State Bar sanctions Olsen

City Attorney Dave Olsen was sanctioned by the State Bar of Nevada in March for his involvement in his son’s civil suit against Boulder City in 2010.

The grievance was filed in February 2014 by former Boulder City Police Chief Tom Finn, according to State Bar counsel David Clark.

The bar issued Olsen a letter of reprimand on March 25, the first level of a sanction, Clark said.

Olsen was previously hit with a $1,500 fine by the Nevada Ethics Commission in September for the same case. Matters arose from a request for an opinion that also was filed by Finn in February 2014. He claimed that Olsen violated several statutes with his involvement in the case, including his failure to abstain from acting on a matter in which abstention is required.

Because Olsen was fined by the Ethics Commission in September, the bar decided not to tack on an additional fine with the sanction, the letter said.

According to Clark, the sanction will stay on Olsen’s record permanently, but will not affect his ability to practice law in the state.

“From my perspective, there’s not much to it. The letter of reprimand from the bar is probably the lowest level of action they could take without taking any action,” Olsen said. “The sad thing though, is that because this process has taken so long, it makes it sound like it’s a separate incident.”

Olsen said the sanction won’t affect his involvement within the community, such as volunteering at special events or membership in civic organizations.

“I’m comfortable with the way it turned out, and I hope the community sees it the same way. My position all along has always been sharing my successes and owning my mistakes, and I’m willing to accept the consequences.”

Contact reporter Steven Slivka at sslivka@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9401. Follow @StevenSlivka on Twitter.