Terry Sullivan worked on laws that set the foundation for government ethics rules, revived the death penalty and bolstered the state's reputation as a bank-friendly state.

You won't find Sullivan's name on any of it, but he's there between the lines, having worked for the legislature for 36 years as a legal analyst or its director of research.

In his career, Sullivan looked for answers to legislators' questions about health, crime and state employees' retirement. Now, at 62, he's preparing to retire at the end of the month.

Sullivan supervises a research staff of 45, including 30 lawyers and policy specialists who work with legislators on proposed laws. Since his start as half of a two-man office in 1972, the research staff has grown to include experts on criminal law, election law, transportation and a host of other topics legislators tackle each year.

Sullivan started as a legal analyst the year he graduated from the UNC law school.

Thirty years ago, during the savings-and-loan crisis, he advised legislative committees that worked on banking laws.

In the early 1970s, Sullivan worked alongside legislators as they rewrote laws on capital punishment. The state was responding to a 1972 U.S. Supreme Court decision declaring all death penalty statutes unconstitutional.

"Capital punishment was in a state of flux," Sullivan said, and the legislature worked on laws that would pass constitutional muster. "There were a whole series of pieces of legislation that addressed particular elements of it," he said.

Sullivan doesn't much like talking about the laws he has worked on, saying legislators make all the decisions.

His long-lasting contribution has been as a manager, he said, building a professional, nonpartisan staff.

Analysts field questions from legislators at committee meetings, explain proposed laws in plain language, and are sometimes asked to throw in a little history with their answers.

"What I would look at with the greatest satisfaction is that I've been part of creating a first-class staff that I respect and hope has the respect of legislators -- their employers -- state officials, lobbyists and the general public."

Observers marvel that Sullivan has been able to maintain a staff that is a resource for both Democrats and Republicans on the most partisan square block in the state.

Sullivan has seen partisan power shifts, power sharing in the House and the changing legislative priorities that came with each new House and Senate leader. Questions linger about whether it would be better to have a partisan staff, with one group reporting to Democrats and another to Republicans.

Staying unbiased

"It's a hard job in that your goal is to serve 170 legislators," said Ran Coble, executive director of the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research. Coble once worked for the legislature in its fiscal research division.

"The staff has to prove itself in each situation as being nonpartisan," he said. "They've met that test every time."

Sullivan said the reputation for evenhandedness is earned by not tailoring answers to suit the questioner.

"We make our best effort to say the same thing, [give] the same advice, to Republican, Democrat, black, white," he said. "During the transition periods, when there is a change in leadership or party control, we've always tried to demonstrate and push the idea" of nonpartisanship.

Republicans, who controlled the House for four years in the 1990s but are in the minority now, said the research staff offers advice without spin.

Sullivan and his staff work as hard for Republicans as they do Democrats, said Harold Brubaker, a former Republican House speaker from Asheboro, though members of the majority party tend to get answers to their questions a little quicker than minority party members.

House Minority Leader Paul Stam of Apex said he has heard some Republicans gripe about slow turnaround times, but it has never happened to him.

"They have always been responsive and thorough," Stam said.

Except for requests from House and Senate leaders, questions from other legislators are generally answered in the order they are submitted, Sullivan said. If there's something that can be dispatched quickly, though, the researcher won't hold up the answer while working on a request that takes more time.

A lawyer's lawyer

When Sullivan started in the early '70s, he worked on every kind of law, from ethics to state budgets. He is the keeper of knowledge about the formalities of passing laws that have been handed down over decades. And he's been an important adviser to other legislative staff.

"When I had a legal question, he was often my first stop," said James D. Johnson, a former director of fiscal research. "He's kind of a lawyer's lawyer in that regard."

And a researcher's researcher.

"I'm fascinated with all sorts of things," Sullivan said. "If I get a train of thought, I'll pursue it."

He'll scour dictionaries looking for just the right word.

It took six months of checking around to find a contractor to renovate his kitchen.

He's traveling to India next month. "I thought it would be a nice, big, bracing slap in the face," he said. "It's totally different from anything Western."

But he will be prepared. He's reading two travel guides and a nonfiction book about India.

Members of the research staff say Sullivan is a supportive boss who encourages them to explore all angles of a problem.

"He empowers us to be forthcoming with members and committees," said Walker Reagan, staff attorney in the research division. "He gives you independence to do your job."

Sullivan is ready for a change of scene and said he doesn't have major plans for retirement besides traveling.

"What I need to do is sit back, clear my mind," he said. "I think India may help do that."

Sullivan's wife, Marguerite, said she doesn't worry that he'll get bored: "He has a lot of interests, and he's going to see how it goes for six months."

Sullivan said he would eventually like to get back into public service. He doesn't know exactly what he'd do. One thing is certain -- he won't run for office.

"I'm in awe of people who can do that," he said. "I'm a private individual, and I know my limitations. And that's one of them."