U.S. News Ranks Nevada Firms; NBJ Ranks Nevada Lawyers

How does your firm stack up? U.S. News also did a favorable write-up on Holland & Hart.

Nevada Business Journal cut through the junk and (sort of) ranked individual attorneys.

(Thanks, Tipster!)

The Art of Spin

A helpful commenter pointed us towards an "interesting" article in Las Vegas Business Press about our friends over at ATMS. In the article, ATMS explains how the firm has been able to increase its hiring while "other firms" are forced to do layoffs. The article gave us quite a chuckle, here are a couple of our favorite excerpts (with a bit of commentary):

The staffing increase is part of Alverson Taylor Mortensen & Sanders' business strategy. In boom times, many prominent Las Vegas law offices tended to hire experienced attorneys with a large portfolio of business under their belts. This firm, however, likes to hire recent law school graduates.

"We like to hire people right out of law school and train them properly, and we can train them right," Taylor said. "We believe we are better at training new attorneys than anyone else."

Plus, people right out of law school don't laugh quite as hard when ATMS tells them they will be paid by the hour and not reimbursed for parking.

Partner J. Bruce Alverson said his firm hasn't been hammered by the economy the way some other law offices were.

"We didn't do any layoffs, like the other law firms," Alverson said. "We only had four transactional attorneys, and their work slowed. But we absorbed them in other areas."

Right. It couldn't have anything to do with the fact that those "other firms" don't have a constant flow of attorneys heading out the back door. That would be silly. Oh, and Bruce means "absorbed" literally ... the partners ate the slow associates.

Check out the article for more "ATMS Presents: How to Build a Successful Firm on the Backs of Inexperienced Law Students."

(LVBP)

Mid-week Round Up

Leftist, hippies and strippers who want their First Amendment rights lament! The Nevada ACLU's local leader, Gery Peck, has stepped down. (Las Vegas Weekly)

Congratulations to Lewis & Roca. The firm leads the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada’s pro bono case count with 27 cases in 2009. (L&R PR) [Shame on you Nevada firms for letting a regional firm out pro bono you in your own state]

We lost a good one. Long time Clark County Clerk Shirley B. Parraguirre, who used to butt heads with District Court Judges over whether that had the authority to alter court minutes, has died. (RJ)

Salary/Benefits/Insurance/Bonus/Hiring Survey--Firm Health

It's that time of year again, folks. Time to do a survey of the Vegas legal industry.

As usual, we rely on reader tips to provide information on:

• starting salaries
• lockstep raises
• guaranteed salary increases
• benefits,
• insurance benefits,
• bonuses, and
• the state of hiring in Fall 2009 (how many were hired)

Please send in any and all information to nevadalegal@gmail.com. All information will be compiled into a spreadsheet and published later in Sept.

Also, this year, we are looking for information on all firms, legal businesses and government posts, no matter the size. So please send in any details you know to nevadalegal@gmail.com.

* for this round, we're just looking for information on attorney positions, but we will be working on a similar survey for support staff soon.

TFFKAKKBRF Comes Out of Its Cocoon as KCRGF

We're just received word that The Firm formerly known as Kummer Kaempfer Bonner Renshaw & Ferrario ("TFFKAKKBRF") has transformed into a beautiful butterfly with the name Kaempfer Crowell Renshaw Gronauer & Fiorentino [name has not been updated on website yet].

All good things come to an end. We're sorry to have to say goodbye to the moniker TFFKAKKBRF, but at least we'll have KCRGF.

[thanks to VLG for the tip]

Living the Plaintiff's Attorney's Dream: Hitting Them Where It Hurts

Don Campbell has quietly become one of the most respected Plaintiff's attorneys in town (bio available here). Mr. Campbell and his firm Campbell & Williams don't get a lot of coverage on this blog because there's very little gossip spread about him, other than the fact that he's an intimidating opponent for defense counsel.

Well, a few weeks back, the RJ reported that Don Campbell was living the Plaintiff's attorney's dream--causing an impact to the defendant's bottom line in order to try to change the way they behave:

Las Vegas Sands Corp. paid three men $42.5 million to settle a lawsuit in June, according to the operator's second-quarter earnings release Thursday.

The figure contributed to the company's net loss of $222.2 million in the quarter ended June 30. Las Vegas Sands also blamed the challenging economy, a noncash
impairment charge of $151.2 million and an increase in certain expenses that drove the company to its sixth straight quarterly loss.

Due to a confidentiality agreement, Campbell did not comment to the RJ about the case, but the paper summarized that the case was over money paid to LV Sands to help businessmen acquire a Macau gaming license:

The lawsuit was the second such action the company faced over its Macau licensing efforts in 14 months. In May 2008, a Clark County jury awarded Hong Kong businessman Richard Suen almost $60 million for his help in introducing Las Vegas Sands executives to Chinese government officials.

Okay, so it's not a lawsuit punishing [insert demonized company or industry here] for harming a little old lady. But impacting a company's bottom line to that degree is an impressive achievement.

Thursday News Round Up

Here's the news that amused, but wasn't enough to peruse (in depth):

The Ninth Circuit is deciding whether corrupt doctors and lawyers can practice in Las Vegas with impunity whether the U.S. Attorney is required to offer a defense witness immunity when they grant a similar prosecution witness immunity. (RJ) [You can hear the audio recording of oral argument here]

Classic Nye County--apparently the speed limits in Pahrump are unenforceable because they were set up illegally. (LV Now)

Tired of taxes? A federal jury in Las Vegas may decide you can all skip out on income taxes by being paid in gold coins. (RJ)

Boyd Gaming thinks it's better than Vegas law--hiring California and New York-based bankruptcy attorneys for their bankruptcy. (RJ) [points to Snell & Wilmer's Bankruptcy partner Robert Kinas for at least snagging local counsel on the case].

SuperLawyers 2009: Civil Litigation-Employment Litigation (Pl)--(pt 3)

The parade of super-powered attorneys for 2009 continues:

Civil Litigation Defense

Bruce Alverson - ATMS

Jack Anagaran - Georgeson Angaran (Reno)

Thomas Beatty Law Offices of Thomas D. Beatty

William Cobb - Erickson Thorpe & Sainston (Reno)

Craig Delk - Thorndal Armstrong Delk Balkenbush & Eisinger

Stephen Kent - Woodbridge & Wedge (Reno)

James Olson - Olson Cannon Gormley & Desruisseaux

Civil Rights/First Amendment

Walter Cannon - Olson Cannon

Construction Litigation

Christopher Byrd - Fennemore Craig
Eleissa Lavelle - Watt Tieder Hoffar & Fitzgerald

Leon Mead, II - Snell & Wilmer

Richard Peel - Peel Brimly (Henderson)

Robert Schumacher - Peel Brimly

Criminal Defense

James Buchanan - Law Office of James L. Buchanan

David Chesnoff - Chesnoff & Sconfeld

Frank Cremen

Robert M. Draskovich

Scott Freeman (Reno)

Dominic Gentile - Gordon Silver

Michael Kennedy - Office of the Federal Public Defender

Thomas Pitaro - Law Offices of Thomas Pitaro

William Terry

Richard Wright - Wright Stanish & Winckler

Criminal Defense: DUI/DWI

Mace Yampolsky

Elder Law

Kim Boyer - Bolick & Boyer

Employee Benefits/ERISA

Andrew Brignone - Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck

Employment & Labor

Scott Abbott - Kamer Zucker Abbott

Patrick Chapin (Henderson)

Howard Cole - Lewis & Roca

David B. Dornak - The Light Group

Kevin Efroymson

Patrick Hicks - Littler Mendelson

Joanna Kishner - DLA Piper

Malani L. Kotchka - LSC

Keith M. Lyons, Jr. Lyons Law Firm

Scott Mahoney - Fisher Phillips

M. Ann Morgan - Jones Vargas (Reno)

Gary Moss - Jackson Lewis

Kathleen Paustian - Gonzalez Saggio & Harlan

Mark Ricciardi - Fisher Phillips

Rick D. Roskelley - Littler Mendelson

Gregory Smith - LSC

Elayna Youchah - Jackson Lewis

Carol Davis Zucker - Kamer Zucker Abbott

Employment Litigation: Plaintiff

Kathleen Jane England - England Law Offices

The SuperLawyers of Individual Areas of Practice--Admin to Business (SuperLawyers pt 2)

Mountain West SuperLawyers also breaks down the best and brightest in Vegas by practice area. Here's the list of attorneys cited for their skill for Admin-Business Law:

Administrative law
Paul Larsen - Lionel Sawyer ("LSC")
William Raggio - Jones Vargas ("JV") (Reno)
Leif Reid - Lewis & Roca ("L&R") (Reno)
Frederick Schmidt - Holland & Hart ("H&H") (Carson City)

ADR
C. James Georgeson - Georgeson Angaran (Reno)
Kirk Harrison - Harrison Dispute Resolution
Ara Shirinian - Ara Shirinian
Harold Thompson - Harold Thompson Mediations (Reno)
William Turner (Henderson)

Appellate
Robert Eisenberg - Lemons Grundy & Eisenberg (Reno)
Daniel Polsenberg - L&R

Aviation
J. Mitchell Cobeaga - The Colbeaga Law Firm

BK & Creditor/Debtor Rights
Nancy Allf - Gonzalez Saggio & Harlan
Sallie B. Armstrong - Downey Brand (Reno)
Brett Axelrod - Greenberg Traurig ("GT")
Bruce Beesley - L&R (Reno)
Candace Carlyon - Shey & Carlyon
Jane Chubb - JV (Reno)
Laurel Davis - Fennemore Craig
Thomas Fell - Gordon Silver
Gregory Garman - Gordon Silver
Gerald Gordon - Goron Silver
James Green - Rice Silbey Reuther & Sullivan
Marjorie Guymon - Goldsmith & Guymon
Jeffrey Hartman - Hartman & Hartman (reno)
Brigid M. Higgins Gordon & Silver
Richard Holley - Santoro Driggs
Nile Leatham - Kolesar & Leatham
Terry Leavitt - Graves & Leavitt
David Leta - Snell & Wilmer
Jeanette McPherson - Schwartzer & McPherson
John Murtha - Woodburn & Wedge (Reno)
Victoria Nelson -Santoro Driggs
William Noall - Gordon Silver
Bob Olson - GT
Lenard Schwartzer - Schwartzer & McPherson
James Patrick Shea - Shea & Carlyon
Jennifer Smith - LSC

Business Litigation
Phillip Aurbach - Marquis & Aurbach
John Baily - Bailey Kennedy
Frederic Berkley - Sklar Williams
Peter Bernhard - Bullivant Houser Baily
James Bradshaw - McDonald Carano Wilson (Reno)
Patrick Byrne - Snell & Wilmer ("S&W")
Mark Ferrario - The Firm Formerly Known as Kummer Kaempfer ("TFFKAKKBRF")
Suellen Fulstone - Morris Peterson (Reno)
Leigh Goddard - McDonald Carano
Von s. Heinz - L&R
Paul Hejmanowski - LSC
Stanley Hunterton - Hunterton & Assoc.
Mark Hutchinson - Hutchinson & Steffen
James J. Jimmerson - Jimmerson Hansen
Matthew Johnson - Matthew L. Johnson & Associates
Randall Jones - Kemp Jones & Coulthard ("KJC")
Mark Jones - KJC
William Kemp - KJC
Dennis Kennedy - Bailey Kennedy
Thomas Kummer - GT (formerly of TFFKAKKBRF)
Kirk Lenhard - JV
Samuel Lionel - LSC
Pat Lundvall - McDonald Carano (Reno)
Steve Morris - Morris Peterson
John Mowbray - Fennemore Craig
Goerge F. Ogilvie III - McDonald Carano Wilson
Theodore Parker, III - Parker Nelson & Associates
Stephen Peek - H&H
William Peterson - Morris Peterson (Reno)
James Pisanelli - Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck
Richard Pocker - Boies Schiller & Flexner
Thomas G. Ryan - L&R
William Urga - Jolley Urga
Dan Waite - L&R
James E. Whitmire, III - Santoro Driggs
J. Colby Williams - Campbell Williams

Business/Corporate
Michael Bonner - GT (formerly of TFFKAKKBRF)
John Brewer - TFFKAKKBRF
Joseph Brown - Jones Vargas
John Fowler - Woodburn & Wedge (Reno)
Rew Goodenow - Parsons Behle & Latimer (Reno)
Neal Klegerman - TFFKAKKBRF
Scott MacTaggart - L&R
Ellen Schulhofer - Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck
Alan Sklar
Julien Sourwine - Sourwine & Sloan (Reno)
Ken Woloson - Santoro Driggs

Layoff Watch and a Departure from Lewis & Roca

Update: We have confirmation that Albright Stoddard just let go of 5 attorneys.

An anonymous tipster contacted me today to tell me that Albright Stoddard let go seven five associates.

Can anyone confirm if it was indeed seven five associates, and not a combination of associates and staff?

In addition, Martha Ashcraft left Lewis & Roca to start her own practice. Marti was the President of the CCBA in 1997. From what I've heard about her legal skills, she will be very successful. Good luck with your new practice!

The Individual Best of the West: Mountain West SuperLawyers! (pt 1)

The annual Mountain West Superlawyers issue has been out for a little while now and we've been preparing posts on the best and brightest of Vegas (according to SuperLawyers!):

Vegas Attorneys in the Top 75 SuperLawyers of the Mountain West:

Bruce T. Beesley - Lewis & Roca (Reno)

Michael E. Buckley - Jones Vargas

Donald Campbell - Campbell & Williams

Howard E. Cole - Lewis & Roca

Robert D. Faiss - Lionel Sawyer Collins ("LSC")

Andrew P. Gordon - McDonald Carano Wilson

Gerald Gordon - Gordon Silver

William C. Jeanney - Bradley Drendel & Jeanney (Reno)

Gregory Kamer - Kamer Zucker Abbott

Dennis Kennedy - Bailey Kennedy

Kirk B. Lenhard - Jones Vargas

Samuel S. Lionel - LSC

Steve Morris - Morris Peterson

George F. Ogilvie III

Richard Oshins - Oshins & Associates

Stephen Peeks - Holland & Hart

Thomas Pitaro - Law Offices of Thomas F. Pitaro

Nicholas J. Santoro - Santoro Driggs

Frank A. Schreck - Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck

William R. Urga - Jolley Urga

Richard Wright - Wright Stanish & Winckler

Jeffrey P. Zucker - LSC

Vegas Attorneys in the Top 40 Women SuperLawyers of the Mountain West

Candace C. Carlyon - Shea & Carlyon

Janet Chubb - Jones Vargas (Reno)

Patricia Curtis - Snell & Wilmer

Laurel Davis - Fennemore Craig

Mary Anne Decaria- Silverman Decaria & Katelman (Reno)

Karen Dennison - Holland & Heart (Reno)

Kathleen Jane England - England Law Office

Ishi Kunin - Kunin & Carman

Jeanette McPherson - Schwartzer & McPherson

LeAnn Sanders - Alverson Taylor

Elayna Youchah - Jackson Lewis

Carol Davis Zuker - Kamer Zucker Abbott

Salary Cut Watch: Fennemore Craig

Attorneys have been worried that salary cuts may be coming to the big firms in the Valley.

Well, according to the gossip boards, they just reportedly arrived for regional law firm Fennemore Craig. (Judged) Word is that FC just reduced attorney salaries by 8% for associates across the board.

[Editor's note: no comment from FC yet. We're looking for confirmation]

The biggest firms (firms with most local counsel) in Vegas

In Business Las Vegas has released its new list of the biggest law firms in Vegas, measuring "biggest" by the number of local counsel. And the top five firms for quantity of local counsel are:

1. Lionel Sawyer (60 attorneys, 30 partners)

2. Lewis and Roca (48 attorneys, 20 partners)

3. Greenberg Traurig (43 attorneys, 17 partners)

4. Lewis Brisbois (41 attorneys, 15 partners)

5. Snell & Wilmer (40 attorneys, 11 partners)

Congratulations to the top five. Always nice to have pitchers in the bullpen when your starter gets tired.

On a side note: Really, Lionel Sawyer? Your firm is made up of 50% partners? I'm all for rewarding talent, but how rewarding is a 30 way split of end of year earnings?

Lewis and Roca names new partners

Congratulations to Joice Bass, Jennifer Craft, Suzanne Martin, Abran Vigil and Caryn Tijsseling, five Nevada attorneys who were named partner at Lewis & Roca. (L&R Press Release)

Note: it took the newly-crowned between 8-11 years of legal practice after law school graduation to make partner at L&R.

Reza Athari v. Deluca & Assoc.--Round 1 of the Billboard/Television tournament (ends 7/2 at 5 p.m.)

Reza Athari
Reza Athari is a fixture among the Las Vegas billboard/television law firms. His billboards advertising cheap DUI defense and immigration assistance are all over lower income neighborhoods in Las Vegas. Mr. Athari has such an established presence around town that you'd think he holds one of the lowest bar numbers in the Nevada Bar. But, it turns out Reza Athari is not actually barred in Nevada (NV Bar Attorney Search). Martindale.com reveals that Mr. Athari is barred instead in California and the Ninth Circuit (hey, why do you need state bar admission when you practice federal immigration law, anyway?).

In fact, Reza Athari may be the best-known Nevada attorney who's not licensed to practice law in the state. He has a very strong billboard presence and also has television ads (Spanish language ad available here). Combine that with the fact that Mr. Athari's business model is so successful that he has offices running in St. George and Salt Lake City, UT, as well as the office in Las Vegas. Not bad for a seemingly small immigration firm. All of which make the Athari firm a tough competitor in this round.

Deluca & Assoc.
Going up against Mr. Athari is a bankruptcy firm headed by a true television personality. Deluca & Associates CEO, Anthony Deluca, is a regular contributor to the local Fox News affiliate on debt and bankruptcy issues. (Video clips available on Deluca website here and on Google Video here). That kind of marketing prowess is damn impressive and painting yourself as a local authority on bankruptcy law can't hurt the firm's bottom line.

He also does a Legal Tips clip for Vegas tv:



All of which gives Mr. Deluca and his law firm a quiet and fairly dignified media presence. Okay, giving legal tips to the general public in a t-shirt may be a little over the top, but we think Mr. Deluca's media persona is so well put together that we're having a hard time making fun of him (compared to say an attorney advertising himself as "Top Gun").

Come Sail Away, Come Sail Away, Come Sail Away with meeeeee . . .

Update: If the email sent around Alverson Taylor by Mr. Alverson's secretary is accurate, we here at WWL owe Mr. Alverson an apology for reporting that he was bragging about buying a yacht while eliminating raises and 401k contributions and drastically cutting insurance benefits for employees.

The email read:

"This is too funny. If you want a good laugh, look at Wild Wild Law Blog.
Bruce's new 10 year old little fishing boat that he recently bought on Craig's
list for $2,800 has now become a yacht. The mole gets better every day."

Our apologies. WWL appears to have been steered wrong on that last post. We hereby retract our former post. We hope this won't interfere with our invitation to cruise Lake Mead with Mr. Alverson this weekend. We assume our invite is in the mail.

Our prior post [now retracted]:
WWL received another tip from Alverson Taylor [does the drama ever stop over there?]:

Seems that majority shareholder of Alverson Taylor, Bruce Alverson, just ordered himself up a new yacht boat and has been going around the office talking about how he can't wait until it's delivered.

Way to pick up spirits, Mr. Alverson. When employees are feeling down about how their firm is struggling, and how their raises were cut, health insurance benefits drastically cut and 401k contributions halted, nothing makes them feel better than knowing the top name on the letterhead is able to treat himself.

Layoff Watch: Snell & Wilmer

Snell & Wilmer, the Phoenix-based mega-firm with a large Las Vegas presence, is starting to feel the pinch of these tough economic times and it is now overflowing into the Vegas Office. In May, Snell laid off 30 to 40 staffers, supposedly all from Phoenix.

It has been confirmed that attorneys at Snell are taking a 10% paycut. According to NALP, the Las Vegas associates were starting at $105,000, as of February 2009. Could those salaries have been saved if the Los Angeles office wasn't opened in January of this year?

Does anyone know if this impacts only associates or partners too? Have any other firms lowered salaries? Any new salary freezes?

Best Defense Firms to Work for in Vegas (Editors' picks)

WWL presents its inaugural list of the best defense firms to work for in Vegas.

These rankings are based on the most pristine, untouchable scientific polling methods, a number of beers at a weekend BBQ, and reader input. It is worth noting that while many young associates will follow the magic number (salary/billable hour requirement) to figure out what firms to lust after, the firms in town with the highest magic number did not top our list. The reason? The list takes firm culture, firm reputation and associate perks into consideration. Enjoy!

Best Defense Firms to Work for in Vegas
1. Marquis & Aurbach

Marquis & Aurbach (“M&A”) takes first in the inaugural WWL Best Defense firm to work for in Vegas based on a combination of its firm culture, perks for employees and professional reputation. The firm starts associates off at $102,500 before lucrative bonuses, contributes to employee 401k accounts and pays 100% of health insurance for its employees. WWL received several emails from associates praising the firm culture, the sense of camaraderie and the willingness of the firm’s well-known litigators to mentor younger attorneys. Seems that the partners take turns regularly treating for a round or two at Friday happy hour. Additionally, the firm has a private chef prepare a free lunch for the attorneys Monday through Friday and has catered to attorney caffeine addiction by installing a soda fountain. In terms of billable hours, M&A requires 2000 hours, but the associates swear that 2000 really does mean 2000 even if you want to be on the partnership track.

2. Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP
WWL ranks Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck (“BHFS”) second in the Vegas Valley based on its impressive and rising reputation. The firm currently has 36 attorneys in Las Vegas and has a starting salary of $110,000. The firm has highly ranked Corporate/Commercial law, Gaming law, General Litigation, Construction Litigation, Labor & Employment, ERISA, Real Estate and Zoning/Land Use departments (Chambers and Partners). Additionally, the litigation partners are well-respected and there has been little to no trash talked about the firm on WWL. The firm also knows how to celebrate associate work, hosting its Christmas party at the Wynn casino with an open bar. Finally, the firm inspired one of our favorite comments to the blog, “I would get about a $15,000 raise if I got an offer at Lionel Sawyer, but I wouldn't consider moving to that firm. On the other hand, I would move over to Browstein Hyatt [] even if I took a $5,000 pay cut.”

3. Lionel Sawyer
The old school firm of Vegas, Lionel Sawyer (“LSC”), places third on the list based on its perks for associates and its outstanding reputation. The firm starts off associates at $110,000, but lists the very reasonable billable requirement of 1,800 hours. Reports are that many LSC partners were crowned with partnership simply by billing the minimum amount of 1,800. Associates suggest there is no pressure to broach 1,800, but bonuses await those attorneys to who do. One frequent criticism of the firm has been its low level raises for associates who stay with the firm. However, LSC consistently ranks in the top Nevada firms for Corporate/Commercial law, Gaming law, Labor & Employment law, Litigation and Real Estate. (Chambers and Partners) Associates also wrote in to say that partners at the firm take time to work with them and are frequently assigned real responsibilities in cases, rather than being stuck in document review.One knock on LSC is that firm culture can be curmudgeonly, with no elaborate parties and associates are expected to be in a suit and tie every day. However, partners are known to go out of their way to host open bars, provide snacks, cake or ice-cream on a fairly regular basis.

4. Jones Vargas
Jones Vargas (“JV”) comes in fifth based on a rock solid reputation and reasonable billable requirement. Associates start at $102,000 and are expected to make 1850 billable hours. Like LSC, JV consistently ranks as a top Nevada firm in the areas of Corporate/Commercial law, Gaming law, Labor & Employment law, Litigation, and Real Estate. (Chambers and Partners)Associates report that they interact with the firm’s partners on a regular basis. They also report that there’s no pressure for associates to exceed the minimum billable requirement.

5. McDonald Carano Wilson
McDonald Carano comes in fifth based on its solid legal reputation and quick opportunities for associates to gain experience. Associates start at $100,000 and have the reasonable billable requirement of 1850. Like LSC and JV, McDonald Carano consistently ranks as a top Nevada firm in the areas of Corporate/Commercial law, Gaming law, Labor & Employment law, Litigation, and Real Estate. (Chambers and Partners) Associates similarly report that they interact with the firm’s partners on a regular basis.

6. Hutchison & Steffen
Coming in at number six is the lesser-known Hutchison & Steffen (“H&S”) based on its employee perks and the genuine associate love for the firm’s culture. Associates start off at $86,000 and are expected to make 1900 billable hours. Every Friday, the attorneys at H&S dine out together on the firm’s dime. The firm is also incredibly family-friendly, paying for an annual firm vacation for attorneys, support staff and their immediate families in Disneyland (including lodging). The firm also offers casual Fridays and free breakfast on Fridays (bagels and donuts). Associates also report that the attorneys and staff genuinely like each other, have frequent firm-wide potlucks and a friendly atmosphere. And the icing on the cake that won H&S the spot at no. 6? If associates bill over 200 hours a month, they get an extra check called “combat pay” to compensate for the loss of free time.

Firms to Watch:
Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker
Until recently, Wilson Elser had not really been a player in the Vegas market. It was previously just a satellite office of a national firm, but with the addition of new managing partner and Vegas rainmaker Michael M. Edwards, we think it’s a firm to look into for next year’s list.

Holland & Hart
This last year Holland & Hart ("H&H") gobbled up Nevada firm Hale Lane. We haven’t heard if the Vegas office has the same perks and culture of the H&H Colorado offices, but if skiing, hiking and party life is now a regular part of firm life (WSJ Blog), expect to see them on the list next year.

Howard and Howard
Say what you want about the voting process that led a firm with only 14 attorneys in Vegas to come in second in the poll of best places to work in Vegas. The fact that Howard and Howard employees like the firm enough to put together 118 votes says this firm may soon join the list of best defense firms to work for in Vegas.

The Results of Poll#2: What is the best [legal practice] place to work in the Vegas Valley?

Here are the results of Poll#2: What is the best [legal practice] place to work in the Vegas Valley?

Some have disputed the results and accused some firms of stuffing the ballot boxes or having dead people vote. However, the results stand. What the results mean? WWL will leave that to the statistics wonks to figure out.

Congratulations to Lionel Sawyer for pulling out the win and being voted top legal place to work in Vegas! In a poll voted on by attorneys, that's no small feat.

1. Lionel Sawyer (155 votes-29%)

2. Howard & Howard (118 votes-22%)

3. Marquis & Aurbach (81 votes-15%)

4. Clerk at Clark County District Court (28 votes-5%)

5. U.S. Attorney’s Office (26 votes-4%)

6. Santoro Driggs (24 votes-4%)

7. Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck (23 votes-4%)

8. McDonald Carano Wilson (22 votes-4%)

9. Lewis & Roca (21 votes-3%)

10. Holland and Hart (20 votes-3%)

11. Greenberg Traurig (18 votes-3%)

12. Mainor Eglet Cottle (18 votes-3%)

13. Jones Vargas (17 votes-3%)

14. The Heavy Hitter (14 votes-2%)

15. Hutchison & Steffen (14 votes-2%)

16. Kolesar & Letham (14 votes-2%)

17. Ballard Spahr (12 votes-2%)

18. Jolley Urga (11 votes-2%)

19. Snell & Wilmer (9 votes-1%)

20. Gordon and Silver (8 votes-1%)

21. Fennemore Craig (7 votes-1%)

22. Bowler Dixon & Twitchell (5 votes-0%)

23. Morris Pickering Peterson (5 votes-0%)

24. Rooker Rawlins (5 votes-0%)

25. Wilson Elser (5 votes-0%)

26. Kamer Zucker Abbott (3 votes-0%)

27. Vannah & Vannah (3 votes-0%)

28. Lewis Brisbois (2 votes-0%)

Curious about why the voting ended up the way it did? You can read the comments on the following three posts: post 1, post 2 and post 3.

Wild Wild Law's Best Legal Places to Work in Vegas

Only two more days for firms to step up and challenge Howard & Howard and Lionel Sawyer on the poll.

WWL would also like to solicit recommendations for our own list of the top places to work in Vegas. We will be putting the post up on Monday, so if you think your firm, courthouse, government office or corporation deserves a spot leave us a comment here.*

* In addition to salary, advancement opportunities, benefits, quality of work, etc., we are considering free donuts and coffee or open bar nights as factors to be considered in deciding on a good firm. So send us info on why you're firm is the best.