not known as one of the county's most active land-use lawyers, but he said county business has historically been part of his practice.

Michael Smith said he has been cognizant of conflict-of-interest issues throughout his law career - he was a practicing attorney in the county for 10 years of his father's term on the Circuit Court bench.

"We had no problems during that entire 10-year period," Michael Smith said.

Expert advice

He said he has contacted M. Peter Moser, a lawyer at Piper Rudnick and former chairman of the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, to ask for advice on how he should handle his law practice now that his father is county executive.

"I expect that prior to me moving forward with any county business to have a resolution of that issue," Michael Smith said.

Moser said he has reviewed the rules of professional conduct for attorneys and has begun to delve into the county's public ethics laws. So far, he said, he has found nothing of concern.

"He certainly isn't going to get involved in a situation that directly involves client representation in a matter that is directly before the executive," Moser said. "But beyond that, he's going to look at other areas so he can conduct himself the way he should and do the right thing generally."

Moser said he was aware of the meeting with Keller but doesn't consider it to be a problem. Moser contributed $200 to James Smith's campaign. His wife, Elizabeth K. Moser, contributed $500.

Abraham A. Dash, a professor of legal ethics at the University of Maryland School of Law, said he agreed that Smith's meeting with Keller was probably not improper.

But continuing to practice before agencies over which his father wields control could raise questions, Dash said.

"In the future, it is going to depend on who he's representing, what are they asking for and from whom are they asking it," Dash said.

Councilman John A. Olszewski Sr., a Dundalk Democrat, said he has spoken with Michael Smith on numerous occasions about his post-election activities and takes him at his word that he will divest himself from advising his father.

But, Olszewski said, Michael Smith will have to be careful in his private practice to avoid the appearance of impropriety and will have to file lobbyist disclosure forms if he has business with the county.

County ethics panel

Michael Smith has not registered as a lobbyist with the county Ethics Commission within the past four years. Registration is required for people who meet with executive or legislative officials in an attempt to influence any legislative action and who either incur expenses of $100 or more or are paid $500 or more for their efforts.

Councilman Vincent J. Gardina, a Perry Hall-Towson Democrat, said he believes that Michael Smith "is 100 percent aboveboard" but that he should still get an opinion from the county Ethics Commission. Even if it says he can represent developers and others before county agencies, he should be careful, Gardina said.

"I think he's not going to try to use any undue influence," Gardina said. "But perception can override that, and he certainly has to make a decision whether he wants to represent people in Baltimore County cases that come before agencies his father controls."

Not new territory

Other area executives have run into conflict-of-interest questions regarding the legal careers of family members. Lawyer David M. Sheehan represented Anne Arundel County government in labor negotiations until his wife, Janet S. Owens, was elected county executive.

And in 2001, the state Judicial Ethics Committee advised District Judge Catherine Curran O'Malley - wife of Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley - to recuse herself from about two-thirds of the docket, including any cases in which a police officer is a witness.