Friday Open Thread

Happy Friday everyone!

Whadya say we visit our law school friends this week ... see you all at 6:30 at the Freakin' Frog!

Rumor has it that today is Pisanelli and Bice's last day at BHFS ... so you know they'll be there!

UMC Leak Allegedly Plugged

A Federal Grand Jury has indicted 54-year-old Richard Charette on one count of conspiracy to disclose personal health information in violation of HIPPA.

Charette, a UMC volunteer, is alleged to have paid "about $8,000" to a trauma unit employee for confidential patient records, and then used the information to solicit clients for personal injury lawyers. If convicted, Charette faces a sentence of up to five years in prison.

Previous WWL posts about this story are available here and here.

Our State Bar is also investigating attorneys possibly involved in this matter, from the RJ:

"Our inquiry is ongoing and, in fact, was initiated before the indictment was handed up," Assistant Bar Counsel Phil Pattee wrote in an e-mail Wednesday. "The State Bar's investigation has not been in conjunction with the apparent federal probe. Because the State Bar's investigation, pursuant to Supreme Court Rules, remains confidential, the Office of Bar Counsel cannot provide further information at this time, including the identity of any attorney who might be involved."

Translation: "We got nothing."

(LVRJ)

Thoughts on the Proposed Appellate Court

There's a lot of buzz concerning the ballot initiative that would allegedly give the Nevada legal world what it so badly needs: an intermediate appellate court. Our local lawyer factory has directed students in a Community Law class to do some legwork and "educate" the public on the proposal.

While we admit that an appellate court is definitely in the top five of things we feel this legal community needs, we're not so sure that this is the right way to do it after reading the available materials. Mostly, this graphic scares us:

Do you see anything wrong with that picture? Our main concern (and something that's not addressed in any of the UNLV materials) is what happens in "Star Land."

Why not set the court up like a "normal" court of appeals, with the Supreme Court only reviewing those cases whose parties petition for certiorari after going through the appellate "filter?" Seems to be a system that works in the majority of other jurisdictions, as well as our federal system.

If it's a budgetary matter, do we really want to half-ass an appellate court just so we can say we have one? Are the three proposed appellate judges really going to make that big of a dent in the Supremes' caseload, which is currently triple the ABA "recommend"case load? How is this system going to produce more published case law?

We're interested in your thoughts. We agree that we need an appellate court, badly. We're just wondering whether this is the correct way to do it. What do you think? And if you know, please explain to us what exactly happens when a case reaches "Star Land."

(BSL Info Page; Legislative Proposal)

Bankruptcy by the Numbers

A helpful tipster sent us the link to a report put out by "722 Redemption Funding, Inc.," a company that does redemptions under Section 722 of the bankruptcy code. You know, Section 722? (We have no idea.)

Anyhoo ... the report, which listed attorneys by state and number of cases filed, included some interesting information about our local BK superstars. Let's not get too excited about that economic turnaround just yet, here are the top 5 bankruptcy attorneys in Nevada in terms of the number of Chapter 7 bankruptcies filed from January 2010 through March 2010:

1. Anthony Deluca (498 cases)
2. Frank Sorrentino (302 cases)
3. Lisa Garofalo (260 cases)
4. Randolph Goldberg (236 cases)
5. Christine Stokes (174 cases)

It looks like Deluca is having no trouble filling the tank of that Lamborghini, and old man Sorrentino still has it. And lookie there, Mr. Rule 11 came in at number 4 ... ethical violations be damned.

On a side note, are those numbers positively terrifying to anyone else?

(722 Redemption Report - Scroll down to page 108 for NV)

Friday Open Thread

Happy Friday!

It's been great partying with you guys over the past couple weeks. This week, we're going to class it up a bit. See you all at Triple George for cocktails and steaks at 6.

Superhuman Attorney Angry At Board's Ruing

A panel of Metro department personnel and civilians has concluded that Officer David Gilbert was justified in Tasing local attorney Raymond James Duensing then shooting him three times after a traffic stop got a little out of hand back in November of 2009.

Duensing, who is represented by attorney Mace Yampolsky, still faces several felony counts in connection with the incident. Mace argued that the Officer Gilbert should have used pepper spray instead of the Taser. (Not really)

From the RJ:

Police said Duensing was Tased after his vehicle was stopped . They said he was shot after he reached toward his front right pocket for a .45-caliber handgun. Police also said Duensing reached for a folding knife.

Yampolsky said he is stunned that his client, who three times unsuccessfully ran for Congress on the Libertarian ticket against Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley, was shot after a traffic stop.

"He's a practicing lawyer who committed a traffic offense," Yampolsky said.

Yampolsky denies Duensing ever reached for a weapon while fleeing from police.

"According to my client, he did not," Yampolsky said.

In our opinion, it's never a good sign when you have to start a sentence with "according to my client ... "

If you recall the story, Ray claimed that he was able to remove the Taser barbs from his chest with his bare hands, fearing that the shock may affect his heart condition. That's hard to believe:

It's difficult to tell from that photo, but Ray doesn't look like he's in better shape than Mr. Cage Fighter who's writhing in the fetal position up there. We're going to need to see him pull off this feat in person before we're convinced.

(LVRJ)

Awand Gets Four Years ... For Tax Evasion?

While some may have seen Howard Awand's plea deal as a swing-and-a-miss for U.S. attorneys, the tax man was there all along batting cleanup. (Sorry, it's baseball season)

Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Kent Dawson sentenced Awand to four years in prison, and his wife Linda to three years, for willful failure to pay roughly $2.5 million in back taxes.

From the LV Sun:

Howard Awand, 65, of Vevay, Ind., and Linda Awand, 61, of Stowe, Vt., owned Nevada Medical Consultants. The company was taxed as a partnership and the couple was responsible for reporting their share of Nevada Medical's income on their joint personal tax returns.

They reported taxable income of $8.1 million from 2001 through 2004 and owed $2.6 million in taxes. But they paid only $30,000 and only after they discovered they were under investigation by the IRS.

Howard Awand also testified at trial that he falsely told people that he served in Vietnam and in the CIA in order to drum up business for the medical consulting company.

Ah, the ole' fake Vietnam vet story to drum up business for the medical consulting business you're not paying taxes on. Very sneaky, Mr. Awand. We're sure your new cellmate will love to hear all of your stories.

The tax case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven Myhre and Kathryn Newman. Awand still faces sentencing for his role in the Medical Mafia debacle on June 25.

(LV Sun)

Bad Goldberg

Our old friend Randolph Goldberg is back in hot water; he's being sanctioned, yet again, by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Bruce A. Markell.

This time the allegation is that Goldberg (or a member of his staff) impersonated clients and completed an online credit counseling program on their behalf. Goldberg then filed a Chapter 13 petition for the clients, attaching the "forged" certificates as proof of their completion of the program.

BAM did not take kindly to these antics; the judge has referred Goldberg's case to the U.S. attorney for possible criminal prosecution for forgery, and to the State Bar for a stern talking to and the possibility of wrist-slappery.

The State Bar has ten complaints currently pending against Randy G. His response to JAM's request for comment appears to be consistent with his level of legal prowess:

Asked for comment for this column, Goldberg, in five rambling e-mails, wrote he might appeal Markell's ruling, calling it "biased and with no fact but his gut and hatred for me."

(LVRJ - Jane Ann Morrison; Thanks Tipsters!)

Friday Open Thread

Happy Friday everyone!

See you all at 5:30 tonight for the friends of WWL toast at Hennessey's Tavern. Don't be late!

Tidbits

• Remember that lady who grabbed and shoved a 3-year-old child for kicking the back of her seat on a Southwest Airlines flight last week? Yeah, she's one of ours. (FOX Phoenix; LV Now)


• Our fantasy of having fantasies of a judicial ménage à trois has been crushed; our Supremes shot down Amber Candelaria's appeal. Think she'll take it up with SCOTUS? (LV Now)


• Rumors are swirling that James Pisanelli and the "polarizing" Todd Bice may be leaving BHFS to start their own firm.


• Our State Bar is "investigating" attorney Jacob Hafter, who happens to be a member of the State Bar's Southern Nevada Disciplinary Panel, for allegedly false comments he made regarding the possibility that Catherine Cortez Masto was being "investigated" by the State Bar. So cute how the RJ thinks our bar is capable of placing someone in the "hot seat." Lukewarm seat, maybe. (LVRJ)

Boyd Holds Steady In USNWR Rankings

The USNWR rankings have leaked, and our local lawyer factory is holding steady at number 78 - still comfortably in the second tier, but down slightly from last year's 75.

Impressively, Boyd currently has the fourth best legal writing program in the nation, and the tenth best dispute resolution program. Boyd's part-time program came in at 21 out of the 50 schools ranked.

Boyd also made the list of the most diverse law schools, with Asian-Americans making up the bulk of their minority population at 10%.

Boyd's 25th-75th percentile GPA was 3.18-3.66, and their LSAT was 155-160. The 2009 acceptance rate was 22%, and the student/faculty ratio was 16.8/1.

Boyd reported 86.7% of grads employed at graduation, with 97.8% employed nine months after graduation. Bar passage was reported at 81.5%, with the overall passage rate for the Nevada bar being 77%.

All in all, we'd say it's a pretty good showing. Congrats, BSL!

(The Bright Coast)

Endoscopy Suit Becomes About Buying In Bulk

Jury selection began yesterday in the first trial for the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada and its sister clinics. Robert Eglet of Mainor Eglet Cottle and Will Kemp of Kemp, Jones & Coulthard are representing plaintiffs, with James Olson of Olson, Cannon, Gormley & Desruisseaux representing the biggest remaining defendant, Teva Pharmaceuticals. The robed one is District Court Judge Jessie Walsh.

Plaintiffs seem to have found the deep pockets in this case; they are pursuing Teva Pharmaceuticals, an Israel-based company who posted $13.9 billion in revenue last year, under the theory that Teva sold the anesthetic Propofol in bottles containing five times the amount needed for a single colonoscopy. Plaintiff's theory is that the extra amount of anesthetic in the bottles induced the Endoscopy clinic staff to reuse the bottles rather than waste the medicine.

Those crazy doctors, always looking for ways to save patients money. But really, can selling in bulk subject a manufacturer to liability? Guess we'll find out soon; opening statements are set for April 19th, and the trial is expected to last four weeks.

(LVRJ; Case No. A571172)

Eye of "El Tigre"

Turns out that you can't skirt the rules of professional responsibility by advertising in another language. Who knew?

Anthony "Tony the Tiger" Lopez Jr. ran a 10-second Spanish advertisement on two radio stations in Las Vegas and one in Reno which stated: "If you have had an auto accident, by law you have the right to receive at least $15,000 for your case."

Yeah, that's NRS 15,000(4)(b)(S), right?

Tony the Tiger argued that the commercial was intended to inform the public of the minimum insurance requirements for automobile drivers. Seriously. That's the best he could come up with. As an attorney.

The State Bar's disciplinary panel got a little creative with Mr. the Tiger's "punishment." The panel decided that since Tony spent $19,500 promoting the misleading ad, he must now spend the same amount on a public service announcement that actually does inform the public of the $15,000 minimum auto insurance limits in Nevada.

While we're proud of the panel for thinking outside the box, we don't really see how the punishment helps remedy the violation, and no suspension was imposed despite Mr. the Tiger having a previous public reprimand on his record from 2003. Maybe the panel was all punished-out after Ms. Winkler's lifetime disbarment.

(LVRJ; Thanks, Tipsters!)

Friday Open Thread

Happy Friday everyone!

See you all at 5:30 for the Class of '97 BarBri reunion at Double Down Saloon!

Nye County Spelling Bee

http://www.pahrumpvalleytimes.com/2010/Apr-07-Wed-2010/news/35201826.html

Gibbons Bypasses Masto

After his current counsel refused to follow his instructions, Governor Gibbons decided to find somebody who would.

Mark Hutchison of Hutchison & Steffen (approximately one year after he won the largest plaintiff's verdict in Nevada history) will take the reigns from the AG and sue to stop the recently passed health care legislation on behalf of the State of Nevada.

Hutchison and Governor Gibbons appeared on "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren" last night, where Hutchinson said that he would be handling the suit pro bono. Hutch had this to say regarding challenging the law under the commerce clause:

The commerce clause is the basis that Congress passed this legislation, particularly the individual mandate, which for the first time in United States history requires U.S. citizens to purchase a service or good in order to maintain their good standing with the United States government. Otherwise, they're going to get chased down by one of these 16,000 IRS agents, and that's unprecedented. And the justification is the commerce clause. So the court will decide whether or not the commerce clause can be stretched that far.

Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto is reportedly looking at options to stop the suit, possibly seeking an injunction against the Governor pursuing the suit without her approval. Masto's concerns are solely legal in nature. You know, Rule 11 and such. Absolutely no politics going on here. Nope.

*Thanks to the helpful Tipster who politely pointed out that we have been spelling Mr. Hutchison's name incorrectly.

(Fox News)

Winkler Disbarred For Life

Let this be a lesson to you young attorneys - if you steal more than $260,000 from your client trust account, you will be disbarred for life. Less than $260,000? Well, that remains to be seen.

The State Bar disciplinary panel took less than one hour to deliberate Jeanne Winkler's fate, and unanimously recommended that she be disbarred for life. The panel consisted of attorneys Tom Ryan, Robert Schumacher, and Lary Lamoreux and "lay member" Carrie Taylor.

During his closing argument, bar counsel Rob Bare had this to say about the responsibilities of attorneys:

"A law license is a license of trust. We as attorneys have to be held to a higher standard or else the public loses faith in us. We are the guardians of the justice system."

Well said, Mr. Bare. Now let's tattoo that quote on the forearm of every member of the disciplinary committee and maybe we can start to earn back a little more of the public's faith.

The Supremes have to sign off on the panel's decision before it becomes final.

(LVRJ)

Villani Declares Mistrial in UMC Case

After two weeks and 16 testifying witnesses, Judge Michael Villani declared a mistrial in the case of former UMC chief Lacy Thomas (pictured) because Las Vegas police failed to turn over hundreds of pages of potential evidence.

Judge Villani ruled that Thomas' defense was harmed when detectives withheld 577 pages of documents, most of which were minutes from weekly meetings that ACS Healthcare Services employees held with UMC department heads and executives. Villani felt that the documents could lead to other witnesses or evidence to help Thomas defend himself.

One of the prosecutors on the case, Scott Mitchell, argued that the documents were irrelevant because the criminal charges related only to the ACS contract terms, such as a lack of a termination clause, being unfavorable to UMC, not whether ACS did any work toward improving patient bill collections.

Villani said he found no wrongdoing by police or prosecutors in the incident, but that the potential damage to Thomas' defense could not be ignored. Thomas is represented by Attorney Dan Albregts.

Villani will meet with Albregts and prosecutors next week to reschedule the trial for later this year.

(LVRJ)

Friday Open Thread

Happy Friday everyone!

Here are a some updates to recent posts:

Hottie McCandidate gets her appeal fast-tracked.

Masto to Gibbons: You can't make me!

No luck for Señior Psychopath in separating his running over a transsexual prostitute charge from his chopping his girlfriend into little bits charge.

Fake Tea Party candidate avoids arrest, but his financial troubles are just beginning.