The lithium story is a non-story. Thacker Pass and Rhyolite Ridge have sued repeatedly and lost. Absent a monumental change in the White House that changes the BLM direction (and it did not happen under Obama or Biden), these challenges are done. There is a reason that they are petitioning in the Canadian Parliament as a Hail Mary.
The politics are never going to be on the challengers’ side. Republicans love miners and hate environmental regs and protecting tribes. Democrats want to show that fighting global warming can be economically beneficial.
Guest
Anonymous
May 18, 2026 10:31 am
Attorney David Winterton was cross-examining the opposing counsel’s client in bankruptcy court on May 11 when his heart stopped. Within seconds, opposing counsel Matt Johnson jumped to his aid, using life-saving skills he learned in Boy Scouts more than 45 years ago.
Has Matt Johnson’s client filed a State Bar Complaint against him for this conduct? Saving opposing counsel’s life does not seem to be appropriate zealous representation!
Back in the 90’s-00’s, the Red Cross would come around to offices and do training on Heimlich, CPR, etc. We did that at my former law firm a couple of times. Is that still offered? I thought it was valuable at the time. Also, there was no mention of the courthouse marshals in the article. Are they trained at this, and is any AED equipment available at the state and federal courthouses?
Noble Brigham, who reads these comments, does a great job. I’m surprised this one got past him. Also a little surprised that NOT ONE TV station picked this up? It’s such an easy story to write and produce, a nice refreshing change of pace from the police blotter stories they rely so heavily on for content.
Anyway, kind of embarrassing that KSL beat you. Honestly, if you are a TV producer reading this, please watch the 10 PM News on KSL. It is so vastly superior to all four local newscasts. If one of you patterned your operation after KSL you would crush the others.
I think this blog actually scooped everyone. It was posted here the same day it happened.
Guest
Anonymous
May 18, 2026 3:17 pm
Ironic way that ChatGPT is creating more billable work: Explaining (or trying to explain) a point of law to a client who has been poorly advised by, or doesn’t understand what ChatGPT is telling them.
I suspect the initial advice these clients receive aligns more closely with my own, but they keep pushing for a version that better aligns with the way they want the law to work rather than the way it actually will in practice. Of course there are always nuances and framing issues that laypeople miss, but more often than not the answer was there the whole time and the client just doesn’t want to hear it.
Guest
Anonymous
May 18, 2026 8:56 pm
The Estrada matter is being treated as a criminal case, which it is, but the family-law dimension is sitting there unaddressed and the room lacks the acumen to identify it. Two children. Ex-spouse relationship. Aggravated stalking charges already on the pleadings. The property and custody exposure embedded in this fact pattern – the children’s interests, the estate questions arising from two parents killed simultaneously, the support arrears that almost certainly exist – these do not disappear because the DA filed first. I count at least three separate civil matters that a practitioner with any equitable-distribution background should already be opening files on. Each properly billable. The fee burn on a multi-party estate and custody matter arising from a double-homicide in a former-domestic-relationship context, properly handled, runs well into five figures before anyone files a first hearing notice.
In my experience – and I have been at this long enough to have seen comparable fact patterns more times than I care to enumerate, including as an AAML Fellow who has watched fees designated for family court get consumed by adjacent criminal proceedings – the family court interests get addressed last and worst.
The lithium story is a non-story. Thacker Pass and Rhyolite Ridge have sued repeatedly and lost. Absent a monumental change in the White House that changes the BLM direction (and it did not happen under Obama or Biden), these challenges are done. There is a reason that they are petitioning in the Canadian Parliament as a Hail Mary.
The politics are never going to be on the challengers’ side. Republicans love miners and hate environmental regs and protecting tribes. Democrats want to show that fighting global warming can be economically beneficial.
Attorney David Winterton was cross-examining the opposing counsel’s client in bankruptcy court on May 11 when his heart stopped. Within seconds, opposing counsel Matt Johnson jumped to his aid, using life-saving skills he learned in Boy Scouts more than 45 years ago.
Read more: https://www.ksl.com/article/51498334/
Did KSL really scoop all of our local media?
what a great story out of an unfortunate circumstance. What’s more important–life or a trial. good reminder for all of us.
Has Matt Johnson’s client filed a State Bar Complaint against him for this conduct? Saving opposing counsel’s life does not seem to be appropriate zealous representation!
It’s also a great reminder that everyone should get CPR and AED certified.
Back in the 90’s-00’s, the Red Cross would come around to offices and do training on Heimlich, CPR, etc. We did that at my former law firm a couple of times. Is that still offered? I thought it was valuable at the time. Also, there was no mention of the courthouse marshals in the article. Are they trained at this, and is any AED equipment available at the state and federal courthouses?
We have local media?
Noble Brigham, who reads these comments, does a great job. I’m surprised this one got past him. Also a little surprised that NOT ONE TV station picked this up? It’s such an easy story to write and produce, a nice refreshing change of pace from the police blotter stories they rely so heavily on for content.
Anyway, kind of embarrassing that KSL beat you. Honestly, if you are a TV producer reading this, please watch the 10 PM News on KSL. It is so vastly superior to all four local newscasts. If one of you patterned your operation after KSL you would crush the others.
Really surprising considering it was discussed last week here. With that said, I believe Matt has a house in Utah.
I think this blog actually scooped everyone. It was posted here the same day it happened.
Ironic way that ChatGPT is creating more billable work: Explaining (or trying to explain) a point of law to a client who has been poorly advised by, or doesn’t understand what ChatGPT is telling them.
Yes I see a lot of client emails containing the derivative work from the firm of Chatte, Gee, Pea, and Tea.
I see a lot from Claude & Aissociates too.
I suspect the initial advice these clients receive aligns more closely with my own, but they keep pushing for a version that better aligns with the way they want the law to work rather than the way it actually will in practice. Of course there are always nuances and framing issues that laypeople miss, but more often than not the answer was there the whole time and the client just doesn’t want to hear it.
The Estrada matter is being treated as a criminal case, which it is, but the family-law dimension is sitting there unaddressed and the room lacks the acumen to identify it. Two children. Ex-spouse relationship. Aggravated stalking charges already on the pleadings. The property and custody exposure embedded in this fact pattern – the children’s interests, the estate questions arising from two parents killed simultaneously, the support arrears that almost certainly exist – these do not disappear because the DA filed first. I count at least three separate civil matters that a practitioner with any equitable-distribution background should already be opening files on. Each properly billable. The fee burn on a multi-party estate and custody matter arising from a double-homicide in a former-domestic-relationship context, properly handled, runs well into five figures before anyone files a first hearing notice.
In my experience – and I have been at this long enough to have seen comparable fact patterns more times than I care to enumerate, including as an AAML Fellow who has watched fees designated for family court get consumed by adjacent criminal proceedings – the family court interests get addressed last and worst.