DA Steve Wolfson advises parents to be observant for the signs of child abuse or sexual assault. [News3LV]
Prostitution at massage parlors is pervasive and hard to prevent. [TNI]
How the state is training employers to avoid sexual harassment. [TNI]
Here are some bits and pieces about people on the move in the southern Nevada legal field. [Vegas Inc.]
Here’s a story about the affect of immigration policies on families. [Nevada Current]
Raiders wide receiver Antonio Brown lost an arbitration over his right to wear an unapproved helmet. [News3LV]
With Las Vegas gaining professional sports, are we going to start seeing more “sports law” in town? Or is that a practice that only thrives in bigger cities like LA and New York?
Not necessarily "sports law" but when I lived in Denver there was a prominent criminal defense attorney that represented most athletes when they got into trouble. He then represented many of the athletes in the disciplinary hearings from their respective leagues. I assume that at some point the professional athletes may find themselves in trouble and need similar services here in LV.
"prominent criminal defense attorney that represented most athletes when they got into trouble"
There is the growth practice. After all, the Oakland NFL thugs are coming to town. Wife beating, drugs, assaults, battery and tax evasion. Glory days.
Guest
Anonymous
August 13, 2019 10:49 pm
When does it become okay to lie to another counsel on a case? Seems to be ordinary course today.
Guest
Anonymous
August 13, 2019 11:09 pm
3:49–it's, of course not okay, and it's true that this behavior, particularly at hearings, seems to be tolerated more than in the past. At least some judges are more tolerant of this behavior. When I started practicing, almost no judge tolerated undue sniping between attorneys, or attorneys making excuses for not honoring their word, or lying that they even gave their word in the first place.
But the broader question concerning civility is not the issue of whether the judges are now too tolerant of such behavior. The broader, and more important issue, is civility concerning the interplay between attorneys.
And that problem has always been with us, yet it seems we pine away for this nonexistent day in the past when attorneys word was their bond, etc. When attorneys present, or write articles, on the deteriorating state of such civility, they invariably use the example that these days you need to fully and instantly document all agreements,from minor to major, in writing ASAP.
And then to juxtapose this with the way practice was two or three decades ago, they invariably use an example of opposing counsel as a good ol' boy, in a cowboy hat, who shakes your hand as to the agreement and says something like "my word is my bond. We don't need nothin' written down."
But problem is that it is a fiction to argue those guys were plentiful 20 or 30 years ago. I started practicing 30 years ago, and even back then attorneys were bemoaning the state of civility, how all agreements now need to be instantly reduced to writing, and they would then tell us that 20 or 30 years prior to that date, there was the guy with the cowboy hat who was so good to his word, etc.
So, if there is a real loss in civility, I submit it is no recent trend, but rather pretty much the state of affairs, in the practice of law, for the last half century.
I hear attorneys bemoan the lack of civility and ethics today all the time, but I do not buy it. I am in my mid-thirties and every single time save one that I have been stabbed in the back or had an attorney lie in open court it has been someone who has been practicing for 25+ years. The one exception was a terribly incompetent solo who lied to try to save his client's case from his own malpractice.
Partner 1 in Moss Berg lied about a dead client, and the judge did nothing about it. Judges don't bitch about civility when you do nothing about lying attorneys. And partner one above is a liar.
Had a recent case where defense counsel was caught outright lying on multiple discovery issues. Black and white issues, not gray areas. I thought I needed to raise these to the court and seek sanctions. Nothing was done. So, blame judges. When people get away with not playing by the rules, the new rule is that there are no rules.
And judges lie. I can name at least four off the top of my head. It all comes out in wash, bae. It all comes out in the wash. We will be speaking out about your actions, promise you.
Guest
Anonymous
August 14, 2019 4:03 am
Seek and you will find. The answer is obvious, but painful for many in the legal community. One word–BOYD
The lack of civility discussed above traces to the opening of BOYD.
They teach contention as a way of life.
They have not concept of "within the bounds of the law", or "Rule 3.3. Candor Toward the Tribunal", or "Rule 3.4. Fairness to Opposing Party and Counsel".
BOYD teaches winning!
A very Trumpian way of practicing.
Reduce the bar pass rate to 35% and watch the quality and civility of the practice improve.
I am no fan of Boyd. I dislike that Dean Hamilton is trying to abolish our reciprocity rules to goose the US News & World Report rankings while pretending that he is only motivated by high minded civic altruism. While graduates at the top of any law school class are gifted writers, the typical Boyd grad is an inferior writer to the typical graduates of other regional law schools.
That said, I see absolutely no correlation between Boyd and a perceived decline is civility and comity among colleagues. In my observation, Boyd grads tend to be as civil or more civil than the typical member of the bar.
I trust no one in this profession. Just saw a filing from an old law school friend, Boyd, and the Supreme Court 100 percent bought their story. I am sorry for the opposing attorney. I may reach out to them and see if I can help.
Any news out there?
Not necessarily "sports law" but when I lived in Denver there was a prominent criminal defense attorney that represented most athletes when they got into trouble. He then represented many of the athletes in the disciplinary hearings from their respective leagues. I assume that at some point the professional athletes may find themselves in trouble and need similar services here in LV.
"prominent criminal defense attorney that represented most athletes when they got into trouble"
There is the growth practice. After all, the Oakland NFL thugs are coming to town. Wife beating, drugs, assaults, battery and tax evasion. Glory days.
When does it become okay to lie to another counsel on a case? Seems to be ordinary course today.
3:49–it's, of course not okay, and it's true that this behavior, particularly at hearings, seems to be tolerated more than in the past. At least some judges are more tolerant of this behavior. When I started practicing, almost no judge tolerated undue sniping between attorneys, or attorneys making excuses for not honoring their word, or lying that they even gave their word in the first place.
But the broader question concerning civility is not the issue of whether the judges are now too tolerant of such behavior. The broader, and more important issue, is civility concerning the interplay between attorneys.
And that problem has always been with us, yet it seems we pine away for this nonexistent day in the past when attorneys word was their bond, etc. When attorneys present, or write articles, on the deteriorating state of such civility, they invariably use the example that these days you need to fully and instantly document all agreements,from minor to major, in writing ASAP.
And then to juxtapose this with the way practice was two or three decades ago, they invariably use an example of opposing counsel as a good ol' boy, in a cowboy hat, who shakes your hand as to the agreement and says something like "my word is my bond. We don't need nothin' written down."
But problem is that it is a fiction to argue those guys were plentiful 20 or 30 years ago. I started practicing 30 years ago, and even back then attorneys were bemoaning the state of civility, how all agreements now need to be instantly reduced to writing, and they would then tell us that 20 or 30 years prior to that date, there was the guy with the cowboy hat who was so good to his word, etc.
So, if there is a real loss in civility, I submit it is no recent trend, but rather pretty much the state of affairs, in the practice of law, for the last half century.
I hear attorneys bemoan the lack of civility and ethics today all the time, but I do not buy it. I am in my mid-thirties and every single time save one that I have been stabbed in the back or had an attorney lie in open court it has been someone who has been practicing for 25+ years. The one exception was a terribly incompetent solo who lied to try to save his client's case from his own malpractice.
Partner 1 in Moss Berg lied about a dead client, and the judge did nothing about it. Judges don't bitch about civility when you do nothing about lying attorneys. And partner one above is a liar.
Someone is bitter.
Yes, why would anyone be upset when another attorney lies to them? Report them to the bar.
Had a recent case where defense counsel was caught outright lying on multiple discovery issues. Black and white issues, not gray areas. I thought I needed to raise these to the court and seek sanctions. Nothing was done. So, blame judges. When people get away with not playing by the rules, the new rule is that there are no rules.
Turn them into the bar. They probably won't do anything, but you can create a record on the attorney.
And judges lie. I can name at least four off the top of my head. It all comes out in wash, bae. It all comes out in the wash. We will be speaking out about your actions, promise you.
Seek and you will find. The answer is obvious, but painful for many in the legal community. One word–BOYD
The lack of civility discussed above traces to the opening of BOYD.
They teach contention as a way of life.
They have not concept of "within the bounds of the law", or "Rule 3.3. Candor Toward the Tribunal", or "Rule 3.4. Fairness to Opposing Party and Counsel".
BOYD teaches winning!
A very Trumpian way of practicing.
Reduce the bar pass rate to 35% and watch the quality and civility of the practice improve.
As a Boyd graduate, I can tell you with all due respect, that you are wrong.
I am no fan of Boyd. I dislike that Dean Hamilton is trying to abolish our reciprocity rules to goose the US News & World Report rankings while pretending that he is only motivated by high minded civic altruism. While graduates at the top of any law school class are gifted writers, the typical Boyd grad is an inferior writer to the typical graduates of other regional law schools.
That said, I see absolutely no correlation between Boyd and a perceived decline is civility and comity among colleagues. In my observation, Boyd grads tend to be as civil or more civil than the typical member of the bar.
Given 9:03's intimate knowledge of the nuts and bolts of a Boyd education, is it fair to assume he/she went there as well?
Except that the timing is very suspect. Hmmmmmmm.
90% of my problems have been with lawyers from tier 3 and 4 schools from California.
When you have a community that is devoid of social capital, you should expect lying to eventually overtake civility, even in the courts.
I trust no one in this profession. Just saw a filing from an old law school friend, Boyd, and the Supreme Court 100 percent bought their story. I am sorry for the opposing attorney. I may reach out to them and see if I can help.
Meant to say my old friend is lying. Failed to put that in post.
Seriously, call the attorney and the court out. Lying to the court and the court allowing them to get away with it is unethical. It is unethical.
9:18's experiences match mine.