Working with Vermont’s States Attorneys, Governor Peter Shumlin has appointed attorney Tom Little as independent counsel to look into the campaign finance related complaint against Vermont Attorney General Bill Sorrell. Little will work with and report findings to an eight-member, bipartisan group of States Attorneys that make up a Campaign Finance Review Committee.
Vermont AG Sorrell, left, with Governor Shumlin in 2013. VBM photo
Governor Shumlin issued the following statement: “There is broad consensus, including from Attorney General Sorrell, that it makes sense to have an independent counsel look into this matter. Working with the States Attorneys, I have appointed Tom Little to serve in that role. Tom has a well-deserved reputation for integrity and common sense in both his public and private life. I am grateful to Tom for taking on this role.”
According to his bio with the Vermont Student Assistance Corp, Tom Little is Vice President, General Counsel and Assistant Secretary of VSAC. He joined VSAC in January 2003. Little served as the VSAC’s outside legal counsel from 1983 to 2003 as a member of the law firm Little, Cicchetti & Conard, PC, in Burlington.
Little was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1992 to 2002 (R-Shelburne). He is past chair of the Lawyer’s Caucus of the National Council of Higher Education Loan Programs. As VSAC VP, Little oversees the corporation’s risk management, internal audit, compliance, and development programs. Little received his BA from Bowdoin College in 1976 and his JD from Cornell University in 1979.
Little's leadership in the House Judiciary Committee was widely seen as crucial to the passage of the bill that created Civil Unions, which Governor Howard Dean signed into law in 2000. While several Republicans lost re-election because of their support for the gay right's bill, Little survived a primary challenge and was re-elected to another term.
Source: Governor's office. VSAC. 5.8.2015