Days before a critical deadline in his corruption case, former state Rep. Vic Kohring has sued his own lawyer, who now wants out.

In the lawsuit, Kohring is seeking damages from Seattle lawyer John Henry Browne over injuries he contends were suffered in an Anchorage car crash in which Browne was the driver.

As a legislator, Kohring championed limiting awards in civil cases. But now he wants more than the $300,000 limit of Browne's insurance policy, according to Browne.

The suit in state Superior Court creates "an actual conflict of interest," Browne said. Since they are now adversaries in court, he cannot represent Kohring, Browne said.

The former legislator from Wasilla may be looking for a new lawyer as he has a chance to wipe away the federal criminal case that's dogged him since the FBI raided his office in August 2006.

A deadline of Oct. 30 is looming for Kohring to file a motion to dismiss the charges or seek a new trial because of the prosecutors' failure to turn over favorable evidence before his 2007 trial.

"This is not a situation wherein counsel is attempting to shirk his responsibilities in the final hours, but rather counsel's response to the fact that he was just last week named as the defendant in a personal injury complaint filed by Mr. Kohring," Browne wrote in his motion to withdraw.

As of Friday evening, U.S. District Judge John Sedwick hadn't ruled on Browne's motion or set aside the Oct. 30 deadline.

Efforts to reach Kohring were unsuccessful.

The lawyer handling his civil suit, Michael Flanigan, doesn't discuss pending cases, his paralegal said.

RUNNING A STOP SIGN

The wreck happened during the lunch hour on Oct. 17, 2007, a few days before the start of the trial that resulted in Kohring's conviction on bribery, conspiracy and attempted extortion charges.

Kohring's suit said that Browne ran the stop sign at Barrow Street and Eighth Avenue in downtown Anchorage, and his car was then T-boned by a vehicle with the right-of-way.

Browne said he was driving a rental car and wasn't familiar with Anchorage roads. He acknowledged that he ran the stop sign and said he got a ticket.

He said he knew Kohring's medical issues from the accident were unresolved and was unsure at first about taking the appeal of Kohring's conviction.

"I don't know what Vic's thinking is. I went ahead and did the appeal with the understanding from me and his attorney that they'd settle for (insurance) policy limits and there wouldn't be any problem," Browne said. "Of course, Vic is entitled to recover whatever his injuries were. There didn't seem to be any injuries when the thing happened."

The personal-injury suit, filed Oct. 13 just before the two-year statute of limitations runs out, said Kohring is facing medical bills as a result of injuries from the wreck but doesn't give specifics.

Kohring had previous neck and back injuries, Browne said in his motion. His injuries came up during his trial. He had been treated at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and once told Veco Corp. executives he was in debt for medical bills.

Wayne Anthony Ross, an Anchorage attorney who represented Kohring early in the corruption case, said Browne should have anticipated a lawsuit. Browne is putting Kohring "in a terrible position," Ross said.

"You don't leave your clients in the lurch like that," Ross said. "Basically Browne had the keys to Vic's jail cell in his pocket and he could have gotten the keys to Vic and maybe this whole terrible thing for Vic could be over with."

LEGAL ETHICS

Browne said he consulted with the bar association and ethics experts, and they agreed that once Kohring sued, he needed to step aside.

"Generally when this happens, the best course of action for a lawyer is to withdraw from the representation," said Steve Van Goor, counsel to the Alaska Bar Association. Lawyers who believe they can still represent the client competently could still do so, if the client agrees, but most times, the lawyer will withdraw, Van Goor said.

Kohring was convicted in November 2007 and sentenced to 3 1/2 years in federal prison. Jurors said later they were convinced he sold his office to Veco executives who wanted legislators' support on a 2006 oil tax bill.

That conviction came under review in June, when the government admitted it failed to provide Kohring's attorney with evidence that could have helped him convince a jury his client was not guilty. Kohring was freed from prison until the issues can be aired in court. Former House Speaker Pete Kott, also convicted in the Alaska corruption investigation, was freed at the same time for similar reasons.

The defense lawyers received thousands of pages of additional evidence since June. Browne said his staff has spent weeks going through it. He wanted to see the case through.

"Once I realized the government was hiding all this stuff, I was doing it as a matter of principle," Browne said. "I would have given everything of value that I own other than my family to cross-examine four U.S. attorneys."

"It's just a shame," he said.

Kohring had back surgery after his conviction but before reporting to the private prison in California to serve his sentence. He has said he didn't get treatment for his injured neck and back in prison. After he got out in June, he said he planned to return to the Mayo Clinic.

Find Lisa Demer online at adn.com/contact/ldemer or call 257-4390.

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