I'm listening to Legal Aid try to litigate teeny tiny time entries in a guardianship matter. After a full round of briefing and eating up the Court's time, the attorneys' fees were reduced by $300 from what I can tell. Legal Aid tried to argue that a an entry (which I think was a .2) that referenced preparation of two, one-page documents was "block billing." Fortunately, Judge Sturman was sane and rejected this argument. The attorneys at Legal Aid who do guardianship have no sense of prioritizing the fights they pick over attorneys fees. They are wasting resources in fights like this.
It appears to be the mandate of Legal Aid to contest and gain reduction of all attorney fees, without regard to reasonableness. Has anyone ever considered entering into discovery to obtain the time and billing records for a Legal Aid attorney in a contested fee case? It might be worth comparing Legal Aid time entries with the guardian's attorney's invoices.
Guest
Anonymous
July 8, 2021 5:17 pm
Who wants to start the daily commentary concerning Justice Hardesty and Judge Forsberg?
Are you delighted with their performance? No? Why not?
Couple years back there was virtual daily commentary on Judge(now Justice) Cadish and Commissioner(now Justice) Bulla.
They just don't seem to generate such strong opinions these days, concerning their demeanor and performance.
How are any of the 10 newly elected Family Court judges performing, or the several new RJ judges?
How is Justice Herndon adapting to NSC?
Back to Justice Cadish for a moment. Back when she was on District Court Bench, the complaints appeared to have far more to do with her staff(specifically the JEA) than the judge herself.
I always keep in mind that judges, as well as we attorneys, are often largely judged by our staff and their demeanor and helpfulness(or lack thereof).
In my experience, the judge's behavior sets the tone for their staff.
Speaking of Forsberg, the staff in our office says her JEA is rude every time they have to call them. Potter's staff was awful to deal with. His law clerk yelled at people on the phone and his court clerk was nasty. It has been a while since I have called the department, but when I did call Duckworth or Hoskin's staff they were always polite and competent which is how both judges run their courts.
I miss Tim Kelley screaming at our office staff for conducting legal business. Elissa Cadish will never get my vote, either. She allowed him to treat people that way. Her demeanor on the bunch was bad as well. Stay in Carson City.
Cadish is exceptionally smart and well intentioned. She just can't project herself. Not sure if it's self-esteem or whatever. Some large-than-life judges can do that. Not her. I hope she brings greatness to the supreme court where personality is (mostly) irrelevant. Just don't take my guns, dammit.
Guest
Anonymous
July 8, 2021 6:12 pm
Has the DA's office moved to the Municipal Court building at 100 E. Clark? We tried to serve something yesterday at the RJC 2nd floor and were rejected.
the city attorney's office has. DA is 3rd floor RJC.
Guest
Anonymous
July 8, 2021 6:12 pm
Wolfson goes to the legislature where two of his employees are in charge and argues in opposition to repeal of the death penalty. Then he says we should do a referendum. Sisolak and the legislature should gut it up and do their job.
Guest
Anonymous
July 8, 2021 6:19 pm
How're y'all liking Department 23 these days? Can anyone offer anything good/bad/indifferent with their experience with the court and/or chambers?
It's great that Dept. 23 manages to turn what should be a 3 hour calendar into a 6+ hour affair. Really helps me with my in-court billables. Plus, not following the law most of the time means I get to bill for more appeals. Win-win.
Many, MANY leftoid victories over the decades will have to be rolled back if common sense and the virtues inherent in a healthy civilization are to be reestablished and venerated.
It simply won't be enough to thwart the Left's battlefield advances or slow their psychological conquests; the Left will have to be utterly and convincingly defeated and the stain of all their "accomplishments" washed from the body politic.
Shut up Trumper. There are a number of newly elected PD judges who are fucking awesome; Kearny, Trujillo, Craig, these women are incredible. I love Jasmine, she spends the time assessing every case and puts the effort in. Jasmine's problem is time management. As a private attorney I have an issue with her because she gives an incredible amount of deference to PD cases when private attorneys are much more succinct, but she's new and she needs to learn. I have every confidence she will get there. Jasmine is young, give her time and the benefit of the doubt, she's an amazing judge, just let her show you.
@2:55 you're insane. Boomers are dying off by the day. Young people are overwhelmingly not white, not straight, not religious, and not republican. The body politic looks less and less like you and yours by the day. The republican party has chosen not to evolve. Extinction is the only remaining option.
3:36–I really agree with your slap down of these conspiracy theorists who view it as a leftist takeover whenever people are elected to the bench who appreciate the constitutional protections of the criminally accused.
And I am pleased to learn that that you have good experiences with some of these new judges.
But I am a bit concerned that some highly experienced and solid jurists, some of whom had a sterling career as attorneys prior to taking the bench, were beaten by people with relatively little experience or accomplishments compared to the incumbent they de-throned.
It concerns me that voters, in judicial races, know little or nothing about the qualifications of the sitting judges, or the candidates challenging the sitting judges, and thus place all their emphasis on extraneous, tangential factors–e.g. what name sounds better, who looks better on an A-Frame, who is more telegenic on broadcast ads, etc.
Could you imagine if we elected who would be neurosurgeons based on popular elections? We'd wind up with very youthful, and very attractive neurosurgeons with sparkling white teeth, but how well can they wield the scalpel?
No, I don't have any solutions. just venting and bitching, which I'm prone to do.
4:13, yes, true. It is unwarranted to take a hard stance against these new judges simply because they were PDs. But, on the other side of the coin, they should not be afforded undue deference simply because they were in fact former PDs.
3:36, as criminal defense counsel, apparently is pleased, in general, with the performance and inclinations of these former PDs. But if we canvasses DAs, a somewhat different evaluation would certainly be offered.
All of which plays up the huge subjectivity when evaluating judicial performance. What an attorney's client base consists of(e.g criminal defendants, personal injury plaintiff's, insurance defense, etc.) , and how predisposed a judge is perceived as being to the people who fall into the category of such client base, largely determines whether an attorney views such judge favorably or not.
I take a little different view of the changing demographics. Any student of history knows it ALWAYS changes. So what? My view is not to bemoan it – let them live in the world they build haha. My greatest generation lived through wars and beat back every challenge. I live retired in an area of Utah with virtually no crime, no trouble, no drugs, no race problems, and happy people. Keep your changing demographics. I drove to Vegas last week and was greeted by a shooting on Boulder Highway, wall to wall traffic, and when I went to pick something up in Walmart, a black lady was yelling the N-word at a white guy (go figure) in front on two black children. So you all have fun with your new demographics. I couldn't give two shits. However, your words do irritate me in the same way rough toilet paper irritates my ass – it's stinky, of no use, and is best flushed away.
4:46–Don't understand the attack on Nadig(who posted at 3:36).
You are abusing him about his view of the changing demographics, shifting of priorities and the like, all while comparing his observations to toilet paper, etc. But he never offered such views.
Nadig has posted before in a manner that I took some slight offense to, as he seems to be quite direct, etc.
But all he said this time is to evaluate new judges. Beyond that, the only observation he made was to push back against those who view it as a leftist takeover simply because a few PDs got elected to the bench.
Have we lost the ability to read? Attack him on what he actually said, if such attack is warranted. But for you to assign straw man arguments to him, which he never offered, simply to eviserate those arguments, makes no sense.
Bet you a nickel that if you were to talk to doctors, police officers, etc in your quiet Utah town they would freely admit that meth and opiate use is rampant in your community. But enjoy the few years you have left.
Dear 5:14 – OP 4:46 here. Nadig posted at 3:36 using the pejorative "Trumper" thereby labeling roughly half of America in a negative way. If am equivalent term were used against other segments of society I have no doubt the NSB would be hunting down IP address right now. But Nadig can freely act this way with no repurcussion. (I am personally happy about this but wish it applied to all). Immediately after, at 3:46 I assume Nadig posted about demographics. I inferred this by tone, message, and grammar. May be I was wrong, but implicit in the derision on Trumper is this tired argument so either way, I'm correct in my assumption.
Dear 5:55 – I assume you think you are witty or somehow making a sharp insight. People my age have already enjoyed our lives. It is no insult to recognize that we have so many years in this life. Only someone young and ignorant would think otherwise so you have revealed a little about yourself. You may not care, but you miss the point of my argument. My generation made our world and I am proud of it and enjoyed it. You all can tear it to shit and I don't hope you do but it will serve you right if you do and then live in it.
And to whomever said Utah has problems, etc. – of course it does, but if you think the "suburbs" of St. George have the problems to any degree of Vegas you are delusional. I live in a community of about 50 people. It starts with a "V" has 4 letters and rhymes with "Heyo." I know every single neighbor as we all go to the same Ward. I can't remember the last time there was a crime or a problem. Although I did have a neighbor that dropped his wallet at the gas station last week and I had to crawl under his truck to retrieve it – that was exciting.
How did my response to 2:55 turn into a referendum on Utah? My sister in law lives just outside of St. George, it’s a great place and we visit all the time and yes, she is a Republican as is her husband. I love them, they are great people. Although she is an insurance adjuster which means she is actually a terrible person, I have zero issues with Utah… for the most part (I’m not okay with the Jazz and BYU football). I was talking about judges, not demographics. I could give a flying f about Utah’s demographics or their crime rates. All I was saying is give Jasmine some time, she’s good people, that’s all. But to be fair, it’d be nice if she hurried the f up.
Nadig, this is exactly what I mean about don't sucked into to defending straw man arguments that they assign to you, only so that they can knock down those arguments that you never offered.
Your remarks, at 3;36, say absolutely nothing about people from Utah. so, then why let them accuse you of dissing Utah, wherein you then defend yourself by saying some of your best friends, as well as family members, are from Utah, and that they, and the state, are wonderful in many respects, etc.
Next time, why not try the following: Hey, my comment was an evaluation of new judges. I aid nothing about Utah, or any other state for that matter, so kindly pound sand.
But, yes, while we are on the subject of Utah, I also have no use for the Jazz or BYU football.
And to get even more tangential and off topic, why not name a team from New Orleans the Jazz. Utah is like the least imaginable state(aside from perhaps Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho) that had any meaningful association with the jazz music scene.
9:18- I did always wonder about the Jazz title. But it obviously is not a meaningful reference to the historical music scene of Utah(which probably owes a lot more to Mormon choirs, and traditional hymns, than it does to Americaan jazz).
It's probably simply meant as a more generic reference to excitement, movement, slickness–like, you know, jazzy.
@9:33 the franchise was originally the New Orleans Jazz. Moved to Utah 30+ years ago. Probably should have changed it then. But kinda late to do it now
@ 11:12, if you're talking about the LV City Attorney's office, it has moved to the new Muni Court building. If you're talking about the District Attorney's office, they're on the 3rd floor.
Guest
Anonymous
July 8, 2021 7:47 pm
Anybody else on whether big law is changing the market rates in Vegas? Snell/Brownstein/Ballard all confirmed raising associate salaries. Anyone else?
WOW MAC is pretty high, they are even above some of the national/international/regional firms here according to public data. Didn't expect that. How many billable hours?
Ballard, Fox Rothschild, Greenberg are all AmLaw 100. Snell is close to AmLaw 100. I consider anyone in AmLaw 100 big law. Not to mention regional firms like Brownstein/Holland and Hart/Lewis and Roca are AmLaw 200ish. That to me is big law. What is your definition of big law?
Akerman ranges from $95-180k depending on the market, and Las Vegas usually isn't on the higher end of those ranges. Also, it doesn't look like they have any first years……….
@ 1:29 P.M. MAC's billable requirement is 2000/year if you want to be on "partner track". As far as a $120k starting salary…if that's true, they better be giving healthy raises to most of the associate attorneys who have a few years of practice under their belt and are still under 100k.
Guest
Anonymous
July 8, 2021 10:36 pm
Does anyone here have a dental malpractice attorney (Plaintiff's side, obviously) to recommend? In Las Vegas. Thanks in advance.
Guest
Anonymous
July 9, 2021 3:09 pm
RE: Supreme Court-Gunera-Pastrana v. State found misconduct on the part of the judge, the jury and the prosecutor and found cumulative error and reversed a conviction for child sex offenses. The trial judge was Israel, defense counsel were PDs. It is a long, well-written opinion by Parraguirre, joined by Silver and Stiglich.
I'm listening to Legal Aid try to litigate teeny tiny time entries in a guardianship matter. After a full round of briefing and eating up the Court's time, the attorneys' fees were reduced by $300 from what I can tell. Legal Aid tried to argue that a an entry (which I think was a .2) that referenced preparation of two, one-page documents was "block billing." Fortunately, Judge Sturman was sane and rejected this argument. The attorneys at Legal Aid who do guardianship have no sense of prioritizing the fights they pick over attorneys fees. They are wasting resources in fights like this.
It appears to be the mandate of Legal Aid to contest and gain reduction of all attorney fees, without regard to reasonableness. Has anyone ever considered entering into discovery to obtain the time and billing records for a Legal Aid attorney in a contested fee case? It might be worth comparing Legal Aid time entries with the guardian's attorney's invoices.
Who wants to start the daily commentary concerning Justice Hardesty and Judge Forsberg?
Are you delighted with their performance? No? Why not?
Couple years back there was virtual daily commentary on Judge(now Justice) Cadish and Commissioner(now Justice) Bulla.
They just don't seem to generate such strong opinions these days, concerning their demeanor and performance.
How are any of the 10 newly elected Family Court judges performing, or the several new RJ judges?
How is Justice Herndon adapting to NSC?
Back to Justice Cadish for a moment. Back when she was on District Court Bench, the complaints appeared to have far more to do with her staff(specifically the JEA) than the judge herself.
I always keep in mind that judges, as well as we attorneys, are often largely judged by our staff and their demeanor and helpfulness(or lack thereof).
In my experience, the judge's behavior sets the tone for their staff.
Speaking of Forsberg, the staff in our office says her JEA is rude every time they have to call them. Potter's staff was awful to deal with. His law clerk yelled at people on the phone and his court clerk was nasty. It has been a while since I have called the department, but when I did call Duckworth or Hoskin's staff they were always polite and competent which is how both judges run their courts.
I miss Tim Kelley screaming at our office staff for conducting legal business. Elissa Cadish will never get my vote, either. She allowed him to treat people that way. Her demeanor on the bunch was bad as well. Stay in Carson City.
bench
Cadish is exceptionally smart and well intentioned. She just can't project herself. Not sure if it's self-esteem or whatever. Some large-than-life judges can do that. Not her. I hope she brings greatness to the supreme court where personality is (mostly) irrelevant. Just don't take my guns, dammit.
Has the DA's office moved to the Municipal Court building at 100 E. Clark? We tried to serve something yesterday at the RJC 2nd floor and were rejected.
the city attorney's office has. DA is 3rd floor RJC.
Wolfson goes to the legislature where two of his employees are in charge and argues in opposition to repeal of the death penalty. Then he says we should do a referendum. Sisolak and the legislature should gut it up and do their job.
How're y'all liking Department 23 these days? Can anyone offer anything good/bad/indifferent with their experience with the court and/or chambers?
It's great that Dept. 23 manages to turn what should be a 3 hour calendar into a 6+ hour affair. Really helps me with my in-court billables. Plus, not following the law most of the time means I get to bill for more appeals. Win-win.
It is just the begining, we elected a bunch of people who have no business on the bench.
Many, MANY leftoid victories over the decades will have to be rolled back if common sense and the virtues inherent in a healthy civilization are to be reestablished and venerated.
It simply won't be enough to thwart the Left's battlefield advances or slow their psychological conquests; the Left will have to be utterly and convincingly defeated and the stain of all their "accomplishments" washed from the body politic.
Shut up Trumper. There are a number of newly elected PD judges who are fucking awesome; Kearny, Trujillo, Craig, these women are incredible. I love Jasmine, she spends the time assessing every case and puts the effort in. Jasmine's problem is time management. As a private attorney I have an issue with her because she gives an incredible amount of deference to PD cases when private attorneys are much more succinct, but she's new and she needs to learn. I have every confidence she will get there. Jasmine is young, give her time and the benefit of the doubt, she's an amazing judge, just let her show you.
@2:38 you're absolutely correct
@2:55 you're insane. Boomers are dying off by the day. Young people are overwhelmingly not white, not straight, not religious, and not republican. The body politic looks less and less like you and yours by the day. The republican party has chosen not to evolve. Extinction is the only remaining option.
3:46
Who is a republican?
There is no peaceful solution to the problem.
3:36–I really agree with your slap down of these conspiracy theorists who view it as a leftist takeover whenever people are elected to the bench who appreciate the constitutional protections of the criminally accused.
And I am pleased to learn that that you have good experiences with some of these new judges.
But I am a bit concerned that some highly experienced and solid jurists, some of whom had a sterling career as attorneys prior to taking the bench, were beaten by people with relatively little experience or accomplishments compared to the incumbent they de-throned.
It concerns me that voters, in judicial races, know little or nothing about the qualifications of the sitting judges, or the candidates challenging the sitting judges, and thus place all their emphasis on extraneous, tangential factors–e.g. what name sounds better, who looks better on an A-Frame, who is more telegenic on broadcast ads, etc.
Could you imagine if we elected who would be neurosurgeons based on popular elections? We'd wind up with very youthful, and very attractive neurosurgeons with sparkling white teeth, but how well can they wield the scalpel?
No, I don't have any solutions. just venting and bitching, which I'm prone to do.
4:13, yes, true. It is unwarranted to take a hard stance against these new judges simply because they were PDs. But, on the other side of the coin, they should not be afforded undue deference simply because they were in fact former PDs.
3:36, as criminal defense counsel, apparently is pleased, in general, with the performance and inclinations of these former PDs. But if we canvasses DAs, a somewhat different evaluation would certainly be offered.
All of which plays up the huge subjectivity when evaluating judicial performance. What an attorney's client base consists of(e.g criminal defendants, personal injury plaintiff's, insurance defense, etc.) , and how predisposed a judge is perceived as being to the people who fall into the category of such client base, largely determines whether an attorney views such judge favorably or not.
Mr. Nadig,
I take a little different view of the changing demographics. Any student of history knows it ALWAYS changes. So what? My view is not to bemoan it – let them live in the world they build haha. My greatest generation lived through wars and beat back every challenge. I live retired in an area of Utah with virtually no crime, no trouble, no drugs, no race problems, and happy people. Keep your changing demographics. I drove to Vegas last week and was greeted by a shooting on Boulder Highway, wall to wall traffic, and when I went to pick something up in Walmart, a black lady was yelling the N-word at a white guy (go figure) in front on two black children. So you all have fun with your new demographics. I couldn't give two shits. However, your words do irritate me in the same way rough toilet paper irritates my ass – it's stinky, of no use, and is best flushed away.
4:46–Don't understand the attack on Nadig(who posted at 3:36).
You are abusing him about his view of the changing demographics, shifting of priorities and the like, all while comparing his observations to toilet paper, etc. But he never offered such views.
Nadig has posted before in a manner that I took some slight offense to, as he seems to be quite direct, etc.
But all he said this time is to evaluate new judges. Beyond that, the only observation he made was to push back against those who view it as a leftist takeover simply because a few PDs got elected to the bench.
Have we lost the ability to read? Attack him on what he actually said, if such attack is warranted. But for you to assign straw man arguments to him, which he never offered, simply to eviserate those arguments, makes no sense.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yVKySA2-47c
4:46,
Bet you a nickel that if you were to talk to doctors, police officers, etc in your quiet Utah town they would freely admit that meth and opiate use is rampant in your community. But enjoy the few years you have left.
Dear 5:14 – OP 4:46 here. Nadig posted at 3:36 using the pejorative "Trumper" thereby labeling roughly half of America in a negative way. If am equivalent term were used against other segments of society I have no doubt the NSB would be hunting down IP address right now. But Nadig can freely act this way with no repurcussion. (I am personally happy about this but wish it applied to all). Immediately after, at 3:46 I assume Nadig posted about demographics. I inferred this by tone, message, and grammar. May be I was wrong, but implicit in the derision on Trumper is this tired argument so either way, I'm correct in my assumption.
Dear 5:55 – I assume you think you are witty or somehow making a sharp insight. People my age have already enjoyed our lives. It is no insult to recognize that we have so many years in this life. Only someone young and ignorant would think otherwise so you have revealed a little about yourself. You may not care, but you miss the point of my argument. My generation made our world and I am proud of it and enjoyed it. You all can tear it to shit and I don't hope you do but it will serve you right if you do and then live in it.
And to whomever said Utah has problems, etc. – of course it does, but if you think the "suburbs" of St. George have the problems to any degree of Vegas you are delusional. I live in a community of about 50 people. It starts with a "V" has 4 letters and rhymes with "Heyo." I know every single neighbor as we all go to the same Ward. I can't remember the last time there was a crime or a problem. Although I did have a neighbor that dropped his wallet at the gas station last week and I had to crawl under his truck to retrieve it – that was exciting.
I'm with 4:46. It is sad that Utah's Republicans are mostly RINOs. The good People of Utah are solid.
How did my response to 2:55 turn into a referendum on Utah? My sister in law lives just outside of St. George, it’s a great place and we visit all the time and yes, she is a Republican as is her husband. I love them, they are great people. Although she is an insurance adjuster which means she is actually a terrible person, I have zero issues with Utah… for the most part (I’m not okay with the Jazz and BYU football). I was talking about judges, not demographics. I could give a flying f about Utah’s demographics or their crime rates. All I was saying is give Jasmine some time, she’s good people, that’s all. But to be fair, it’d be nice if she hurried the f up.
Nadig, this is exactly what I mean about don't sucked into to defending straw man arguments that they assign to you, only so that they can knock down those arguments that you never offered.
Your remarks, at 3;36, say absolutely nothing about people from Utah. so, then why let them accuse you of dissing Utah, wherein you then defend yourself by saying some of your best friends, as well as family members, are from Utah, and that they, and the state, are wonderful in many respects, etc.
Next time, why not try the following: Hey, my comment was an evaluation of new judges. I aid nothing about Utah, or any other state for that matter, so kindly pound sand.
But, yes, while we are on the subject of Utah, I also have no use for the Jazz or BYU football.
And to get even more tangential and off topic, why not name a team from New Orleans the Jazz. Utah is like the least imaginable state(aside from perhaps Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho) that had any meaningful association with the jazz music scene.
9:18- I did always wonder about the Jazz title. But it obviously is not a meaningful reference to the historical music scene of Utah(which probably owes a lot more to Mormon choirs, and traditional hymns, than it does to Americaan jazz).
It's probably simply meant as a more generic reference to excitement, movement, slickness–like, you know, jazzy.
@9:33 the franchise was originally the New Orleans Jazz. Moved to Utah 30+ years ago. Probably should have changed it then. But kinda late to do it now
"Shut up Trumper"
Nadig is a douche.
@ 11:12, if you're talking about the LV City Attorney's office, it has moved to the new Muni Court building. If you're talking about the District Attorney's office, they're on the 3rd floor.
Anybody else on whether big law is changing the market rates in Vegas? Snell/Brownstein/Ballard all confirmed raising associate salaries. Anyone else?
MAC starting their first year associates at $120k. After bonuses they're making anywhere from $140-200k depending on billables, performance, etc.
WOW MAC is pretty high, they are even above some of the national/international/regional firms here according to public data. Didn't expect that. How many billable hours?
MAC is barely open. Shocked they can afford to pay this.
yup barely open for nearly 40 years. Still bitter about being canned? MAC has always had a generous bonus program
For the umpteenth time, there is no "biglaw" in Vegas.
Ballard, Fox Rothschild, Greenberg are all AmLaw 100. Snell is close to AmLaw 100. I consider anyone in AmLaw 100 big law. Not to mention regional firms like Brownstein/Holland and Hart/Lewis and Roca are AmLaw 200ish. That to me is big law. What is your definition of big law?
Akerman is at $180K for first years now. I believe they lead the market.
Akerman ranges from $95-180k depending on the market, and Las Vegas usually isn't on the higher end of those ranges. Also, it doesn't look like they have any first years……….
@ 1:29 P.M. MAC's billable requirement is 2000/year if you want to be on "partner track". As far as a $120k starting salary…if that's true, they better be giving healthy raises to most of the associate attorneys who have a few years of practice under their belt and are still under 100k.
Does anyone here have a dental malpractice attorney (Plaintiff's side, obviously) to recommend? In Las Vegas. Thanks in advance.
RE: Supreme Court-Gunera-Pastrana v. State found misconduct on the part of the judge, the jury and the prosecutor and found cumulative error and reversed a conviction for child sex offenses. The trial judge was Israel, defense counsel were PDs. It is a long, well-written opinion by Parraguirre, joined by Silver and Stiglich.