Friday Open Thread

Happy Friday everyone!

What a great week - barzam is over and the powers that be cut fees for electronic filing by 40%! It's like Christmas!

Enjoy your open thread!

Congratulations Bar Takers!

Three days, eight one-hour essays, two-hundred multiple choice questions and 1.5 hours of testing your ability to do what you actually do as a lawyer ... and it's over! Congratulations to those of you who made it through, and we'd love to hear the stories of those who didn't.

So, how did it go? Did anything interesting happen during the exam? What subjects were tested? If you took the exam this week, please leave us a comment. We want to hear all about it!

Question for the law mamas ...

We've had some (presumably) female readers inquire as to local firm's policies regarding maternity leave.

Now, before you all put on your meanie "get back in the kitchen" hats (and bring the wrath of Elle), let's try to help out our fellow counsel of the fairer sex who make the bold choice to propagate our species while trying to meet billables.

If you know, what is your firm's policy regarding paid and unpaid time off and other maternity benefits for associates?

Good Luck July Examinees!

Here we go again - time for Ma Bar to do her thing.

To those of you poor souls who will spend the next three days months doubting yourselves: Good Luck!

As for the rest of us, let's offer our soon-to-be-attorneys some advice on how to make it to 1:00 PM on Thursday. Tell your barzam war stories in the comments.

You Got Marcummed!

The comments (and the courthouse) were abuzz yesterday with a rumor that criminal defense attorney Jonathan MacArthur has been served with a Marcum notice - which informs an individual they are a target of a grand jury proceeding and gives them an opportunity to testify before the grand jury. Yes, we had to look that up.

We have no idea why MacArthur is being targeted ... oh, wait.

You may remember MacArthur as the attorney who got himself in a bit of hot water with the DA's office back in 2007 for posting on his MySpace page under personal interests: "Breaking my foot off in a prosecutor's ass ... and improving my ability to break my foot off in a prosecutor's ass."

Shockingly, that statement got MacArthur removed as a judge pro tem, a position which he defined like this: "Imagine a substitute teacher with a black choir robe and a disconcerting amount of authority."

Mr. Mac - if you're looking for an outlet for all that pent-up provocative legal wordery, we'd be happy to provide you a guest spot here at WWL. Don't waste that stuff on MySpace!

(LVRJ; Thanks Tipsters!)

Ewwwwwww!

Looks like weapons and faulty security cameras aren't the only things we have to worry about when visiting the RJC. A helpful tipster passed along this little gem:

From: Sommermeyer, Michael
Sent: Wednesday, July 21, 2010 2:40 PM
To: [redacted]
Cc: [redacted]
Subject: Health and Safety Alert

A case of whooping cough (pertussis) was suspected and identified today (7/21/2010) at the Regional Justice Center. Whooping cough is very contagious and can be spread quickly among individuals who have not been immunized against it. This email is not meant to cause panic, but to advise you of the symptoms of the disease so that you are better prepared. If you suspect you may be ill, contact a doctor immediately. Please share this information with anyone without access to the court email system.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), whooping cough is still very much a public health concern. Here is a list of sypmtoms and indications that the disease may be present:

Symptoms:
Once you become infected with whooping cough, it takes three to 12 days for signs and symptoms to appear. They're usually mild at first and resemble those of a common cold:

Runny nose
Nasal congestion
Sneezing
Red, watery eyes
A mild fever
Dry cough
After a week or two, signs and symptoms worsen. Severe and prolonged coughing attacks may:

Bring up thick phlegm
Provoke vomiting
Result in a red or blue face
Cause extreme fatigue
End with a high-pitched "whoop" sound during the next breath of air
However, many people — particularly infants, adolescents and adults — don't develop the characteristic whoop. Sometimes, a persistent hacking cough is the only sign that an adolescent or adult has whooping cough.

When to seek immediate medical care:

Call your doctor if prolonged coughing spells cause you or your child to:

Vomit
Turn red or blue
Inhale with a whooping sound

Michael Sommermeyer
Court Information Officer
SommermeyerM@clarkcountycourts.us

Sounds lovely. Just as an aside, you should probably give your doctor a ring if you turn blue, regardless of whether you've recently been in the RJC.

Think visiting the RJC will prevent attorneys from being able to donate blood?

(Thanks Tipster!)

Friday Open Thread

Happy Friday everyone!

Let's see if we can get through just one of these without a single mention of T.F. or BK Hottie ... think we can do it?

Family Court Towing Scheme?

Wrapping up WWL Family Court Week 2010, the RJ posted an interesting rumor about a possible tow for profit scheme by Family Court marshals. From the RJ post:

Concern is mounting in courthouse circles over reported questionable activity among Family Court marshals.

Word is that a large number of cars have been towed from Family Court’s parking lot since the first of the year. The figure bandied about is said to be astounding.

Some people at Family Court have overheard marshals bragging about the number of cars they can have towed on any given day.

And there’s even talk that some marshals might be profiting from the towing bonanza.

How about it, commenters? Anybody have experience with overzealous parking enforcement at Family Court. We know that Libo was able to get away with questionable parking a while back, have they stepped up enforcement recently?

(LVRJ; Thanks, Tipster!)

Sidebar: The Quest for the Bottom Feeders

Yesterday, an astute comment declared that the members of the family bar are bottom feeders.

Later in the day, I overheard a conversation in which someone stated that person was wrong and that CD defense attorneys are truly bottom feeders.

In response, another said that if you appear in Justice Court more than three times a year on a civil matter, you're a bottom feeder.

Here's your chance. The one you've all been waiting for. Which members of the bar are the true bottom feeder? Let's act like lawyers and give reasons for our bold assertions. A pox on the first person to mention Troy Fox.

You've Been Senior Judged!

Recently, I had a lunch with a few of my delta nu sisters from the world of family law. They had some tales to tell!

There is a growing dissatisfaction among the Family Bar with the Senior Judges.

Some of the complaints:

• Senior Judges from the civil bench who don't know a thing about family law have applied the wrong statutory standards and ignored controlling case law;
• The use of Senior Judges breaks up the importance of continuity (you know, the old "one family/one judge rule") in family law cases, including determining what is in the best interests of the child;
• Welcome Back! Once the Judge is back on the bench, here is a Motion to Reconsider;
• Boo! More legal fees for everyone involved because of the Motions to Reconsider; and
• Delays, delays, delays.

There are numerous judges in the Family Court who now refuse to use Senior Judges for the reasons listed above.

Have you had problems like these? Is this an issue for the civil and criminal bars too? Share your stories in the comments.

RJC Snitches Get Stitches

Apparently, the higher-ups didn't appreciate the RJ's recent article concerning flaws with the RJC security camera system. So, what's a whistleblower to do when the passive-aggressive emails start flying? Send the emails to the RJ, of course.

It all started when Chief District Judge T. Arthur Ritchie Jr. "chastised" Judge Susan Johnson - who chairs the courthouse security committee - for talking to the RJ about the camera issue:

"I assume you meant well, but you were specifically told that you were not authorized to address this issue for the court," Ritchie wrote. "I am disappointed that you would take it upon yourself to address this issue in this way. ... We will see whether your approach makes this better or worse for the court."

Uh oh. Chief Ritchie is "disappointed," but SJ wasn't about to take Ritchie's little lecture lying down:

Johnson responded that, "You never informed me I was not authorized to address this issue for the court. Your response was ... that you would 'handle this,' which you did not do. Further, while I respect your role as chief judge, you have no authority to instruct me or any district judge that he or she cannot speak to the media without your consent."

Snap! Beautiful and feisty - how bout them apples, Chief?

Next, Chief Justice of the Peace Ann Zimmerman jumped into the "Reply All" pool to defend her fellow Chief:

"I believe that your interview further compromised security at the RJC by exposing potential weaknesses to those who may wish to do harm to our judges and/or the public at the RJC," Zimmerman wrote [to Johnson]. "I believe you had good intentions, but the outcome is otherwise."

"[T]he outcome is otherwise?" That can't be right, can it?

Judge Doug Smith then decided to go ALL CAPS on everyone's ass:

"In the future, please do not disclose our safety to the newspapers. I don't feel comfortable with that disclosure."

When one judge [taking bets on who] responded with a simple "?", Smith wrote back in capital letters: "THIS IS IN REGARDS TO THE NEWSPAPER PERSON ALLOWED INTO OUR BACK OFFICES AND THE BAD PRESS WE RECEIVED. WHO APPROVED THE RELEASE(?)"

CALM DOWN DOUG. THE PUBLIC CLEARLY COULDN'T CARE LESS ABOUT JUDICIAL ELECTIONS - ANY PRESS IS YOUR FRIEND.

Judge Cadish also had some thoughts:

"I too was extremely disturbed to read in the paper about exactly what cameras around the courthouse don't have the view they should have because they're blocked by trees or otherwise out of position. I do think it can easily put us at risk."

By "us," Cadish of course meant all the employees and visitors in the RJC, right? She wasn't just talking about the robed ones who already have private security guards ... right?

SJ defended herself by noting that by speaking to the RJ she "in fact, made the story less negative than it would have been."

We look forward to the next email thread from the judges explaining how organizing a witch hunt instead of just fixing the security problem made the story more positive.

(LVRJ; Thanks Tipsters!)

Friday Open Thread

Happy Friday everyone!

Make fun of your friends who failed to pay their 2010 bar dues, or talk about whatever you want ... it's open.

District Attorney and NLV Courts Headed for a Showdown

On July 6, North Las Vegas justice court officials added a third morning criminal session on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, expecting Clark County DA David Roger to send a third prosecutor to handle the extra courtroom time. Roger, apparently, had different expectations. From the RJ:

Roger, struggling with the loss of dozens of positions because of the ongoing county budget crunch, decided to staff the three extra courtroom sessions with the two prosecutors currently assigned to North Las Vegas.

Chief Justice of the Peace Natalie Tyrrell did not like Roger's response, so she has "instructed Roger to staff all three courtrooms with a prosecutor beginning Aug. 3." This is where things get juicy, as Roger has publicly stated that he has no intention of sending an additional prosecutor:

"We have two attorneys there. We'll cover the third calendar when we get there," Roger said. "We are incredibly short-staffed. We have lost 60 positions over the last two years, and our caseload has not gone down."

Roger said he doesn't believe Tyrrell has the authority to order him to send another prosecutor to the North Las Vegas courts. He also said the dispute could be resolved easily if the justices of the peace considered some alternatives, such as holding the third session in the afternoon instead of the morning. That would allow him to more easily staff the extra sessions, he said.

Silly David Roger, don't you know that Clark County judges need to be at home in time to watch Judge Joe Brown in the afternoons? How are they supposed to hold court?

One of our tipsters seems to think that the NLV Judges aren't actually busy enough to hold a third calendar, but are in fact just attempting to "look busy for the public." Terri March, the administrator of North Las Vegas Justice Court, begs to differ:

"Our judges are in the best position to know and understand the community in which they live and serve," March said in a statement. "This decision was made in an effort to do everything possible to benefit and protect the citizens of North Las Vegas."

Our favorite quotes in the article come from Assistant District Attorney Chris Owens. The RJ published various snippets of letters written by Owens in this ongoing fight. This bit of prose brought tears to our eyes:

"It is obvious to most of us who have worked within this specialized community that there is an ominous consequence to unilateral action," he wrote.

"Rogue undertakings place an unfair and unnecessary strain upon the resources of sister institutions. The beneficiaries of these maverick endeavors are often the purveyors of crime, rather than the law-abiding citizenry."

"Ominous consequences?" "Unilateral actions?" "Rouge undertakings?" "Maverick endeavors?" We are still talking about the NLV justice courts, right? Does Owens moonlight as a presidential speechwriter?

How about it, commenters, any opinion one way or the other? Is the DA being unreasonable? Is NLV just trying to "look busy?" Either way, it should be interesting to see what happens on August 3rd.

(LVRJ; Thanks, Tipsters!)

Someone Needs To Coddle Cottle

An eagle-eyed reader noticed something interesting yesterday: Rob Cottle has been removed from the firm now known as Mainor Eglet's website. Seems like it was done in the dark of night; the firm was quick to scrub any evidence that Cottle ever existed.

Word is that he was forced out. If you have any further details, please enlighten us in the comments.

Friday Open Thread

Happy Friday everyone!

So, what's up?

Judgepedia

Have you heard of Judgepedia? Think Wikipedia, but with information about judges from around the country. There's a page for the Eighth Judicial District Court. There are a lot of empty pages, so if you have the scoop, contribute!

My personal favorite is for former judge Elizabeth Halverson. It's very thorough. There's even a You Tube video.

How To Avoid The RJC Security Cameras

The RJ published an article yesterday which claims "officials" have known about "flaws" in the RJC security camera system for more than six months, and have done little to fix the problem. From the article:

The Review-Journal saw camera obstructions outside firsthand from the 17-story courthouse's main control room operated by marshals.

As the marshals remotely panned two separate cameras mounted near the main entrance on the north side of the building, palm trees and other trees clearly were blocking several camera angles.

Just in case you had some wild delusion that you were safe inside the courthouse, the RJ went ahead and gave some fairly specific secret entry points for the RJC:

Cameras posted above a covered parking lot for judges across the street from the south side of the building encountered obstructions from the metal rooftops, making it nearly impossible, for the most part, to see anyone going in and out of their cars.

When the cameras were panned to a walkway leading to a private courthouse entrance, it was clear that the cameras would have a difficult time picking up anyone hiding in tall bushes near the walkway.

Just remember that the next time you get frustrated waiting with the great unwashed at the northern entrance metal detectors ... you are just a metal rooftop and some tall bushes away from the VIP entrance, Mr. Bond.

(LVRJ; Thanks, Tipster!)

Nye County Debacle Goes National

This may actually class up the story a bit, but the Wall Street Journal has picked up on the Nye County mess and written what is perhaps one of the greatest titles

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704103904575336661401293070.html

Vince Consul Dead at 57

The sad news of Vince Consul's death reached us over the weekend. Vince was a well respected attorney in the Las Vegas valley. At the time of his death, Vince was a partner at the Las Vegas office of Boies, Schiller & Flexner.

The RJ has a good online obituary for Vince which allows readers to leave comments. Since they are more likely to be read by the people that matter, we ask that you leave your condolences over there as well.

Please use this thread to discuss Vince's life and any positive encounters you had with him.

(LVRJ Obituary; LV Legal News)

The Heavy Hitters???

Rumor has it that at a charity golf event a few weeks ago, there was a fist fight between some of the attorneys from Glen Lerner's office and an opposing party (not attorneys). Does anyone know the details on this?

(Thanks for the tip!)

Friday Open Thread

Happy Friday everyone!

Enjoy your holiday weekend and be safe out there.

Negligencia Legal

The Nevada Supreme Court has issued an order temporarily suspending the license of Las Vegas bankruptcy attorney Jorge Sanchez, who abruptly shut down his office leaving approximately 400 cases unresolved. Here's a little background from his website:

Jorge L. Sanchez

· Practice Areas: Bankruptcy, Foreclosure Defense, Creditor Harassment

· Law School: Michigan State University – Cum Laude

· College: University of Nevada, Las Vegas

· Member: Nevada and Minnesota, United States District Court for the District of Nevada, National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, Clark County Bar Association, Latino Bar Association, National Association of Consumer Advocates

· Languages: Fluent Spanish

Cum Laude at Michigan State and a member of two bars? Very impressive, Mr. Sanchez, we're sure you'll make a fine attorney. Oh, wait. From the RJ:

The petition said Sanchez has filed 669 cases in Bankruptcy Court since August 2008 and is still listed as the counsel of record in at least 400 of them.

Sanchez acknowledged in the petition that he received a retainer of $1,500 to $2,500 for each of his cases but no longer has any of that money to refund to his clients.

Let's see: 669 * ($1,500 + $2,500)/2 = $1,338,000. Oh, we're sorry, Jorge. That fails the WWL bright-line rule for permanent disbarment. Thanks for playing, please leave your law license at the door. In your next life, be sure to steal less than your total law school tuition.

The Supremes also seem to have come up with a too-little, too-late solution for Jorge's clients:

The Supreme Court ordered that a trust account be set up to hold any future funds from Sanchez's clients and that he not be given access to that money.

Future funds from clients? Oh, they must mean from all those new clients he'll be taking on during his suspension. Got it.

(LVRJ; Thanks, Tipsters!)