State Sen Brian Weinstein, who says he'll step down when his term ends in December, has taken a job as senior counsel with the Seattle law firm Bergman and Frockt. The company specializes in asbestos- and consumer-protection cases.

A University of Texas law school graduate, Weinstein specialized in asbestos cases before being elected to the Senate four years ago. He won numerous multi-million-dollar claims on behalf of exposed workers.

Weinstein, who chairs the Senate's consumer-protection committee, has had a long-running clash with the most vocal conservative industry group in the state, the Building Industry Association of Washington. Weinstein blasted shoddy and dangerous home construction in his committee, repeatedly trying to pass bills to make it easier to sue such builders. And Weinstein was a political pinata in the builders' monthly newsletter.

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