Attack on Gallagher condemned

Kirsten Searer

Thursday, Oct. 28, 2004 | 9:42 a.m.

Members of Democratic congressional candidate Tom Gallagher's old law firm are condemning a political ad that suggests Gallagher was involved in shredding documents while at the firm.

The ad reads that "Tom Gallagher doesn't have a 'shred' of respect for the law," and goes on to say that from 1969 to 1992 he was a partner at a law firm that destroyed evidence, citing articles in Business Wire, The National Law Journal and the Las Angeles Times.

The flier notes that Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher was ultimately fined $800,000 in the 1984 incident.

Theodore B. Olson, a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and a former solicitor general of the United States who has worked closely with President Bush, issued a statement that he has known Gallagher since Gallagher first joined the firm more than 30 years ago.

"I am aware of a political mailing designed to connect Tom with an incident involving other lawyers of our 800-lawyer firm over 20 years ago," Olson said. "Tom had nothing to do with that incident whatsoever, and it has long since been fully resolved."

The firm itself issued a statement saying that the incident arose when Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher was working with another law firm in the early 1980s.

"Even the other side in the case indicated they had 'no reason to believe (the other Gibson, Dunn lawyer involved) or any of his colleagues here in Los Angeles are in any way direct participants or knowledgeable of some of the specific things that we are going to get into,' " the statement said.

"It is completely false to link Tom with this incident or to suggest that Gibson Dunn lawyers acted improperly in any way."

The ad was paid for by the Nevada Republican Party, not Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., who Gallagher is challenging. Chris Carr, the executive director of the Nevada Republican party, did not return calls for comment.

But Mike Slanker, Porter's campaign consultant, said the community knows little about Gallagher and it's important to talk about his resume.

Partners share in the profits that their firms make, so it's fair game to talk about what Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher was involved in, Slanker said.

"All we know about him is he moved here a while ago to head up a gaming company, he failed at that and now he wants to be a congressman," Slanker said. "He was a partner in a huge law firm that I'm sure did some good things and I'm sure did some bad things, and he doesn't want to take responsibility."

Gallagher spokeswoman Mara Gassmann called the ad "a low political tactic to throw out overtly untrue allegations days before the election."

"Jon Porter has ruined his reputation," she said. "It's shocking to me that as a public official he would throw out these untruths."