[Long] Weekend Roundup

Yeah, we took Friday off ... so sue us.[1] Here are some of the more interesting stories we missed:

• Another Nevada Judge's boy got himself in some hot water. (RJ)
• Pretty sure we are (a couple years) late on this, but who doesn't like videos of drunk Las Vegas Attorneys? (Jonathan Turley; YouTube)
• Congratulations IPEX class action members, you have just made your attorneys very rich. Your $5 coupons will soon be in the mail. (RJ)
• Good news? Minors can now "plead the Fifth" in juvenile court. (RJ)

[1] Please don't.

Magic Number. Update?

Update: Now with updated 2008 Hale Lane, Payne & Fears, Snell & Wilmer (for 1st yrs and after), KKBRF, Alverson Taylor, Hutchinson & Steffen, Boies Schiller, DLA Piper, Downey Brand, Duane Morris, McCormick Barstow numbers.

2008 salary and billable number updates noted with a *. [disclaimer: these numbers are the most recent available from tips and websites]

[If you don't know about the magic number, learn more here.]

So, here, ranked in order by highest (or best) magical number are the Vegas firms (did I miss something or someone, let me know at nevadalegal@gmail.com):

Name $ per billable (Salary/Min Billable)
Watt, Tieder 73 ($145,000/2000 billables)
DLA Piper 72.5 ($145,000/2000 billables)
Duane Morris 69 ($135,000/1950 billables)
Ballard Spahr 68 ($133,000/1950 billables)
Fox Rothschild 68 ($125,000/1850 billables)*
Snell & Wilmer [1] 67 ($120,000/1800 billables)* -- [only 1800 billables for 1st yr]
Fennemore Craig 65 ($125,000/1925 billables)
Payne & Fears 64 ($125,000/1950 billables)*
Lewis & Roca 63 ($120,000/1900 billables)*
Hale Lane 63 ($120,000/1900 billables)* -- [incl. 100 required pro bono hrs--67 if excl. pro bono]
Lionel Sawyer 61 ($110,000/1800 billables)
Snell & Wilmer [2] 60 ($120,000/2000 billables)* -- [2000 billables after 1st yr]

Greenberg Traurig 59 ($112,000/1900 billables)*
Jennings, Strouss 58 ($110,000/1900 billables)
Bullivant Hauser 57 ($105,000/1850 billables)*
Downey Brand 57 ($100,000/1750 billables)
Brownstein Hyatt 56 ($110,000/1950 billables)
Jones Vargas 55 ($102,000/1850 billables)*
Fisher & Phillips 54 ($100,000/1850 billables)
McDonald Carano Wilson 54 ($100,000/1850 billables)
Santoro, Driggs 53 ($95,000/1800 billables)*
Gordon & Silver 53 ($95,000/1800 billables)
Kummer Kaempfer 53 ($100,000/1900 billables)*
Morris Pickering 51 ($95,000/1850 billables)
Marquis & Aurbach 50 ($100,000/2000 billables)
McCormick Barstow 46 ($80,000/1750)
Hutchison & Steffen 45 ($86,000/1900 billables)
Lewis Brisbois 43 ($84,000/1950 billables)
Alverson, Taylor 43 ($78,800/1840 billables)*
Thorndal, Armstrong 31 ($68,000/2160 billables)

Other--not enough info for magic number (any tips would be appreciated so we can clear this up)

Boies Schiller ($168,000/???? billables)
Jolley Urga 50 ($92,000/ avg of 1850 billables--no minimum listed)
Gordon & Rees ($????/1850 billables)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Stop reading legal blogs and go spend time with your families! 

Okay, just one story.

An ex-felon in possession of a firearm is not inherently dangerous. Wait, what?

The Nevada Supreme Court recently handed down an unpublished opinion wherein it ruled that an "ex-felon in possession of a firearm" charge could not be used as the predicate felony for purposes of a felony murder conviction. From the opinion:

"We agree with the district court that, when viewed in the
abstract, 'ex-felon in possession of a firearm' is not inherently dangerous."

So, there you have it, you may now stop worrying about felons with firearms. The opinion is unpublished and can't be used as precedent under SCR 123.

(Harmful Error; State v. Spina)

Don't Tase Me, Sir!

Two Las Vegas police officers are suing Taser International, Inc. (makers of the YouTube sensation) after reportedly being seriously hurt during mandatory Taser training. As part of their training, the officers were tased so that they could "truly understand the weapon." Police detective Marcus Martin, the department's lead Taser instructor, had this to say when asked why the "hands on" training was subsequently stopped: 

"I have to tell you that I have a different understanding of that weapon than folks that have never been Tased, but as training went on what started occurring is we started having officers getting hurt. So it was a policy decision that was made at the higher levels of the agency as to should we allow folks to be Tased and get hurt. It's a cost-benefit analysis.''

Costs: a little pain, the occasional lawsuit. Benefits: truly understanding the weapon, hilarity. We demand a recount! 

(KTAR; LV Sun Thanks, Anonymous)

Question of the day ...

Previously on WWL we posted about a rumored merger between IP pimp Greenberg Traurig and Kummer Kaempfer Bonner Renshaw & Ferrario. After the post, nothing.

The rumor appeared to be confirmed by the reportedly large number of KKBRF associates present at a September 2nd GT open house, but there has yet to be an announcement. So, what's going on? Is GT getting cold feet? Has the free-falling economy put talks on hold? Both KKBRF and GT associates appear to be in the dark, anyone care to shed a little light here?

Slipped through the cracks ...

To whet your weekend appetites, here are some of the notable stories that we didn't get around to posting about last week:

• Local windbag to voters: You are all idiots who can't be trusted. (LV Sun)
  
• Red stripper, blue stripper. Old stripper, sue stripper. (Posted Toronto)
  
• They got suspicious when the breakfast burritos started tasting a little too good. (RGJ)
• Another doctor punished for cutting corners to save money. (LV Sun)
• A Las Vegas Mormon who was excommunicated over publishing shirtless photos of return missionaries wants his BYU diploma. (Salt Lake Tribune)