- Quickdraw McLaw
- 29 Comments
- 364 Views
As 2018 draws to a close, it’s time to take a look back at the top ten stories that affected the Las Vegas legal community this year. Before we do, thanks again for reading, commenting, and offering your input because without you, the blog is dead. As always, we’re open to your suggestions on how we can improve the blog, so if you have any comments, criticisms, ideas, gossip, or want to volunteer to write a guest post, let us know. Here’s wishing you a happy 2019! Maybe we’ll see you again next year!
Our top ten Las Vegas related legal stories of 2018, in no particular order (except #1) are:
10. It’s no secret that there is a lot of suicide in the legal profession, but it’s still devastating every time one of our own takes their lives as we were reminded this year with the passing of Jacob Hafter and Judge Laurel Davis Barbero.
9. MGM has made several public missteps with regard to the fallout from the October 1 shooting, including suing the victims.
8. Boulder City has continued to find itself in headlines from the crosswalk incident.
7. Elissa Cadish, Lidia Stiglich, and Abbi Silver were all elected to the Nevada Supreme Court–giving us a female majority on the Court for the first time in history.
6. Phil Kohn is out as the public defender amid allegations of inappropriate workplace conduct including “The Captain Morgan Pose.”
5. Scott Dozier wants to die, but legal process is holding that up. [Daily Mail]
4. William Gamage and Amy Gamage face charges as accessories to murder.
3. After carefully redacting documents, one mistake by Judge Elissa Cadish and/or her staff led to the disclosure of the other person of interest with regard to the October 1 shooting.
2. After Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement, the Country got to watch drama on a national scale during the confirmation hearings of now Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
1. The State Bar of Nevada, including, but not limited to the Board of Governors, Kim Farmer, and the Office of Bar Counsel. While they may not have garnered many actual headlines, they got plenty of discussion here on the blog about how they need to change. From the successful campaign to unseat 3 sitting BOG members to Stan Hunterton leaving OBC to the Supreme Court rejecting the BOG’s petition to mandate professional liability insurance, they seem to be a recurring theme around here…
* Honorable Mentions
- Judge Jennifer Togliatti is retiring and hearing her last calendar as a full time judge today. [RJ]
- RIP Vicki Nelson; Greg Marsh; Judge Allan Earl; R. Glen Woods; John Momot; Jacob Hafter; Andrew Rempfer; Mark Hinueber; Judge Laurel Davis Barbero
- The Utah Bar sent out an email to all of its attorneys that included a photo of a topless woman.
- The Golden Knights made it to game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season.
What do you think? What did we miss? What do you think will be the big stories next year? Which big firm is teetering on the brink? Any judges about to have that meltdown that pushes them into the spotlight? Any wild predictions. Stay tuned….
Is there some website that has all of the court rules, rules of professional conduct, etc., that is up to date?
Not really, best to just look them each up because amalgamators can change, keep old ones, etc., always go to the source for law that your career might depend on or your client's life, mobey, children, etc., good luck
I am glad to see Gonzalez is retiring, bye, boo. I am, however, sorry to hear about Judge Togliatti. I actually always liked her.
I have had a civil jury trial with Togliatti and numerous hearings. I was sorry when she quit hearing civil matters. She is one of the very best in terms of skill, temperament, and, when appropriate, wit.
Gonzalez is retiring? Where'd you get that, 9:33 AM?
It was posted the other day on here.
It is my understanding that Betsy has denied that she is retiring any time soon.
Dear Bloggers,
The Allison Law Firm Chtd. is actively seeking an attorney to join our practice. We are looking for a 1-3 year attorney with a background in the construction industry. Our firm represents several general contractors, subcontractors, and developers, as well as the families who work at these companies. An ideal candidate must be ready to become an expert in every aspect of construction law, but also must be prepared to handle areas of law outside of construction such as: personal injury; wills, trusts and probate; labor and employment law; and general litigation.
We are hiring with the expectation of a long-term relationship. We are ready and willing to train a new lawyer, but we also want a self-starter who has the ambition and temperament to become a partner someday. In other words, no drifters.
If any of the folks on this blog are interested, or if you know anyone who might be interested, please contact me privately at noah@allisonnevada.com. Thank you and Happy New Year!
From personal experience, Noah is a great person to work with.
Noah….I have to agree. You fight hard but fair. I like that about you. Still not telling you who I am. But good for you in shooting down the drifters.
Although it is true that she must receive the same legal presumption of innocence as anyone else, it is relevant when public officials are arrested on something of significance, and even more so if they have previously attracted the attention of the criminal justice system–as this family did with her soccer field incident, and her husband's arrest.
Even if this does not result in an eventual conviction, people believe that where there is smoke, there is fire. A picture is beginning to emerge that both parties may need to acquire better tools in dealing with stress, rather than being aggressively reactive.
As far as her legal abilities, I believe she is bright, but I truly believe that someone seldom simply grows into a very good judge by being there long enough, even if they had no significant experience as an attorney. If one has no notable experience as an attorney, I view it as a permanent handicap that prevents any such judges from truly grasping many of the pragmatic aspects of practicing law. If one did not practice law for a significant period, it is difficult to ever be an excellent trail judges as the practical scope of reference is not there, etc.
She first came to the Family Court bench as a very young woman with a mere few years of practice. She was elected right before the promulgation of the so-called 10 Year Rule, whereby one is required to be licensed for 10 years prior to being eligible for District Court. She then served on the Family Bench for four years, which further removed and isolated her from gaining the requisite knowledge needed to eventually serve at the RJC on Criminal and Civil(non-family law) cases.
When she won an RJC seat in '08, her election was assured as she gained the seat held by the highly embattled Halverson.
That all said, she's far better than a number of judges on the bench. I think she makes a sincere, consistent effort to improve and is generally hard-working.
"A picture is beginning to emerge that both parties may need to acquire better tools in dealing with stress, rather than being aggressively reactive."
Translation: If you're judge, quit behaving like you're in a Worldstar video.
My insightful final comment on the blog this year comes from the summation of years of intensely following the news, talking with fellow attorneys, and personal knowledge: The OBC is a shitshow. Thank you and Happy New Year
Rumor is more defections from the OBC as of 1/1/19. Stay tuned!
I one hundred percent submitted a valid complaint, reviewed by two other lawyers, and they rejected it. OBC bites worse than the BOGS.
Judicial discipline is a shit show.
Thank you for this blog and the hard work you put into it. It's a welcome source of news, gossip, and humor. I wish you all a happy and healthy 2019.
This thing just gets wackier and wackier all the time:
https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/courts/las-vegas-lawyer-alexis-plunkett-accused-of-threat-to-kill-ex-lover-1561134/
She said it in writing, to a group of other attorneys, who have an obligation to report. How does someone this dumb pass a bar examination? Maybe they need to add another half-day of testing for common sense.
Elissa Cadish accepted her campaign money. She is okay people.
I am worried about her. If anyone knows her, please encourage her to get help. We have to be careful in this space while she is in crisis.
Wow, just wow. Here's the DA's motion addressing her bail – http://bit.ly/2GP3kwz
She is at risk from so many different fronts. I am not certain I have ever seen a lawyer in this much peril since Amesbury and we all know what happened to him.
This is probably some of the worse shit I have seen on this Blog.
Wow. She is messed up.
I've always wanted to be a hit caller for a gang. Other attorneys have way better jobs than me.
So I was in a related area and spent 18 months trying to figure out why they were called "shock collars" for the various races and gangs. Only then did I find out that the term was "shot caller."
Happy New Years All! Be kind to each other today.
(OK I promised I would say one nice thing on the blog this year. Sorry it took until the last day of the year).
Looks like CLEs are due today.