Sidebar: What's in Your Wallet?

As you know, we've been seeking tips for our Magic Number poll, which reviews the benefits and salaries of civil firms. People are sometimes a bit shy or nervous to put the info in an email.

Everyone always wants to know. What are people making?

Here is your chance to be completely anonymous. No email addresses attached to this. If you are comfortable leaving your firm name, please do. If not, tell us how long you have been practicing, the size of your firm, hourly requirements and what type of law you practice. And, of course, the always inappropriate - how much are you making. Does your firm have a bonus program? What are bonuses based on?

As always, we value the opinions of our law student readers. How much do you expect to make your first year? Do you have offers? If you summered in LV, how much were you paid?

RJ Publishes "Magic Number" List for Public Employees

Oddly veiled as a hit-piece on our brave firefighters, the RJ has published a story accompanied by a HUGE Excel spreadsheet (upper-left corner) listing the salaries of every single Clark County employee.

The list includes the salaries of our local DA's and PD's, and some of their salary/retirement packages put our own Magic Number list to shame. (BTW ... we're still taking tips for our 2009 list of civil firm salary/benefit info)

Becoming a "public servant" is starting to look better by the day.

(LVRJ)

Should Have Done More "Investigating"

Many Las Vegas natives will recognize Colleen McCarty as the pretty investigative reporter from KLAS-TV, Channel 8. Turns out that Colleen, with her fourteen Emmy nominations, has decided to self-destruct is reaching for the stars: she is now a law student at UNLV's Boyd School of Law.

Boyd has put up a nice little posting for Colleen. In it, she states her reason for diving head-first into the bowels of hell:

"I believe a law degree will enhance my understanding of the people and the issues I cover."

There's her first mistake: Thinking law school will "enhance her understanding" of anything.

We wish you luck, Colleen. Just in case you're considering ditching journalism to pursue a career as an attorney, here's some reading material for you.

(Thanks, tipster!)

Search for Local Attorney Ends

The Sun reports that that the search for Charles Titus, who was of counsel at Santoro Driggs has been concluded.

Mr. Titus was scuba diving in the Cayman Islands, where he was vacationing with his wife, and went missing during a dive. He disappeared Monday. The Sun reports that there are no signs of foul play.

Our deepest sympathy and condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.

Sidebar: A Simple Question

I was planning to do a fun and fluffy Sidebar this week since we got to fire judges in the land of make believe last week. But, as I have talked to friends and colleagues, I've noticed a theme... A theme of discontent. Often from unexpected sources. From associates to partners. Big and small firms. All areas of practice.

Sure, some days just suck. Perhaps you've dealt with a lying liar who lies all day and you wish that it was within the rules of professional conduct to add a Truth-Seeking Surcharge to the bill. Maybe things didn't go your way in Court. Or opposing counsel is simply making life hell.

But then there are streaks with day after day after day and you enter a sort of legal malaise.

This week's sidebar is a simple question: Do you like your job? Or, to make it more broad, do you like being a lawyer?

Tell us why or why not. If you are bold, tell us what type of law you practice and if you work at a big or small firm.

And, since there are many law students reading this blog, why do you want to become a lawyer?

Next week, we'll get back to a warm fuzzy. This topic has come up too many times recently and I've heard a lot of interesting comments from people I know. So, please, tell us your story.

But Things Were Going So Well ...

Someone by the name of Elizabeth Halverson (Get this: she claims to be a former judge ... can you imagine anyone actually voting for that lady?!) just lost a defamation suit brought by her former assistant, Ileen Spoor. From the LVRJ:

Spoor sued Halverson in 2007 for defamation and placing someone in false light, alleging that the judge lied about her to the media by saying Spoor illegally fixed tickets and took Spoor’s Rolodex and files.

A jury trial was scheduled for late October, but Judge David Wall granted summary judgment in favor Spoor on Thursday.

Wait ... summary judgment? Well, look at the big balls on Wall! Good for you, Judge. We thought summary judgment was just one of those law school myths, like the Rules of Professional Conduct.

As for damages, they are still being "calculated." Good luck Ileen, can't imagine she's got a whole lot in the bank. Of course, you could always try to garnish her lunch money.

Nice of you to visit, Liz, now please go away.

(LVRJ)

Shake Up At The RJC

It seems that some of our district court judges are getting tired of their civil-only calendars, so some older more experienced judges are learning to share. According to lvcourtsblog, a redistribution of civil and criminal caseloads goes into effect today, the following departments are affected:

• Dept. 4, Judge Kathy Hardcastle, who will now have a mixed civil/criminal calendar.
• Dept. 7, Judge Linda Bell, who will now have a mixed civil/criminal calendar.
• Dept. 14, Judge Donald Mosley, who will now have a mixed criminal/mortgage foreclosure review calendar.
• Dept. 15, Judge Abbi Silver, who will now have a mixed civil/criminal calendar.

Wow. One of these things is not like the other, no? Mortgage foreclosures for The Don? Say it ain't so!

Is someone trying to send a message here? Hasn't Mosely had a criminal-only calendar since, well ... powdered wig times?

So, for those of you who practice before these judges, how do you feel about this?

(lvcourtsblog)