- Quickdraw McLaw
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If you could offer advice to someone contemplating entering the practice law or just embarking on the practice of law in Nevada, what advice would you give them? What do you wish someone would have told you before you started? Would it have helped if someone said something or was it one of those things you have to learn on your own?
Find a good mentor. Finding a good mentor has been the most important part of my career.
I came with snarky slanted advice and then saw 9:59's which is exactly what I recommend when earnest. Find a mentor who is who you hope and aspire to be. My first attorney who I worked for is who I always wanted to never become and yet I do find some of their bad traits in me. My second attorney who I worked for I view as a mentor, someone who is not only a great lawyer but a great friend 25 years later who did their best to break me of some of the bad habits and traits that I learned from the first.
Second piece of advice (that I still have not mastered 30 years in): Learn to say no. No I dont want to take that case. No I am too busy for that case. No I need time off. No I don't have time for one more case, one more committee, one more commitment. Yes I am a really good lawyer but no I cannot save you or your case.
Be nice to everyone – opposing counsel and parties, court staff, office staff, court reporters, etc. Not only is it the right thing to do, it'll help you out immensely if you ever need a favor (this applies even more so for your own staff/secretary).
Don't burn bridges. It's a really small legal community here, especially if you have a specific practice area. You'll run into the same people over and over again, and they'll remember you.
Hey, again, what happened to I'm-Going-To-Sue-SBN-In-The-Wrong-Juridscition-In-March Guy? My calendar says we're a week into April.
I'm still here, please be patient, it is proceeding as I wrote, I never promised a certain date but if you are sincere in wanting to know where I am I will tell you where I am. My draft is done and I am circulating to various blogs and to people I have met online for input. I have never claimed to be a Con Law expert and they have already found some holes. I want it to be rock solid because I know the bar will come with a might MTD and I want to survive that. In some really exciting news for me, I did find someone that will help me finance the case IF it survives the MTD – mainly with some money for discovery. I will provide a link here. Thank you.
You are not your client's case. Sometimes you're supposed to lose when you get handed a shit sandwich.
Absolutely. The notion that a lawyer can win every case by working hard enough is as foolhardy as the thought that a doctor can ensure none of his/her patients will ever die if they just work hard enough.
Judge Cox 21-15676-nmc 4-4-2023
@10:34a – and that's why family law firms should have an experienced bankruptcy attorney that they trust, and hire them to represent the firm and/or the firm's clients when their case gets into bankruptcy court. By my calculation that's $52,498.82 owed by the firm's client, the firm's attorney, and the firm itself jointly and severally, for the attorney's screw-up.
Well, that was a fun rabbit hole this morning.
It was fun to see the missteps by a decidedly average family law attorney and his firm.
Prediction: Stoffel pays it, sues former client and former associate for contribution.
I can't get the case to come up with that number. Is that the correct, full case number?
This is just standard behavior for family law attorneys and that firm in particular. They’re so used to walking into court and expecting their campaign contributions to keep them out of trouble. Love to see the feds step up.
8:36, It's in bankruptcy court.
https://ecf.nvb.uscourts.gov/
8:36 here. Found it. Read the ECF 111 order and skimmed some of the other stuff. Glad I don't practice family law. What a circus. Question for 8:08 AM, why would J.S. go after the client?
Of course its a Chris Burke case. I have never seen an attorney move for sanctions so constantly as Burke. I am a member of the BK Bar and also am not aware of an attorney as despised as Burke.
"Prediction: Stoffel pays it, sues former client and former associate for contribution." Former associate? Appears Grimes is still there. And suing an employee for actions done on behalf of the employer never goes well. That would be foolish.
Bankruptcy in Family Court. Do tell? What is the issue or problem that was missed. Those of us who do not practice in this area and those that do–need to know.
Pretty standard stuff in Family Law. There is an Order or Decree that one of the parties ignores or is in contempt. Contemnor runs to bankruptcy court to try to stall/scrape off the contempt order. Criminal contempt the court can continue to enforce its orders; civil contempt is much dodgier to continue forward. Lots of family law practictioners fall into the trap of having a rudimentary belief regarding dischargability of support obligations that does not necessarily carry forward to contempt proceedings.
808 here.
Grimes (the "former" was tongue in cheek) was held jointly and severally liable with the client and RSG and if I know the Stoffel group, there is little in the way of supervision or communication over case strategy.
I just don't see Stoffel willingly footing the whole bill on behalf of the client and Grimes.
I disagree with 946 that this is standard stuff. I read the FFCL, as well as the order. The MSA set forth and adopted into the decree that all community debts were to be paid off through the sale of the marital home. The Ex-wife (the Debtor) filed BK to stop the sale of the home and to discharge her liability on the community debt.
At the end of the day, Grimes and Ex-husband filed for a TRO to stop the BK filing, which you obviously cannot do. Mary Perry should have known that she has no power to enjoin a party from filing BK. . . .EVER.
They then attempted to skirt the automatic stay by holding her in contempt (and jailing her). All in violation of 11 USC Sect. 362. Good times.
Isn't the automatic stay the *one thing* every practitioner knows about bankruptcy? I expected to read something less obvious in the pleadings.
Does anyone have the family court case number associated with this bankruptcy case?
That is exactly the point. Historically, all you have to do in the EDC is whisper BK and everything stops. Except, apparently in Mary Perry's courtroom. They should have named her.
Not showing up under an attorney search for Grimes. Sealed??!!??!! Only item found for the Debtors name is a 2021 Petition for Name Change.
case number is D-18-575860-D but it won't come up for me. Is this one of those super-sealed cases? How were they able to seal it so that it doesn't come up at all?
They sealed it. 10:25 is correct. This is the ONE thing we’re all supposed to know about BK.
The debtor obviously used the BK to evade compliance with the family court order. We’ve all been there. It sucks. You still don’t violate the stay. Rookie mistake.
Ooooor. She was rightfully discharging debts, including marital debts.
10:06- Standard stuff to bankruptcy practitioners. if I had a complicated family court issue subject to a show cause, I am not charging into family court without an experienced family law practitioner. Why would Grimes ham and egg it against Burke who (as 9:30 references) is considered either wily or slimy (or both) depending on who you ask in the bankruptcy bar.
1006 here.
Regardless of what you think of Burke (and I mostly disagree, there are several way more universally disliked in the BK bar) sanctions for violating 362 can be a good business (not unlike PI) model. There are firms in TX and other places that do nothing but these sanctions cases. Grimes FAFO'd and Burke is getting paid.
The key to avoid having sanctions sought is learn and parrot the following: "The Automatic Stay is sacrosanct." Do nothing once they file. Period.
11:33– Agree to disagree about Burke. Also agree to disagree about the automatic stay is so sacrosanct to do nothing. If you amended it to say "Do nothing without having the BK Court give you a comfort order or lifting the stay" then we have common ground.
11:39 is fun to talk to at social events 🙄
1139
Holy Eff, amigo. You have problems. . . . . .
Actually I am quite fun at parties. Don't recall you being at any of the parties my sacrosanctimonious Amigo.
Well, all very thoughtful and wise comments.
First, that the grass isn't always greener on the other side. I jumped around to a bunch of firms, sometimes for firm reasons and sometimes for personal reasons, but you may very well be better off sticking it out somewhere. Second, you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. There are a few attorneys I ran into in the last two decades that were despicable human beings who wanted to engage in personal battles. But I can count those on one hand. Everyone else you run into is just doing their job. Be kind and personable to everyone and don't assume the worst of people.
Best advice I got: When interviewing at Big Firm and they're very proud of their bunk room and showers for associates: Run! Run very fast!
What firm in town is this? My guess is it's not NV.
California
Reminder, this is a NV blog. Who cares about CA.
Judge Pro: Best advice is on a jar of mayo – keep cool, don't freeze.
It’s a tough profession. But I’ve found it is easier to endure when you hire attractive female staff and associates that you can sexually harass at will. I keep a fold out bed in my office.
I’m really sick of these kinds of comments. This profession includes some of the ugliest men I’ve ever laid eyes on. Why should we do our hair, put on makeup, or make even the smallest effort when we’re surrounded by trolls? I demand hotter male attorneys and paralegals!! I don’t have a fold out bed in my office because I wouldn’t use it on these dogs. Give me a reason to WANT to come to work!
A valid point 12:22. This blog usually talks about which firms have the hottest female attorneys. Which firm has the hottest male attorneys?
"This blog usually talks about which firms have the hottest female attorneys." Really? When? Where?
Are you new here?
MAClaw is hottie heaven with the most lusciously yummy men on tap 24/7.
You can do better than the Firm formerly known as MACLaw. . . . . .
I vote Snell.
Solos are hottest. . . . .
12:36 caused me to plunge into deep thought. Where are the hot male attorneys? I just don't know. What is it about the legal profession that either makes men unattractive or attracts unattractive men? Yet, that doesn't make sense, because when I first started out there were a large number of very yummy males. Did they all leave? This is perplexing.
12:22-Actually, I don't care for your comment of the comment of 12:14.
12:14 is clearly behaving like a dreadful, neanderthal sexist who tries to insulate himself with a "hey, I'm just being humorous and satirical" approach.
And, 12:22, your comment was also dehumanizing and abusive to others, although your comment is a lot more mitigated as I interpret it more as a lash out at the terrible post of 12:14. I don't think you would have posted what you did had 12:14 not thrown the first stone.
What makes people think that it is acceptable to abuse others and strip them of their humanity, and then act like such was justified because the abuse was an attempt at satire and humor?
Many (mostly men) have learned the hard way, when accused of sexual harassment and other serious behavior, that the "I was just kidding" rationale seldom does one any good.
If 12:14 or 12:22 would respond by dismissively saying I lack a sense of humor, well then they are both partially right as I definitely lack their type of sense of humor.
2:18 has motivated me to thank 12:14 for his/her/sandwich post. Humor is in the eye of the beholder. What matters is whether what 12:14 said is true. It incontrovertibly is.
The intentional hyper-politicization of absolutely everything must be opposed at all place at all times. By politicization I mean sidestepping the search for truth in favor of a search for political incorrectness.
Say it together boys and girls: it is pleasing to work with attractive men and women who dress well and are pleasant and interesting. Some of the best attorneys in town are by sheer noncoincidence very attractive.
What about Brownstein for hottest men?
Solo here. When I started in this profession, I was super hot — handsome, charming, fit, intelligent. But now, 40 yrs later, I've added 20 pounds around my waist from sitting behind the desk, and I don't claim to be hot any longer. Maybe once I fulfill my annual New Year's Resolution to start working out again!!
And in 40 years of practice with lots of beautiful, intelligent women around, I have never been accused of any form of sexual harassment. Suggestion: don't mess around with the ladies (or whatever your preference is) in your office.
2:37-I didn't think 2:18 was being unduly Woke.
2:18 may have over-reacted a little and was a little too indignant, but suffice it to say that humor centering around how attractive or unattractive certain female and male attorneys are, is not particularly enlightened, sophisticated or humane.
I agree that it is important not to over-react to these types of posts, but keep in mind how hurtful these comments are to decent, kind-hearted men and women who do not look too attractive according to societal subjective standards.
So, 2;37, you can lecture us that this is a teaching moment about not being too Woke and defensive, but I don't think it is a particularly woke, or particularly defensive, to not take great pleasure in teasing and tormenting people about them not being too attractive.
It's a simple basic, time-honored premise-don't be cruel and vicious, even though you cleverly turn it around, re-shape the narrative, and lecture us about wokeness and that we shouldn't be so defensive, etc.
So, we agree to disagree.
My two cents on all this is that I come down on the side which says let's move on to other topics rather than finding humor in complaining about the physical unattractiveness of many of those in the legal profession, or in society in general.
Let's move on to something kinder, as well as something a bit more cerebral-such as lashing out against Trump or Biden, depending on which side of the political fence you reside on.
12:22 here. Brace yourselves for shocking news…I was joking in response to 12:14’s comment (which I suspect was also a joke). I’m more of the same school of thought as 2:51. Don’t shit where ya eat. In closing, I heard 2:18 is a real blast at parties.
This is 2:37 responding to 2:53: I take your comments to heart.
3:05: Absolutely good advice to not shit where you eat. Admittedly, if you spend all day and night at the office working with a crew, romances are natural but still it's better to keep it professional. (Confession: probably one of the best one night stands I ever had was with a colleague. We were both married, so I felt really guilty afterwards, but the glow continues to this day.)
I was waiting, and completely predicted, that someone (in this case 3:05) would sarcastically (and very un-originally) say that "2:18 must be a real blast at parties."
So, 3:05, learn this obvious truth. At any social gathering you could ever attend, 2:18 would be much better received ( for condemning 12:14 for saying that all female lawyers are good for is sex or sexual harassment) than 12:14 would ever be received by offering such vile and cruel observations.
3:05-why do you defend your comments as jokes, and also defend 12:14's comments as jokes
Please tell me where the humor is in joking that female attorneys are only good for sex or sexual harassment. Where is the humor, biting satire, irony, lampoonery, wit, or anything of any substance.
That humor is on the level of a brain-damaged teenage boy. You would no doubt say I have no sense of humor as I do not find this behavior and these comments uproariously funny. If that's that is the definition of one lacking a sense of humor, then I am very glad I lack a sense of humor.
Another news flash, for 3:05: It is obvious to all concerned that we all realized that you and 12:14 are attempting to be humorous, and that you would counter any criticism by pointing out that you are just "joking."
Be very careful about ever "joking" like that, in any forum, and under any situation, if you hold your career and reputation as being of any value–because neither will be of any value for long unless this is the very last time that you, as a professional, ever "joke" like that again.
If you don't stop like right now, someday you will find out the hard way how very wrong you are. But, if you want to be a complete fool and throw it all away, ignore this advice and keep on "joking"
12:22/3:05 here. 2:14 wouldn’t have the balls to say that out loud at a social gathering unless it was clearly a joke. Either way, the listeners would know that in a social situation rather than ruin the host’s efforts by making a scene, à la 12:18, one should respond with light humor and immediately change the subject. Or be a stuck in the mud and ruin your host’s party and never get invited again.
5:24 has way too much fire and brimstone for my taste, and I tend to take many things, including myself, not remotely as seriously as 5:24 seems to.
But if we can get past 5:24's pomposity and moral outrage, I think everyone should admit, grudgingly or otherwise, that if some of these posts are from practicing attorneys (which I assume they are) I think that's a really bad idea on their part. Please think about it.
It isn't funny when we consider attorneys like Doug Crawford…
This thread is dumb. Of course the OP on its face is offensive, but it's also entirely situational. You can respond with outrage or double down on the OP and antagonize the pearl clutchers or you can stop feeding the trolls and start worrying about something more important like republican governors pardoning open murder because the murderer killed a BLM protester.
Well, I came armed with snark too (after seeing the topic for today) and am heartened by the thoughtful and earnest advice (all of which I second, all of which is very doable, much of which is available to you if you muster the courage to ask). And you know what, I'm *also* heartened by the dark humor here too – we are on balance a bright group who skewer fools and anyone who's new is welcome to this broken club.
The best advice ever is simple: Get involved with the Bar so that you can insulate yourself from their persecution.
You ain’t lyin
Wish that was true. It is not entirely true. Like a bowl of rice, it has many grains but is not entirely true.
Humility and a willingness to learn are admirable traits. Starting out a career with a misguided belief that you already know everything will stunt your growth as a new attorney. Likewise, older attorneys who think they have nothing to learn from anyone with a 5 digit bar number are missing out on opportunities to improve.
ChatGPT's summary of today's comments:
Mentorship: Finding a good mentor is important for a successful career as a lawyer, as they can offer guidance and insight. The mentor should be someone that the mentee aspires to be like, and can help them overcome bad habits or traits they may have picked up from previous employers.
Professional Conduct: Being nice to everyone, including opposing counsel, parties, court staff, office staff, and court reporters, is not only the right thing to do but can also help build a network of contacts. It is important to not burn bridges, as the legal community in Las Vegas is small and you may encounter the same people again.
Time Management: Learning to say "no" when necessary is crucial for managing workload and avoiding burnout.
Dealing with Loss: Lawyers should recognize that losing cases is a normal part of the job, and not take it personally.
Dark Humor and Satire: There were some comments that used dark humor and satire, which were seen by some as a way to cope with the challenges of the profession.
Humility and a Willingness to Learn: Being humble and willing to learn from others, regardless of their experience level, is an admirable trait that can help lawyers improve their skills and knowledge.
Getting Involved with the Bar: Lawyers can insulate themselves from persecution by getting involved with the Bar and building relationships with other attorneys.
There were also comments about the physical appearance of attorneys, with some people making sexist comments and others defending the right to comment on attractiveness.
AI is solid on this one.
Well until Sydney surfaces and suggests you crush, kill and destroy weak humans . . .
Time management comment, that doesn't exactly work when you're a new attorney or working in a large firm.
Don't borrow money to attend law school. Only possible exception is if you get into a top 20 school. But if you get into a top 20 school and don't have the money, they'll find the money for you. So back to my original advice: never, under any circumstances, borrow money to attend law school. If you can't pay cash or otherwise attend without borrowing, don't go.
I wouldn't say don't borrow any money, but definitely go to the cheapest school possible and borrow the least amount possible. One of my biggest regrets is going to a school I thought would benefit me more in the long run because of its ranking instead of going to a state school that would have cost a fraction of that price.
3:36 is ridiculous. Do you borrow money to buy a house? You are simply mortgaging your brain. Agree with going to the state school.
Borrowed $72k. Paid it back. If I knew what I know now, would not do it again.
3:36 isn't all that ridiculous. A high percentage of people who graduate from law school and become lawyers are ruined by their student loans. Imagine what life must be like for those who borrow and don't make it!
I wonder how a Clark County jury would have handled the TX self defense case?
https://mikecernovich.substack.com/p/self-defense-is-illegal-in-texas
Be wary of firms that set up a bonus structure that incentivizes them burn and churn associates during their busy times.
Like what firms?