- law dawg
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- RIP Lance White. Reno attorney and judicial candidate Lance White dies at 55. [RGJ]
- Nevada among states launching new mail-in voting suit after Supreme Court ruling. [NV Current]
- CCSD board member says she’ll sue district after reprimand for controversial shirt. [RJ]
- $1M Settlement approved over Las Vegas substitute accused of hitting student. [RJ]
- Nye County Sheriff issues apology following comment about in-custody death. [Fox5Vegas]
- Law firms increasingly mandate set days in office. [ABA Journal]
988
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Any lawyer in need of confidential assistance with alcohol, drug, gambling problems, depression and stress: help is a phone call away. The LCL hotline will put you in touch with a peer who understands the issues of lawyers today. When you call, all you have to leave is your first name and telephone number, and someone with experience and who understands will call you back. You will be listened to with understanding and support by someone who will give you resources you may not know exist out there. One new benefit of this program is three free therapist sessions for support during stressful events. More details here.
A school board member saying she is going to sue the school district after another elected school board member calls her out on her political speech makes me wonder if that member knows how her district works. The district can’t control any of those goofs
Elections do not and cannot fix the disfunction of the CCSD Board of Trustees. For whatever reason, this elected body seems to attract volatile people with bad judgment and negligible interpersonal skills. Anyone who has lived here even a few years has seen the parade of misfits who have rotated through the Board. I don’t fully understand why this Board is such a magnet for barely functioning adults, but it is. Based on this well-established pattern, it’s obvious that the solution is institutional change. Simply changing out the cast of clowns doesn’t end the clown show.
Is this markedly different from most elected school boards? They’re down ballot races that don’t generally garner a lot of serious voter attention. The salary trustees receive is meager, at best, ranging from $9,000 per year for Clark and Washoe Counties on the high end to $3000 per year on the low end for counties with population under 20,000. https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/fewer-candidates-running-for-nevada-school-boards-could-more-pay-draw-them-in
The low pay compared with the sacrifices more competent trustees would necessarily make in earnings tells you all you need to know about the quality of candidate attracted to the school board.
But this is Nevada. Nevadans keep voting for chronically underfunded governments and hamstrung public officials. It’s a feature, not a bug.
CCSD Board of Trustee is full of MARKEDLY more dysfunctional adults relative to other school boards. Other school boards have dysfunctional adults and embarrass themselves and their communities. But nobody does it as often, and as frequently, and in a sustained manner over time as CCSD. When, in coming years, the CCSD BoT has a complete turnover, the new Trustees will be just as clownish as the current Trustees.
Do you remember Katie Williams? Kevin Child? What other community in America elects people like this to school boards?
Yes, I remember Covid Katie. Yes, I remember Karen Child.
CCSD Board, clown show continues
What did the shirt say?
eh, it was just some scientifically inaccurate anti-trans BS.
It said xx xy
So, scientifically accurate. Got it.
sex ≠ gender
So, not scientifically accurate.
Moreover, it’s clarly just anti-trans BS. These people don’t care about sports, they don’t think trans people should exist.
They also fail to recognize the existence of people who are Intersex.
you are in the minority
(and correct)
@1:53
That is not true. I don’t care if you are trans, nor gay, nor democrat, nor republican or black, white or brown.
But most agree a genetic male should not be playing women’s sports.
Biasotti said “I wore the XX-XY shirt because it reflects a sincerely held religious belief.”
So, not science. Religion.
Ah, yes, the “I’m not being granted my guarantee to perfect religious toleration unless I can persecute those not of my religion” defense.
[just imagine there’s an eye roll emoji here and you’ll get my vibe]
Biassotti and Dominguez might want to go read Houston Community College System v. Wilson before they file their lawsuit They should also bring copies of that decision with them to any consultations they have with lawyers. https://mrsc.org/stay-informed/mrsc-insight/september-2022/u-s-supreme-court-upholds-censuring-members-of-a
Here’s the copy they should bring with them. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/595us2r19_8n59.pdf
Somehow missed the two year anniversary of the most commented on post on this blog which was yesterday: https://lawblog.law/closing-arguments/
You mean 263 Comments?
What advice would you give a newer attorney on handling stress long term because there are days where I go home and think of all the things I still need to do for my cases and it seems so daunting
(1) Have a boss/partner/compatriot who praises you. I mean earnestly reinforces that you are doing a good job and succeeding (assuming you are). As you get older, you come to savor the success less and ruminate on losses more. You need someone outside of yourself to point out that you can sleep easy because you are doing a good job. (2) Get a therapist.. I know I also thought I was too smart and too strong to need a therapist. Guess what I wasnt and neither are you. (3) Develop skills in which you learn that you cannot and will not make all of your clients’ problems your problems. Your clients have issues. You have a job in which you have agreed to do your best to help them with their problems. But you did not agree to put their problems on your back. (4) Realize that people like me are better preachers than practitioners of such advice and need that same support from people like you.
All this + exercise.
1,000%. It is alarming how many of our compatriots are passing in their forties and fifties.
Make a list. It can be overwhelming when everything you need to do cycles (on repeat) in your head. Writing it down (1) gives your brain a break because you stop worrying about forgetting something, (2) will help prioritize what to do first/next, and (3) allows you to delegate or ask for help if needed. I love scratching an item off the list when I am done, but maybe that’s just my OCD.
Also, remember: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
Remember that regardless of what you were taught, conditioned to believe, or even indoctrinated into believing in law school, this is not who you are. The legal profession is just shoveling bullshit from one day to the next. A legal career is not a moral identity, a measure of your worth or intellect, or a lifelong obligation.
At the end of the day, we are human beings trying to help other human beings (including people in companies) when they are distressed, vulnerable, or have been harmed. That’s it. That is the work. It matters, but it is still just work.
You are allowed to walk away. You do not have to sacrifice yourself to prove that you belong here. If this work is destroying your sense of self, your relationships, your health, or your ability to live a meaningful life, you can leave. Someone else can step in. The system will continue. The work will continue. You do not have to destroy yourself to keep doing it. And leaving does not mean you are giving up or failed. It means you recognize that this is all bullshit and there are better ways to spend your time.
Law shouldn’t be a cult or a gang that makes you “jump out.” You owe this profession nothing. Never take the expectations of a profession so seriously that you begin to doubt who you are or what you value.
Do literally anything else before you let this job own you.
Law is not your identity. Your title is not your identity. Your clients are not your identity. And your ability to endure suffering is not a measure of your character.
When you leave the office, let yourself be done. Know that you did what you could with the time, knowledge, energy, and humanity you had that day. You are a human being.
Eat. Sleep. Love people. Live to see another day. The work can wait. Your life cannot.
One last thing, live well within your means. Always have “fuck you” money. This is especially true for my fellow women for all the reasons.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XamC7-Pt8N0
All of this. I had to have a mild breakdown followed by therapy and medication to get to this place. The work is just that: work. Your life is so much more important
I love this comment! It’s so sad when people commit suicide. As an attorney you have a special education that will help you get a job in so many fields. if you don’t like it, are not happy, then as stated above, do something different!
And don’t be afraid to go to counselling. Society looks down on mental health, but those of us who open up are actually tougher and stronger than those who keep it bottled up!
As much as I needed hybrid work when our kids were small, I’ve found the best thing for my mental health had been trying to work only at work. As someone noted earlier, there is always going to be more to bill. Set a limit and main to do list today and then at either 8.0 hours or set time or whatever get the hell out and go workout and see your friends or family.
I admit I have not yet been able to fully cut the cord off of mobile outlook. And if your workplace is toxic get tf out. This is a market you can find a spot that fits.
I don’t know Lance White, but I send my condolences to his friends and family. I won’t point any fingers, but i wish we had a better way of regulating the profession than how we’re doing it now.
The way the news came out was awful – it was coupled with his discipline everywhere I saw it.
LCL is a great group but it doesn’t have the presence in the North that it does in the South of the state (I’ve practiced in both) and that’s a shame.
LCL is available by phone and there are meetings that can be attended via Zoom. Don’t wait until it’s too late. The LCL meeting in person and via zoom on Monday nights is a great group of lawyers and law students seeking support from their peers.
https://www.facebook.com/RGJmedia/posts/reno-family-law-attorney-and-judicial-candidate-lance-white-died-aug-21-his-deat/
Read the comments. Two things really stick out to me. First, this was a very good person who made the world a better place. Second, the disciplinary process was more than he could bear. There are too many of these cases. The result here is that a lawyer who would have continued to make other lives better is gone. There are people he would have helped, but now won’t. We’re all already terrified of the disciplinary process. There is no marginal deterrent in most of these cases.
Godspeed, counsel. You made the world a better place.
Attorneys commit suicide over such matters. Larry Penney and Tom Mark come to mind.
Local attorney Lance Clark White has been confirmed dead by the Washoe County Regional Medical Examiner’s Office, at the age of 55, with his death recorded on August 21st. It was listed as a “gunshot wound of the head.”
Rob Bare was the last Bar Counsel who understood. The last three were more interested in punishing than helping.
False but only slightly false. David Clark was Rob’s right hand and followed Rob’s model, at least until Hanging Jim sent him a message to start cracking skulls. David was and is David and it cost him his job. They brought in Brian Kunzi to look over David’s shoulder but really to push David out because they wanted a prosecutor who would hang pelts on the wall and then shuffled Brian out just as quickly as they brought Brian in.
That cleared the way for Stan who was asked to bring an Operation Strikeforce message and mentality to the OBC. The Hunterton days of darkness were far worse than the present days of incompetence. Hard+Hunt were the worst things to come to Nevada discipline in the 40+ years that I have been here. But at least Stan had civil practice experience. Then came Hooge, another prosecutor but this one with no private practice experience. Prayers to Mr. White and his family.
Are we really suggesting that when a lawyer starts abandoning his clients, taking money that doesn’t belong to him or her, and then doesn’t respond to attempts by the State Bar to ascertain what’s going on *or* seek help, which is why LCL and other resources exist, it’s the State Bar’s fault if the attorney commits suicide?
Sorry. But that’s ridiculous… that’s some otherworldly, absolutely disconnected from reality, just hate on Hooge nonsense. You all liked Rob Bare because with lunch and a handshake, he would dismiss your cases.
No one suggested any such thing. There certainly were suggestions that the OBC has lost its way from being a system of professional response, protection of clients and the public and rehabilitation to a system of unmeasured retribution without reason. And no Rob did not dismiss cases with a lunch and a handshake.
Have you read the transcript where White said he didn’t respond to bar counsel because he likened it to going to his execution? I don’t understand how anyone could hear a statement like that and not worry about mental health. He looked into teaching jobs because he was sure he was losing his license. Whenever is actually happening, it is perceived as arbitrary and career ending for solos.
Found the quote:
“CHAIR AARON: I can understand your
explanation of the issue with your paralegal concerning service to the clients. I’d like to hear a little bit more about the failure to respond to the Bar’s inquiries when these grievances started.
THE RESPONDENT: Well, there is no other
explanation other than my failing to understand the reality of it and avoiding what I believe was going to be the end of the career. No one is excited to early. go to their own execution, and that was the incorrect mindset that I had. No one shows up early.”
Anyone hear about something at ARM today? someone having a medical episode?
Former Judge Jackie Glass just passed away due to a cardiac event
That’s awful. Always liked her. My heart goes out to her daughters.
I mediated several cases with her when I was a baby attorney. I really liked her, she was fair and tough and always treated people well.
Good God.
Jackie always seemed so fit and healthy- looked and acted ten years younger than her age (I think she was roughly 70). I am shocked beyond words
She was indeed 70. Very sad.
They don’t make them better than Jackie. Her memory will be a blessing
My deepest condolences to Steve,Rachel, and Becca. Jackie was a wonderful, smart, fair woman and our legal community was much better because of her. She will be greatly missed.
Word on the street is that Daniel Hooge of the State Bar of Nevada’s Office of Bar Counsel wants to change the rules for attorney discipline so that attorneys no longer get due process. Under the proposed change, we would no longer be able to cite the NRCP or case law in our defense, only the disciplinary rules.
I’ve also heard the Board of Governors has agreed with the proposal and is considering announcing it at their next meeting on September 2, 2026.
This strikes me as a bad idea, given the bar’s history of bending the rules to win. I’ve collected a series of posts on why Daniel Hooge should not be given the authority to change the rules unilaterally.
I may be wrong, since I wasn’t present at the discussion. If that’s the case, I’d appreciate the correction.
If you want to voice your concerns at the September 2 meeting, I believe you need to register 72 hours before, no exceptions. Here’s the link to sign up:
https://nvbar.org/about-us/board-of-governors/meeting-dates/
Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
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Isn’t everyone entited to due process Daniel Hooge? We give it up when we become attorneys?
The discipline is so arbitrary. Jim Jimmerson and Leila Hale received Letters of Reprimand for conduct others received long term suspensions. And Sandy Van only received a Public Reprimand? Are you kidding?
They’ve AGREED to it as in they voted on it already, or they agreed to discuss or debate it? Big difference!
Since when does due process mean do whatever you want? I’m always shocked when attorneys try to argue constitutionality or case law in admin hearings before hearing masters (who are often not even attorneys). Do your hearing on the hearing standard. If you have con law issues, then file a complaint. I don’t care enough about Hooge to read what he wrote or proposed, but I just wanted to put out there it’s not depriving someone of due process to alter the process as long as the alteration is prospective and everyone is on notice of the change.
Respectfully, you’re describing the wrong forum.
Nevada discipline doesn’t go before a hearing master. It’s a three member panel, two attorneys and one layperson, chaired by an attorney, and the Supreme Court reviews every reprimand, suspension and disbarment de novo on that record under SCR 112. “Do your hearing on the hearing standard” is advice about a proceeding that isn’t this one.
Which matters, because the record made below is the record the Court reads. Raising an issue the panel can’t rule on isn’t showboating, it’s preservation. Raise it, lose it there, still have it on review. Don’t raise it and it’s gone for good. That’s day one appellate practice.
“File a complaint” isn’t really on the table either. Ongoing bar discipline is the Younger abstention hypothetical (Middlesex, 1982). Federal court hands you straight back to the proceeding you were trying to get out of, and a collateral state action runs into the court’s exclusive jurisdiction over the practice of law. The alternative forum you’re pointing at mostly doesn’t exist.
And nobody’s arguing con law here anyway. The proposal you say you didn’t read bars citing the NRCP and case law. That isn’t constitutional argument, that’s the decisions construing the RPCs and prior sanction outcomes. It’s how proportionality gets argued at all. Strip it and you’ve asked a panel to apply rules with no interpretive gloss while the respondent argues disparate treatment without naming a single comparable case.
Your prospectivity point is correct and answers a question nobody asked. Prospective plus notice beats a retroactivity objection. It does nothing for adequacy. See Ruffalo, 1968, disbarment is quasi-criminal. Telling people in advance they can’t cite law doesn’t fix the rule, it just means they saw it coming.
One thing that does cut your way: Hooge can’t change the rules and neither can anyone else at the Bar. SCR amendments go through the court’s ADKT process with publication and public comment. The BoG can petition. That’s the whole of it.
I remember this posted on August 6th. Is the proposal posted somewhere?
https://lawblog.law/built-for-cars-not-people/#comment-110954
Well said, Anonymous Person who appears very familiar with the attorney disciplinary system.
The amount of “the sky is falling” and “absolute power corrupts” and “here, look at all these anonymous comments that illustrate how bad bar counsel is” nonsense is overwhelming. Hooge doesn’t just change the rules unilaterally. There is a process, which even the volunteers support too.
/raiseshand
Read the proposals, people. Don’t like them and just want to stick it to the State Bar? Volunteer and make your voices heard during the disciplinary process.
It’s always worthy of a smug blog post until it happens to you.