Sidebar: Welcome 2010

Another nice and easy Sidebar for your holiday season. We'll even make it a two part sidebar so that I can take the day off tomorrow.

1. What is everyone doing to celebrate New Year's Eve?
2. What are your New Year's resolutions?

Sidebar: Navarro's Nomination

Let's keep this one simple.

If we, the WWL readers, were confirming Navarro, would you vote for her or against her?

If you are voting against her, please tell us why and tell us who your alternate nominee would be. (Politics, gender, etc. do not matter in the world of Sidebars today.)

We Have A Winner ...

In an surprise move (at least according to the comments we've received) on Christmas Eve, President Obama nominated Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney Gloria Navarro to fill the federal district court seat left vacant by Brian Sandoval in September.

Navarro beat out Judge Cadish and other unknown candidates for the position. Congratulations, Judge Navarro, you are now untouchable. Our condolences to Judge Cadish, who would have surely won the spot if the decision were based upon the candidate with the best perm.

On a side note, Judge Navarro shares her name with the current Miss Cougar America. Coincidence?

(LV Sun)

Sidebar: Santa Baby

Yesterday, we aired our grievances and I was a big bad meanie with an unhealthy respect for classic comedy of the 90s. Chilling expression and everything. Since it's too hot in the gossip kitchen, I'd better turn it over to a man today.

Santa.

What's on your holiday wish list this year? I'm sure some of these responses will probably be cut and paste from the spam messages that I get. (i.e., Viagra cheap rolex lady pleasure.)

But let's give it a try anyway.

Sidebar: Happy Festivus

It is almost time for dinner on Festivus. That means that the time for the Airing of Grievances is near.

I'll start.

To the person who said I got a hydrocolonic for a bonus, I don't like you.

To the person(s) who request to see my tits on a regular basis - I'm pretty sure that you are law students who aren't getting any, but that sort of attitude is not going to serve you well in later life when I'm your boss and you can't stop staring at my perky bosom. You're going to get labeled the creepy associate and then I'll push for you to be fired. Me > You = I win. (And take note that no one ever asks Joe to whip it out. Show some class.)

To the commenters who are really obsessed with Miley. You have no shot regardless of if it works out with her and Eviler Ed. I am guessing that you are the same boob-fixaters that say things about me. There are lady lawyers and judges and it is about time to accept that some of us are really smoking hot.

To the commenters to who hate either LU or Shark Pimp - you do not like a little dose of reality, do you?

Wow. I feel a lot better. It's your turn now. Please take to the comments to air your grievances. I know, I know, I suck. Girls are dumb and have boobies and you want to see them, but they won't let you. People who are smarter than you make you uncomfortable. Get it all out! Happy Festivus for the rest of us!

Christmas Break

We will be posting sporadically through the next couple of weeks. News is slow, and we're trying to get off the naughty list.

Maybe we can convince Elle to post a couple of her Sidebars to keep us busy ... that is, if we can get her away from the "egg nog."

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and keep those tips (and Libo pictures) coming.

Christmas Party Report 2009

Thanks to your tips, here are the results of our 2009 Christmas party survey:

Firm	Location	Notes
Brownstein Hyatt	TI	Open bar (watch out for the crazies).
Marquis & Aurbach	LV Paiute Golf Resort	Bus service for the boozers.
Kaempfer Crowell	Dinner at Managing Partner's House	Open bar, party gifts, transportation for the boozers, Reno office flown in for the evening and put up at a hotel.
Santoro Driggs	Encore	Open bar.
Alverson Taylor	ATMS Basement	Party is at noon on Christmas Eve.
Mainor Eglet Cottle	Vacant Penthouse @ Queensridge Towers	Open bar.
Lewis Brisbois	No party, but no work on Christmas Eve.	+ 8.o Billable Hours
Richard Harris	No (Christmas) cruise this year.	Bunch of ingrates! Half the money spent on last year's cruise goes to charity.
Jones Vargas	No party for you!	Bah humbug.
Bowler Dixon	What else ... BOWLing.	Boulder Bowl in Boulder City ... unlimited food and bowling.
Bremer Whyte	Upscale bowling.	Red Rock VIP Lanes. We're calling this one our winner this year ... very cool. Congrats BWBO!
CPK	The Four Seasons	Open Bar, raffle for cash and vacations, we'd expect nothing less from the party king himself.

When in doubt ... bowl! Some firms got a little budget-creative this year, and we like it. We'd much rather hang out with our office mates at the lanes (where we're sure to embarrass ourselves) that attend some stuffy booze-fest where we have to worry about embarrassing ourselves. Good on ya to those firms that chose fun over fancy this year!

Murphy Gives Old Man Luck A Shove

The Binion murder predates WWL, so if you are new to the scene, you can catch up here. For those of you familiar with the story, hold on to your hats.

Not happy with simply getting away with murder, Sandy Murphy has gone ahead and sued the State for false imprisonment and malicious prosecution.

From the LV Sun:

In a lawsuit filed in Clark County District Court on Tuesday, Murphy claims she has been “rejected for numerous opportunities for employment for which she would otherwise be qualified” because she is considered a felon.

In the suit, she claims her lawyer failed to call a Nye County sheriff’s deputy who testified at a preliminary hearing on Aug. 23, 1999, to testify at trial — testimony she claims would have led jurors to a different verdict.

How exactly does Murphy's claim that her counsel screwed up have anything to do with the State maliciously prosecuting her? Are we missing something here?

(LV Sun)

Friday Open Thread

You want the open thread?!

You can't handle the open thread!

Sidebar: Hookin' Up The Help

Behind every great attorney is a great secretary administrative assistant. But what, in these down times, do you get for that special helper in your life when the holidays roll around?

Do you go with the scented candle, the bag-o-crackers, or the old standby: the gift card? If you do give a gift card, how much? Do you give anything at all? (First person to say their gift is "another year of employment" will be crowned WWL Douche-of-the-Day).

We want to know what all you big shots are giving to that special (hopefully) lady in your life. (No offense to you men, but really - if legal secretary is where you saw your career path heading, you should have made a U-turn a long time ago).

A Peek Under The Ticket-Busting Curtain

Las Vegas Business Press posted an interesting article featuring interviews with both Richard Harris and Adam Stokes (turn down the volume on your computer before you follow that Stokes link - trust us) regarding their respective ticket-busting endeavors.

According to the article, Justice Court collected $36 Million in ticket revenue in 2009. That doesn't include the revenue from Municipal Court, Henderson, North Las Vegas, etc. If you've ever wondered why we have so many ticket-busting firms - there's your answer.

Both attorneys were asked how they go about negotiating tickets for clients. Harris seems to take the more-citations-is-better approach:

"Many of these violations are in packages," Harris said. "Some motorists could be hit with several citations. They could include improper lane change, no insurance, signals -- I remember one client had seven. When we have this many, we can negotiate, and we do a good job."

Stokes, on the other hand, gave a very Stokesian answer:

"I'll go (before the judge) with a stack of 500 tickets and try to get the best deal I can for my clients," Stokes said. "If I can't, then I'll ask the judge to set all 500 cases for trial."

Riiiiiiiiight. Then the judge schedules him to return for a calendar call on April 1, 2035. This is why you never want to be in line behind Stokes on Attorney Day.

Although he refused to be interviewed, LVBP also has some interesting information about Kirk Hemlick, the owner of Ticket Terminators (you know - big cop, pink building ... "You don't want to see me in court!"). Perhaps the most interesting thing about Hemlick (to us, anyway) is that he is not an attorney.

But wait, you say, how can Hemlick own a ticket-busting firm and share profits with the attorneys he "employs" without possessing a bar number? We have no clue. If any of you know how Hemlick has managed to structure his business around NRPC 5.4, please enlighten us in the comments.

(Las Vegas Business Press)

Baking Delicious Cookies Is Not A Bad Act

As Nevada residents, there are various things you have to learn to live with. Water restrictions, only having two seasons, and a sever severe lack of published case law due to the absence of an intermediate appellate court, to name a few. As for that last one, the opinions we do get are often sometimes unclear. This week's example came to us via email from a helpful tipster.

The Nevada Supreme Court recently issued two advance opinions: Fields v. State (1) and Fields v. State (2).

Both cases involved the same issue: Should prior bad acts be admitted as relevant to show a common plan or scheme. One case was against the husband, John Vernon Fields, and was decided en banc by the entire Court. The other case was against the wife, Linda Fields, and was decided by a 3 judge panel of Cherry, Saitta and Gibbons.

The bad acts in both cases were the same, the acts were committed by the couple. In the case against the wife, the three judge panel decided that the bad acts should not be admitted. In the case against the husband, the en banc court decided that the acts should be admitted. So we have conflicting decisions by the Supreme Court. Oh, and the fact that both cases are captioned "Fields v. State" should make for some confusing criminal briefs in the future.

But here's the interesting part: Judges Cherry and Saitta dissented from the en banc decision because they believed the bad acts should not be admitted, which conformed to their decision in the wife's case. Judge Gibbons, however, did not dissent and agreed with the majority that the bad acts should be admitted ... which is contrary to his decision in the wife's case.

Any of you criminal-types or appellate mavens care to explain these seemingly conflicting decisions? What about Gibbons apparent flip-flop? And, perhaps more importantly, what is the current state of the admissibility of bad acts to show a common plan or scheme in Nevada?

(Thanks, Tipster!)

Friday Open Thread

Deck the halls with boughs of open thread.

Fa la la la la, past threads here.

Welcome Back, Friend

Oh Liz, how we've missed you!

In what hopefully closes out the final chapter in this embarrassment of a story, the RJ is reporting that Halverson's former JEA, Ileen Spoor, won a $50,000 judgment on Tuesday in the defamation case she filed against the calorically-challenged former judge.

Halverson has been representing herself since January after two law firms she hired were allowed to withdraw as counsel because they weren't being paid. Her most recent action was to file a Notice of Appeal ... prior to the entry of judgment. We know ... shocking that she isn't familiar with procedural court rules.

The RJ reports that it is "unclear whether Halverson will pay the award." We'd love to see Spoor slap a lien on that souped-up scooter.

(LVRJ; Above The Law)

Sidebar: Benefits

I've gotten so many emails wondering where I've been. Oh wait, I've gotten none. Dear readers, our time together isn't over. In fact, it's just beginning.

It's the end of the year. According to most, the end of the decade. Although, I'm pretty sure that I learned on Jeopardy! once that the new decade won't start until 2011. We've been in a nasty recession and the legal industry has been hit hard. Layoff watch. Unemployment. Salary cuts. Canceled Holiday Parties.

Have your other benefits been changed at all for the upcoming year? Has your health insurance changed? Firm-sponsored life insurance? 401(k) matches? Fewer lunches on the company dime? What other cuts are you facing? Are there any other little things that your firm has done to cut costs?

Charges Against Krolicki Dismissed

It looks like Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto needs to brush up on her legal writing skills (or fire a deputy).

Judge Valerie Adair issued an Order granting Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki's Motion to Dismiss the Indictment against him on Monday. Adair essentially ruled that the State failed to sufficiently plead the basis for the charges against Krolicki, or, as our tipster called it: "Legal Writing 101."

Krolicki was charged with two felony counts of misappropriation and falsification of accounts by a public officer, and two felony counts of misappropriation by a treasurer. Kathryn Besser, as his chief of staff, was charged with aiding and abetting Krolicki’s alleged crimes. Adair's decision comes more than a year after Krolicki was initially indicted.

Krolicki recently (wisely) rejected an opportunity to disqualify the AG from his criminal prosecution after it was disclosed that Cortez Masto's husband was holding a fund-raiser for one of Krolicki’s political opponents.

While Adair denied the State's request to file an Amended Indictment, the charges were dismissed without prejudice - so the State could still seek a new Indictment from the grand jury. Perhaps the State should let Dominic handle the case if they do decide to re-file.

(LV Sun; LVRJ; Thanks, Tipster)

2009 Holiday Party (Preliminary) Report

From ballrooms full of booze to ... bowling? Needless to say, it looks like this year's holiday parties are going to be a bit more low key. Not that there's anything wrong with bowling (we actually prefer it to the black and white schmooze-fests of yore), it's just in stark contrast to last year's poll.

According to the tips we received so far, Bowler, Dixon & Twitchell; Bremer, Whyte, Brown & O'Meara; and some Unnamed Business Litigation Firm have all opted to shed the open bar and grand ambiance of the strip to play a little 10-pin.

Perhaps the greatest contrast, however, comes from last year's winner: Richard Harris. Last year Rick paid for all of his staff and significant others to go on a 5-day cruise. Pretty sweet, and very generous.

Well, it seems that Rick thinks his employees are a bunch of ingrates. According to our tipster, this year the firm has opted to donate half the money spent on last year's vacation to a charity voted on by the employees. Wonder if it will be The Human Fund?

The reason cited for the lump of coal in employee's stockings: Lack of appreciation for last year's event. Ouch!

Keep the tips coming in, we still haven't heard from the majority of our larger firms. Brownstein, Marquis, Santoro, ATMS, LSC, Lewis Brisbois and the firm formerly known as Kummer Kaempfer ... where are your parties this year? Also, does anyone know how our Billboard Firms are celebrating the holidays?

(Thanks, tipsters!)

Friday Open(ish) Thread: Holiday Party Edition

In lieu of an open thread this week, we wanted to get a feel for how the holiday parties were shaping up this year. You reported last year that things were still looking okay, even with the economic downturn on the horizon.

We're wondering where (if anywhere) the Richard Harris cruise is heading this year, and if the other larger firms are still catering booze-fests at swanky hotels. Is ATMS still holding a basement-shindig on Christmas eve?

Let us know what your firm's party plans are ... results will be posted next week.

WWL Mailbag: Brownstein Hyatt On Lockdown?

Given our current economic climate, it's not surprising that some firms may be a bit touchy when it comes to letting people go. After all, it's not as if a laid-off associate has many options available to them, and they may get a bit touchy about being thrown out on the street.

If the following rumor is true, however, we're going to need some details. We received the following tip yesterday:

Our [redacted] just visited Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck to [redacted]. He tried to take the elevator to the 16th floor, but the elevator would not allow him to do so until he checked in with security. He spoke to one of the secretaries there who informed him that a few employees have been laid off and they supposedly "got violent" while leaving. So now everybody has to check in with security before accessing Brownstein because of the lockdown. But that's just the word on the street...

Indeed. Did BHFS recently do a round of layoffs, or was this rumored policy instituted when that supposed "lone associate" got cut back in April? Anyone from BHFS care to confirm, deny, or define "got violent?"

Oh, damn ... please tell us this won't affect our access to Jason's Deli! Where will we get our Po'boys?!

(Thanks, Tipster!)

UPDATE: Well, BHFS is in "lockdown" mode, but it isn't because of disgruntled employees. Apparently, the increased security is due to threats one of their attorneys received in relation to a case. Thanks for the clarification, Karen.

Valley Layoff Watch: Have We Bottomed Out?

An interesting conversation in the comments caught our eye yesterday, and we wanted to see what you guys & gals thought. It started as follows:

This is a bit off topic, but . . . A recruiter from Ballard Spahr has contacted most of the associates in my firm's litigation department regarding openings. We have also been contacted by local recruiters for positions at unnamed firms. I also understand that Gordon & Silver is actively recruiting.

We are a bit surprised - our litigation department has been busy but we are still hearing that the economy is making things tight.

Any thoughts on the expansion by these firms? Is the economy turning around? Are any other firms actively looking for laterals?

Then, our local Shark Pimp (and past WWL contributor), Jordan Ross, weighed in with his analysis:

I think the best and most cautious way to describe the state of the legal economy in Las Vegas is that it has bottomed out. There are some definite signs of improvement; I'm currently looking for a Commercial Litigator, a Insurance Defense Litigator and a couple of IP attorneys, among others. By the way, the people in your firm were probably contacted by an outside recruiter; it's almost unheard of for an in house recruiter to solicit non-equity attorneys. Budgets are still very tight right now and any potential new hire has to pencil out well into the black, but yes, I think we are starting to see some improvement. For myself, this is shaping up to be an oddly lucrative year.

Let's do a little impromptu poll regarding our current legal job market. From where you currently-employed commenters sit at your various firms, do things seem to be looking up? Or, possibly, are we seeing the calm before a post-holiday storm?

Amador Gets All Thuggy

Turns out the rumors were true. Attorney Michael Amador pulled a gun on two men in the parking lot of a PT's pub on Thanksgiving morning and got himself beat up and arrested.

According to the police report, Amador followed three men out of the bar, apparently believing that one of them had taken $200 off a pool table. Amador pulled a gun from his waistband (he has had a CCW) and hit the rear window of a vehicle one of the men got into, shattering it.

The weapon Amador pulled was an FN 57, coincidentally the same weapon used in the Fort Hood massacre (see yesterday's comments for a discussion regarding whether or not this particular type of gun constitutes a "cannon").

At one point, Amador pointed the gun at the two remaining men. The two men then tackled Amador and wrestled the gun away from him, doing enough damage in the process that Amador had to be treated at Sunrise Hospital before being taken to Clark County Detention Center.

On an interesting side note, the bartender who was on duty at PT's that morning is one of Amador's clients in a pending case.

Amador is facing two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and injury to the property of another. According to LV Now, he is facing up to 12 years in prison if convicted.

(Amador's Website; LV Now Story, Video; LV Sun)