What's your weapon of choice?

In light of the iPhone hoopla going on lately (and a few slow news days on the legal gossip front), we're wondering which piece of technology our readership uses to stay connected.

Blackberry, iPhone, or other?

We'd like to know which you use, why you use it, and whether you could get through your day without it.

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:

The Final Bracket

How we got here:

2009 Tourn-Finals

Semi-Finals pt 2: CCC v. TB

Today, it's C. Conrad Claus (background here and history here) v. Ticket Busters (background here and results here). Voting ends on August 5 at 5 p.m.

Best Billboard/Advertising Tournament Semi-Finals and Finals this Week

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Best Billboard/Advertising Tournament will end this week.

Semi-Finals voting will take place Mon-Wed (ending at 5 pm):

Craig Kenny v. Richard Harris
C. Conrad Claus v. Ticket Busters

and Finals voting will take place Thurs-Fri (ending at 5 pm).

Today, it's Mr. Nice Guy, Craig Kenny (background available here and history here), v. Richard Harris (background here and history here)

The Good Guy v. Ticket Busters (end of Round 3)--voting ends 8/1 at 5 pm

The final match of Round Three of the best billboard/television law firm tournament is Sam "The Good Guy" Harding v. Ticket Busters.

Mr. Harding's white hat has remained unblemished through two rounds, taking 61% of the vote in the first round (results and bio found here) and 59% of the second round (results available here). Meanwhile, Ticket Busters keeps stomping through the competition with 83% of the vote in round one (results available here) and a major upset over the Heavy Hitter in round two (results available here). Voting ends on August 1 at 5 p.m.

Jaws v. Claus (Round 3)--voting ends 7/31 at 5pm

Through history, there have been many battles of man v. the creatures of the wild, but it's rare that man is armed with a broad sword. Today, we will witness that battle. Its the Vegas criminal defense swordsman (C. Conrad Claus) v. the terror of the seas, Jaws (Jerry Wiese).

In the first round, CCC struck quick taking the legs out from under the Vegas law guard dog firm with 61% of the vote (background on CCC and first round results found here). In the second round, he stormed to victory with 63% of the vote (results found here). Meanwhile, Jaws has chewed through the competition in both rounds, taking 81% of the vote in the first round (background on Mr. Wiese and first round results found here) and 78% of the vote in round two (results found here). Voting ends on July 31 at 5 p.m.

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.

Ed Bernstein v. Craig Kenny (3rd Round)--poll ends 7/29 at 5 pm

Things are heating up in the Third Round. Our first match pits the virile Uncle Ed against Mr. Nice Guy: Ed Bernstein v. Craig Kenny.

In the last round, Mr. Kenny continued his amazing run through this tournament, showing that cordiality and kindness still matter in this profession with a win over the powerful Vannah & Vannah firm with 59% of the vote (background on Kenny found here and second round results found here). Meanwhile, Mr. Bernstein stormed into the tournament after his first round bye, showing the popularity of "ask Ed," by earning 78% of the vote over G. Dallas (background on Bernstein and second round results found here). Voting ends on July 29 at 5 p.m.

Round 2 of the Billboard/Television Advertising Law Firms Ends

We're in the home stretch for the tournament, folks. This is when the competition really heats up. With the limited number of games, going forward next week, WWL will only have tournament polls Mon-Thurs.

The Tournament as it stands right now:
7-23-Tourn

Jan Paul Koch v. C. Conrad Claus (2nd Round ends)--voting ends 7/23 at 5 pm

Today, it's the man who came out of nowhere to take down Manor Eglet Cottle (Jan Paul Koch) v. the closest thing Vegas lawyers have to a UFC champion (C. Conrad Claus).

In his first round match, Jan Paul Koch chased Manor Eglet Cottle out of the tournament with 53% of the vote (background on J.P. Koch and first round results found here). Meanwhile, CCC went to war and took out the Vegas law guard dog, chopping out 61% of the vote (background on CCC and first round results found here). Voting ends on July 23 at 5 p.m.

The Donn v. Jaws (2nd Round)--voting ends 7/22 at 5 pm

Sure, sharks have sharp teeth and are generally considered to be killing machines, but can they take down a "made man"?

Today, it's Jaws (Jerry Wiese) v. The Donn of Las Vegas (Donn M. Ianuzi).

In his first round match, Jaws showed some sharp marketing skills, stealthily swimming to victory with 81% of the vote (background on Mr. Wiese and first round results found here). Meanwhile, the Donn gave his opponent an offer he couldn't refuse, stealing 66% of the vote (background on Mr. Ianuzi and first round results found here). Voting ends on July 22 at 5 p.m.

The Heavy Hitter v. Ticket Busters (2nd Round)--voting ends 7/21 at 5 pm

If we could have Blogger do it, we'd have Sprach Zarathustra (the theme from 2001) piping in from the speakers while you read this poll post. Why? Because the undisputed heavyweight champion of billboard/television advertising is making his way towards the ring. That's right, this Monday it is the 4ft 10" Heavy Hitter v. that cute cop on the Ticket Busters ads.

Glen Lerner, The Heavy Hitter
Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Lerner has entered the ring. Say what you want about him (and we've said plenty on this blog; see all prior posts here), the Boston accented, shorter than short Heavy Hitter is the king of Vegas legal billboards, radio ads (Glen Lerner Traffic Center, anyone) and television advertising (Heavy Hitter ads and spoofs available here).

According to his website, Mr. Lerner "has been practicing personal injury law in Las Vegas since 1991" . . . and he "deals with attorneys all over America fighting for the 'little guy' against the big insurance companies and corporations." As goofy as the ads are, Mr. Lerner is a prime example of Plaintiff's attorneys laughing all the way to the bank. It is generally accepted that Lerner is a multi-millionaire and now that he's spreading his practice down to Phoenix as well, we're pretty sure that he showers in money every day.

Like it or not, Lerner is in many ways the face of the Nevada legal community to the general public. That's makes him tough competition in this poll.

Finally, he potentially has the most iconic personal injury commercial out there, "The Big Game":




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 represented himself? Plus, how many other firms have a Facebook page so people can become a fan?

They even have ridiculous cartoon commercials:

The Tournament as it Stands (7/18)

2009 Tournament of Billboard_Television Vegas Law Firms (2)

Ed Bernstein v. G. Dallas Horton (2nd Round)--vote ends 7/18 at 5 pm

Something special for you in the tournament for this completely overheated Friday: the Man Known as "Ed" v. the Notorious B.I.G.

"Call Ed" Bernstein
Ed Bernstein certainly earned his top seed in the tournament. Bernstein is a media master with his face pasted in serious black and white billboards all around town, never ending "call Ed" commercials and hosting of Nevada's longest running television show, The Ed Bernstein Show. Doubt Ed's fame? Name another attorney in this tournament who's interviewed Bill Clinton, Al Gore, George Foreman, Randy "Macho Man" Savage and many other celebrities.

But media presence aside, we just love Bernstein's commercials. He's like that goofy uncle that just doesn't get how absurd he comes across. But while goofy as hell, you weirdly trust him. Okay, the voters may not have agreed with us when they voted to elect John "Slept with my Aide's Wife and Then Had the Husband Paid Off Not to Talk" Ensign to the U.S. Senate over uncle Ed (RJ), but we still can't help but find the guy trustworthy. Add that to the fact that Bernstein is one of the attorneys trying to find justice for the Hep-C infected [alleged] victims of Dr. "Needles" Desai (LV Sun), and he's definitely earned his top seed as a master marketer and tough litigator. Let's see if he's as tough as the flowerbed that once beat GDH.



G. Dallas Horton
The Notorious B.I.G. Dallas Horton (website available here) made his grand entrance to WWL in March of this year, when WWL reported about his apparent botanophobia and willingness to frivolously burden the Supreme Court of Nevada over a flowerbed. (post available here) In response to the posting, one person commented: “Anybody who takes a case like this is desperate and/or stupid,” while another said: “Even Dallas is smart enough to know this case had no merit.” Then, when WWL reported that Horton just recently took down an $8.9M judgment, more than a few posters jumped at the chance to undercut Horton’s involvement in the actual trial itself and lend credit to Bobbie Vannah [my personal favorite quote: “Horton is an asshole AND and idiot. Vannah's just an asshole.”]. (For additional insinuations against GDH and GDH's replies, check out his firm's entry on the RipOff Report) Even with the Ken-doll haircut and the spray on tanner, can G. get no love?? Apparently not.

G. Dallas does have a decent television advertising presence, but not many of his commercials have made it online. The only one we could find was on Crazy Motion (available here) and that ad just features gliding photographs of G. Dallas in earlier ads.

According to its website, G. Dallas Horton & Associates “is AV rated with an AV rated attorney” – an interesting boast given that martindale.com currently sizes Horton up as being only “BV-rated.” Apparently, Horton’s relatively recent raid on Lewis Brisbois (taking LBBS partner Dave Thomas & LBBS associate Christian Smith) and addition of long-timer Monte Hall, Esq. (Bar No. 239), to the mix have given G. the street cred to bolster his boasting.

[Final Writer’s Log: Despite extensive research, I have been unsuccessful in discovering what the “G.” stands for . . . Tony The Tiger says it’s “grrrrrrrrrreat,” but I’m not buying it.] [Update: Peoplefinder suggests the "G" is for "Gregory"]

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.

The marketing benefit of polls (if nothing else)

Given the back and forth over the value of the polls on this blog, we'd like to take a second to toot our own horn. Seems that some of the firms/attorneys in town are using poll results and information for marketing purposes:

Lionel Sawyer is touting its victory in the "Best Legal Place to Work" poll (press release available here), and

Over on Craigslist, Mr. Ianuzi is enjoying his WWL nickname of "The Donn" so much that he's incorporated it into his marketing (Ianuzi advertising available here).

The polls may be juvenile, infantile and immature, but a few of the nominated parties seem to have found a good use for the information that resulted.

Golightly & Assoc. v. Frank Sorentino (Round Two)--ends 7/16 at 5 pm

Today, it's the Man Who Never Blinks (Chad Golightly) v. the Man Who Never Ages (Frank Sorrentino)

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). Meanwhile, Mr. Sorrentino outlasted his last opponent and pulled in 68% of the vote (background on Frank Sorrentino and first round results found here). Voting ends on July 16 at 5 p.m.

Craig Kenny v. Vannah & Vannah (Round Two continues)--voting ends 7/15 at 5 pm

In the second match up of round two of the best billboard/television law firm tournament, WWL presents: Craig Kenny v. Vannah & Vannah.

In his first round match, Mr. Kenny stepped into the role of people's favorite, stomping all over Adam Kutner with 79% of the vote (background on Kenny and first round results found here). Meanwhile, Vannah & Vannah shut down the haters and pulled in 72% of the vote (background on V&V and first round results found here). Voting ends on July 15 at 5 p.m.

Round Two Begins--The Good Guy v. Top Gun

Round Two of the best billboard/television law firm tournament begins with a match up of attorneys will cinematic handles: Sam "The Good Guy" Harding v. Robert "Top Gun" Koenig.

In their respective first round matches, the Good Guy hooked 61% of the vote and Top Gun broke the sound barrier with 68% of the vote. Should be a good second round match.

Background on The Good Guy can be found here and background on Top Gun can be found here. Voting ends on July 14 at 5 p.m.