THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 30, 1994 TAG: 9411300466
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A9 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARGARET EDDS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
Merit, not politics, was his sole concern in naming 175 private lawyers to do legal work for the state, Attorney General James E. Gilmore III said Tuesday.
Unveiling the bipartisan list, the Republican official called his dismissal of party affiliation ``a big step forward . . . an important change in Virginia government.''
Traditionally, he said, such work - an estimated $5 million to $10 million worth a year - has been parceled out by attorneys general to political cronies.
Gilmore's Democratic predecessor, Mary Sue Terry, applauded the bipartisanship but said it's nothing new.
``I had the least-political office in history, and it made a lot of folks upset,'' said Terry, who noted that Robert Patterson - a prominent Richmond lawyer and a Republican - was one of the first lawyers hired as outside counsel to her office.
Her in-house staff included the sister of state GOP Chairman Patrick McSweeney, and a top deputy was a law partner of former GOP Gov. John N. Dalton, she said.
But Gilmore said he's gone far beyond predecessors to seek qualified applicants for the work, which includes representing the state in highway-condemnation lawsuits, medical malpractice actions and a variety of other localized legal cases.
He sent more than 2,000 letters, including appeals to bar associations representing women and minorities, and advertised in a variety of publications, Gilmore said. His goal was ``leveling the playing field so that a lot of people have a chance to come in.''
Gilmore said the 175 lawyers - about 60 more will be named later - were drawn from an applicant pool of 339. Included in the list are 15 of 23 female applicants and five of 10 minority applicants, he said.
According to a staff analysis, Gilmore retained 53 of the 70 lawyers used by Terry who reapplied. Gilmore said he has ``no idea'' about the political affiliations of many of the lawyers, but he noted the inclusion of several prominent Democrats - including Democratic state central committee member George Gilliam of Charlottesville and former Democratic state Sen. William B. Hopkins of Roanoke.
The list also includes prominent Republicans such as Maryellen F. Goodlatte of Roanoke, who is the wife of 6th District Rep. Robert Goodlatte, and Mark Obenshain, a Harrisonburg lawyer.
Terry termed Gilmore's retention of many of the private attorneys she hired ``really quite phenomenal. . . . It's a tribute'' to the quality of the personnel she employed, Terry said. by CNB