CITY LAWYERS BACK TOBACCO

http://www.eugeneweekly.com/2006/07/06/news

CITY LAWYERS BACK TOBACCO

"The private law firm that has held a tight grip on almost all of the city of Eugene's legal work for the past three decades is also working on a pair of controversial, high-profile cases.

Harrang Long Gary Rudnick is working for Phillip Morris to get the tobacco giant out of an $80 million verdict that sought to punish the corporation for killing people with cigarettes. The firm is also working with the Portland Development Commission (PDC) to reduce wages for work on public projects.

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed this spring to hear Harrang Long's appeal of the tobacco case (known as Williams Branch) after the Oregon Supreme court upheld the $80 million verdict against Phillip Morris.

In another case, Harrang Long helped the PDC evade a state law that requires prevailing wages and benefits for construction workers on public projects. In May a Portland judge agreed with Harrang Long's argument that the PDC did not have to pay prevailing wages for a publicly subsidized development project.

The PDC case could be relevant for Eugene. The city has agreed to spend $12 million to build a city parking garage attached to the Whole Foods development downtown. City staff told the council that the project would pay prevailing wages, but that was before the Harrang Long and PDC verdict in Portland.

Eugene isn't involved in tobacco litigation, but acting as city attorney, Harrang Long wrote and would defend the city ordinance banning indoor smoking in bars and restaurants.

Harrang Long has worked for many other local clients that could present the appearance of conflicts of interest including The Register-Guard, Hynix and PeaceHealth. The firm has said it avoids conflicts of interest.

Almost all other cities of Eugene's size have in-house attorneys working as public servants to reduce costs, improve service and avoid conflicts. A 2002 ballot measure requiring the city manager to hire an in-house attorney failed. Last year (FY05) the city paid $2.1 million for civil legal services, up 34 percent from the previous year." — Alan Pittman