Bob Hertzberg, elected to state Senate, also takes job at law firm

Democrat Bob Hertzberg, who was elected to the state Senate this week, also has accepted a job as a government affairs attorney with the law firm Glaser Weil.

Hertzberg, who more than a decade ago served as a speaker of the state Assembly, won election Tuesday to the 18th Senate District, which includes much of the San Fernando Valley.

On Wednesday, he joined Glaser Weil’s government affairs practice, which is overseen by former Beverly Hills Mayor Thomas Levyn and Tim McOsker, who was chief of staff for then-Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn.

Hertzberg said he did similar work for a law firm when he was in the Assembly because he likes to keep involved in interesting issues involving the law. He said Thursday that he would not advise clients on matters that may come before state agencies or the Legislature.

The law firm has created a process, he said, that would have an outside attorney specializing in ethics issues review any contact he has with clients to prevent a conflict of interest.

“I will never get close to the line, and they would never want me to come close to the line,” Hertzberg said. “We’ve thought about it a lot to make sure there is no question.”

The law firm is not registered as a lobbyist employer in Sacramento. But its areas of practice include helping clients get “legislative solutions,” government contracts and favorable decisions from government regulatory agencies.

The firm’s website said its environmental office’s clients include “major oil companies, regulated water utilities, alternative energy providers, banks, investment firms, industrial concerns and developers.”

Such businesses routinely have matters before the Legislature.

The firm’s attorneys have represented clients including Occidental Petroleum, Bank of America and Roche. Some clients have hired other firms to lobby state government, according to lobbying registration records.

The senator-elect’s dual employment is problematic, said Hana Callaghan, director of governmental ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.

“I think it’s a challenge for him in terms of public perception. Public officials have a duty of loyalty to the public, and to put their public interest before their personal interest. It does seem that he is serving two masters,” she said.

Even if he does not directly advise certain clients, Callaghan said, “he may be called on to assist his colleagues in the law firm” who are advising those clients.

Hertzberg said he would probably do much of his work for the firm a few hours a week during the four months when the Senate is not in session. He said he would not shortchange his constituents.

“My priority is to the people of the San Fernando Valley … who elected me to this job, and I’m going to work it like crazy,” Hertzberg said. “Everybody knows I work 20-hour days. That’s who I am.”

patrick.mcgreevy@latimes.com

Twitter: @McGreevy99