Opinion ID: 897642
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: UHD Matter

Text: [¶ 3] In the Stipulation and Consent to Discipline, Christensen stipulates that Jon Jensen and Daniel Gaustad, Christensen's partners in the Pearson Christensen law firm, were retained by UHD, the ownership entity created for the development of the Hilton Garden Inn Hotel project on the campus of the University of North Dakota, in November 2001. No written fee agreement was entered into between Jensen and Gaustad and UHD. However, when UHD retained Jensen and Gaustad, UHD gave instructions that it did not want Christensen involved in the matter. Jensen and Gaustad complied with UHD's instructions, but Christensen learned of the firm's retention by mid-January 2002. [¶ 4] When UHD retained Jensen and Gaustad, UHD knew Christensen was a partner of Jensen and Gaustad and was also an elected member of the Grand Forks City Council. As such, UHD knew Christensen would likely be called upon to vote on matters relating to the campus hotel project. Christensen's dual roles as law firm partner to Jensen and Gaustad and as Grand Forks City Council member required the Pearson Christensen firm establish adequate measures to assess potential or actual conflicts arising from Christensen's service as Grand Forks City Council member, and to regularly re-assess potential or actual conflicts. The absence of such measures, combined with the lack of communication between Jensen, Gaustad and Christensen, created the appearance that Gaustad and Christensen had potentially conflicting roles regarding promotion of the investment package for the Hilton Garden Inn, legislative issues relating to assessments for for-profit entities on state-owned property, and infrastructure funding issues related to UHD.