Attorney Keith Gregory, who according to Judge Mahan was the linchpin of the HOA scandal–giving it an air of legitimacy, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. The 61 year old has until September 18, 2015, to report to prison. Along with Gregory, an 86 year old veteran who was on the Board at two of the HOAs was sentenced to 2 years in prison and 3 years of supervised release. The “mastermind” of the scandal, Leon Benzer, is due to be sentenced on August 6. [RJ]
North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee says the child porn allegations are a hack job and he just wants to put this to bed.” [Las Vegas Sun]
Sadly, in this case, 10 years really means something close to 10 years. Federal time sucks that way.
I know Keith screwed up, then rolled the dice at trial and lost big time, but I've known him for many years and he's always been a straight shooter with me. No excuse for what he did but I do wish him well.
I know I should probably just call LCL but can someone explain why law is so soul crushing? I am competent and function, I just feel miserable all the time.
Because it is. No matter what the practice area, it's constantly adversarial–it's you against opposing counsel, against the judge (esp if its state court) and even against your own client (if you don't get this, you haven't practiced long enough). No one ever really thanks you (if your client just did, wait a few weeks until he/it gets the bill). That's why you need to do pro bono. Those are the only sincere thanks you will ever get, and you need that, considering you spend your life destroying relationships (personal or business) or making them harder. Sorry to break it to ya.
Sounds like 10:37 just hasn't done enough family law. The practitioners are competent and amiable, and for the most part, the litigants are still on friendly terms, so there's no real viciousness.
Admittedly, I've only been in family court a handful of times, but my experience there was that the judge and counsel were extremely unprofessional and disrespectful of each other and the judicial process. Although I've seen liars on the other side in civil matters, never have I seen someone make such outright lies and misrepresentations as in a nasty divorce with lots of money at stake.
I hate to agree with 1:37 PM, but I've been practicing family law for 3 years now and it's definitely a mixed bag. There are some very competent and amiable attorneys, but there are also some on the opposite side of the spectrum. Same goes for judges. Just look at the difference between Judge Pomrenze and Judge Duckworth.
I don't know what 11:56 AM is taking, but I want some. While I have seen some real professionals practicing in family court, it is also the place where I have seen the largest groups of unprofessional, unprepared, disrespectful attorneys. Lying and cheating seem to be standard operating procedure for many of them and the simply stir up their client's preexisting vitriol against the other party for the intended goal of increasing the attorney fees that they can charge.
Comedy is watching a family law attorney come into civil district court with their antics and getting their asses handed to them. I suppose the reverse is true. Watching the utter dismay civil attorneys have when doing something in family court and their reactions to the utter lack of competence by the court and the domestic law practioneers.
Guest
Anonymous
June 19, 2015 7:05 pm
10:13 – is it short-term or long-term misery? I think a lot of us have times when we're not thrilled with the tasks at hand or really dislike certain clients. I usually find that a nice vacation works well in that situation. If it's a long term issue, it might be time to make a major change. I switched from private practice to a public sector job. It was a big pay cut (but the retirement plan is much better in the public sector), but I have a lot more time with my family, I don't have the burden of making enough to pay my staff and rent, and I get to practice full time rather than spending a lot of time on running a business. I've done civil, criminal and family cases and prefer criminal for a number of reasons, but a big one is that the attorneys are much nicer and professional to each other in comparison to the b.s. that goes on in civil cases. I hope things work out for you.
As a criminal defense attorney, I have to say that I disagree with 3:15. In my experience, most of the prosecutors I deal with are in fact reasonable and professional. Of course, there are exceptions. And self-righteous? Sure. But then again, as "crusading" defense attorneys we probably come across as self-righteous to them as well.
So funny to read this, I also switched from private to public a few years ago and I've never been happier as an attorney. Any drop in pay is more than made up for by the 4-day week, benefits, retirement, and general work environment.
I agree, 9:58. I recently switched from private to public, and it was the best decision I ever made. I work a solid 40 hours, with occasional overtime. My coworkers are much more pleasant to be around, and I actually get to take vacations. Plus, what I do counts as pro bono work, so I have the added benefit of feeling good about providing a good service to society. I'm not going to get rich doing this, but my quality of life is amazing.
Guest
Anonymous
June 20, 2015 7:25 pm
10:13 here, appreciate the insight – it is true that the only thank you cards I've received have been from pro bono clients but those cases are still high stress. I think the adversarial dynamic is hard, coupled with what others have mentioned regarding outright lying that I've seen. Scorched earth attorneys feel more like the norm than the exception these days but I do find myself in family court a lot so that may explain it.
Mayor John Lee wants to put the child porn allegations "to bed." Wow, what an unfortunate choice of words!
Concur
Call Lerner so he can trash the cash
Only if you're on his side! The rest of us think its funny.
If you had 3 months to report to prison for 10 years, what do you do in those 3 months? Party? Get your affairs in order?
Walk across the border to Mexico. And continue south to Venezuela.
I seem to recall Gerry Zobrist took a trip to Disneyland with the family.
Sadly, in this case, 10 years really means something close to 10 years. Federal time sucks that way.
I know Keith screwed up, then rolled the dice at trial and lost big time, but I've known him for many years and he's always been a straight shooter with me. No excuse for what he did but I do wish him well.
Easy, copious amounts of Coke and hoes
http://www.reviewjournal.com/columns-blogs/john-l-smith/assemblywoman-victoria-seaman-injured-crash
Enough said, call Ed!
Don't call Richard Harris!
I know I should probably just call LCL but can someone explain why law is so soul crushing? I am competent and function, I just feel miserable all the time.
Because it is. No matter what the practice area, it's constantly adversarial–it's you against opposing counsel, against the judge (esp if its state court) and even against your own client (if you don't get this, you haven't practiced long enough). No one ever really thanks you (if your client just did, wait a few weeks until he/it gets the bill). That's why you need to do pro bono. Those are the only sincere thanks you will ever get, and you need that, considering you spend your life destroying relationships (personal or business) or making them harder. Sorry to break it to ya.
Oh, and I forgot to mention that all those other lawyers/executives you work with?… yeah, watch your back. Just sayin. Aint it glorious?
Well stated 10:37. Makes me want to do more pro bono. Good advice.
Sounds like 10:37 just hasn't done enough family law. The practitioners are competent and amiable, and for the most part, the litigants are still on friendly terms, so there's no real viciousness.
Admittedly, I've only been in family court a handful of times, but my experience there was that the judge and counsel were extremely unprofessional and disrespectful of each other and the judicial process. Although I've seen liars on the other side in civil matters, never have I seen someone make such outright lies and misrepresentations as in a nasty divorce with lots of money at stake.
I hate to agree with 1:37 PM, but I've been practicing family law for 3 years now and it's definitely a mixed bag. There are some very competent and amiable attorneys, but there are also some on the opposite side of the spectrum. Same goes for judges. Just look at the difference between Judge Pomrenze and Judge Duckworth.
I don't know what 11:56 AM is taking, but I want some. While I have seen some real professionals practicing in family court, it is also the place where I have seen the largest groups of unprofessional, unprepared, disrespectful attorneys. Lying and cheating seem to be standard operating procedure for many of them and the simply stir up their client's preexisting vitriol against the other party for the intended goal of increasing the attorney fees that they can charge.
Comedy is watching a family law attorney come into civil district court with their antics and getting their asses handed to them. I suppose the reverse is true. Watching the utter dismay civil attorneys have when doing something in family court and their reactions to the utter lack of competence by the court and the domestic law practioneers.
10:13 – is it short-term or long-term misery? I think a lot of us have times when we're not thrilled with the tasks at hand or really dislike certain clients. I usually find that a nice vacation works well in that situation. If it's a long term issue, it might be time to make a major change. I switched from private practice to a public sector job. It was a big pay cut (but the retirement plan is much better in the public sector), but I have a lot more time with my family, I don't have the burden of making enough to pay my staff and rent, and I get to practice full time rather than spending a lot of time on running a business. I've done civil, criminal and family cases and prefer criminal for a number of reasons, but a big one is that the attorneys are much nicer and professional to each other in comparison to the b.s. that goes on in civil cases. I hope things work out for you.
Omg..totally agree with you…use to work with criminal bar…and so much nicer for the most part….couple of from defense attys who are pricks
Agree with regard to the defense attorneys but prosecutors, for the most part, are self-righteous, unreasonable and unprofessional
As a criminal defense attorney, I have to say that I disagree with 3:15. In my experience, most of the prosecutors I deal with are in fact reasonable and professional. Of course, there are exceptions. And self-righteous? Sure. But then again, as "crusading" defense attorneys we probably come across as self-righteous to them as well.
3:15 here. Most of my dealings in the recent past have been with federal prosecutors-that may have colored my opinion.
So funny to read this, I also switched from private to public a few years ago and I've never been happier as an attorney. Any drop in pay is more than made up for by the 4-day week, benefits, retirement, and general work environment.
I agree, 9:58. I recently switched from private to public, and it was the best decision I ever made. I work a solid 40 hours, with occasional overtime. My coworkers are much more pleasant to be around, and I actually get to take vacations. Plus, what I do counts as pro bono work, so I have the added benefit of feeling good about providing a good service to society. I'm not going to get rich doing this, but my quality of life is amazing.
10:13 here, appreciate the insight – it is true that the only thank you cards I've received have been from pro bono clients but those cases are still high stress. I think the adversarial dynamic is hard, coupled with what others have mentioned regarding outright lying that I've seen. Scorched earth attorneys feel more like the norm than the exception these days but I do find myself in family court a lot so that may explain it.