California IN BRIEF : SACRAMENTO : Legal Aides Broke Law, Lungren Says

Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren has concluded that two top aides to his predecessor violated state law when they negotiated a contract for their private legal services with state Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi. Early this year, Garamendi hired Michael J. Strumwasser and Frederic D. Woocher to represent the Department of Insurance in a series of legal battles over Proposition 103, the 1988 initiative that required a rollback in insurance rates. The two attorneys worked out the terms of their contract before leaving their state jobs. It was approved by their boss at the time, then Atty. Gen. John K. Van de Kamp. Lungren’s chief deputy, M. David Stirling, said the contract violated statutes barring state employees from entering into private contracts with state agencies while still in government service. Woocher and Strumwasser say that the contract is legal. Stirling said his office would allow the contract to remain in effect until it expires at the end of September to avoid a disruption of ongoing court battles.