State contract for legal services rejected over conflict

CARSON CITY — A contract expansion with the legal firm of Snell &Wilmer worth $450,000 with the state Department of Transportation was rejected by the state board on Monday after members expressed concern about a conflict.

Gov. Brian Sandoval, the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Transportation Department, said the legal firm recently became involved in a lawsuit filed against the state Department of Health and Human Services over the closure of a juvenile correctional facility in Clark County.

The lawsuit was filed by the firm on behalf of Rite of Passage after the state closed Red Rock Academy, the state’s only maximum-security juvenile facility, on March 10. The nonprofit organization had been contracted to run Nevada’s juvenile correctional facility.

Sandoval said the law firm can’t represent the state on the one hand and sue it at the same time, and he recommended the contract expansion be rejected. The board voted against the contract, which is for work on behalf of the Transportation Department in a legal dispute out of Washoe County.

“I think there is a conflict here,” Sandoval said. “I don’t think Snell and Wilmer can continue to represent us in these matters. So I do not support Agenda Item 2 until that is resolved.”

Lt. Gov. Mark Hutchison, also a member of the board, agreed, saying a legal firm can’t be on both sides, though the state agencies are different.

“The client is the state of Nevada so I do not support it either,” he said.

Dennis Gallagher, legal counsel to the board, said he was not aware of Snell &Wilmer’s involvement in the Rite of Passage lawsuit until last week.

He told the board staff will come up with a plan on how to proceed. The firm has not yet responded to the conflict concern, he said.

Sandoval noted that the firm has been working on the Transportation Department case since July 2013.

Contact Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3900. Find him on Twitter:@seanw801.