Saturday, November 15, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

NUCLEAR WASTE: Lawmakers target law firm

State Bar urged to probe possible ethics rule violations on Yucca Mountain Project

WASHINGTON -- Nevada's lawmakers on Friday continued their pursuit of a law firm accused of a conflict of interest while working on the Yucca Mountain Project.

The state's congressional delegation asked the State Bar of Nevada to investigate evidence that Winston & Strawn may have violated legal ethics rules while employed by the Energy Department on the nuclear waste program.

Nevada officials have been critical of the Chicago-based firm since conflict allegations came to light in 2001, leading the company to withdraw from a $16.5 million contract.

Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said the latest complaint sends a message that Nevada will challenge any perceived misstep in the Yucca program

"Every weapon in our arsenal needs to be used to bring the project to a halt, and this is just one of the weapons," Berkley said. "This is not a smoking gun, but it continues to build a record" against the Yucca program.

She said the investigation could lead to disciplinary action up to disbarment in Nevada for the company or individual partners.

Winston & Strawn spokeswoman Lisa Wollenberg on Friday would not comment on the complaint. A message left for the director of the Nevada State Bar was not returned.

Wollenberg said she couldn't determine whether the firm has clients in Nevada or does any work in the state.

Winston & Strawn was awarded an Energy Department contract in 1999 for legal services on the repository, to be built 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. It withdrew from the contract in November 2001, after the DOE inspector general confirmed Winston & Strawn registered to lobby Congress for the pro-Yucca Nuclear Energy Institute.

In a lawsuit by a rival firm, a federal appeals court panel last month also said Winston failed to disclose its activities to DOE. The court also questioned whether Winston was in conflict because it had performed work previously for the project's main contractor.

The appeals court sent the case to a lower court judge for further determinations.

Those challenging the Yucca program in court and before federal agencies said conflicts could taint any work that Winston performed during its two years on the project.

"These infractions have the potential to threaten the safety of all Nevadans and have the seriously tainted the veracity of DOE's Yucca license application," lawmakers said in the letter Friday to Nevada Bar Association executive director Allen Kimbrough.

The letter was signed by Berkley, Republican Reps. Jim Gibbons and Jon Porter, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev.

Berkley filed a complaint against Winston & Strawn with the District of Columbia Bar in October 2001. The organization has yet to rule.