Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has named former state legislator and close political adviser John Swallow as chief deputy attorney general handling civil cases.

Swallow has served as legal counsel and lobbyist for Check City and has done legal work for a dietary supplement company -- industries that have been some of Shurtleff's most prolific campaign donors.

Swallow is listed as the officer for Shurtleff's political action committee, which has raised about $283,000 since its formation earlier this year.

He was elected to three terms in the Utah House of Representatives, quitting his seat in 2002 to run against U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson. He narrowly lost to the Democrat in 2002 and 2004.

Shurtleff said he has known Swallow since he was in the Legislature. "I feel like he's been a very good, close friend and adviser," he said.

He said he hopes that Swallow's experience with the Legislature helps the office during budget challenges in the upcoming lawmaking session.

"We have a great relationship, I know and trust him really well," Swallow said. "I'm flattered he would ask me to do this."

Swallow replaces Ray Hintze, who spent 15 years in the Attorney General's Office and led Utah's efforts to remove polygamist Warren Jeffs from the head of a $200 million religious trust and against the storage of high-level nuclear waste on the Skull Valley Goshute Indian reservation and the state's challenge to the 2000 census count.

Swallow, who has not worked as a government attorney, said he plans to take over the job around Dec. 1. He said that Hintze said it is not uncommon for the chief deputy to come from outside the office because it is often considered a political appointment.

"I'll have a lot to learn," said Swallow, who has already begun meeting with attorneys in the office. "I'm sure I can do this or Mark wouldn't have asked me to do it."

Swallow is currently registered to lobby for Tosh Inc., the holding company that owns Check City and a software company that develops programs for payday lenders.

He also was chief legal counsel for Basic Research, a supplement firm that has clashed with federal regulators over weight loss claims the company has made. He is also an attorney and registered as a lobbyist for G. Evan Bybee, who was a top executive in Basic Research.

Swallow said he actually did very little lobbying for any of his legal clients, but listed them as lobbyist clients as a precaution.

Linda Hilton of the Coalition of Religious Communities has done battle with payday lenders and Swallow on a number of local ordinances to restrict the proliferation of the shops. She said Swallow's new post does not bode well for the state taking an active role in cracking down on payday lending, particularly online.

"When it comes to online payday lending problems, we can't count on him to help make the case so it's a disappointing appointment, but not surprising," she said.

But Shurtleff said Swallow's past clients won't present a problem in his new job.

"I don't see any conflict there," Shurtleff said. "I know there are some people who don't like payday lenders" but it is a heavily regulated industry that doesn't fall directly under the attorney general's authority. However, staff attorneys provide legal advice to the Utah Division of Finance, which oversees payday lending.

Swallow said if there was a potential conflict, he would "have to disclose that and make sure there was nothing I was involved in that would in any way taint what is happening with the state."

Shurtleff said Swallow would also no longer play any formal or informal role with his Senate challenge to U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett.

Swallow is a 1990 graduate of Brigham Young University's law school.