PoPo Outside of Richard Harris' Office Last Week

Apparently a disgruntled client. Nobody was shot.

(Thanks, Tipster!)

Everybody Loves Rick?

According to his Tuesday facebook posting, local attorney Richard Harris "just got back from Toronto where he met with producers of a new reality show featuring our law firm. The Canadian film crew followed us in June as we worked and played."

Ideas for the name of the show?

We Have A Name ... And A Preview!

A helpful CBS employee tipped us in the comments to the name of the Cristalli & Saggese based upcoming "bromance" on CBS; it will be called "The Defenders," and here's a preview:

We have to say, we're intrigued ... and we'll be tuning in for at least one episode.

However, the more important question to us is: how does Rick Harris feel about the name of the show? Making this inquiry even more interesting is the fact that whoever wrote the blurb on CBS's site chose to use this phrasing:

Jim Belushi and Jerry O'Connell team up in this new drama about two Las Vegas lawyers who play by their own rules. Lawyer up - This Fall on CBS!

Not that Harris coined the term "Lawyer up" by any means ... but it is interesting, right?

(CBS; Thanks, Tipster!)

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)

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!)

Harris Strikes Again

We're not exactly sure how new/old this is, but we were tipped to the fact that Richard Harris (the highly-suspect winner of our Advertising Firm Poll) has expanded his empire with yet another easy-to-remember phone number.

This time Dick went for a super hero theme, simply calling his new group of soon-to-be-rich associates "The Defenders." We have to admit that the use of handcuffs and a key to represent the phone number, while completely unprofessional, is genius - give that marketing guy a raise.

Does anybody know (or care to guess) how much Harris paid for the number?

(thedefenders.net; Thanks, commenter)

The Tournament comes down to numbers: 444-4444 v. 666-6666

We've reached the end of the tournament road, ladies and gents. And your finalists are:

444-4444 (Richard Harris) (background here and history here) v.

666-6666 (the Harris firm's Ticket Busters) (background here and results here).

Many readers have objected that a Harris v. Harris entity final is a perversion of justice. For those readers, we suggest you sit back and enjoy this battle with the image of a corporate legal entity punching itself in the face with its left hand and socking itself in the gut with its right hand.

Other readers have raised allegations the two remaining firms only got here by stuffing the ballot box like a fatwah-issuing Persian president or a city counselor in Chicago. For the record, we weren't able to confirm any foul play, but we agree with the commentators that the number of votes in the Kenny v. Harris semi-final smells foul.

That said, most of the blog readers are lawyers and from what we hear, reputation is everything in this business. If competitors chose to cheat to win a blog poll, the Court of general opinion may brand the winner with a scarlet asterisk. We'll leave that in the hands of the people commentators.

Either way, this tournament has been "One Shining Moment" after another:

Chad GoLightly v. Richard Harris (3rd Round)--voting ends 7/30 at 5pm

Today: Chad Golightly v. . 444-4444 (Richard Harris)

In his first round match, Golightly stared down the competition, taking in 61% of the vote (background on G&A and first round results found here). Then, in the second round, he took down Mr. Sorrentino with 56% of the vote (second round results found here)

Meanwhile, Richard Harris dialed in a victory in the first round with 68% of the vote (background on the Harris firm and first round results found here). In the second round he took out immigration specialist Reza Athari (results found here)

Voting ends on July 30 at 5 p.m.

Reza Athari v. Richard Harris (poll closes 7/17 at 5 p.m.)

Today, it's the Immigration attorney not licensed in Nevada (Reza Athari) v. 444-4444 (Richard Harris)

In his first round match, Mr. Athari proved you don't have to be a Nevada attorney to win in this tournament, translating his marketing skill into 57% of the vote (background on Mr. Athari and first round results found here). Meanwhile, Richard Harris and his catchy phone number dialed in their victory with 68% of the vote (background on the Harris firm and first round results found here). Voting ends on July 17 at 5 p.m.

Richard Harris v. Michael Strange & Assoc. (Round 1 of Billboard/Television advertising firm poll)

Our first billboard/television advertising firm match-up in the first round puts old school Vegas powerhouse Richard Harris up against scrappy newcomer Michael Strange & Assoc. Let's get ready to rumble. (Vote at the top of the blog until 5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 23)

Here's some background on these contenders.

Richard Harris (examples of fake news story, PR videos available here):

Say what you will about old Dick Harris, but he has built himself one hell of a firm. A few years back, he purchased Ticket Busters from Adam Stokes, along with the 666-6666 phone number (reportedly paying millions for the privilege). He also seems to own approximately 75% of all the billboards in this town (and, in case you were wondering, that girl on the billboards is an "actor"). Harris has also shown himself to be quite the boss around Christmastime, reportedly taking his entire staff on a 5-day holiday cruise.

Harris has set up what seems like a great compensation package for his attorneys. Associate lawyers are paid 20% of the net fees to the firm on the first $1 million in fees received on cases during the calendar year. The commission increases to 25% of fees received between $1 and $1.5 million, and then again to 1/3 in excess of $1.5 million. Associates must bring in $30,000 in fees monthly to break even, and receive a $6,000/month draw against their commissions as a "base." In 2007 and 2008, individual associates earned between $250,000 and $750,000. Pretty nice salary, especially considering the lack of billable hours.

Michael Strange & Associates:
Michael Strange is one of the youngest faces in our tournament. And say what you want about this scrapper, but he's out there putting in the marketing hours in this tough economy.

We first found Mr. Strange advertising on craigslist (ads available here). He may not be the biggest advertising firm in the tournament, but given the number of craigslist posts, we think he may have the marketing endurance to go the distance against Richard Harris.

While we question whether a law firm should have "& Associates" in its name unless there are actual "associates" at the firm [from Mr. Strange's website, it would appear he is a solo practitioner], we think his DUI, family law and bankruptcy practice may be focused enough for Mr. Strange to be the Cinderella-story of this tournament.

What do you think readers?

Advertising 101

How do you promote a potentially tanking business model? You sex it up, of course. This is exactly what Ticket Busters (a.k.a. Richard Harris' mini-firm) has done. 

Available NOW at TB's front desk is a pinup-style calendar featuring scantily-clad photos of ... their employees (actual cover pictured at right). Apparently, Ticket Busters took the time honored "sex sells" slogan to heart, and started hiring out-of-work stripers to handle the complex legal work that accompanies getting traffic fines reduced shuffle papers.

We're unsure whether we want TB to succeed with this endeavor. After all, is anyone excited about the prospect of a "Girls of Lionel Sawyer" calendar coming down the pike? For those who would like to get their own copy of this filth, just pick up the phone and keep dialing the number of the beast ... sinners. 

(Thanks for the tip, Anonymous)