Mayor says he would practice law if elected to second term

Dan Kulin

Friday, Dec. 6, 2002 | 11:10 a.m.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said Thursday his campaign promise to stop practicing law while mayor was "foolish" and wouldn't be one he would make for a second term in office.

During his weekly press conference Thursday, Goodman said if he ran for mayor again in 2003 and won, he would return to the courtroom to do one or two cases a year with his sons, who are lawyers.

In his bid to become mayor in 1999, Goodman, a renowned trial lawyer whose clients included reputed mobsters, promised that if elected he would put his law practice on hold and be a full-time mayor.

On Thursday, Goodman said, "It was a foolish promise."

The mayor said he wants to exercise "that side of my brain," and said if still in office after the next election he would probably take a week-long vacation at some point to work on a case with one of his sons.

"Obviously I think it's great," Eric Goodman said. "He's one of the best trial lawyers in the country."

Eric Goodman, who recently passed the Nevada Bar Exam, and his brother Ross Goodman are both lawyers in Las Vegas. Both brothers handle civil and criminal cases like their father before them, Eric Goodman said.

Eric Goodman said for his father to work on a case with him, the case would probably have to be "something rather large" and would probably be a criminal case.

"My father's specialty," he said.

The mayor's law partner, David Chesnoff, said he's sure the elder Goodman would keep the mayor's job his top priority.

"This is more of a chance for him to do something with his son," Chesnoff said.

Craig Walton, a professor of ethics and policy studies at UNLV, said if Goodman returned to the courtroom while in office, he would have to be careful to avoid conflicts of interest.