Any Publicity Is Good Publicity ...

Seems our friends in the pink building made themselves an enemy. A helpful tipster sent us the following photo of a sticker on a gas pump at a local 7-11:

Way to take a stand Anonymous Sticker Dude!

Anyone know the background on this? We wonder if it's "John," the author of this ripoffreport.com diatribe.

(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)

Vegas Lawyer Advertising Hits a New Low: T&A as a marketing gimmick

Really, Mark Coburn? Really?

Your "T&A" attorney billboard may have actually found a way to bring Vegas law to a new low. Well done.

[thanks to S for the tip]

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:

Ticket Busters v. Christensen Law--Round One continues (poll ends 7/3/09 at 5 p.m.)

Ticket Busters
Sure, everyone knows that Ticket Busters is just Richard Harris' firm in disguise. But the firm's billboard presence is so huge that Ticket Busters got its own slot in the tournament.

Ticket Busters may be the best example of the comedy and success of Vegas billboard/television firms. Everyone in town makes fun of TB because its public face is a cartoon police officer. At the same time, the owners of the firm have plenty of cash to roll in to deal with public derision. The biggest complaint clients seem to have with TB is that clients "could have done it themselves". (RJ Eforums). But what firm hasn't had to listen to an ungrateful client claim he could have represtented himself? Plus, how many other firms have a Facebook page so people can become a fan?

They even have ridiculous cartoon commercials:



Christensen Law
What's the key to standing out in the Vegas billboard/television crowd? Get yourself a good phone number and web address. Christensen Law has got this strategy down pat with the number 702-HELPNOW and the website injuryhelpnow.com.

Vegas has some of the worst drivers in the country. That's why an easy to remember phone number helps. When driving along the 215 while drinking coffee, smoking a cigarette, texting and changing the radio station, Vegas drivers need a catchy number to remember.

Other than the smart choice in phone numbers, Christensen Law has remained under the radar. No real scandals or embarrassing personalities. We'll leave it to you readers to decide whether that's a plus or a minus.

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)

The End Of An Era

It has been a rough couple of months for ticket-busting firms. We suppose that it was only a matter of time, but Craig P. Kenny (who is, perhaps, the most photogenic man alive) has officially put the kibosh on his free ticket-fixing service.

CPK apparently used the free service as a form of advertising, hitting up "clients" for quid pro quo referrals after taking care of their tickets. We're sure that some people were abusing the system, but it was great while it lasted. The sad news from CPK's website:

Q: Is there a charge for you to represent me for my ticket?
A: Yes, we now charge a $50 administrative fee for each basic moving violation citation we handle. Please note that fees will be higher for criminal violations.

Granted, $50 still (likely) makes him the cheapest option in town, but it's not as good as free. It looks like the general public is going to have to start befriending attorneys if they want their tickets fixed gratis. Perish the thought!

Anyone In The Market To Buy A Pink House?

Could this be the end of the line for Las Vegas "ticket busting" law firms? Rumor has it that our new Chief Judge, T. Arthur Ritchie, Jr. Ann Zimmerman, will be raising the attorney traffic rates for Justice Court to be more in line with the (grab your ankles) Municipal Court rates. The rumor goes on to say that Judge Ritchie Zimmerman is also looking to make sure that everyone gets traffic school and/or points, whether or not they have an attorney.  It is additionally rumored that the Judge has voluntarily placed a governor on his her own vehicle, capping the speed at 35 mph, just to show how serious he she is about speeding. (OK, we made that last part up)

Apparently, Judge Ritchie Zimmerman isn't too keen on the idea of law firms in town making money off of speeders. We feel it is certainly a bold move ... one which will virtually assure that his her stint as Chief Judge will be a one-term deal. After all, for more than a few firms here in town, traffic tickets are their bread and butter, and we can't see how this move will win him her over with voters, of whom many take advantage of the fact that they can avoid points by using an attorney.

What say you, commenters? Is it fair that attorneys get special treatment when it comes to traffic fines? Is it too pretentious to use both a first initial and the surname suffix "Jr." in your name? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Edit: Judge Ritchie has nothing to do with Justice Court, the call is coming down from Judge Zimmerman. As the kids say: our bad. You may, however, continue to discuss the pretentiousness of Judge Ritchie's name, if you wish.

You're Welcome.

Who said amnesty programs with stupid names don't work? The "Pay the Ticket, Avoid the Click-it" program just reeled in the biggest fish of all (thanks, of course, to our post).  David Drum, the man who owed $20,057 in traffic fines turned himself in on Tuesday. From the RJ:

[Drum] said he got caught up in a vicious cycle where he would get ticketed for driving on a suspended license then would lose his license. He said the violations, especially those over $1,000, add up fast. But Drum didn’t give detailed explanations on why he let his tickets lapse.

We're not so sure accumulating traffic tickets qualifies as a "vicious cycle," but whatever. Drum said he turned himself in because he just wanted to "get this past," but we all know that with the extreme notoriety he gained by being associated with WWL, it was only a matter of time. You're next, Marco Manzy!

(RJ)

Justice Court's Most Wanted

lvcourtsblog has an interesting post about the effectiveness of the traffic ticket amnesty program currently ongoing in Las Vegas Township Justice Court. The "Pay the Ticket, Avoid the Click-it" [groan] program has improved the number of people paying past due traffic tickets by 15 percent since the campaign began November 17, 2008.

The best part, however, is the listing of Ten Most Wanted Individuals with Outstanding Traffic Fines (of whom the program has yet to bring in a single one):

Name	City	Amount Owed
David Drum	Las Vegas	$20,057
Marco Manzy	Las Vegas	$18,164
Brandon Peachey	Las Vegas	$17,195
Mario Ramirez-Gomez	Las Vegas	$14,754
Lance Lauara	Las Vegas	$14,502
Jose Garcia	Las Vegas	$13,977
Lamont Pitts	Las Vegas	$13,028
Anthony Reed	Las Vegas	$12,390
Deshawn Byrd	Las Vegas	$10,938
Alan Berroteran	Las Vegas	$10,636

Wow, $20,057 in unpaid traffic tickets. Anyone think those guys in the pink building can get Dave off with no points?

(lvcourtsblog)