In the two years since he left the Legislature, Bob Hertzberg has parlayed his political connections into a lucrative law practice representing public and private entities, including an auto repair chain accused of defrauding thousands of California consumers.
The former Assembly speaker has made as much as $1.1 million a year working for the Los Angeles office of Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw, records show -- not by appearing in court but by strategizing behind the scenes.
For the last two months, the Los Angeles Times has repeatedly asked Hertzberg, now a candidate for mayor of Los Angeles, to identify his law clients. Hertzberg initially said the names of his clients were protected by attorney-client privilege. Recently, he changed his rationale and said he could not disclose the identity of his clients because of a confidentiality clause in the law firm's contracts.
Hertzberg advised his clients in a Feb. 3 letter that the newspaper was seeking their names. "Although transparency has always been a hallmark of my service in government, this request by The Times needs to be balanced against my professional responsibility as an attorney to protect the confidentiality of my clients," Hertzberg wrote. "I want to be clear that you are under no obligation to let my campaign release your firm's name to the press."
Seven of Hertzberg's 20 clients agreed to be identified. Nine clients refused and four clients did not respond to the letter, said Hertzberg campaign spokesman Matt Szabo.
The clients who agreed to be identified were the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency, the city Department of Water and Power, the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, nationally known builder KB Home, Bay Area-based Western Water Co. and Caliber Collision Centers.
Hertzberg's 2003 income from Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw, one of the world's largest law firms, was reported as more than $100,000 -- the highest category listed -- on a financial disclosure statement filed last year. The $1.1 million figure came from court filings during a child support dispute with his ex-wife. The details on his clients were drawn from public records, interviews and statements from Hertzberg's campaign. In the case of private firms, no disclosure is required by the clients and it is unclear how much Hertzberg has been paid or if his employment continues.
