[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 14 (Friday, February 11, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 11, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
     CONFIRMATION OF ROBERT C. BUNDY TO BE U.S. ATTORNEY FOR ALASKA

 Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, Bob C. Bundy first came to 
Alaska in the fall of 1971 to begin working for Alaska Legal Services 
as a Reginald Heber Smith Community Law Fellow. His intentions, like 
many Alaskans, were to experience Alaska and then return to his home 
State. Expecting to return to California after no more than 2 years, 
Bob fell in love with Alaska, his home ever since 1971.
  Prior to coming to Alaska, Bob received his bachelors degree, cum 
laude, with a major in philosophy from the University of Southern 
California in 1968. Bob graduated in 1971 from Boalt Hall School of 
Law, University of California, Berkeley. After passing the California 
bar in the fall of 1971, Bob was admitted to the California State Bar 
in January 1972. After coming to Alaska in 1971 to work for Alaska 
Legal Services, Bob passed the Alaska bar in the spring of 1972.
  While working at Alaska Legal Services, Bob met his wife, Virginia 
Bonnie Lembo, who was also working at Alaska Legal Services as a VISTA 
lawyer. In February 1974, the two married in Nome where Bob was 
working. Then the couple decided to move further into bush Alaska; in 
July, 1974, Bob and Bonnie relocated to Kiana, a small Eskimo village--
population 500--on the Kobuk River east of Kotzebue. Bob practiced law, 
taking criminal defense appointments in Nome and Kotzebue and 
performing contract services for Alaska Legal Services.
  On December 2, 1974, the couple had twin girls, Barbara and Kathy. 
Caring for infant twins, while maintaining a part-time law practice and 
engaging in subsistence food gathering proved a daunting task. When the 
temperature hit 65 below in January 1975 and the couple's oil stove 
ceased working, Bob and Bonnie moved the children to Anchorage.
  However, the excitement of living in Alaska's bush had not worn off 
for the young couple. In 1975, Bob was appointed as the district 
attorney for the Second Judicial District in Nome. Serving as Nome's 
district attorney until 1978, Bob then moved his family to Anchorage 
where they have lived ever since. Bob continued his career as a 
prosecutor in the Anchorage District Attorney's office and Alaska 
Attorney General's office until 1984. At present, Bob has just left 
practicing law as a partner in the law firm of Bogle & Gates for his 
confirmation as Alaska's U.S. attorney. Bonnie Bundy is an assistant 
district attorney.
  Bob is an experienced attorney who has now tried over 200 cases in 
front of juries in Alaska. Bob's most recent practice focused on trial 
and appellate litigation, the majority of which involved large, complex 
cases in the areas of commercial litigation, products liability, 
professional malpractice, personal injury, and criminal defense.
  Examples of Bob's practice include representation of a national 
airline in major antitrust litigation; representation in trial and 
appellate courts of a national insurance broker facing multimillion 
dollar claims arising out of insurance carrier insolvencies and damages 
to a large construction project in Alaska; trial and appellate counsel 
for an international air carrier in multiple lawsuits arising out of 
the crash and destruction of a DC-10 aircraft; representation of two 
national banks in litigation arising out of the bankruptcy of two large 
sawmills; trial counsel for local government entities in litigation 
involving wrongful discharge of employees and disputes with 
contractors; representation of an automobile manufacturer in major 
products liability litigation; representation of a large Northwest law 
firm in a large legal malpractice action; and representation of mental 
health professionals in malpractice claims. Bob has also represented 
corporations and individuals charged with criminal offenses in State 
and Federal courts.

  A faculty member of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy, Bob is 
active in trial advocacy as a faculty member and lecturer in Alaska and 
nationwide. Bob coauthored both ``Alaska Discovery, Pretrial and Trial 
Procedures'' and ``Evidence in Trial Practice in Alaska.'' Bob lectures 
on law and banking at the University of Alaska, Anchorage. A lawyer 
representative for the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference, Bob also sits 
on the local rules committee for the U.S. district court.
  Bob enjoys bipartisan support amongst Alaskans. I am confident that 
Bob's experience and ability will serve him well in his new position as 
the U.S. attorney for Alaska. I wish him all the best and look forward 
to working with him in the future.

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