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- Celebrating Boyd Law School’s 20th anniversary. [TNI]
- What else is going on out there today?
Mondays– Am I Right?
- Law
- Posted on 5 years ago
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Only if we can celebrate Boyd 2011.
Boyd has done a good job. The history of the law school is worth mentioning. UNLV's law school came about because the attorneys (the bar) stopped Western States (now Thomas Jefferson) from opening shop here as a non-ABA school with a seven (7) year waiver from ABA accreditation by the Nevada Supremee Court. So Western States a for profit law school was stopped (the newspaper was a big help) and UNLV saw this as an opportunity to create its law school. UNLV was promoted as only needing state funding intially. They got all these pledges and grants. Whatever happened to those? Tuition was going to fill the gaps. The law school was going to be tied to the legal community in Nevada with adjuncts. That turned out to also be a stretch. It is mostly legal academicians and non practicing attorneys that teach. There are a few adjuncts but they are few and far between. The law school relies heavily on state funding. Of course it was going to be a success. All state funded law schools are successful. The good news is that Nevada did not get a for private diploma mill. Even with smaller enrollment at a state funded school, the bar is still flooded with way too many lawyers. Is it still hard for Boyd law grads and transplants to get jobs? It sure seems that way.
A shout out for Western State. As I recall it was provisionally ABA approved at that time, the sticking point was that it was for a profit school. The ABA seemed to think that a for-profit school was somehow unholy.
Western did take in many students, and for many it was an opportunity. The quality of students evened out after the first year when abut half flunked out or quit. A high percentage of both the bench and bar in Orange County, LA and even San Diego, are Western States grads.
This is the 20th anniversary of the first Boyd graduating class. History cited by 11:57 is correct. The proposal by Western States through Marilyn Gubler and Sandy Tiffany, lobbyists and Dominic Gentile and Matt Callister was for a storefront law school in downtown Las Vegas. I don't have a problem with fewer adjuncts; the quality of adjuncts is variable. The engagement with the community has been great through the immigration clinic, the misdemeanor clinic, a whole bunch of pro bono projects.
A shout out for Dean Richard J. Morgan?
I came to town 10 years ago with no ties to Vegas, but many friends who had moved here. I was completely blown away by how little loyalty there was from local firms to UNLV. It was almost like UNLV Law didn't exist, which I was grateful for. At the school I attended, the law school OWNED the local and state market. If you didn't go to my law school or a T13 school, you weren't getting a job in the state. Period.
I have been involved in hiring a bunch attorneys since that time. The UNLV grads we've hired have not been very effective writers. Maybe they are outliers, it's possible. This isn't a statistically significant sample. Still, I prefer to hire from BYU/Utah/Arizona/ASU or a litany of So. California Schools. I am also stunned that UNLV Law has never reached out to our firm, even with a form letter, to try and get us to hire UNLV Law grads. I've always thought that if UNLV Law put in the effort over enough time they could own the LV market, which they definitely do not right now.
Don’t know the size of your firm, but in my experience career services staff at Boyd only cared about attention from the BigLaw firms. When I was there, they focused 99% of their attention on those students who had resumes attractive to BigLaw firms. Almost to the point they were rude to those of us who didn’t.
Reveal your firm name. Perhaps they don't reach out to your firm because it's a shit firm.
2:23,
Maybe we are a shit firm. I guess we'll just keep giving our shit jobs to grads from out of state schools, they seem to be grateful and to have quite a bit of success.
2:07 PM,
I suspect that phenomenon is true at most schools. It was at mine. Maddening because the students career services focuses on don't really need a lot of help. My advice to law school students in the bottom 90% is that you are on your own to find a job. You gotta make your own hustle and have your own strategy. If you do that, you'll be fine. Don't waste time being upset with career services. Accept reality, and get to work on your plan to find a job.
I've only worked at one firm in Nevada, but UNLV was all about sending us emails, having the dean come by the firm, the dean reaching out to alums at the firm to go to lunch. If anything, I thought it was a little over the top. I imagine you're right – that UNLV focuses on AmLaw and Vault firms but spends less time on smaller ones. I suppose that (e.g.) Brownstein hires more grads a year, and does so year in and year out. So that's a reason to keep the pipeline going. But I also agree that UNLV would do well to foster relationships that'll benefit all of its grads.
We have have the same experience as the original poster–disappointing writing skills and little interest in our office providing internships, jobs, etc, even when we reached out. Professors on staff waxing like experts when they have never practiced. Yeah, we are done trying to support our hometown school.
@1:34, current Boyd student here – in my experience, classes taught by the adjunct professors have been the most meaningful, and have provided the best insights on the practical application of the law (something most of the school's tenured professors know nothing about). The full-time faculty are generally ultra-woke, academia-obsessed individuals spewing nothing but liberal nonsense. Seriously, there are civil procedure professors who suggest there may not be a need for states anymore, federal income tax professors who advocate for a race-based tax system… Boyd's writing and ADR program may be a success, but it is juxtaposed by the faculty's pattern of unchecked indoctrination.
The checked out academics are a feature of almost every law school. A person should not be allowed to teach law school unless they have at least 10 years experience in the subjects they teach. These wonky woke liberals with zero experience take down generous salaries for teaching the same two classes each semester. It's ridiculous.
When I started out, the big firms were Beckley Singleton; Jones Jones Close and Brown; Vargas Bartlett; Gordon and Silver; and Lionel Sawyer and Collins. Where are they now?
Boyd student here. Who are the most prestigious and highest paying firms in town currently? (i.e. what is the most prestigious firm you can land at immediately after graduating from Boyd that has an office in Vegas).
Pisanelli Bice is the best if you are talking commercial litigation. Santoro Whitemire also. Both are small though. Big firms would be Brownstein and the other big ones like Greenberg.
Campbell & Williams, Snell & Wilmer, Weinberg Wheeler
If the question is what are the most prestigious and highest paying firms, then the answer is Holland & Hart, Brownstein Hyatt, Greenberg Traurig, Snell & Wilmer, Weinberg Wheeler (and a couple other similar firms). If the question is what are the best firms, then it is the list above plus the smaller firms like Campbell & Williams and Pisanelli and Bice (and others). However, the question of who is the "best" is highly dependent on the area of law.
Google "Nalp directories." Search for "Las Vegas." Those are going to be the highest paying firms.
Also, keep in mind that these firms hire 1-2 associates a year, and if the students are from Boyd, they're generally near the top of their class.
Lost all respect for UNLV when I took a class from Jennifer Dorsey.
Which of these firms has the best combo of prestige, money and hot attorneys? Working with attractive people is also very important to me.
Weinberg Wheeler is fine nationally, and Lee Roberts is a good lawyer. But that firm is extremely shallow depthwise locally.
@9:04, I would suggest looking for employment with the NY Governor's Office… I mean there has to be a reason why Cuomo won't leave right? I imagine it has to be all the hot staffers walking around. Where else is he going to get his action?
I'm shocked no one on here has yet set forth a definitive Vegas law firm hotness ranking.
I’d like to know who stated the opinions above. The most prestigious “firm” in Vegas is/are none of the above (I’ve practiced here for over 20 years). Highest pay – yes, some of the above. But you sell your life. People who hate their lives – talk to former attorney’s from Greenberg – as an example. However – Santoro Whitmire is pretty solid. I’d take Nick Santoro over Jim Pisanilli in any trial or any case. It’s all going to be opinion based – no doubt – but prestige comes from lawyer name recognition, record, respect to opposing counsel and the bench – like Dan Polsenberg (and he’s a bit of a wind bag – but a gem and damn good lawyer who is “prestigious.”). So – Lewis & Roca should be on the list. Also some of the smaller firms I won’t name – but we all know.
Yes, but Santoro Whitmire is low on the hotness scale. The other firms mentioned are higher on that scale, which is an important factor.
Is Santoro Whitmire still all white men?
I'm still laughing that 3:58 put Santoro Whitmire next to Pisanelli Bice in terms of prestige.
Why? Jim and Nick would eat Jim Pussynelly for breakfast then have Todd for dinner. If you disagree – you’ve never litigated against any of them – or with them as co-counsel.
If you want to be a litigator for real, start out as a DA or PD.
Unless I missed it, no D Nev nominations in Biden's first batch of judges.