- Quickdraw McLaw
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Happy 2015 everyone! Here are a few headlines for those of you working today:
- Here’s a puff piece with a very positive spin on the end of Lionel Sawyer. [RJ]
- Here’s a story to help remind you to properly take care of and dispose of client records. [8NewsNow]
- Justice James Hardesty will serve as Nevada Supreme Court’s Chief Justice this year and one of his first tasks will be assigning the new Court of Appeals its first 163 cases. [RJ]
- The investiture ceremony for four of our newly elected judges will take place this afternoon. [CCBA]
I always knew Lionel Sawyer would regret not hiring me. This is proof positive that they made the biggest mistake of their careers when they didn't give me a law clerk job during my 2L summer a few years ago. I hope they enjoy spending the next 20 years wallowing in misery and thinking about their mistake.
I didn't work at Lionel Sawyer and I don't know @9:53 but I'm sure those guys are just coming to grips with passing you up for that summer association position. If only they had known the consequences of their actions . . . .
I am surprised at how much news coverage the end of LSC has received, including on the local news channels. What non-lawyer cares about this?
LSC was a legend in its own mind, and the press just feeds on that bullshit. I'm sure the prestige was there 50 years ago, but it's a different world now. "What have you done for me lately?"
I think it was a combination of not hiring 9:53 AM above and mismanagement that brought LSC down.
The media should have been all over the storyline about what brought LSC down rather than simply printing a puff piece like the LVRJ did. There likely is much more to this story that will come out in the future. Were many of the rumors of mismanagement true? If so, that's the story that should be told. Not a story calling LSC the premier firm in Nevada. How can a firm that imploded be the premier firm? The author of the article should research and write the news, not a puff piece.
Or was it as rosy as she makes it in the article? I'm sure some of the former employees will fill in the blanks for us. What actually happened?
With a handful of exceptions, the media in this town are very, very lazy. They stick to stories that don't require a lot of digging or work, ie (1) simple crime stories; (2) puff pieces like that; (3) obvious "advice" such as online shopping tips that advise audience to not use credit cards on unsecured wifi. Really? Did that take a lot of research.
Most of what really happens in this town never makes it into the news because there isn't anyone willing to look into it.
I've never been a fan of Jane Ann Morrison's columns. She typically flames people who often don't quite deserve that level of flaming. And here, as the person above likely got right, it appears that she made a negative situation into a puff piece. She doesn't impress me. Lazy is a good descriptive word for this story.
I completely agree regarding Jane Ann. I thought we were done with her when she "retired"a few months back.
"Not all Lionel Sawyer attorneys were asked to join Fennemore Craig, and four who were asked declined."
I wonder who the four were… Hejmanowski, McCrea, Kotchka, and Smith?
Former Senator Bryan was right: LSC should have changed the way it did business long ago. What just happened was a result of that and not knowing how to compete. And yes, I lost my job Dec 31. Moving on.
Good luck. How do you think LSC should have changed? There's firms out there that charge higher rates than LSC and offer about the same service. If anything, I think LSC's problem was too little young talent, so when the old guys started retiring/dying (or when the old guys' clients started retiring/dying), there was less work coming in the door. But I'm just an outsider that would have loved to work at LSC, and was very disapointed that LSC didn't come to OCI.
Boomers Gonna Boom. Consume & Destroy.
From what I'd heard, LSC was basically coasting on its reputation as the premier Nevada firm for some time as opposed to aggressively competing like other firms. According to a former partner, there was really little focus on business development. For a while, LSC was really the only game in town and it fought very hard to keep regional and national firms from establishing shop in town, but once they did, it was unable or unwilling to compete. Plus, it was the same few guys running the place for a really long time.
None of the news stories have managed to capture the bulk of the pertinent details of LSC's downfall. Given the number of us who watched this happen from inside LSC, I hope that somebody, someday, writes a detailed story of the arrogance and incompetence of the last few years of LS&C. I am proud to have worked there, and I am fortunate to be moving on to bigger and better things. But the pitiful conduct of LS&C's executive board, and the devious behavior of Fennemore Craig, created a shameful and embarassing legacy for Nevada's most important law firm.
You lost me at "devious behavior of Fennemore Craig." How was FC devious? Because they didn't take everyone? That just doesn't come across as devious to me.
What behavior was devious? Were there representations made that ended up not being true? Do tell. We're all wondering what went down.
* Nevada's most self-important law firm.
There, I fixed it for you.
I heard that FC proposed a merger, then backed away last minute and cherry-picked the pieces. Can anyone confirm that?
4:47 is absolutely right. For years, simply pleasing partners and clients meant an associate would make partner; then circa 2002 or 03, the firm made marketing efforts part of the year-end associate review, but there was no real tutelage to associates on how to actually bring in business; they simply filled out marketing reports with little guidance. Over the years, lots of great talent passed through there, many bright attorneys leaving when it became obvious the old guard had no intention of releasing their vice grip. I'm both better and worse for having worked there; better, because I had access to some premier legal minds, but worse, because there was little genuine interest (or perhaps motivation) in cultivating – or even finding – natural talents. It's interesting that there was a BK associate hired in the Fall of 2014 and worked there only a few months; exactly whose BK was he working on, I wonder…
How much do law firms teach associates how to become generators of business? My guess is not many. A few years ago one of my firm's best generating partners left. A junior partner that went with him/her told me that he had no choice but to go with because he had no book of business of his own. His advice to me was to start building my own book of business. Seems like there are a few other top-heavy firms in town at risk of becoming the next LSC.
New Year Resolution for the blog comments: No more discussion, speculation, badmouthing, or ass-kissing of the fallen firm. Unless Sam or Paul want to address some issues here, which would be great, let's just look at it as a new year, for better or for worse, without LSC (the firm of which we will not speak). To new and more salacious scandals in 2015!!
That New Year's Resolution only applies to you and the other people formerly at LSC who want to keep their deep, dark secrets. The rest of us want all the details.
Agree with above. Let's get some more details. Inquiring minds want to know.
Those of you longing for some salacious story to spill out about LSC – I think you're going to be disappointed. The reasons for LSC's demise have already been discussed here. Coasting on reputation. Making people partner for just doing their time. Not keeping up with changes in technology, business practices, etc. Archaic management practices. Letting people hang around who didn't earn their keep. Not developing/keeping people who may have been able to fill some of the holes left by those who departed/died. Sorry conspiracy theorists, it's just not that interesting.
They didn't tell you either, eh?
No, they didn't. Didn't have to. I haven't worked there in years and have no dog in the fight. But with your clever wit, I'm sure you'll find another job in no time.
@10:24 has it spot on. Case closed, moving on.
which cases will be passed down to the new appeal judges?
Is it just me, or is FC in Nevada essentially just the leftovers of Jones Vargas and LSC (i.e., the attorneys who couldn't get another job before their firms imploded).
Until the new absorbtion of LSC people the Reno FC was ENTIRELY JV staff.