Congratulations to the new Esquires of Nevada.U.S. District Judge Justin Quackenbush ordered the U.S. attorney's office to grant immunity to Dr. Mark Kabins by Friday or he will dismiss the fraud case against Gage.
Natalie Collins, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office, and Thomas Pitaro, Gage's attorney, declined to comment on Quackenbush's decision.
"Dr. Kabins is pleased that the court provided him with the same protection provided to Dr. (Benjamin) Venger and Dr. (John) Thalgott," said Kabins' attorney, David Chesnoff.
Today is bar results day, so good luck to all the nervous bar applicants out there. 
Rising caseloads are preventing probation officers from being involved in the lives of juveniles and in other social work (Las Vegas Sun)
A Nevada inmate is alleging the Parole Board has locked him up illegally for refusing a deal under which he would not be able to sue the state if released. (Nevada Appeal) 
A coroner's jury found Las Vegas police were justified in shooting a man who attacked them with knives. (Review-Journal)
The Reno-Gazette Journal filed a lawsuit for access to details about Gov. Gibbons concealed weapons permit [and then they reported on it]. (Reno Gazette-Journal) Meanwhile, the certification of the firearms instructor who certified Gov. Gibbons has been revoked (Review-Journal)
Attorneys for Noel Gage took an interesting legal tact yesterday, when they filed a motion to compel the government to grant immunity to a medical physician in order to get him to testify.Personal injury lawyer Noel Gage is trying to force federal prosecutors to grant limited immunity to a witness who has made statements that could benefit him in his ongoing fraud case.Fascinating legal contortionism. A motion to compel the government to grant immunity. The Gage trial is still the best show in town.
In a motion filed Monday, Gage asked Senior U.S. District Judge Justin Quackenbush for an order compelling the government to grant immunity to spine surgeon Mark Kabins.
"This motion is made on the basis that the denial of immunity to Dr. Kabins will distort the judicial fact-finding process and will deny Mr. Gage a fair trial," the defendant's attorneys wrote.
The man accused of shooting three people outside of the Minxx strip club as part of the Pacman Jones scandal is being held on $1 million bail. (Review-Journal)
Sad news for the Vegas Valley, the National Insurance Crime Bureau has dropped Vegas from the #1 slot for cities with the highest amount of auto thefts. (Review-Journal) [step it up car thieves. you're slipping]
The Federal Grand Jury indicted the ricin-carrying, coma-surviving Vegas visitor Roger Bergendorff (AP)
Apparently perennial Plaintiff's champion Noel Gage isn't just [an alleged] scumbag who cheated his clients, he may have already been found liable by a Texas court for withholding settlement money (without the client's knowledge), paying additional money to longtime clients, and charging $100,000 for expenses he could never document.Federal prosecutors are ready to drop a bombshell on Las Vegas attorney Noel Gage when the lawyer is re-tried on conspiracy charges next month. Gage is accused of conspiring with local doctors and a middleman to rip off his own clients for huge sums. His first trial ended in a hung jury. But that jury didn't get to hear the evidence that could be introduced the second time around . . .Apprarently the case in Texas is eerily similar to Gage's [alleged] bilking of his Vegas clients.
Federal lawmen have uncovered evidence suggesting Gage left El Paso after being caught doing the same thing he is accused of doing here, namely, cutting side deals behind the backs of his own clients and fattening his own pocket in the process . . .
Court documents show Gage was hired to represent a group of chiropractors who were suing the insurance industry. But the jury found that he cut a side deal with two of the chiropractors, behind the backs of the other clients.I'm torn here. On one hand, the prosecution of Gage suggests the corrupt practices of Vegas law may be getting cleaned up. On the other hand, what will I blog about. Either way: be warned Vegas Plaintiff's bar--apparently it's not open season on your clients anymore.
Gage failed to tell his other clients that he had a special relationship with two of the plaintiffs and had represented them in a dozen or more cases. The jury found that Gage misled most of the clients, withheld settlement money without telling them about it, directed too much money to his two longtime clients, and charged nearly $100,000 for expenses he could never document. The jury verdict was unanimous.
The lawyer who sued Gage and his co-defendants in Texas said Gage manipulated his clients for his own benefit and predicted Gage would express indignance and outrage at being accused, something now familiar in Las Vegas.
Apparently running back and genius Pacman Jones was paying thousands of dollars to the alleged gunman in the Minxx nightclub shooting to keep him quiet (Review-Journal) Sports Illustrated reports Genius Pacman paid a total of $15,000 to keep the shooter from "coming after him" [re: genius remark--see prior posts discussing how Pacman "made it rain" on some strippers and then demanded his money back]
Slow legal news day, but here's the slim pickin's:
The Nevada Supreme Court adopted the "baseball rule," protecting stadium owners from liability for injuries from foul balls (Review-Journal)
Lawmakers want to know why a San Mateo Sheriff was arrested in a Las Vegas brothel (Mercury News) [um . . . I've got a pretty good idea why he was there]
A debate has been raging based on yesterday's post about whether tough times are coming for newly-graduated attorneys looking for work in Vegas. Some people say Vegas firms believe law California, Arizona, and East Coast law school grads are considered before Boyd School grads looking for work. Others say Boyd School grads just aren't trying hard enough.From: Someone in AdministraionSee. Cheer up graduating 3Ls, the opportunities to put your legal education to use are endless!
Date: Apr 16, 2008 2:31 PM
Subject: [Info] A message from Councilman Wolfson
To: boyd listserve
[I forward the message below at the request of Las Vegas City Councilman Steve Wolfson, who, as some of you know, also is a former federal and state prosecutor who now has a criminal defense practice. The Councilman is looking to address a critical need for school crossing guards in our city and seeks our assistance . . .]
-----
Forwarded by UNLV on 04/16/2008 01:52 PM -----
Dean ******:It was great meeting with you last week. We appreciate your time. Councilman Wolfson would like to encourage any William S. Boyd School of Law student interested in earning a few extra dollars, and helping our community, to consider applying to be a school crossing guard, through Metro's Crossing Guard program.There is a great need for crossing guards at the intersections of Maryland Parkway and Twain and at Twain and Swenson. The pay is $8.91 per hour and they are guaranteed 2.5 hours per day (just a little over $22 per day) . . .
Sincerely, ****** ***** Liaison to Councilman Steve Wolfson
While the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Kentucky's lethal injection program yesterday as not being "cruel and unusual punishment," the Nevada Supreme Court still has a challenge to the state's lethal injection program pending (Review-Journal)
George Knapp over at Las Vegas City Life has a story discussing how the Nevada media has dragged Nevada Supreme Court Justice Nancy Saitta's name through the mud by printing a story provided by a con man that the Justice was bribed by a Nevada prisoner. It's a pretty great story on the media's laziness has led to the smearing of a Supreme Court Justice on baseless charges. (Las Vegas City Life) [I know, it's unusual for a tabloid blog to celebrate good investigatory journalism, but right now, Knapp is publishing the best writing around about the Vegas legal industry. Kudos, Mr. Knapp.]
Tough times appear to have hit the legal market. The Wall Street Journal's Law Blog posted an article recently suggesting that large firms on the east coast are cutting back their summer associate programs--shortening the weeks, trimming the summer salary, and hiring less summer associates. In addition, at least one large east coast firms rescinded its offers to incoming associates.
The Review-Journal reports today that Jennings, Strouss & Salmon named Robert McBride, Brent Vogel and Diane Carr Roth as “members” (which I am assuming is the PLC version of equity partner). In addition, the firm added Boyd School grad Bryce Loveland as an associate.
The coroner's jury found the Henderson police were justified in shooting and killing the ice cream truck-driving mother of two. (Review-Journal)
Exotic dancers at the Wild Orchid in Reno have received a $100,000 settlement from the city counsel resulting from an a warrantless raid on the club by police and the use of "massive and excessive" force. (Reno Gazette-Journal) Judge Sandoval has set the date in the Fernley flood case (Nevada Appeal)
Apparently courts do not appreciate a good prank because Judge Gibbons did not throw out a conviction against a 23 yr-old man who poured gasoline on someone’s leg and lit them on fire. (Nevada Appeal) [Why can’t people take a joke?]
Harmful Error reports that Judge Nicholas DelVecchio has filed a motion to stay judicial discipline proceedings pending resolution of a related civil action that was filed in the Eighth Judicial District Court.[credit to Harmful Error for its coverage]
Judge Del Vecchio's attorney fought back against the alleged victim, claiming the two had a consensual sexual relationship and a mentor-mentee relationship.Embattled Family Court Judge Nicholas Del Vecchio on Wednesday fired back at the woman who had accused him of sexually abusing her when she was a minor and later sexually harassing her as an adult, saying he tried to help the woman financially and was in love with her . . .
In a response filed Wednesday, Del Vecchio attorney Bruce Shapiro described his client's relationship with the woman, Rebeccah Murray, as consensual.
Del Vecchio hired Murray as his assistant because he wanted to help her with her legal career, the response states. It says their relationship grew beyond "just being friends" to the point where Del Vecchio wanted to marry her.
Um . . . the consensual argument for the relationship when she was in her 20s might work . . . maybe odd with her being the Judge's step-daughter (but no judgment, no judgment). But uh, Mr. Shapiro, your client is alleged to have taken naked pictures of the same woman when she was 14 yrs old, not to mention forcing her to give him fellatio around that same age.
How's the consensual argument going to work there?
Dethroned Miss Nevada USA, Katie Rees, agreed Wednesday to pay fines for five misdemeanor traffic violations in exchange for prosecutors dropping a charge of resisting arrest (AP)Former Clark Co. Commissioner Lynette Boggs has agreed to admit an "unwillful violation" of state ethics law in exchange for the state Ethics Commission agreeing not to fine her. (Review-Journal)
Question for the readers: do Vegas firms cut your billable hours?I think your "magic number" is a bit deceiving, albeit the only way you can boil these firms down to a number. The reason being that many firms strike hours, and count the strike against the associate. This affects the accuracy of the "billable hours" number.
Ladies and gentlemen, in this corner, weighing in at 80 attorneys, the wise old man of the desert--Vegas legal behemoth Lionel Sawyer & Collins (LSC). And in this corner, weighing in at 55 attorneys, the serious contender for Vegas' heavyweight of corporate litigation--Kummer Kaempfer Bonner Renshaw & Ferrario (KKBRF).But when the club’s progress moved too slowly for Adelson, he soured on the project, igniting the high-stakes legal battle that has pitted two politically connected Nevada law firms against each other — Lionel, Sawyer & Collins for Adelson and Kummer, Kaempfer, Bonner, Renshaw & Ferrario for the nightclub operators. The fight has erupted as the IRS is investigating other nightclubs on the Strip.And the legal battle has landed in Nevada District Judge Mark Denton's courtroom. There have already been restraining orders and injunctions issued against Adelson to allow the nightclub owners to continue construction.
U.S. District Judge Sandoval (Reno) set hearing dates in a courtroom packed with 18 lawyers for litigation over the failed irrigation canal and Fernley flooding (Nevada Appeal)
The Nevada Supreme Court held a public hearing on Monday to examine Public Defender claims that the District Court's method of determining the mental competency of defendants is broken. At the center of their complaints is how Judge Jackie Glass handles the "competency court".The Review-Journal reports:
Attorneys with the county public defender's office accused Glass of not allowing them to challenge her rulings. They also accused her of failing to provide full reports on their clients to them and of not allowing defense attorneys to contact doctors, among other charges.
"We saw that our clients' constitutional rights were being violated in a variety of ways," said Christy Craig, chief deputy public defender.She painted a picture of a system in crisis, where defense attorneys don't know who the doctors are who evaluate their clients and are provided only short summaries of doctors' reports. She also said Glass doesn't allow defense attorneys to bring in doctors of their choosing to make a competency evaluation.
Judge Glass responded to PD concerns at the Supreme Court hearing by noting that before Nevada's competency court began, criminal defendants languished in jail for months waiting to get a mental health evaluation.
No comment on this one. The Review-Journal might have wanted to ask the PDs if these annoymous competency doctors have done a good job. How can I have a knee jerk reaction to stories like this without more facts?!?
The memorabilia in O.J. case pt 2 has released a book about the robbery (Nevada Appeal). [I think it's called "If I did it (how I would have killed OJ's ex-wife)"--no wait . . . someone else wrote that book]
There have been rumors floating around for weeks that Dr. "Needles" Desai skipped town for India in order to avoid the numerous (and expensive) lawsuits filed against him from the Endoscopy Center Hep-C/HIV mess [and potential criminal prosecution].
In med-mal news, the Endoscopy doctors sent their lawyers to meet with the Las Vegas City Counsel. While it was a safe move, it guaranteed the clinic would get its license yanked, which it did, and cost the clinic $500,000 in fines. (Review-Journal) It was a highlight in a story so embarassing to Nevada that even the NY Times reported it. (NY Times)
City subpoenas have been sent out to Dr. "Needles" Desai and other Endoscopy physicians, but most subpoenaed witnesses are expected to skip today's hearing (Las Vegas Sun)
TOO BAD THE GALA EVENT slated for Piero's fine Italian restaurant had to be cancelled, or at least postponed. Someone apparently convinced attorney Noel Gage that it might invite some bad karma to hold a victory celebration even though he still faces a second prosecution for allegedly ripping off millions of dollars from his injured clients.Kudos to Mr. Knapp. We've long needed some decent reporting on the Gage trial--someone to clear out the PR crap. Even if the article is a little over the top, someone needs to point out that Gage is not a frontier hero fighting for the people, but an alleged crook who stole from clients who came to him for help.
Of course, if you have read any of Gage's press clippings in the
Review-Journal, you might think he's already won, instead of being on the bad
end of an 8-4 hung jury. . .
Fortunately for Gage, he hasn't spoken to anyone who might ask tough questions about the convenient fairy tales he has manufactured in any of his hard-hitting interviews . . . According to Gage, the U.S. attorney's office offered him a deal during the first trial, a deal that would require him to "testify falsely against other individuals." Just like the brave defender of justice he portrays in his TV ads, Gage says he told the feds to stick their offer where the sun doesn't shine.
Of course, Gage wasn't asked by the paper to defend his claim. He said it, and that was enough. Gage says there's no way he will ever plead guilty or accept a deal because he's completely innocent. Is this the same Gage who went to the government on his own and proposed an arrangement in which he would, in fact, plead guilty, so long as he would receive no fine or jail time or even have to pay back any of the millions he took from his clients? That Noel Gage? The guy who offered to plead guilty just a few weeks ago, so long as he got away with no punishment? Prosecutors had almost no interest in dealing with Gage, especially making a deal that would allow him to waltz off into the sunset with nary a wrist slap.
The family of an ice cream truck driver killed by Henderson police have filed suit (Review-Journal) 
A while back, I posted about the leased car benefits for the partners of Vegas' top sweatshop Thorndal Armstrong (magic number of 31--yikes!). Turns out, the sweet deal of having the firm pay for your car lease once you make partner may not be all that sweet by comparison: 