In July, Attorney General Aaron Ford announced the state had settled with Walgreens for $285 million, holding the pharmacy chain responsible for its role in the opioid epidemic in Nevada. Of that $285 million awarded, at least $65 million went to attorney fees. The law firm chosen for the lawsuit was Egglet Adams, the firm where Attorney General Aaron Ford worked as a partner before taking up his current office. Now some are raising concerns about a conflict of interest.

Additionally, Senate Minority Leader Heidi Seevers Gansert told 2 News that the cap for outside attorney fees increased from $10 million to 25% in 2017 when Ford was the Senate Majority Leader. The statute change happened in the final hours of the 2017 legislature when normal legislative oversight rules were lifted. Two years later in 2019 when Ford was Attorney General, his office selected Egglet Adams, his former firm, for opioid-related lawsuits.

"Statute was changed in 2017 under Aaron Ford's leadership to significantly benefit trial attorneys for any contingent fee contract. Two years later, Aaron Ford is Attorney General, and the contract was awarded to his former firm," said Senate Minority Leader Heidi Seevers Gansert. 

The Communications Director for the Attorney General's office told 2 News that Attorney General Aaron Ford did not play any role in selecting Egglet Adams. The selection was based on the fact that Egglet Adams is one of the few firms that can bear the upfront costs of lawsuits where evidence gathering costs tens of millions of dollars. Additionally, Nevada received more money by pursuing its lawsuit with the help of Egglet Adams than it would have by joining a multistate case.

During the 2023 Nevada Legislative Session Senator Gansert put forward two related bills. They were not heard. 

"40 million in expenses, I wanted to audit those. And I also think that 65 million dollars of the recoveries that we received is exorbitant. We should have a 15% cap in the state," said Gansert.

Gansert points out that legislative leadership today is also comprised of trial attorneys, with both the Senate Majority Leader and Speaker of the Assembly working for firms.