Nickles knows dark side of D.C. government

Peter Nickles tied up the District government in court for three decades on behalf of the city’s neediest residents. But the senior counsel with Covington & Burling now hopes the entrenched problems he couldn’t solve through lawsuits can be tackled from the inside.

Nickles is joining Adrian Fenty’s administration as general counsel, the lead attorney for the mayor’s office. He is expected to have a major say in how the District goes about improving care for the indigent.