Bryan takes job offer at prestigious law firm

Thursday, Jan. 25, 2001 | 11:03 a.m.

When former Sen. Richard Bryan announced he would not seek a third term on Capitol Hill, he said he wanted to spend more time in Nevada, where he was raised, educated and served as governor.

Today Bryan held true to that vow, announcing he would take a partnership position with the politically connected Nevada law firm of Lionel, Sawyer & Collins -- passing up several offers to work for high-powered firms in Washington, D.C., his birthplace.

"Staying in Nevada was the issue," Bryan said this morning as he prepared for his first day on the job. "Lionel, Sawyer & Collins is a premier law firm. And I'm a lawyer who is excited to get a chance to work with some dynamic young lawyers, including my daughter." Leslie Bryan Hart works for the firm's Reno office.

Bryan said the firm will give him "the flexibility" to do community work in Las Vegas, where he and his wife, Bonnie, will live. That will include teaching classes at UNLV.

Bryan, a Democrat, is one of four living former Nevada governors to take posts with law firms after completing their public service duties. Bob Miller and Robert List work for Nevada firms and Paul Laxalt works for a law firm in the Washington, D.C., area. The late Gov. Grant Sawyer was an original partner in Lionel, Sawyer & Collins.

The law firm handles a number of high-profile gaming clients and represents the Nevada Resort Association in matters before the Legislature.

Bryan's position at the firm has not been defined, but that could happen as early as this afternoon, when a news conference was scheduled to announce Bryan coming on board.

Regardless of what Bryan does for the firm, he is sure to bring added prestige to the company -- not to mention the potential of new clients seeking representation from a distinguished former lawmaker with powerful political ties.

Bryan, who graduated from Las Vegas High and the University of Nevada, Reno, served as a Clark County deputy district attorney and, at age 28 served as the county's first public defender.

He also served as a state lawmaker and attorney general before being elected governor in 1982 and winning re-election in 1986. A year later Bryan quit what he has called, "the greatest job I ever had" to run against incumbent Republican Chic Hecht in the 1988 U.S. Senate race.

In his 12 years at that job, Bryan gained the reputation as an advocate for consumers, a friend of gaming and a foe of the nuclear industry -- issues he could address in his new job.

Former Rep. John Ensign, a Republican, replaced Bryan in the Senate.