CROWN POINT | The Lake County Council is making doubly sure county-employed lawyers don't bite the hand that feeds them.

The council adopted an ordinance Tuesday requiring lawyers working as public defenders for county courts to pledge not to represent people suing the county for damages.

Councilman Larry Blanchard, R-Crown Point, said the vote strengthens an effort he helped begin a decade ago to stop what he considers conflicts of interest.

The county employs scores of lawyers representing indigent criminal defendants and lawyers who provide legal counsel for a variety of officeholders.

Blanchard said in one case, a lawyer working for the county represented a waste-hauling firm suing the county over the denial of a landfill. He said the council was so upset regarding the suit that it adopted an ordinance to prevent most county lawyers from taking such action in the future.

The measure now goes to the Lake County Board of County Commissioners for approval or veto.