Secret conflicts of interest an issue for legislative leaders

Tax attorney

Valentine is a tax attorney and managing partner of the Provo firm Howard, Lewis & Petersen, where he's worked since 1975 and which handles a variety of clients.

Because of the heavy workload of a 45-day legislative session, "I don't accept any new clients 60 days before the session or during the session," says Valentine.

The firm currently has 12 lawyers, and Valentine said he doesn't know all of the other attorneys' clients. He declares conflicts of interest only on his own clients, not on any of his partners' clients, should he even know them.

He gives this example of how he handles conflicts: He represents several weekly newspapers. Several years ago they came to him asking him to sponsor a bill that would keep the newspaper sales tax exemption. "I told them I wouldn't sponsor their bill. They found some other sponsor. When the bill came up, I declared a conflict, said I represented some newspapers; didn't name them" and then voted on the measure, as Senate rules require.

Valentine appears before the Utah State Tax Commission representing private clients appealing their state taxes. Those hearings are sometimes public, and so the public would know who his clients are, he said. "I've not noticed any preferential treatment" in those tax appeals by the commission because of his legislative status, Valentine said.

And he said he hasn't acquired more legal work because of his legislative position. "I was in leadership in the House, assistant whip (in the Senate) the past two years," he said. While being Senate president is a move to the top, he's held important legislative positions before and work hasn't flowed to him, Valentine said.

A unique burden

"If you are representing someone who has been charged with a crime, you are the attorney of record, and that's public," notes Curtis. But often people come to an attorney seeking private advice, maybe about a business deal, maybe about a possible divorce or other personal matter that is not in court and may never end up in court.

Daniels notes that in the past, before lawyers could advertise in the Yellow Pages, on TV and on billboards, "some attorneys ran for public office because it was a way to get your name out there, to get more work." But Daniels said he didn't see more legal work coming to him either because of his legislative position.

Attorneys in the Legislature have always had a unique burden. And some have had a checkered ethical past.