State spent millions in legal fees

Thursday, June 15, 2006 | 7:17 a.m.

CARSON CITY - Nevada spends enormous sums of money for private attorneys to handle legal matters for the state, government officials said Wednesday.

For example:

The state paid those legal bills despite having a staff of more than 140 lawyers in the attorney general's office.

Calling the amount of the contracts staggering, Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, demanded better accountability. "Someone needs to ride herd on these contracts," he told Assistant Attorney General Randy Munn.

The legal contracts were partly responsible for depletion of a $3 million contingency fund available for unanticipated state expenses. The Legislative Interim Finance Committee replenished the fund Tuesday by adding $1.5 million to tide the state over until the 2007 Legislature.

The outside lawyers are needed, Munn told the finance committee, to handle complex lawsuits "beyond the expertise of counsel on staff." He also pointed out that there had been substantial turnover in the attorney general's office.

The biggest payout - about $5 million - has gone to outside lawyers in the Yucca Mountain battle, for which the law firm of Egan Fitzpatrick Malsch & Cynkar of Vienna, Va., is being paid $430 to $485 per hour.

Another seven-figure recipient of fees for outside legal work is the San Francisco-based firm of Senn Meulemans, which has been paid more than $3 million for handling various cases, including the high-profile Las Vegas case involving developer Bill Walters' attempt to convert his Royal Links Golf Club into a residential community.

Senn Meulemans, hired after Attorney General George Chanos decided that his own land deal in Las Vegas posed a potential conflict of interest, is being paid $265,000 .

The firm, however, did not complete the inquiry by the deadline, forcing the lawyers to get an extension last week from the state Board of Examiners. That request drew an angry response from Gov. Kenny Guinn, who told a representative of the firm that it needed to quickly wrap up its investigation - and should not expect any more money from the state.

Senn Meulemans also received a $2.6 million contract ($250 per hour) to defend the state Public Works Division in a suit by Addison Inc., a construction company that was pulled off the job during building of the state Veterans Home in Boulder City after complaining about design deficiencies.