Fort Bend County Attorney Bridgette Smith-Lawson filed suit this week against all four county commissioners, seeking to block a vote that would strip most of her 42-person staff and transfer them to a new legal department controlled by commissioners court.

A temporary injunction hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 26, in Fort Bend County district court. If the judge does not halt the proposal, Item 30B remains on the commissioners court agenda for Aug. 28: "Take all appropriate action for Fiscal Year 2027 to establish a Legal Department," transferring attorney and support staff positions, funding and resources away from the county attorney's office, ABC13 reported.

Smith-Lawson, twice elected as county attorney, called the restructuring "political retribution" for her pending lawsuit to remove interim County Judge Daniel Wong from office.

That case is set for trial in November.

As we reported Tuesday, Democratic Commissioners Grady Prestage and Dexter McCoy returned to commissioners court on Monday, Aug. 24, after a two-month boycott over Wong's authority to preside. McCoy wasted no time calling out the agenda item, telling ABC13 that Wong published it "late on Friday, hoping the public would not notice," and describing it as an attempt to steal the county attorney's staff, funding and authority.

Wong's communications director Bobby Eberle denied the move is retaliation. In a statement, Eberle called the proposed civil division "a revenue-neutral endeavor" and said Wong seeks "to remove politics from day-to-day legal operations."

Precinct 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers pushed back on the lawsuit itself. In a statement, Meyers said that because Smith-Lawson is suing commissioners court, her office cannot defend them, forcing the county to hire independent outside counsel at taxpayer expense.

Smith-Lawson has 42 staff members. She said only about a dozen handle matters outside those listed on the agenda item, meaning roughly 30 positions could move under commissioners court control.

Rice University political science professor Mark Jones, a Baker Institute fellow, said the timing raises questions. "It does seem suspicious in that there isn't a movement across the state, nor was there even movement six months ago in Fort Bend County," Jones said. He warned that a legal department whose staff owe their jobs to the commissioners court majority would likely give those commissioners whatever legal opinion they want, undermining checks and balances.

In July, when she and Wong filed dueling lawsuits over his authority to serve as interim judge, Smith-Lawson told Houston Public Media the commissioners court "has been hostile towards me since the partisan shift," calling the ongoing conflict "a consistent, full frontal attack on me and my office."

The governance standoff carries direct consequences for Missouri City and Stafford taxpayers. Commissioners court must set the county tax rate in September, a vote that requires four members present. The outcome of the Aug. 26 injunction hearing will determine whether the legal department proposal proceeds to a vote on Aug. 28.