Vegas Legal Magazine Winter 2016

WINTER 2016CONTENTS

LAW9 // MARKETING TIPS FOR A SOLO PRACTICE12 // CLARIFICATIONS TO NV DEPOSITIONS15 // SPINAL INJECTIONS & FUSING EXPLAINED16 // 2015-2016: NV ATTORNEYS REFLECT23 // IDEAL QUALITIES OF A TRIAL LAWYER40 // VEGAS FLAMEOUT: ADDICTION/REDEMPTION

BUSINESS49 // UBER & LYFT IN VEGAS AT LAST51 // OUR FUTURE RIDES WITH FARADAY CARS 52 // MONEY MATTERS54 // THE INSIDE TIP57 // LAND ROVER GIVES BACK

LIFESTYLE59 // MUST-HAVE COURTROOM BLING64 // BAR REVIEW: SKYFALL LOUNGE66 // IF ELVIS WAS ALIVE TODAY68 // A LAYMAN’S GUIDE TO ORDERING WINE71 // CANNABIS & CANCER77 // 6 STEPS TOWARD YOUR HEALTHIEST LIFE

Vegas Legal Magazine Winter 2016 | Pg. 3

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COVER PHOTO JOSEPH SOHM / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

LAWMeet The Incumbent: Judge Susan Johnson

LIFESTYLE: Learn Suiting 101...with STITCHED

COVER STORYCommentary and Q&A with Hillary Rodham Clinton

Meet The Teamwww.vegaslegalmagazine.com

PUBLISHERTYLER MORGAN, ESQ.

EDITOR IN CHIEFPRESTON P. REZAEE, ESQ.

CREATIVE DIRECTORTIMOTHY HANCOCK

MANAGING EDITORJEN CHASE

CONTRIBUTORSANDREW CASH, M.D., DOUG CRAWFORD, J. MALCOLM DEVOY, ESQ., ROBERT T. EGLET, ESQ.,

CHARLOTTE EVANS, BRIAN LAWENDA, M.D., RICCI J. LOPEZ-HAMMARGREN, KYLE LUM, MARYAM RASTKERDAR, SABRINA SIRACUSA, KAT THOMAS, JOHN TIPPINS,

JEFFRY COLLINS

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR IN CHIEFPreston P. Rezaee, Esq

It’s that time of year again. Time to reflect, even if only for a mo-ment, upon the year gone by. To ruminate on the trials and trib-ulations endured, and to reminisce about the joy and love experi-enced.

As I reflect on 2015, I am particularly beholden to all who have supported us in this endeavor we call Vegas Legal Magazine. Spe-cial thanks to my business partner Tyler Morgan; creative director, Tim Hancock; managing editor, Jen Chase; and my wife and con-


tributor, Maryam. I am forever grateful for your tireless commit-ment, encouragement, reassurance, and endorsement.

But I am also particularly beholden to you, our readers. Without your interest, we would have no endeavor. We are already planning 2016’s issues, which we will fill with the kind of thoughtful, useful and sometimes humorous content about Las Vegas law, business and lifestyle topics we hope you’re coming to expect.

I wish you and yours a Happy New Year, and hope that you have health, happiness, and success in the year to come. Thank you for your support and for being a part of Vegas Legal’s inaugural year.

–Preston P. Rezaee, Esq.

As we welcome the start of 2016 here at Vegas Legal, I would like to start by thanking the subject of our cover story, Hillary Clinton, for tak-ing time out of her busy presidential campaign schedule to allow us an interview. A personal goal of mine in setting out to begin the journey of bringing Vegas Legal from concept to fruition, was to be able to show the effects of national issues and events upon our Vegas Legal and business community. It is a great honor that she agreed to grant an exclusive in-terview to a recently upstarted publication such as ours, showing that we have achieved much in our short history and thus raising the bar for our future endeavors as this magazine grows. It’s not my intention, nor that of Vegas Legal, to endorse any politician, whether locally or nationally. Even if we, as Americans, do not support a particular politician as a whole, it is important to recognize their poten-tial societal contribution within in the whole sum of their parts, and that the electoral process alone brings new discussions on ideas and issues to the national forefront. And for her contributions to our country’s polit-ical landscape, we chose Hillary Rodham Clinton to grace our cover for her significance in America’s political history, and as the sign of Ameri-ca’s potential willingness, now more than ever, to behold a woman in the Oval Office. America has a gender gap. You’ll hear Clinton speak of it in the Q&A she graciously participated in from the campaign trail just before the holi-days. But Clinton represents an opportunity for us, as a nation, to show the world that we are in fact what we preach, and that our nation supports a society where creative thinkers and motivated minds are encouraged to achieve success, regardless of whether their suit comprises a skirt or dress pants.


LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER Tyler Morgan, Esq.

The opportunity to include Clinton’s thoughts on Vegas Legal’s pages is one I will forever cherish, as it is my hope that open-minded voters will consider her position in the bigger picture of American politics. As her party’s potential presidential nominee and as a representative of women everywhere, Clinton embodies hope that all of us—regardless of gender, race or however else we may be labeled—may get the chance to break the proverbial glass ceilings that hold us back…reminding the child in each of us of those special words we recited before starting our school day. They went something like, “…one nation; under God; indivisible; with liberty and justice for all.” –Tyler Morgan, Esq.

Like marketing guru Steuart Henderson Britt said, “Doing busi-ness without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing but nobody else does.” Legal marketing is not difficult but it will require a consistent dedication to it. It’s the only way you will be able to grow your practice into a successful business. So whether you are thinking of starting your own law firm or have been doing it for a while, these tips can help catapult you to the next level.

1. Carefully choose how you represent your brandFor your brand to be effective, it must be consistent with your firm’s culture and the actual business of your practice. It must also be attractive to your target clients and prospects while standing out from your major competitors.

Communicate your brand widely and often. Express your brand in all you do—from your website, media releases, ads, and event in-vitations, to the script your receptionist uses answering the phone. Do all that, and you will build brand equity. It is much better for you to control the image you and your practice will project. Build your reputation or someone else will do it for you.

2. Decide the type of clients that you want The most successful attorneys obtain and continue to retain quality clients because they know exactly the type of client that they want. Here are steps you can take to attract and retain the type of clients you want:

• Seems trivial, but start with your reception room. Does it repre-sent the image you want for you and your practice? It should be welcoming and have your law firm’s marketing materials easily

available for clients to read while they wait.

• Set up a script for you and your staff to use during communi-cation with potential and current clients. Every interaction with a potential or existing client should be to assist them and to create your brand.

• Create content that is accurate, interesting and relevant to clients you are trying to attract and retain.

3. Referrals are still the best way to get clients It may sound old-fashioned, but it’s true and here’s why. First, re-ferred clients are almost always better clients. They already know you by reputation so you are ahead of the competition. You also will not have to haggle your fees, because they came to you. Pre-sumably, they already know your fee setup.

Secondly, with referred clients, half the battle has been done for you. The client is interested in hiring you. Your only job now is to live up to the referral someone gave them on your behalf. So quite obviously, the more referrals your practice receives, the lower your stress levels and the higher your profits. Here are some quick (and fairly easy) tips to start collecting some referrals:

• Identify and reach out to your best possible referrals through sites, such as LinkedIn.

• Advertise your interest in receiving referrals with a letter of in-terest. These types of letters work better if mailed versus emailed.

• Book face-to-face interviews with other lawyers; then, follow up


10 MARKETING TIPSFor A Successful Solo Law Practice

By Sabrina Siracusa

10 MARKETING TIPSFor A Successful Solo Law Practice

By Sabrina Siracusa

10 Marketing Tips

with him or her if you feel good about exchanging referrals.

4. Establish yourself as an expert in your specialty There are several ways to do this that don’t necessarily include fancy, expensive television ads. A more effective and economical way is to write about your chosen specialty. Post informative and interesting blogs on your social media and on your website, and create case studies and newsletters aimed at specific target client groups. Do this consistently and you will create a following and will be viewed as an expert in your legal specialty.

Another tactic is to volunteer your time. Giving away time for free may put you off due to your own limited time and finances; but attorneys who speak at their local legal aid, for example, are not really giving their time away because they are building credibility as experts in their legal specialty.

5. Create a core message to attract and keep clientsThe only way you will connect with new and current clients is to show them how you can resolve their problems. This can easily be done by using the “cause and effect strategy.”

Telling potential clients how skilled and experienced you are is not enough. What is, is creating content that will comes across as em-pathetic to the legal problems a client may be facing, while provid-ing a solution. A core message can help differentiate you from oth-er attorneys who practice similar law. For example, many personal injury attorneys state this or something similar on their websites: “Our personal injury attorneys have the skill and experience to help you.” However, that is not as compelling as: “I help severely in-jured clients find solutions for their recovery.” The latter addresses the needs of the client and sends a message of your expertise with a specific type of personal injury.

6. Recognize that you will always need to market yourselfThis is one of the most difficult steps for most attorneys. But in reality, it is very easy once you get into the practice of doing it. It should be imprinted in your mind that the only way you can con-tinue having a successful law practice is by consistently marketing yourself. Like marketing guru Steuart Henderson Britt said, “Do-ing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing but nobody else does.”

7. Be picky about how you networkAs you probably already know, not all networking events are cre-ated the same. Networking should be viewed as a type of return on

your investment (ROI) of your time. Before attending any type of networking event, consider your goals for the specific networking event, whether it’s to get new clients or promote a new legal spe-cialty. This will help you stay focused and avoid wasting time on networking with people who are not going to help you reach your goals.

It’s also a good idea to research the network sponsors. Volunteer your time to be a speaker in your legal specialty. This helps you gain a reputation as an authority and will help your practice get attention and possibly some solid references from fellow attorneys.

8. Develop a consistent follow-up strategy and sequence for when you meet new contactsWhen you have done all the legwork and have obtained some good leads—or even better, referrals—it’s time to keep the momentum going. The next step is to create an ongoing rapport or relationship by consistently reaching out to them. This can be done through direct sales such as weekly emails that contain interesting informa-tion about your practice, or news about your legal specialty. Addi-tionally, a monthly or quarterly newsletter is an invaluable tool to staying in touch with clients.

9. Refer other attorneys if you can’t take a clientThere will be times when you can’t take a client due to time con-straints or just a lack of interest. Be sure to refer this person to an attorney that you think will be able to help them and that can one day return the favor. This will help create an extended network of possible clients you may not have otherwise had access to.

10. Delegate your marketing activities There is no reason that you have to take on all the marketing strat-egies listed here on your own. The first step here is to identify what will help you to grow your practice. Create a master plan of what you think needs to be done daily, weekly, monthly, and even yearly (think website updates, press releases, email content, and newslet-ters). Then, delegate tasks to skilled staff or freelancers. In doing so, you can focus your energy on practicing law.

If you follow just a few of these tips, you are way ahead of many other lawyers. With a little time and consistent action, these small steps will make a big difference on ROI and in the survival of your solo law practice.

For A Successful Solo Law Practice



Clarifications to Depositions in Nevada

Depositions are a crucial aspect of case development: they provide the first, and sometimes the only opportunity to gather informa-tion using sworn, first-person testimony. Unlike in a trial, where objections can be used more liberally to exclude evidence from the jury’s consideration, depositions provide a largely unrestrained environment to gather useful information from a witness without objections or exclusions.

In 2015, the Nevada Supreme Court clarified its position on several aspects of deposition practice...namely, procedural and substantive issues that affect how depositions occur. First, the Nevada Supreme Court closed the loophole where attorneys may have been able to rehabilitate their clients’ sworn deposition testimony by going off the record after a damaging admission. This decision was shock-ing for some attorneys, but it is consistent with practice in federal courts, and merely reinforced the importance of deposition prepa-ration. Second, the Nevada Supreme Court took the opportunity to clarify the requirements of Nevada Rule of Civil Procedure 30 in scheduling the dates and locations of depositions. While not every case is as complex as the facts presented to the Nevada Supreme Court, its decision provides guidance in how the court—and, the discovery commissioners in Clark County—will resolve such dis-putes in the future.

1. Check Your Privilege–Coyote Springs Investment LLC v. Eighth Judicial District Court, 131 Nev. Adv. Op. 18 (2015).

In Coyote Springs, a witness in a real estate dispute testified, during

his sworn deposition, that he believed the term sheets for a lease were final and binding. Almost immediately after that answer, the witness and his attorneys took a break from the deposition and went off the record. During that break, the deponent and his coun-sel had a private meeting in a separate conference room. Once the deposition resumed and the witness was back on the record, he “clarified” the testimony he gave right before taking a break, and all but contradicted everything he previously said.

The witness maintained that everything he and his attorneys dis-cussed during the break was protected by the attorney-client privi-lege. The other side disagreed—especially based on the 180-degree change in testimony following the break—and it sought to have the testimony given in the deposition after his off-the-record confer-ence with counsel excluded at trial. This became a sticking issue during trial, and the Nevada Supreme Court considered1 whether the off-the-record conference between the deponent and his coun-sel during a break in the deposition was protected by the attor-ney-client privilege.

The Nevada Supreme Court determined that the off-the-record meeting between the deposed witness and counsel was not protect-ed by the attorney-client privilege. Relying on federal precedent, the court agreed that the purpose of a deposition is to adduce tes-timony “as may be permitted at trial”2 allowing a testifying witness essentially to cry out, “line!” and be fed the correct answer by his attorney, was inconsistent with that purpose.

This is not to say that a deposition witness has no access to counsel. Following the United States District Court for the District of Neva-1. As has been the case throughout 2015, the Nevada Supreme Court considered and resolved a number of important discovery issues that were brought to it by parties seeking writ relief: Writs of mandamus, asking that the Supreme Court order the trial court to take a specific affirmative action, or writs of prohibition, in which the Supreme Court issues a writ disallowing the lower court from acting. 2 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 30(c).

CASE IN BRIEF By J. Malcolm DeVoy, Esq.

da’s decision in In re Stratosphere Corporation Securities Litigation, 182 F.R.D. 614, 621 (D. Nev. 1998), the Nevada Supreme Court set forth a standard under which witnesses and their attorneys can confer during a deposition. Reasoning that it would be overly harsh to deprive a witness of his or her right to an attorney, it adopted the Stratosphere decision’s three requirements for properly taking a break from a deposition to determine whether to assert a privilege.

First, when going back on the record, the attorney must state that a conference between counsel and the deponent took place. Second, the subject of that conference must be disclosed. Third, and finally, the attorney must state the outcome of that conference—namely, whether the attorney or witness will be asserting a privilege against answering the question. The Nevada Supreme Court made it clear that these requirements must be satisfied, and stated on the depo-sition record “in order to preserve the attorney-client privilege.” Otherwise, everything a witness says to the attorney once the deposition clock has begun, and until it is continued or concluded, is considered fair game.

Coyote Springs confirms that preparing a witness for deposition must be done before the deposition, not during it. For federal practitioners familiar with Stratosphere, the Coyote Springs deci-sion confirms what they already knew and affirms that it applies in state court proceedings, as well. Otherwise, the decision represents the Nevada Supreme Court’s ongoing delineation of when Nevada courts defer to its federal counterparts. Because of the similarity of the Nevada and Federal civil procedure rules, similar outcomes are common in cases such as this one; but Nevada’s deference to federal courts is far from guaranteed, as seen in FDIC v. Rhodes, 130 Nev. Adv. Op. 88 (2014).

2. Rule 30 Is Dead; Long Live Rule 30–Okada v. Eighth Judicial Dis-trict Court, 131 Nev. Adv. Op. 83 (2015).

Yet another case presenting a deposition dispute that came to the Nevada Supreme Court by a party seeking writ relief, Okada arises from the fight between Wynn Resorts, Limited, and Kazuo Oka-da, a former member of Wynn Resorts’ board of directors. Wynn Resorts filed its suit against Okada, a Japanese citizen who lives in Hong Kong, in Clark County, Nev., where Wynn Resorts is head-quartered.3

During the course of the case, Wynn Resorts noticed Okada’s depo-sition for 10 days in Las Vegas, Nev. Okada disputed this notice and moved the trial court for a protective order. In his motion, Okada raised issues with the duration of the deposition, as the rule al-lows for depositions to be only one, seven-hour day, and contested the deposition’s location, arguing instead that it should be in Hong

3 Shortly before this lawsuit, Okada filed a separate action against Wynn Resorts in Clark County, seeking Wynn Resorts’ production of business records.

NEVADA DEPOSITIONS

Kong, where he resides, or Tokyo, where he conducts business. The lower court denied Okada’s motion for a protective order, and Oka-da sought special relief from the Nevada Supreme Court.

Okada is an unusual decision because the Nevada Supreme Court denied Okada’s petition, as it did not “fall within [the categories] for considering a discovery-related writ petition.” Finding that “it raises important issues of law that need clarification,” the Supreme Court expended 16 pages denying the petition.

Because Nevada Rule of Civil Procedure 30, which governs depo-sitions, is silent as to location, it is a question left for the parties to resolve among themselves. The Nevada Supreme Court recognized that the “general rule” was for a defendant to be deposed where he or she resides or does business—but also notes that is just a general rule, and not inflexible. Because Okada sought refuge from Wynn Resorts’ deposition notice through a protective order, he had the obligation to show good cause for why the deposition should not be held in Las Vegas.

The Nevada Supreme Court agreed with the district court that Okada did not meet this burden, and that the court correctly held his deposition should occur in Las Vegas. While Nevada Rule of Civil Procedure 30 is silent on location, it defines the duration of a deposition to one, seven-hour day. The rule does provide an escape valve, though, in that the court must allow additional time if needed to complete the examination, or extenuating circumstances require it. Based on the facts of the case, the Nevada Supreme Court agreed that the 10 days requested for the deposition was reasonable, and the court did not err in declining to shorten it, particularly when Okada could move to shorten it if it became clear it was improper.

The result is a series of flexible presumptions and general rules that apply until the court decides otherwise. The factors the Ne-vada Supreme Court endorsed in determining both the location and timing issues are designed to come to a logical conclusion, and likely will not be an issue in most cases. For high-stakes litigation, or cases involving international parties, these issues become more important and therefore contentious. Under those circumstances, it is important to remember that Nevada Rule of Civil Procedure 30 begins to operate less like a “rule” and more like a suggestion that the court can—and will—alter with even mild pressure.

J. Malcolm (“Jay”) DeVoy is the owner of DeVoy Law P.C., and serves as counsel to The Firm P.C. DeVoy focuses on representing individuals and businesses in their commer-cial disputes, and advising them about the changing rules of federal agencies such as the FDA and FTC.


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When treating spinal disc injuries, medical providers rely on historical data, physical examination findings, and corroborating imaging and data to decide which diagnostic and/or therapeutic treatments are best for patients. Most often these treatments com-prise pain-blocking injections, or surgical infusions. Since spinal injuries are a large part of personal injury cases, below outlines a brief, slightly laypersons’ explanation of the treatments one can ex-pect.

Injection-Focused TreatmentsThe cervical, thoracic and lumbar spines have segmental levels consisting of an anterior disc and two facet joints (one on the right side of the disc and one on the left side). Structurally, when a disc is injured, either the facets can be injured or the entire segment (disc and facets) can be involved. For a certain level of injury, injections are recommended on both a diagnostic and/or therapeutic basis; and if a medical provider anticipates that the majority of a patient’s pain is coming from a disc, a selective nerve root block—a “trans-foraminal epidural steroid injection”—is recommended.

Conversely, if it is suspected or determined that there is a facet-me-diated source of pain, a facet injection (called a “medial branch

block” ) is the recommended course of action. Further, when a fac-et injection provides substantial relief, a more long-term procedure (called a “radiofrequency ablation” ) is the next therapeutic step.

When The Fix Is SurgicalWhen selective transforaminal epidural steroid injections are diag-nostic, the next therapeutic intervention is a spinal reconstruction (fusion) or discectomy, and of the disc surgeries, there are two that are most frequent: discectomies and fusions. It is typical that for cervical and thoracic spines, discectomies are usually performed with reconstructions. For the lumbar spine, discectomies are often performed without reconstructions. If a medical professional de-termines that the preponderance of the pain radiates down the but-tocks and leg, then a lumbar discectomy is used to reduce the leg complaints. The patient will have persistent and potentially wors-ened back pain. If the preponderance of a patient’s pain is located in the low back, then a lumbar fusion is often included to reduce the patient’s lumbar complaints.

Andrew M. Cash, M.D., is a board certified orthopedic surgeon who specializes in neck and back with a focus on non-operative treatments. His practice—Desert In-stitute of Spine Care—is located at 9339 West Sunset Rd., Suite #100, Las Vegas, NV 89148. For more information, visit www.disclv.com or call 702.630.3472.

INJECTIONS...OR, TO FUSE OR NOT TO FUSE? Disc Injuries and Best-Laid Plans for Treatment Explained By Andrew M. Cash, M.D.

SANDRA REBOLLEDOLaw Office of Sandra Rebolledo

In 2015, I was really inspired that...my daughter recently went to Central America to help the indigenous people there with medical treatment through UCLA. Most kids don’t want to take on that role in society [and] I’m really proud that my daughter is inspired to do things like that and is driven to help humanity. The highlight of my work-world in 2015 was getting to help...an older Mexi-can couple who were badly injured in a car accident. They were a very sweet, humble couple and I was able to help get them a decent settlement (the injuries were substantial). They were able to buy a ranch in Mexico. Of course injury is a horrible price to pay, but in the end they have something and I could help them. When I see I can make a difference in someone’s life it makes my life worthwhile.Next year, I hope to...have more of an active voice in the com-munity...not just locally but maybe even nationally. I’m thinking about writing about international affairs and how to bring different cultures together. When I think about next year...[I] would sound like a beauty queen to say, “I want world peace” (laughter), but I would certainly like human beings to have more respect for each other. If we give in to hate, then humanity will fail. We’re here to prove that humanity is meant to love, or else we have no purpose.

G DALLAS HORTON Dallas Horton & Associates

Best part of my 2015? That’s a big one and it’s an easy answer. I paid my divorce debt off! (laughter) For the best professional part of my 2015, I’d have to say...my baby girl went off to college, which gave me the opportunity to focus on work for the first time in years without the obligations of single parenting. It’s a tough job being a single dad in this town. Looking toward 2016...my resolution is to make back all the money I paid to my ex-wife (more laugh-ter.) My [professional] goal is to exceed my biggest judgment of $9.6 million and go above $10 million. If I could wave my “Magic Wand of Hope” for 2016, I’d announce to the world that...I think everybody needs to calm down a lot. Everything is so violent and so visceral and so divisive. I think everybody in the country needs to simmer down because I don’t think that’s productive. I think as a group we all need to work towards unity.


Las Vegas Attorneys Reflect On The New Year

By Charlotte Evans

It’s time to salute 2015 with the immortal words of grand sage Willie Wonka: “Adieu, Adieu, Parting is such sweet sorrow....” As we collectively look back at the past year (and aspire to make the new one better) we thought it might be enlightening to survey those in the Las Vegas community who are paid to help us fix problems, plan for them, and (wherever possible) avoid them. This brave array of Las Vegas attorneys were willing to weigh in on their lives in 2015 and to share their hopes and dreams for 2016. Their candor was both humorous and sober, and (as you might imagine) hope for peace in the new year was high on many minds.

CHRISTINE BOOZEAtkin Winner Sherrod

Looking back, the greatest gift I enjoyed in 2015 was...the ex-cellent health care that my family received. And the greatest gift I was able to professionally offer was...meeting the needs of my clients without compromise. In 2016, I’m resolving to...do noth-ing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit but, in humility, to value others above myself...And I’m hoping that in 2016 the rest of the world will...be able to respect one another’s views and abstain from violence.

ERIC CHEN Eric Chen Law

Looking back on it...2015 wasn’t a very good year for me, per-sonally (laughter.) I just went through a divorce. But the upshot of my professional year was that...this is [my] second year in my new office and I couldn’t be happier. We’ve been able to get the top clients, especially the highly influential businesspeople from Shanghai, to come over to this town to invest. I’ve been fortunate to be a part of those business projects. I can see the flood of sophisti-cated businesspeople from overseas coming to this town. Looking at what’s ahead for me in the new year...I’m trying to adjust to my new life and to make every day as fulfilling and happy as I can. I look forward to new personal opportunities, and as an attorney I’m handling things on a greater scale. I don’t know what’s going to come into my life but I’m a very optimistic person. I will do

the best I can, and I have more time to do my work. With all the scary stuff going on in the world, my hopes and dreams for all of us globally would be to find a way to...neutralize the dangers of terrorism in the world....I travel the world and have been doing that for the past 20 years without too much concern for my safety or the safety of tourists. Now, the world is a different place. We see irrational hatred that is not necessarily based on facts or truth, and some people are being conditioned that way. We need to stem the tide of people becoming like that.

ED BERNSTEIN Edward M. Bernstein & Associates

My most shining moment from 2015 was that...my oldest daugh-ter had a double organ transplant over Thanksgiving at the Cleve-land Clinic. We have been waiting for years. She’s 27 and she’s been ill since she was 3 years old. The highlight of my year was her get-ting this transplant. She has a long road ahead and she will need additional procedures, but she’s doing great. Professionally, this year made me proud to think that...[after] 40 years, [our] firm continues to be innovative and to consistently fine tune the kind of service we provide to our clients. We spent the year training our employees on how to have leadership skills and to better commu-nicate with our clients, with each other and with the vendors. I feel the training brought the firm to a whole new level of operation. My 2016 New Year’s resolution is...more of a hope: I’m looking for-ward to my daughter getting well and being able to have a new start in life. We are very excited. My resolution is to be as supportive as I can be. Beyond myself, my hopes for 2016 are...for my family, friends, staff and clients to find real joy in the upcoming year. An answer about “world peace” is kind of an obvious one but I think all of us can have an impact in the areas where we are directly re-sponsible. Do I think the world is more dangerous? Not really. I think there have been horrible atrocities throughout the history of the world. I think now people are more outraged by it which is a good thing, instead of standing by and watching it like they did in WWll. It’s almost a positive thing that people are more aware because maybe the good guys will do something.


SANDRA DOUGLASS MORGAN North Las Vegas City Attorney

The best part of my 2015 is beautifully simple: It was all about...having another good year of health and safety [for my] family and extended family. Professionally, this year I was proud to be a part of...negotiating and finalizing development agreements that will help the financial stability and growth of the City of North Las Ve-gas. My New Year’s resolution for 2016 is...to value, and spend more time with, my close friends and family. Thinking beyond my own sphere and out into the world...my hope would be for every-one to impress upon the youth and children the importance and value of life. If people would value life more, I don’t think it would be that easy to take a life.

OZZIE FUMO Pitaro & Fumo Chtd

My personal highlight of 2015 is that...my wife and I have been married now for 5 years and we’re stronger than ever. That’s my personal highlight. I decided to run for the Assembly District 21 and that is a personal decision that is a milestone in my life. Pro-

fessionally, the best part of the year was...we got a man out of jail who was in custody for 6 years without having a trial. We took the state to trial and ended up getting a not guilty on one count, and seven counts hung. We got a deal we could not refuse with the man finally released from custody on a very limited term of probation. This year’s resolution is going to be a little different: Every year for the last 40 years I’ve done the traditional “I want to get to the gym more” or “I want to lose weight” and all those things are personal goals that you never really achieved or wanted. This year, with everything going on in the world, I started to think about trying to be the change you want to see in the world. Whether it’s just opening the door for someone or donating more to charity and helping, I want to be the change I want to see in Las Vegas, in our country and in the world. In 2016, I’d love for there to be...peace on earth. I would like to see us work toward peace, maybe listen to each other more. There is so much violence, we’re not even surprised by it.

LINDSAY DEMAREE Ballard Spahr LLP

My personal highlight of 2015 was...seeing [friends and family] and being able to reconnect while going to destination weddings. I had a lot of friends and family getting married this past year. A little closer to home, my professional highlight of 2015 was...moving to a new law firm in March and getting to focus on con-sumer financial services litigation. I’m excited the firm offers a na-tional platform in this industry and I’m working with attorneys I respect and admire. In the coming year, I’m committing to...getting better at setting realistic goals for myself professionally and personally. There’s a tendency to try to do everything, which is not realistic. I need to be more realistic...and, be honest that I require eight hours of sleep. I want to accept the fact that I won’t be at the



gym at 5am and not beat myself up for missing unrealistic goals. As for progress and prosperity around the world in 2016...it would be nice to see some resolution in the Middle East with all the fight-ing and conflict going on. (Or, is that violating my resolution about not setting unrealistic goals? Maybe it would just be nice to turn on the news and not see another disaster going on.)

THEODORE PARKER III Parker Nelson Law

The highlight of my 2015 was that...my daughter got into Stan-ford. It’s her accomplishment so I can’t really take credit, but I’m proud. However, this professional highlight of the year was in fact mine: Examining Nevada Supreme Court Justice Ron Par-raguirre on the stand (who was a plaintiff ’s witness in a product li-ability trial involving the drug Actos). Also, getting the Law Firm of the Year Award from the National Bar Association. Looking ahead to this upcoming year, I want to...challenge myself at work and in the courtroom. Some people shy away from challenges and try to find the path of least resistance. My whole goal is to seek greater challenges. And if I could hope for something positive to happen in the world in 2016...I would hope to see an end to terrorism; but that’s beyond realistic. I’d also like to see a cure for autism. I have a niece with autism and I understand how so many people are affected. Another hope I have is I’d like to see a more congenial, almost collegial, atmosphere among Nevada lawyers. We’ve grown so much and I think we’ve lost a lot of that.

GLEN HOWARD Bourassa Law Group

My personal highlight of 2015 was...welcoming a new member to the family in Las Vegas. I had a nephew. I also celebrated my 40th birthday, so it’s on to bigger and better things in the new decade in my life. What made me proud professionally was that I...helped our firm implement a marketing and strategic plan that increased our new client intake by 500 percent. Beforehand, we were working off word-of-mouth, guerilla marketing. We ramped up our online advertising using applications, network and website advertising, and an online plan which really helped skyrocket our business. My New Year’s resolution for 2016 is...to become healthier, to work out more, and to spend time with my family. I would like to con-tinue to grow our business and expand into other states and loca-tions. I would also like to take trips to exotic locations like The Far East (China and Japan) and hopefully Fiji or somewhere in Eu-rope. And as for my hopes for the world in the upcoming year...I would definitely like to see less gun violence in the United States and elsewhere. I would like to see more peace and a new President that will drive us in the right direction.

Charlotte Evans is an award-winning journalist who freelances as a media relations specialist and writer. She has lived in the Las Vegas Valley since 1992, and for more than 17 years anchored the news at KLAS-TV, the CBS affiliate in Las Vegas.



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THE IDEAL QUALITIES OF A TRIAL LAWYER

By Robert T. Eglet, Esq.

I am often asked by young lawyers what I think are the most im-portant characteristics of a successful trial lawyer…a broad ques-tion not easily answered with a simple, concise response. This often-repeated question has required me to engage in critical in-trospection as well as objective observations of those colleagues whom I believe to be exceptionally successful trial lawyers.

It is important to note that when I use the adjective “successful,” in this context I am not speaking of financial success. Indeed, some of the least “successful” trial lawyers whose paths I have crossed have made tremendous amounts of money. But money is not the measure of success for a trial lawyer. Many of the successful trial lawyers I have had the privilege of knowing have spent their entire careers as public defenders, civil rights lawyers or legal aid attor-neys. It is equally important to note that I certainly do not profess to possess all or even most of the qualities that I attempt to describe herein. I am, like most people, a work in progress, continuously trying to improve as both a trial lawyer and a human being. Some-times I succeed. Often I fail. The qualities described are aspiration-al. Goals for all of us who want to be better trial lawyers.

VisualizationIf you do not know what your desired destination is, it is impossible to draw a map of how to get there. Seeing the outcome you desire, and believ-ing you can achieve it, will provide the motivation to prepare as necessary to achieve your desired outcome. The first thing I do to begin my trial preparation is decide what my desired verdict is and then continuously visualize the jury returning that verdict. I visualize the verdict I want being read when the jury returns and work backwards from there.

The use of visualization is important for all aspects of your trial prepara-tion. As you are preparing your opening statement, closing argument and direct and cross-examinations, visualize yourself knocking it out of the park. Continue to use visualization techniques as the trial proceeds before each argument or witness exam. Visualize it happening, and prepare in your mind for things that may otherwise be unexpected. This helps me prepare for the uncooperative or combative witness, as well as the objec-tions that may need to be responded to or may require me to alter my witness examination or argument.

Work EthicWhether it is your first or one hundredth jury trial, your client’s fate will depend on the amount and quality of preparation you commit to their tri-al. Trial lawyers who lack the self discipline to put in long hours and signif-icant time into preparation, or who have become so delusional about their talent in the courtroom they believe they do not need to spend as much time preparing, are hurting themselves and their clients’ cases. Becoming and eventually sustaining yourself as a successful trial lawyer requires ded-icating yourself to preparation, preparation and more preparation. This equates to early mornings, late nights, weekends, and on occasion, holi-days.

Trial work is not for everyone. To be a great trial lawyer means being will-ing to sacrifice a substantial portion of your time and energy during your life to achieve this goal. Since we are all cursed with a limited amount of time on this earth, dedicating a large part of that time to trial preparation requires single-minded commitment. I have personally witnessed excep-tional preparation overcoming the shortcomings of talent or experience. I have never witnessed experience or talent making up for a lack of adequate preparation. Talent and experience assist in confidence and courage, but preparation wins trials.

FocusSuccessful trial lawyers have an exceptional ability to sustain intense focus and are able to develop a level of concentration unknown to most. This is a skill that is learned, it is not innate. The key is preparing a plan for each part of trial, being able to delegate what can and should be delegated to other lawyers or support staff, and concentrating time and efforts on what only you should be doing. They reach their potential by spending most of their time focusing on what they do well.

Since strength is specific to all individuals, not every successful trial lawyer does everything involved in trial preparation (or trial) well. I surround myself with people who complement my strengths and make up for my weaknesses. Usually, these are other lawyers or support staff within my firm; but, on occasion, I go outside my firm to find the right person. Suc-cessful trial lawyers cannot be afraid to accept that they have weaknesses. They must recruit others to collaborate with who are strong where they are weak.

To improve my focus, I spend 70 percent of my time on the areas that are my strengths; 25 percent learning new things; and 5 percent on my areas


of weakness. Growth equals change. If you want to get better, you have to be willing to keep changing and improving. This means getting out of your comfort zone and trying new ways of presenting your cases. One of the lessons I have learned over the years is in order to sustain success as a trial lawyer, you have to be willing to continuously change. Trial lawyers who are trying their cases the same way they were even 5 years ago are being, or already have been, left behind.

StorytellingHumans are hardwired for story. It is the way our evolutionary minds have developed over hundreds of thousands of years. When you tell a story, you are laying the foundation for successful communication because storytell-ing is at the essence of how humans relate to each other. When we sense a story coming our way, the depths of our minds open to receive whatever communication is about to be transmitted. That is because storytelling is key to how we think, decide and behave. Story is the foundational instru-ment of thought. Most of our experience, our knowledge and our thinking are organized as stories. Stories are easier to remember because stories are how we remember.

PowerPoint slides, animations, video re-enactments, and all of the other technology we now use in trial, have changed the way we prepare and pres-ent our cases to juries. This technology provides us with powerful tools in the courtroom; however, successful trial lawyers do not sacrifice their talent as storytellers for technology. Storytelling is the ability to paint in the minds of jurors a compelling story with words that holds their atten-tion, persuades their minds and inspires them to take action. Some of the best opening statements and closing arguments I’ve witnessed were done without a single demonstrative exhibit. This is not to say that I am dis-couraging the use of technology in trial. Those of you who have seen me in trial or have attended my seminars know that I use technology exten-sively throughout all aspects of my trial presentations. However, there is a right way and a wrong way to use technology. Too many trial lawyers have become dependent on PowerPoint and other tools to tell their trial story instead of using this technology to accent their telling of their trial story. I fell victim to this trap myself for a period of time. Successful trial lawyers know that the crafting and telling of their trial story is key to persuading juries.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, the ability to be a great storyteller is not just a gift of talent. Anyone can learn to become a great storyteller if they are willing to put in hard work. When I hear aspiring trial lawyers say, “I’m just not a good storyteller,” my response is always the same: “Then learn how to tell a good story.” It is a learned skill. People who believe that some people are born with the ability and that others are not do not realize that virtually all good storytellers learned their skill. Perhaps not through formal training, but from listening to and learning from other good sto-rytellers. Usually, younger family members will learn this skill from older family members by listening and learning. However, there are numerous books on effective storytelling as well as multiple storytellers’ clubs, groups and events around the country.

ExcellencePerfection is rarely achieved by any person or organization; however, de-manding excellence in yourself (and in your law practice) will move you closer to perfection. I have never conducted a perfect jury selection; given a perfect opening statement or closing argument; or thrown a perfect di-rect- or cross-examination of a witness. And I have certainly never tried a perfect case. That said, I have on occasion achieved excellence in each of these areas. Not perfection: Excellence.

When you strive for perfection, you will likely fall short, but the shortfall will often result in excellence. This requires a burning desire to always be working to expand your skills and knowledge in order to continuously improve your abilities as a trial lawyer. Great trial lawyers are continuous-ly learning and trying innovative techniques for their trial presentations. “Successful” trial lawyers are never complacent or satisfied with their knowledge or abilities in the courtroom. The moment that happens, you have lost your edge.

PassionI have never met a “successful” trial lawyer who wasn’t passionate about the causes they fight for in the courtroom. Nearly all truly “successful” trial lawyers come from humble beginnings or overcame significant hard-ships to achieve their success. Many of them grew up in poverty and had front-row seats to oppression, prejudice or injustice. Understanding the pain of injustice is an important component of becoming a successful tri-al lawyer. A trial lawyer who cannot understand or relate to the injustice their clients are experiencing cannot adequately convey that injustice to a jury. Trial lawyers who have experienced the pain of injustice possess an authentic passion which shows up in the courtroom. They do not have to fake their emotion and passion for their clients’ causes. It is as natural to them as breathing. Their passion is authentic because it is simply part of who they are.

HumilityHumility may be the quality that successful trial lawyers struggle with most. I am certainly no exception. I believe it is, however, an important quality for sustaining our success. If we are not diligent about preventing the outgrowth of arrogance that success can often bring, we can lose our way and forget why we became trial lawyers.

I do not know any successful trial lawyer (in the way I define it here) who was driven by money to become a trial lawyer. Financial reward can be, and often is, a result of success as a trial lawyer…but it is never the reason successful trial lawyers are compelled to succeed. So to avoid the trappings that financial success can bring, it is important to step back from time to time and remember why we became trial lawyers. I refer to this as “keeping my eye on the ball.” And I do this by having a meeting with the lawyers and staff in my office at least once a year where we discuss this very subject. We remind each other that representing the injured and oppressed is a calling, not just a job. We remember that our sole purpose is to fight for our clients

THE IDEAL QUALITIES OF A TRIAL LAWYERTHE IDEAL QUALITIES OF A TRIAL LAWYER


because they cannot fight for themselves. We strive to remember that the reason our firm exists is to help people who desperately need our help. And, we remember that profit is simply a “result,” not the reason we took this path.

TeachabilityAs a young lawyer I was extremely fortunate to have great mentors who took an interest in me. In my early career, these mentors included Mitch Cobeaga, Franny Forsman, Betsy Gonzales and Rex Jemison. After a little over a year in practice, I had just won my sixth jury trial in a row. Rex Jemison walked into my office and said to me in a very serious tone, “Rob-ert, you need to lose a trial soon!” After exclaiming in response, “Why should I want to do that?” Rex said to me, “Because you aren’t learning anything.” And any successful trial lawyer will tell you that trial lawyers learn more, and become better attorneys, from the cases they lose rather than the cases they win. This is because successful trial lawyers never pay for the same mistake twice. A trial lawyer who makes no mistakes, makes no progress; however, the trial lawyer who keeps making the same mis-takes also makes no progress.

To learn from your mistakes, you must be teachable. Lack of teachability in some trial lawyers is rooted in their own success. Some trial lawyers believe that if they can simply learn the skills necessary to win a certain number of trials, or obtain a million-dollar verdict, they no longer have to grow. “Successful” trial lawyers do not think that way. They know that if they stop learning and growing, they relinquish their ability to achieve the success they are capable of achieving. “Successful” trial lawyers know that what got them there does not keep them there. Mitch Cobeaga had a way of reminding me to stay teachable. A week after obtaining a favorable verdict, he’d consistently ask me: “What have you learned new this past week, and how have you applied that for the benefit of one of our clients?” This helped me to understand that resting on accomplishments prevents achieving bigger, future accomplishments. To be teachable, we must be willing to admit that we do not know everything, and to keep learning from our mistakes.

Educator“Successful” trial lawyers are mentors and coaches to other trial lawyers. They are not worried about giving away any secrets by sharing their trial techniques, methods and ideas. They find inspiration in helping other trial lawyers to be their best and are genuinely pleased when other trial law-yers are successful. Great trial lawyers do not measure their success by the number of cases they win, the size of their verdicts, or by any accolades they may receive. They do not even measure their success by whether they were able to reach their own full potential with the talents they possess. They measure their success by the number of young trial lawyers they teach to win cases for the people who need our help…and, by how they inspire them to achieve their goals.

CreativityGreat trial lawyers are creative. They are willing and eager to be creative in their trial presentations. They never allow themselves to get stuck in a rut. They are always seeking to be different in the way they present witnesses, make arguments and use exhibits from trial to trial, even if the traditional way has been successful for them in the past. Successful trial lawyers are not afraid of change, and they get excited about learning new innovative ways to try cases.

AuthenticityIt is vital that we are authentic in everything we do in the courtroom on behalf of our clients. If we are going to take a case to trial, we must believe 100 percent in our client’s case and in our client. If we do not, we will not be able to fake it. Jurors have very intuitive minds and they will see right through us. And if the jury senses that we do not believe in our client’s case, they will have no reason to believe either. My partner, Dennis Prince, is remarkable at this because he meets with his clients weekly, during the months leading up to trial, to discuss who they are, how they feel, and where they want to go.

In trial, you must be who you are and not try to channel some other person or personality. I have observed lawyers try to do this with disastrous re-sults. To cite just one example, I witnessed a trial lawyer suddenly develop a thick southern accent when trial started. The trial was occurring in a rural area. Neither of us was from the area. I presume he was trying to make the jury believe he was local and contrast me as the outsider from Las Vegas. He fooled no one, and immediately lost all credibility with the jury. The verdict was much worse for him than it would have been if he would have just been himself. This is an extreme example, but this princi-ple applies to things as simple as the way you dress to the natural manner in which you speak. Always be your authentic self.

CredibilityOver the past 5 or 6 years, I have noticed a disturbing trend by opposing counsel during trial. For years this trend appeared to be conduct that was isolated (at least in my experience) to out-of-state counsel admitted pro hac vice. [Ed. Note: Pro hac vice usually refers to an out-of-state lawyer who is granted permission to participate in a certain case, even though the lawyer isn’t licensed to practice in the state where the case is being tried.] I assumed these pro hac vice counsel did not care about their credibility with the court because it would be highly unlikely they would appear in front of the same judge twice. But in recent years, I have noticed this trend creeping into the conduct of some Nevada attorneys.

All trial lawyers experience trial courts’ ruling against them numerous times on critical pretrial evidentiary issues. This is not an uncommon ex-perience. In most cases, you win some of the pretrial evidentiary rulings and you lose some. As credible ethical trial lawyers, we accept the trial judge’s rulings and we conform our presentation of our case to comply with these rulings. If the trial judge’s rulings are erroneous and they affect



the outcome negatively for our clients, we have a remedy. We can appeal.

When trial counsel chooses to willfully disregard the judge’s rulings and make arguments or present evidence excluded by the court, this is not only disrespectful of the court and disturbingly unethical, it irreparably de-stroys their credibility with the trial judge. I recently had a front row seat to this type of conduct that resulted not just in a mistrial, but in defense counsel being found to have willfully violated a substantive pre-trial order and found to be personally responsible for the opposing parties’ costs and attorney’s fees under NRS 7.085. As I watched this unfold, I could not imagine how defense counsel could have possibly thought willfully violat-ing a clear court order could somehow be worth the risk of such a severe sanction but, more importantly, the loss of credibility with the judge.

A trial lawyer without credibility has no chance for success. Our credibility is so vital to our success that it is often described as a trial lawyer’s most important asset. We must be vigilant in every court appearance to ensure that we maintain our credibility with the court. To do otherwise under-mines our ability to effectively represent our clients.

CourageYou do not have to be a great trial lawyer to try a case, but to be a great trial lawyer you have to try cases. There is a myth propagated by many in our profession that to become a successful trial lawyer you have to be willing to take unreasonable risks with your client’s future. Courage to try cases comes not from the willingness to take unreasonable risks, but from the confidence which comes from preparing your client’s case from start to finish, as if their case were undoubtedly going to trial. This requires the discipline of having the same work ethic with every case. While it will require more hours and work, you will achieve better results for your cli-ents, whether from jury verdicts or from reasonable settlement offers. The courage to take a case to trial arises from the confidence you have in your case. Your confidence in your case results from your preparation.

Losses and PerseveranceIn 2003, Robert Adams and I tried a near-perfect medical malpractice case…or so we thought. Our client had been turned into a quadriple-gic by the negligent performance of a pain management epidural. During cross-examination of the defendant’s pain management anesthesiologist expert, he admitted that he assumed that the defendant had the syringe connected to the needle with his thumb on the plunger while he was ad-vancing the needle into our client’s epidural space. He also admitted that if the defendant had not had the syringe connected and his thumb on the plunger while advancing the needle into our client’s epidural space, that would have been malpractice. When showed the defendant’s deposition testimony where he admitted he did not have the syringe connected and his thumb on the plunger when advancing the needle into our clients’ epi-dural space, the defense expert admitted that the defendant fell below the standard of care. During cross-examination of the defendant anesthesiol-ogist, he admitted that the manner in which he performed the epidural fell below the standard of care. Further, we also had an MRI taken just days

before the epidural showing no damage to our client’s spinal cord, and an MRI taken three days after the epidural showing a large black dead spot on our client’s spinal cord right where the defendant was placing the epidural.

The jury returned a defense verdict, and we lost what most people would consider the “unloseable” case. My reaction was not admirable. For a time, I literally gave up. I decided I could not be a part of a justice system that could be so unjust. After feeling sorry for myself for a few weeks, my wife and partner Tracy, and my partner Robert Adams, talked me “off the ledge” by telling me to stop feeling sorry for myself and to remember it was our client who was hurt, not me. They reminded me of why I became a lawyer and that if I quit, I would be abandoning my own professed principles.

In 2014, Will Kemp and I spent 5 months trying a case against a pharma-ceutical company that we believed had caused great harm to two of our clients. (We simultaneously represented numerous other clients against this same pharmaceutical company regarding the same drug for the same harm.) The case was very complex, and required enormous amounts of resources—both financial and staffing—to prepare and try it. Causation was difficult to prove, but we truly believed we had the science and experts to overcome the obstacles. The jury returned a defense verdict.

I was no less disappointed than I was from the defense verdict in 2003; however, my reaction that time was much more mature and appropriate. We began the second trial against this pharmaceutical company in the summer of 2015 on behalf of two more of our clients. Instead of just put-ting on the same case with the same experts and the same theory of liabili-ty and causation, we engaged in a critical analysis of the previous trial and tried a tighter, stronger and more effective case. After 8 weeks of trial, we were able to come to a “resolution” on behalf of all of our clients with the pharmaceutical company.

I learned a lesson from my poor reaction to my 2003 loss that prepared me for the right attitude after my 2014 loss. This lesson gave me the power to persevere and to move forward to achieve a “resolution” for my clients. No successful trial lawyer goes through their career without losing cases. If they do, they are only trying the easy cases and settling or withdrawing from the difficult ones. There are times in every successful trial lawyer’s professional life when it appears that all is lost. It is not the losses that inevitably occur in all of our careers that will measure us, it is how we respond to them.

InspirationalSuccessful trial lawyers know that their primary objective is to inspire others to provide full and adequate compensation to their clients for the harms they have suffered. “Others” include insurance adjusters, opposing counsel, mediators, arbitrators, judges, and jurors. To inspire others, from adjusters to jurors, we must be professional, courteous, credible, and be able to convey our client’s story in a manner that will inspire each of these entities to want to fully compensate our clients.



PositivityWhether you believe you will win your trial or you believe you will lose your trial, you will achieve what you believe. This often-used statement, in various forms, is as true for trial lawyers as it is for any other person seek-ing success. Virtually every great trial lawyer who has sustained success over decades of practice believes with every fiber of their being that every time they start a trial they WILL win. A positive attitude about your case is a powerful thing that will influence your client’s attitude and, in turn, in-fluence their aptitude as they testify their story to the jury. A positive atti-tude is an infectious thing that will influence the attitude of your partners, associates and staff, and in turn it will influence their aptitude as they work on your client’s case. Positive attitude inspires increased aptitude. Believ-ing they will win inspires successful trial lawyers to work harder to ensure a win, which results in better preparation, which leads to more confidence and increased performance during trial. I am not saying we ignore prob-lems with our cases. I am, however, suggesting that going into trial with “the sky is falling” attitudes will result in the sky actually falling every time.

Problems are created to be solved, not just to worry about. At our firm, we do not allow negative attitudes while preparing for or during trial. We all go into trial believing we are going to win. Do we win every trial? Of course not. But losses are rare.

ConclusionThere are certainly other qualities of successful trial lawyers that I did not mention here, but remember, this article is titled “The Ideal Qualities of a Trial Lawyer,” not “All the Potential Qualities of A Trial Lawyer.” Addi-tionally, this is an opinion piece and not a hard-news researched article. It may even be surprising to you that I did not mention “character” as an ideal quality of a trial lawyer. But that was purposeful, not an oversight. This piece is meant to be an opinion about the qualities of “successful” trial lawyers, not a debate about peoples’ character. It is not that I do not believe good character is an important quality for all people to have, re-gardless of their profession. However, good character can mean different things to different people based upon their personal values, religious faith, life experiences, or upbringing. Many people believe that good character means putting family first and living a balanced life. But those traits do not necessarily exist in those I believe to be successful trial lawyers. Most successful trial lawyers do not put their families first, and do not live a bal-anced life. They tend to be driven to the extreme; are absentee husbands, wives and parents; and work all the time. This is neither a criticism, nor a glorification. It is simply an observation. Ask my family.

– By Robert T. Eglet, Esq.


Pictured: Dennis M. Prince, Esq. & Robert T. Eglet, Esq.

MEET THE

INCUMBENTJudge Susan Johnson

In this edition of Meet the Incumbent, we interview Judge Susan Johnson, the presiding judge in Department 22 of the Eighth Judi-cial District Court, Clark County, Nevada.

Prior to taking the bench, Judge Johnson was a practicing attorney for over two decades, with the last 12 in her own “boutique” law practice, handling various civil and family law matters. In her first 8 years of practice, Judge Johnson was an associate and shareholder in Rawlings Olson & Cannon, handling and litigating insurance and civil rights defense cases. She spent the next 2 years thereaf-ter litigating numerous personal injury cases. Over the years, her practice morphed into a quasi-judicial practice, where she acted as arbitrator in over 600 cases, mediator, alternate Child Support Hearing Master, Judge Pro Tempore (Las Vegas Justice Court), and Settlement Judge for Nevada Supreme Court. Ultimately, she en-joyed her quasi-judicial practice so much that she wanted to do the job full-time.

Vegas Legal: What does being a judge mean to you?

Judge Johnson: I have the responsibility and power to preside over, arbitrate, facilitate and make decisions concerning various aspects of the law. Under our U.S. and State Constitutions, a judge is the only one who can remove a person’s liberty for an extended period of time. I take these responsibilities very seriously.

VL: What was the most memorable case you tried as an attorney before taking the bench?

JJ: Hands down, Bluestein v. Groover, tried in January/February 1987. This civil rights case was against two police officers (Da-vid Groover and Sgt. Eugene Smith), accused of denying Frank Bluestein (the son of Steven Bluestein, then an official with the Culinary Union) his civil rights when he was shot and killed out-side his condominium complex in June 1980 after brandishing a firearm at the officers. While I was not one of the three lawyers at the defense table in trial, I was one of the young lawyers drafting motions at the office. At least half of the case was won by motion practice. Ultimately, we won a defense verdict.

VL: And what’s been the most memorable case you have presided over as a judge?

JJ: There are several that are memorable for one reason or another. A couple of construction defect cases are memorable because of the length of their trials (9 months and 5 ½ months), and others are memorable given their issues. For example, one case I heard early in my judicial career dealt with a woman wanting the return of her placenta after her giving birth.


VL: Do you have a favorite and least favorite thing about being a judge?

JJ: My favorite thing is hearing a thoughtful, academic and respect-ful argument by counsel. From a community standpoint, I enjoy educating groups about what we judges do, which is interpreting the law...that is, we do not enact or make the law or enforce it. I enjoy discussing what is happening in the court system to lawyers so they can understand why and what we do. My least favorite is dealing with unscrupulous and unprepared attorneys.

VL: Have you ever experienced a situation where you had to support a legal position that conflicted with your personal beliefs? If so, how did you handle it?

JJ: I have sat here for several minutes trying to recall such a spe-cific instance, but cannot. However, from a general standpoint, my personal belief is, unless the economics warrant it, the case should not be litigated in a courtroom. Unfortunately, there are instances where one or both litigants refuse to talk to each other and/or com-promise their differences even though it makes economic sense for them to resolve their differences outside the courtroom. A classic example of that is a divorce action where the parties’ emotions are high. While there may be a prevailing party in an eventual trial, both parties end up losing. VL: Has there ever been a situation that tested the lim-its of your patience? What is your advice for handling those moments?

JJ: One of our wise judges once had a piece of paper on the bench, which read: “Do Not Engage.” Unfortunately, there have been times where the conduct of a lawyer or party serves nothing but to dis-rupt court proceedings, resulting in my patience being tested and particularly, in me raising my voice. Over the years—and particu-larly when the party or lawyer talks on and on—I have learned to simply bring them back to the issues at hand, and ask simple ques-tions in a respectful way such as, “What does that have to do with the matter at hand?” Sometimes, that question or something like it has to be asked several times before the party or lawyer gets it. VL: Do you have any attorney pet peeves?

JJ: Generally, it is lawyers being unorganized, unprepared and un-professional. For example, we have experienced lawyers seeking default judgment, when they have neglected to see entry of default first. There are lawyers who file motions, but do not serve the op-posing party. I note such results in my office vacating the hearings of those motions. One big pet peeve is when my law clerk and I


review and prepare for a large, complicated motion, only to have the lawyers come to the hearing to request a continuance. It simply wastes judicial resources, and I am particularly not thrilled when I have taken the motion home to read. VL: What is your best piece of advice for litigants and/or attorneys?

JJ: Be prepared, academic and respectful of the court, attorneys and parties. Understand the judge is there to make the best de-cision he or she can, and the judge wants to be educated on the issue. It is not necessary to take shots at the opposing party, and if anything, such conduct annoys the judge. VL: What is your passion outside of law?

JJ: If we are talking about hobbies, my husband, Eric, who is now a district court judge, and I enjoy traveling and running long-dis-tance. This year alone, I have run one full-marathon, and six half-marathons. Eric has run more than that. I also enjoy learning about wine and traveling to wine regions. If I had more time, I would like to spend it learning more about history and genealogy. If we are discussing charitable endeavors, I am a Rotarian and my passions include working on my club’s and district’s local and in-ternational projects. In December, both Eric and I enjoy working with Bobby and Sandy Ellis in their charitable cause: Giving away toys and shoes to children attending four elementary schools in both Las Vegas and Henderson. Eric and I have also worked to make Green Valley High School a better place to learn, and we were pleased to be named to the school’s Wall of Fame in June 2015. VL: Finally…what do you love most about Vegas?

JJ: I have lived in Clark County for 52 years, and could not imagine living anywhere else. Clark County encompasses much more than “The Strip,” and contrary to what tourists have asked me, I do not live in a hotel and my school does not have slot machines for us to play. Our cities have such a sense of community, and I am pleased to have raised my children here. There is also no question that the areas outlying Las Vegas—such as Lake Mead, Mount Charleston, Red Rock and Boulder City—are a treat to visit.

MEET THE INCUMBENT Judge Susan Johnson

HillaryCLINTON

Is The United States Ready For Its First Female President?

By Tyler Morgan and Jen Chase


#HillYes


Despite her political affiliation–and your personal political views—Hillary Rodham Clinton represents more than just the Democratic Party. She represents women. And though we may be well into the 21st century, gender equality remains an issue in the United States despite being a country ahead of the curve on count-less other social issues. (It raises the serious question of how the country can proclaim itself a super-power role model when it still struggles to accept women as equals in business and in politics.) Whether or not you support her views, Clinton represents an op-portunity for the United States to make significant strides toward both gender equality and better representing itself as the role-mod-el country we hope other countries might strive to emulate. And if the next election is the beginning of a new era for U.S. women in government, there is no female politician better poised to assume the role of Mrs. President thanks to Clinton’s arsenal of intrinsic knowledge, diplomatic aplomb and well-traveled world acumen. But the question is this: If the United States can’t pay equal wages across gender lines—if media outlets cover Clinton’s suits and im-pending grandmothering to Chelsea and Marc’s No. 2 more than what makes her among the most notable female politicians of our time—is it ready to accept a female president? What kind of re-sume would it take to sway the electorate? Looking ahead requires not only looking back, but also evaluating today’s best options. Is Clinton among them?

America v. The World in Gender Equality The United States’ social norms have exponentially progressed since its inception. Slavery was abolished in 1865. Women got the right to vote in 1920. And in 2008, Barack Obama became the country’s first black president. But despite the record of change, we’re still a straggler behind others in gender equality. And that no woman has been elected president is not only well overdue but is borderline shocking when considering where women stand in our society. Today, women make up half the United States’ population and nearly half of the labor force; yet, fewer than 15 percent hold po-sitions as executive officers and less than 5 percent of Fortune 500 companies have female executive officers. (In the legal profession, women comprise only 15 percent of law firm equity partners.) Cur-rently, women make up less than 20 percent of Congress. To put it in perspective with other parts of the world, the United States has less female representation in its government than Rwanda, Bolivia, India, China, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq. Yes, Iraq. In the last 50 years, 52 countries have had female heads of state; most notably is Angela Merkel, German chancellor and holder of the No. 1 spot on Forbes’ 2015 list of the World’s Most Powerful Women (Clinton is at No. 2). For women pursuing power posi-tions, Merkel shines as the brightest star, being re-elected for her

third term in arguably the most dynamic economy in the Euro-pean Union. This is staggering information, because it insinuates we’re a country that allows women to pursue an education, vote, and not be forced into socially (or religiously) mandated marriag-es, yet worldwide, we rank in the bottom half in gender equality. And where’s the equity in that?

Answering The Call To Service From a young age, Hillary Clinton showed an aptitude and desire for community service, and for backing others who believed the same. It’s been reported that in 1960, her political interests were piqued at 13 when she volunteered for her first campaign, thanks to that year’s close presidential election. In the 1964 presidential election, Clinton volunteered for Barry Goldwater (her allegedly reading Goldwater’s The Conscience of a Conservative made her enough of a fan to support him despite his being a Republican). But her passion for social justice (and future political affiliation) were most likely shaped in 1962, in part by attending a speech in her hometown of Chicago by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., where the two met in person. In 1965 she entered Wellesley College, a pres-tigious all-women’s institution in Massachusetts that is also part of the “Seven Sisters” consortium of schools (the female equivalent to the Ivy League). There, her political science major had her involved in numerous campus and local elections. Later, it was on to Yale Law School where not only did she foster her interest in early child-hood development and the welfare of underprivileged children and families—topics that would remain in the forefront of her career for decades to come—but she met her future husband (and U.S. president), Bill Clinton.

COVER STORY

JOSEPH SOHM / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM


Clinton’s history of public service is vast and her accomplishments deserve praise. She has served on campaigns for multiple presi-dents, including her husband’s; she became a U.S. Senator in 2000 (New York’s first female senator and the first former First Lady to hold office), and she was re-elected in 2006, and became Secretary of State in 2009. But is this enough?

A Race To First is Filled With Firsts Clinton has an astonishing track record of accomplishing career firsts, so much so it’s hard not to use her fervor as a measure of her ability to get things done. In 1969, she was the first student in Wellesley College history to deliver a commencement address. After following not-yet husband Bill to Arkansas—after esteemed work at the Children’s Defense Fund in Cambridge, Mass., and as a consultant to the Carnegie Council on Children—she became the first female full partner of Rose Law Firm. In 1986, while First Lady of Arkansas during Bill’s governorship, she became the first woman appointed to the board of Wal-Mart, prompting company founder Sam Walton to include females on his board more regularly. She was the United States’ first First Lady to hold a post-graduate de-gree as well as have her own personal, pre-White House career; the first First Lady to have both her own office in the White House’s West Wing and First Ladies Offices on the East side; and the first First Lady to win a Grammy Award (“Best Spoken Album,” 1987, for you pop-culture trivia night ringers). And, as the first First Lady to be elected to office, Clinton is also the first person regardless of gender to hold simultaneous positions in both the executive and legislative branches of government (she spent 20 days as both First Lady and U.S. senator). In fact, Clinton sits only behind Eleanor Roosevelt as the most lauded, “openly empowered presidential wife” in U.S. history. But is all that enough? Or do people dislike the Clinton name enough to ignore firsts that, if garnered by a man, might seal the deal on his positive political future?

Clinton’s Strength Could Be Her Weakness From the onset of her campaign in 2015, Clinton has been a front-runner for the Democratic Party despite Benghazi turmoil, email scandals, and the force that is U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT). As a candidate, she brings immeasurable experience and appears to insiders, outsiders and nosiders as the darling of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). (Hard, otherwise, to explain the party’s airing the most recent Democratic debate at 8:30 p.m., the Saturday before Christmas, when presumably, view-ership would be low and Clinton’s profile would remain high. Did

the D-Trip hope American’s wouldn’t watch, further solidifying Clinton’s footing? Inquiring minds….) As we near caucus time, although hardly a foregone conclusion it’s probable that Clinton will get her party’s nod. Naturally, winning a general election would require her taking swing states. but al-though women comprise slightly more than half the nationwide electorate, it’s possible that a woman’s age and not her party affil-iation, could affect the female vote. An October 2015 Daily Beast article by Lizzie Crocker noted that today’s millennials comprise 36 percent of 2016’s eligible voters; and of them, millennial feminists don’t actually find Clinton “feminist enough.” And while she may be plenty progressive for Millennial Moms, its their daughters who could be craving less seemingly white-woman privilege; a little less flipping in her senator years on issues like same-sex marriage; less previous stand-by-your-manness during her husband’s indiscre-tions. Even writer-director-actress Lena Dunham, in an interview with Clinton for Dunham’s e-newsie, Lenny, was reportedly dis-appointed that Clinton didn’t get a little more harder-faster-stron-ger when answering—respectably so—a question about how she’d work to heal the country’s “terrible fracture in race relations.” Truthfully, millennial voters may be missing the point. If you want to elect someone to run your country based on how they can run, you’d be hard pressed to find a better CV than HC’s. But it will in fact come down to what’s most important to voters. Some have amplified desires for social reform; others care more about foreign policy. Who is elected will boil down to the kind of person voters want in office.

One Nation Under Hillary? We’ve long known the import of Girl Power. The public well knows about strength in numbers (anyone see Suffragette?) and the im-mense power of one (hello, Malala Yousafzai). Could all of wom-endom lean toward Clinton because they want representation in the Oval Office? Sure. But don’t be sold. Winning may be harder than it sounds if Clinton doesn’t do something in to quell concern of young millennials. However, if voters—of any gender, might we add—cast according to the best person for the job and remain uninfluenced by reproductive organs...if voters ask themselves if they we want a leader based on strength of accomplishments or on history-making factor, this time, it just might be a woman wear-ing the First Pants of the nation. Judging Clinton’s long career and well-documented affinity for women’s suiting, we strongly suspect she’s ready. Are we?

HILLARY CLINTON


Is the United States ready for its first female president? One mem-ber of the 2016 Presidential Campaign Class thinks so...likely more than most. Below, Hillary Clinton shares candid thoughts about how deep the U.S. gender divide really is; the importance of electing a woman to the Oval Office; and the very special kinship she feels for one of our nation’s other most pre-eminent female icons.

Vegas Legal: Do you feel a certain sense of pressure be-cause you may potentially become the first woman to become president?

Hillary Clinton: When you’re a woman running for president, you hear the words “glass ceiling” a lot. And many people think that shattering that highest, hardest glass ceiling is a goal worth pur-suing—and, no surprise, I happen to agree with them. I think that electing the first woman president will send a strong message to all Americans, women and men. It’ll say a lot about women’s role in America, our value, our abilities, including our ability to lead. Because who’s president matters.

But the presidency is not everything. It’s important that people un-derstand that there are still glass ceilings, not just with regard to the presidency, but in lots of fields. There are still way too many

barriers holding women back from achieving all that we can.So I’m hoping that my campaign sends a message to women to be proud of themselves, to take risks in pursuit of their dreams, to get an education, stay focused on their goals, get over the perfec-tionist gene, ask for help: It’s not a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength to build a supportive community. Most of all, I hope little girls across America will be even more convinced that they are just as special and loved and cherished as little boys.

VL: Do you feel we are nearing a close in our society’s gender gap or are there still hurdles to overcome?

HC: The gender gap is definitely still an issue. There’s still a double standard that applies to women, and it’s not just in politics—it’s in business, academia, the media—so many fields. If women are devoted to our jobs, we’re not good enough wives or mothers… if we make time for our families, we’re not serious about our jobs… if we’re assertive, we’re “loud”…if we’re quiet, we’re easily dismissed…if we’re emotional, we’re out of control. This isn’t always the case, of course—but for a lot of women, in a lot of places, life is full of these kinds of impossible situations.

So if you want to put yourself into the public arena and run for of-fice, the way I have as a senator and now in running for president,

THE EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

HILLARY One On One

“It’s important that people understand that there are still glass ceilings, not

just with regard to the presidency, but in lots of fields.”–Hillary Clinton


you have to be prepared to stand up to that kind of pressure. Be-cause it is pressure. There are so many things people talk about re-garding women candidates—like what I wear, how I look, my hair, my clothes—that no one pays any attention to when it comes to men candidates. But I also think this is starting to change. It’s get-ting better. It’s not as bad as it was. And I’m hoping that when I’m elected president, we can really get beyond it and people will say, “I want to judge this girl and this boy, this man and this woman, on their merits, not their gender.”

Then there’s the gender wage gap. It is past time for Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act. I sponsored and fought for this when I was in the Senate, because this law would do something very simple and important: it would make it easier for workers to discover if they’re being paid unfairly, and it would make it harder for employers to justify paying men and women different wages for the same work. That seems like the kind of law we ought to be able to support. But it’s very difficult to get Republicans to take steps to guarantee equal pay for equal work. They don’t support it. And honest to goodness, I don’t know who they spend their time talking to, because I talk to a lot of people who are quite worried about this.

I won’t be deterred. I’m going to fight until every woman has the rights, opportunities and respect she deserves, and every little girl in America knows without a doubt she can grow up to be anything she wants—even president of the United States.

VL: Is there another female icon or politician—past or present—you either feel a resemblance to or look to for inspiration?

HC: I am a huge fan of Eleanor Roosevelt. I’ve read everything she’s written and everything I can find that’s been written about her. When I was First Lady, everywhere that I went, Eleanor Roosevelt had already been there. It was the most amazing thing! I’d show up somewhere in America or abroad and they’d say, “The only other First Lady who ever came here was Eleanor Roosevelt.’” I once vis-ited two women, the Delaney Sisters. They were something like 104 and 106 when I met them—children of a former slave, believe it or not. They lived outside of New York City, which made them my constituents, and I went to their home for a visit. They asked me to sign their guest book. It was incredibly thick— there were decades of signatures in there. And they opened to a page and said, “Here, sign next to Eleanor Roosevelt.”

When you think about Mrs. Roosevelt’s childhood, and how she was treated, and how she stayed focused on what she could do to make a difference in the world, it’s just extraordinary.

VL: When you were First Lady, was there a special ex-perience that you still cherish?

HC: In 1995, I went to Beijing to participate in the UN’s Fourth World Conference on Women. There were people in our own gov-ernment, in our Congress, who didn’t want me to go. And they definitely didn’t want me to give a speech about women’s rights; they didn’t think a First Lady should be so vocal. The Chinese gov-ernment wasn’t thrilled about it either. They were ready to censor any criticism I offered—and I did have some critical things to say. But I didn’t get distracted by any of that. I just wanted to break the silence around all of the terrible things happening to women and girls worldwide…things like forced prostitution, babies killed for being born girls, so-called honor killings. In a lot of places, people didn’t talk about these matters out loud. But if you want to solve a problem, you start by talking about it. I wanted to say that I be-lieved in—something so basic and so true. And it’s worth saying again: Human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are hu-man rights, once and for all.

VL: Lastly: What issue(s) do you believe voters should be most concerned about as they decide for whom to cast their votes?

HC: From my perspective, this election is about whether we con-tinue to move forward together, or whether we do a U-turn back to failed policies that are out-of-touch and out-of-date. If you listen to our Republican friends, they really are absolutely convinced that going back to the economic policies of the past that did not work is the right path forward. I disagree. They say they want to turn the clock back on the rights of women, the LGBT community, people with disabilities, poor people, union members…it’s a long list. And I think that when someone tells you what they believe and what they’ll do if elected, you should believe them. So in 2016, as this election picks up steam, I hope people will listen to the candidates and get a sense of how their positions will affect them and what they care about. There’s a lot at stake here, for all of us.

HILLARY CLINTON

Vegas Legal Magazine Winter 2016 | Pg.40

I, Douglas C. Crawford, do solemnly swear, that I deeply and hum-bly apologize to my former clients, as I have a hundred times before, for causing widespread devastation in their lives. I, Douglas C. Crawford, do solemnly swear, that I apologize to mem-bers of the bench, the bar, and the general public, for the disgrace I have brought to the profession of law. And I, Douglas C. Crawford, respectfully ask every reader laying eyes on my story to take a small step toward understanding that gambling addiction is a real thing that sets in motion actions of cataclysmic proportion, often ending in suicide attempts, or worse. It nearly hap-pened to me. I was lucky. But it took my dog, a shot gun and faith in the judicial system to help me rise up. Here’s my story.

Ascent Toward “Dream City” The night of Aug. 14, 1984, I chugged over the hill and down into the glittering Las Vegas Valley in the smallest Honda Civic made, pulling a slat-sided, little-red-wagon U-Haul filled with all of my worldly possessions. With five crisp hundreds in my wallet, a law degree from University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, and dreams of litigating in “Sin City,” in two days I had a tiny studio in a seedy part of town and a job as a law clerk at a medium-size in-surance defense firm earning $22,000…more money than I’d seen in my life. At the time, the MGM Hotel fire litigation was kicking into high gear and local firms were desperate for warm bodies to generate billable hours; so with job, salary and home taken care of, Nevada

was handing me no limits. What I didn’t realize was that it wouldn’t take long before my addictive brain and propensity for drinking, drugging and gambling became problematic in the state where 24-hour access to debauchery was not only allowed, but encouraged. I sat for the Nevada Bar Examination in the summer of 1985 and was admitted to the practice of law that September. After a couple of false starts with two different firms, I was hired as an associate for a high-intensity criminal defense and family law firm. The se-nior partner—now a justice in the Nevada Supreme Court—taught me how to be a litigation attorney, and I was drawn to it like a bartender to tips. Four years later, I my solo practice emphasized criminal defense and matrimonial law, with the occasional high-end personal injury case thrown in for good measure. From the late 80s to the early 2000s, Las Vegas grew as fast as a hot gambler’s chip stack. Clients were not hard to find, and with my reputation as an “alley fighter” litigator, my income soared to levels unfathomable to a farm boy from northern California. Unfortu-nately, the addictions that I was born with began to increase with my salary. Through the 90s, I was a coke and liquor “weekend war-rior,” two things that at the time were omnipresent in both Las Ve-gas at large and the legal community. Exacerbated by the drinking and drugging, my gambling addiction soared out of control and I began scouring money from any and all sources to feed binges lasting up to 30 hours. Before long, I’d borrowed all the equity from my real estate holdings accrued during the “bubble,” and gave it all to the casinos. And after exhausting every penny from my savings, real estate and income, I did the unthinkable and invaded my trust account, gambling away my clients’ money.

VEGAS FLAMEOUT A First-Person Account of Addiction & Redemption By Douglas C. Crawford, Esq.


Life On The Decline On May 1, 2007, I was temporarily suspended by the Nevada Su-preme Court pending ethical charges from the State Bar of Nevada. Paralyzed by shame and fear, the next 5 months were a blur of non-stop gambling and drug use. As a criminal defense attorney, I was all too familiar with the consequences of embezzling several hun-dred thousand dollars and I lived in fear of immediate arrest and a long prison stint. But the worry paled against my shame for what I had done to former clients. That day, I awoke around 2 a.m. af-ter a long binge, feeling unabashedly alone in the universe, having alienated my colleagues, family and friends through my addictive behavior. With no one to talk to, and terrified of inevitable incar-ceration, I placed a shot gun barrel in my mouth and prepared to end the pain. That is, until my dog Jane saw me lying on the floor with the gun by my side. She picked up one of her stuffed animal toys and dropped it on my chest. In that moment, I couldn’t bring myself to blow my head off in front of her, and I slowly realized that I had to face the future. I had to begin changing my life.

Road To Redemption It took a few months. But clouded by the physiological effects of addiction, on Oct. 8, 2007, I finally entered the 6-week intensive outpatient program at the Problem Gambling Center, which had been established by the world’s foremost authority on gambling addiction, Dr. Robert Hunter. And for the first time, I began to understand why my life had been driven by addictions. His high-ly effective blend of brain science, peer counseling and spiritual development gave me insights that had eluded me. For example, I learned that my severe gambling addiction derived from the bio-genetic component of defective dopamine receptors, in com-bination with some specific psychological traits. I was born with deformed dopamine receptors in the same way I was born with brown eyes, so from the first time I was exposed to behavior that caused a dopamine surge, I was likely to become addicted to that behavior whether it was gambling, drinking, drugging or almost anything else. And while my condition remains incurable, progres-sive and often fatal, it is imminently treatable. By attending 12-step meetings, participating in aftercare therapy sessions and inter-acting daily with other recovering addicts, I formed new neural pathways and to this day I continue to keep this horrible disease in remission.

Paying The Piper With my recovery in full swing, on Feb. 22, 2008, I entered a condi-tional guilty plea in the State Bar of Nevada to 24 ethical violations stemming from my addiction. As a condition of the plea, I was en-

titled to a hearing where I argued for a 5-year suspension rather than permanent disbarment. I presented extensive evidence (in-cluding expert testimony by Dr. Hunter) of my gambling addiction as a mitigating factor; but on April 28, 2008, the ethics panel filed a written decision to permanently disbar me from the practice of law. Citing fear of relapse, the panel deemed me a “black stain upon the state bar” and unanimously voted for permanent disbarment. I was devastated, but I vowed to educate the bench, bar and general public about the nature of my disease. I appealed the ethics panel ruling to the Nevada Supreme Court, and in a unanimous opinion filed Feb. 18, 2009, the panel converted my permanent disbarment to a 5-year suspension with numerous conditions of reinstatement. And in reversing the ethics panel, the court cited gambling addic-tion as one of several mitigating factors not given sufficient weight by the bar. This was a first in Nevada jurisprudence. And I was overjoyed at the prospect of practicing law again. Not long after completing Dr. Hunter’s intensive outpatient pro-gram, I was contacted by Dr. Rena Nora, another pioneer in treat-ing gambling addiction. She was appointed by Gov. Jim Gibbons to chair the Governor’s Advisory Committee on Problem Gambling. Knowing my law background, and that I was a gambling addict in treatment, on Oct. 24, 2008, in what turned out to be her last offi-cial act (she died several days later) Dr. Nora appointed me to the Subcommittee on Legal Issues for the Governor’s Advisory Com-mittee. Among other things, we were directed to draft legislation to create a diversion program for gambling addicts who commit crimes in furtherance of their addiction. After months of meetings, research and discussion, and thanks primarily to the efforts of prominent gaming attorney Anthony Cabot, Esq., the committee drafted As-sembly Bill 102. And on Feb. 27, 2009, I testified along with other interested on behalf of the bill’s passage in the Assembly Judiciary Committee of the Nevada State Legislature. Several months later Nevada Revised Statute 458A.200 was passed into law. It assures that defendants who are placed in diversion will make restitution to people they victimize as a result of their addiction.

(Re)Trusting The System For the first days, weeks and months of my recovery, I was sure I’d be arrested at any moment. After all, I had testified in the state bar action that I had misappropriated hundreds of thousands of dol-lars. The Clark County District Attorney already had a prima facie case based upon bank records and my testimony. For reasons still unknown to me, the district attorney waited until November 2010

VEGAS FLAMEOUT


(3 years after I began recovery and more than 2 after the ethics trial) to file a criminal complaint, charging me with four counts of felony theft. Realizing the futility of taking the matter to trial, on Oct. 31, 2011, I entered a guilty plea to two counts of felony theft. Pursuant to the plea agreement, two felony counts were to be dis-missed but the district attorney was free to argue for prison time at sentencing. On Dec. 22, 2011, I filed a Motion for Diversion per NRS 458A.200, the very statute that I had participated in drafting years before charges were filed. In an ironic twist of fate, despite vigorous op-position by the DA, on Jan. 11, 2011, Judge Donald Mosely of the Eighth Judicial District Court stayed adjudication and granted my motion. I became the first criminal defendant in Southern Nevada to be sentenced to a program of treatment for gambling addiction under the new statute. I have successfully completed the program, paid over $100,000 restitution to my former clients, and hope to have the criminal case dismissed and sealed pursuant to the statute. On Aug. 5, 2013, I filed my Petition for Reinstatement to the prac-tice of law with the State Bar of Nevada. I had taken and passed the Bar Exam in February 2013; passed the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam with a score of 134; paid almost $80,000 in restitution; and maintained my recovery without relapse. The bar moved to dismiss the petition on the ground that I had not paid full restitution to my former clients as required by the Order of Sus-pension issued by the Nevada Supreme Court. I opposed the mo-tion on the ground that I could never earn sufficient income to pay full restitution (and complete my Ninth Step of recovery: “making amends for the harm I caused”) unless allowed to obtain substan-tial income from practicing law. The Chairman of the Southern Nevada Disciplinary Board heard my argument, reviewed the pleadings and denied the bar’s motion. My trial for reinstatement was set for Jan. 21, 2014.

Crawford Rising After taking testimony and receiving exhibits, the ethics panel unanimously ruled that I should be reinstated to the practice of law with rigorous conditions designed to protect the public. The opinion went up for automatic review and on Nov. 10, 2014, the Nevada Supreme Court entered an order asking the bar and ethics panel to make clear findings that I was not a threat to the public, and to structure conditions of reinstatement that were “less rigor-ous” and more workable. Another reinstatement hearing was held Dec. 1, 2014, and the same ethics panel again voted unanimously to reinstate me to the practice of law…this time with fewer restric-tions, but enough designed to monitor my recovery and help me

repay my clients. I am proud to say I am making restitution at a prodigious pace. The central characteristic of gambling addiction is that the mid-brain—which governs impulses like eating and sleeping, and has no “conscience”—hijacks the frontal cortex, (which governs logical and moral functions), and breeds a climate for devastating behav-ior. With theft crimes a key diagnostic element of gambling addic-tion, countless gambling addicts commit offenses similar to ones I described. We also suffer from the highest suicide rate of any insu-lar patient group studied thus far. It is my sincere hope that by sharing my truth, judges who sentence addicts for crimes committed in furtherance of their addiction will do so with better knowledge of the disease. The apologies at the beginning of this missive repeat here at the end, because there aren’t enough ways to convey their depth and humility: I deeply and humbly apologize for causing widespread devastation in my clients’ lives. I apologize to members of the bench, the bar, and the general public, for the temporary disgrace I brought to our profession...and I strive daily to remember the good that is in me that I can now share with our community. I respectfully ask that society does its part to understand that gam-bling addiction is a real thing that sets in motion actions of cataclys-mic proportion which often ends in suicide attempts, or worse. I was lucky. Because it took my dog, a shot gun and faith in the judi-cial system to help me rise up. And I did.

This was my story. Please share it. And help me prevent it from becoming someone else’s.

– By Douglas C. Crawford, Esq.

VEGAS FLAMEOUT

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First we shopped online. Then came ordering pizza, finding a date and even matching a mate. Las Vegas had a long wait for ride-shar-ing services, but now that they’re here, here’s what to expect from having the pleasure of self-concierging your whereabouts across the Las Vegas Valley.

Remember when all it took was a whistle, a wave and a little above-the-knee skin to snag a cab? With the advent of ride-sharing services like Hai-lo, Uber and Lyft, taxi hailing is practically an old-timey practice. Unless, of course, you’re a Las Vegan. Here, rock-solid unions long blockaded our hopes of downloading a handy smartphone app to more easily traverse the Strip and its sights in something other than a cab. Not any more. Not only do we now have the daresay “uber” service, but we even have a little choice. How nice. Check out some of the finer points of being able to nav-igate the city in a car beckoned by your own whim. Dave Matthews may have crooned “hike up your skirt a little more,” but with these app-based, ride sharing services, we’ll be hiking and hailing no more as we order up our rides.

The Uber Service All it takes is an app on your smartphone and letting your little fingers to some walking as you plug in the address of where you are and where you’re going (plus a credit card number, natch) and you’re all set to Uber. And, yes, it’s now a verb. Conjugate it like this:

• Getting to McCarran International Airport is a cinch from pretty much anywhere in the Las Vegas Valley. According to the company’s website, simply request an Uber from your smartphone app, tell your driver which airline you’re flying, and you’ll be dropped at “departures.”

• For when you’ve landed at McCarran and need your vacation to begin (or end), keep this in mind: Only two locations allow you to be picked up by an Uber driver, in a predetermined “designated Uber pick-up zone”: Terminal 1 (walk to Level 2M inside the public parking garage); or Ter-minal 3 (head over to the Valet Level of the public garage). Interested in rates? These are ballparks about what to expect from longer-distance rides (naturally, short jaunts should prove much less expensive): UNLV to Downtown Las Vegas: $13-17 UNLV to Summerlin: $34-45 Downtown Las Vegas to Summerlin: $36-48 Downtown Las Vegas to Henderson: $39-52 Henderson to Summerlin: $63-84

Lyft You Up Lyft is oh-so-similar to Uber. (Phone-based app? Check. Use to book ride? Double check. Allegedly, a goodly less expensive than traditional cabs or ride sharing? Checkeroo….) These pointers will keep you in the know:

• Lyft rides are fulfilled 24 hours per day, seven days per week. • With Lyft, rides don’t have to be one-way. • Multiple stops are an option with the service LyftPlus • To figure out ride costs, Lyft has a handy-dandy calculator on its website.

Jen Chase is Vegas Legal’s managing editor. A food and lifestyle editor for nearly 20 years, past and present cli-ents include MasterCard, Bertolli™, Breville™, The Boston Phoenix, Time Out Las Vegas, the Forbes travel guide. Based in Boston and Las Vegas, Chase is also the content director for Veags-based The Juice Standard and the owner/writer of the blog CulinarieTherapie. Reach out at [email protected].

‘Hike Up Your Skirt A Little More’ No More

Uber & Lyft In Las Vegas At Last By Jen Chase


‘Hike Up Your Skirt A Little More’ No More

Uber & Lyft In Las Vegas At Last By Jen Chase

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If you’re one of the thousands of lucky Southern Nevadans who will land a well-paying job at Faraday Future electric car company in the next few years, you can thank the Mayor of North Las Vegas, John Lee, and City Manager, Dr. Qiong Liu, for the opportunity. You can also send thank you cards to the Mayor’s staff, the Gov-ernor and members of the Nevada State Legislature who met in special session just one week before Christmas to iron out the deal approving incentives and logistics to give Faraday Future the green light to set up its global headquarters in North Las Vegas.

Behind The ScenesThe effort to bring Faraday Future to Nevada was the brainchild of North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee, who had earlier lauded the agreement bringing Tesla Motors to northern Nevada, saying it would be good for all Nevadans. He patterned the Faraday agree-ment after the Tesla plan, and along with City Manager Qiong Liu, engaged in months of maneuvering and cajoling behind the scenes to schedule a pivotal meeting with the board of directors at Fara-day. The meeting came off like something from a Seinfeld episode, according to Mayor Lee: It was only supposed to last 15 minutes but Lee says he and the city manager were a bit over-eager and extended their visit.

“They opened the door [figuratively] and I pushed my head through the door…and she put her shoulder through the door…and I put my knee in…and she put her hand in…and so we ended up in that board of directors room for an hour and a half,” says Lee. Following the breakthrough at the board meeting, Lee and Liu continued the relentless courtship of Faraday with emails, phone calls and tours of the Las Vegas valley. They enjoyed a meeting over tea with Chinese billionaire Jia Yueting and his staff. “We started drinking tea with these people and we became friends,” says Lee. “Pretty soon, because of [North Las Vegas’] proximity and every-thing that we had [to offer] here, it just came together.”

Forward MotionFaraday’s arrival in North Las Vegas will transform the economy of Southern Nevada, which has always been driven by the hospitality and gaming industry. “North Las Vegas is going to be the bread basket [for the valley],” says Lee. “More money will be made and more opportunities will be had in the northern part of the city now than in any other place in the valley.” Perceptions of Southern Ne-vada are also likely to change as the region is expected to become a global hub for technological and environmental innovation.

“[As kids] we watched The Jetsons and Star Trek, and those futur-istic things are happening now,” says Lee. “The vehicle of the future will be a vehicle where you’ll sit in it [and] it will work like an iPad: You’ll tell the iPad (or the car) where you’re going and what you need to do along the way. Then you can sit back and do aromather-apy, you can take a nap, you can read; [meantime] the streetlights will talk to [your] car. You can be going 35 miles an hour toward an intersection—the light will be red [but] the street light will tell your car not to slow down [because] the light is going to turn green in 15 seconds.”

Impact At HomeSouthern Nevadans should start seeing proof of the Faraday Future agreement soon, as construction begins on infrastruc-ture needed to support the $1 billion car plant at Apex in North Las Vegas. “We hope to break ground in early 2016,” says Sta-cy Morris, director of public relations and communications at Faraday. “We’re moving fast. On the corporate side we’ve been hiring about 50 people per month, which is fun to watch.”

At its peak, Faraday Future plans to employ about 4,500 workers with at least half being Nevada residents. Eighty percent of the jobs are expected to be on the assembly line, paying about $22 an hour. A massive training program will get underway for those jobs when the plant is ready. “We haven’t started the recruiting process yet but our website, faradayfuture[dot]com has a link for submitting job applications,” says Morris.

The Faraday Future LegacyThe projected economic turnaround in North Las Vegas, which a few years ago was on the verge of bankruptcy, is significant. Over the next several years, hundreds of millions of dollars in local gov-ernment revenue is forecast to come as a result of the Faraday op-eration. State government and schools are also expected to benefit receiving millions in new revenue. “The next mayor after me and the next mayor after him (or her) are going to see the great rewards from the efforts of this,” says Lee. “It’s just our time and our oppor-tunity to make a huge difference in our lives here. We all came here for that reason. We didn’t come here to be famous. We came here to fix this [economic] problem.”


OUR FUTURE RIDES WITH

FARADAY CARSBy Charlotte Evans

Working with business owners from all industries, in all stages of business...from start-up to growth to transfer, I’ve learned, first and foremost, regardless of the company, there are things that ev-ery business should have in place to help ensure it has the best shot at longevity, growth, profit and security. Consider the following as you look at your business holistically and plan for its future: Have a thoughtful, well-written plan (and stick to it) Rather than getting caught up in the daily operations of your busi-ness, set clear, realistic goals and objectives. Consider strategies that address the long-term plans of your business and how you plan to retire. Create a business advisory council Pull together a board of directors comprising business owners in similarly sized companies— who are facing similar issues—that in-cludes your CPA, attorney and your financial professional. Owners can use this council as a sounding board, and to realize opportuni-ties within their businesses that they may not have been able to see themselves. Conversely, participate on other companies’ advisory councils.

Know your core customers…and delight them Understand your customers. Segment them, and know where prof-itable business comes from. Make the extra effort to know how you can keep and grow your base of recurring customers. Define and communicate your company’s value What does your company do that no other company is doing? How is your service better than others? Why should customers seek out your company instead of your competition? Evaluate competitors for how they may have changed their approach or exited the busi-ness. Develop a unique message that articulates your unique value proposition.

Hire better, and offer good benefits Find and hire strong talent, and offer voluntary benefits as a way to help retain and attract quality employees. Voluntary benefits are those that you, as owner, offer to employees at a typically lower cost than they could obtain themselves. Voluntary benefits can be offered to employees at no cost to the business. Develop an exit strategy and a succession plan…for your-selfAre you approaching retirement and intending to sell your busi-ness for retirement income? An experienced financial professional can help you put a succession plan in place. Find a financial professional with experience in serving small businessesWork with an experienced, local financial professional, who is trained to meet business-owner needs; someone you can trust with your business and personal aspirations, and someone who will help you create plans for reaching your short- and long-term goals. Your customers and employees depend on your business, but your business depends on you. In challenging times—or anytime, real-ly—an experienced local financial professional can help you and your business interests. Kyle Lum is a financial representative with MassMutual Nevada, a MassMutual Agency, and contributes to Vegas Legal courtesy of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual). Local sales agencies are not subsidiaries of MassMutual or its affiliated companies. © 2014 Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, Springfield, MA 01111-0001. All rights reserved. www.massmutual.com CRN201609-186175


Growth Abounds In All Shapes & Sizes What Financial Institutions Have Learned From Their Business-Owning Clients

THE INSIDE TIPWith John Tippins

The Nuance of Networking and Why It Matters Whether your business revolves around referrals or sales, you can’t overlook the importance of networking. The most successful busi-ness owners are the ones who establish lasting personal relation-ships with those they work with, and it starts by learning how to cultivate your opportunities. So, in this installment of The Inside Tip, I discuss networking. Get out and socialize. In order to get more clients (or customers) you need to get in front of more people. No one will know your brand or what you provide if you don’t get out and network. Luckily, Las Vegas is the Enter-tainment Capital of the World and there is a plethora of network-ing events and parties to attend where you can better network—and enjoy a cocktail or two while you’re at it. Always follow through. All the networking in the world can’t help you if you don’t follow through. Collect business cards whenever possible and take a mo-ment the next morning to send out emails to each person you met (or at least the ones who may benefit your life) and let each of them know it was a pleasure to meet them. And don’t hesitate to offer to have lunch in the near future so you can resume your conversation in more detail.


Everyone loves a catered meal. A great way to get past the gatekeeper at every office—and to also learn who the top decision makers are—is to cater lunches for of-fices. It’s hard to turn down a free meal, especially when it’s brought directly to you. So each month, set up at least one day when you will cater a lunch to the staff of an office you are trying to work with. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to take care of the offices you are already well connected to. Tune up your dating skills. When you’ve found the right person with whom you most want to establish a business relationship, treat the process like you would a date. Most professionals prefer to work with people they can relate to and enjoy socializing with. So, study up on their interests and use it to your advantage. They like golf? Invite him or her out for a round of 18. You’ll have a much better chance to connect and talk a little business if you’re both enjoying an activity you enjoy.

John Tippins is the CEO of Northcap, owner, operator and listing brokerage for over 2,000 dis-tinct high-rise and mid-rise units in Las Vegas including The Ogden, Juhl, Palms Place Condo Hotel & Spa.

Ever since the first Land Rover was conceived in 1947, we have built vehicles that challenge what is possible. These in turn have challenged their owners to explore new territories and conquer difficult terrains. Our vehicles epitomize the values of the designers and engineers who have created them. Each one instilled with iconic British design cues, delivering capability with composure. To experience one of these amazing vehicles for yourself, visit Land Rover Las Vegas for a test drive today.

BE PART OF THE KINGDOM.

This city has been incredibly generous to Land Rover Las Vegas and in turn, the company believes in giving back. Whether it’s an organized event or the decision to donate to meaningful charities, local philanthropy is a way for Land Rover to show its appreciation throughout the community. One of the things Land Rover likes to do is help animals. One great event is called Models For Mutts to benefit the Nevada SPCA each spring and fall, where the company clears out the front of the deal-ership and sets up a 30-foot fashion runway that’s two feet off the floor and with a DJ spinning the hits through smoke, lights and lasers to boot! Four teams of eight models walk the runway with adoptable dogs from a local shelter. Sponsors include Whole Foods (which provides the food for the large staff of models, photogra-phers, hair and make-up artists as well as gift bags for all) and DW Bistro (which provides passed hors d’oeuvres) and various other vendors donate gifts for a raffle. The benefits of this event are fan-tastic: Proceeds go directly to the Nevada SPCA, and with roughly 600 attendees, dogs get adopted and the shelter gets much needed cash. Another great charity event to look out for is the Land Rover Las Vegas Sunset Dine And Drive. This spectacular event begins with

the sales managers and salespeople inviting one customer couple to a “destination dinner” under a tent at an exclusive location. The last Dine and Drive was held at the top of an operating gypsum mine 7,000 feet above Las Vegas, with a breathtaking 180-degree view of the city. Food was donated by Whole Foods, and Del Fris-co’s Head Chef Fernando Gurerro and his staff prepared the restau-rant’s signature steaks with all the trimmings while guests enjoyed local acoustic guitarist Glenn Nowak. The night unfolded during a dramatic sunset over the Southern Nevada skies. After dinner, guests were treated to a drive-through mine tour in Land Rover’s vehicles, in a maze of dusty gypsum caverns. Before leaving, Del Frisco’s and Whole Foods donated gift cards that were auctioned off with all of the proceeds going to The Shade Tree Women’s Shel-ter. These events and others like them will be hosted throughout 2016, and Land Rover is committed to continue its participation in things like organized walks and races to benefit charities through-out Southern Nevada. It’s Land Rover’s hope that by sharing what it does and why it does it that it might entice other blessed businesses in the community to pay it forward.

LAND ROVER LAS VEGAS GIVES BACK By Rick Nelson


All That Glitters

LIFESTYLEShopping, Personalities,

Dining & More

Photography By Tim Hancock

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1. Helzberg Oval Ring2. Helzberg Diamond Tennis Bracelet3. Helzberg White Gold Cocktail Ring4. Chanel J 12 Diamond Watch

Festive Glitz For Her



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1. Cartier Must de Cartier Gold Eau de Parfum2. Alexander McQueen Classic Skull Clutch

Chanel Classic Flap Bag In Quilted Lamb Skin

Christian Louboutin Barbara Half D’orsay Pumps

WOMEN’S Red Hot!WINTER ACCESSORIES Head Over

HEELS

PAIRING


MEN’S

WINTER GRABS

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3. Lanvin Card Case4. HUGO BOSS Card Case & Clip

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1. Chanel Bleu De Chanel Eau de Toilette 2. Valentino Uomo Fragrance

THE ON-POINT

SHOES

Gucci Classic Dress Shoes

A WORTHY SCENT

Sleek POCKETS

TAKE THE

KingdomThe perfect black leather combo worn with

a suit can boost your business appeal.

Our ChoiceIn Brief

Salvatore Ferragamo Classic Briefcase


The intriguing history of courtroom fashion dates back to the 19th centu-ry as it set the stage for grand trial attire. In the 1800s, lawyers and justices were required to wear “morning clothes” when appearing before court, and could be chastised for arriving in less than formal garb. In the United Kingdom it was typical to see lawyers wearing embroidered coats, satin waistcoats, silk stockings, swords, and opera hats. As the years edged to-ward the 20th century, things became slightly less opulent but still saw an array of velvet, single-breasted coats. In nearby Scotland, tartan plaid waistcoats, kilts and shoulder broaches were the traditional norm.

But what is typical in today’s 21st century U.S. courtroom is a far cry from the brilliant attire we saw more than 200 years ago, and all that seems left from that age of grandeur is the time-tested closet workhorse, the suit. Arguably the dressiest formal item a man can own, today’s contemporary suit is far more conservative than days of old. Standard colors are black, grey and navy; the most popular material is basic wool; and the fit leans toward classic. But with so much of an attorney’s wardrobe dominated by this staple garment, it begs a beguiling question: How can you wear your most work-used courtroom suit for more than just the courtroom?

Answer: It’s all about the fit. And, the color. And the accessories. And, and, and....You see, with some thought, your suits—these articles of seemingly boring clothing—can be smartly repurposed for a date night, an awards banquet, bottle service with friends, a wedding, or any day you’re seeking to look more elegant than by donning chinos and a blazer. It can become your wardrobe’s best friend and will never let your look down, provided you do more than pull something off a sale rack (though there can be a time and a place for that, as well).

Here are the most insightful tips I can offer to keep you looking sharp

FROM THE COURTROOM TO BALLROOM

The STITCHED Fashion Jury Decides On Attire

–By Ricci J. Lopez-Hammargren

from morning ‘til night; at work, and each day in between...all in your courtroom suiting.

Let The Buyer Beware. Save fast fashion for college kids by shopping at a reputable men’s shop. At STITCHED, the award-winning retailer and haberdashery inside the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas (and, yes, where I happen to work and believe in), consumers can acquire both luxury ready-wear suiting and custom suiting thanks to talented in-house styl-ists, clothiers and master tailors who insist on clients looking and feel-ing like proper gentlemen. Buying from a knowledgeable store limits the need for alterations since the assumption is that a STITCHED suit will satisfy from its first wearing. That said....

Patience Is A Virtue, So If At First You Don’t Succeed.... As one of the most important elements of a suit, it is painful to see a successful man wearing one that is ill fitting. Keep in mind that when purchasing a ready-to-wear suit, the fit is not always like a proverbial glove. But that is where your professional stylist comes into educate and suggestively sell what is best for you and your body type. Then, the tailor will alter the items to fit accordingly.

What does that mean, exactly? • The suit jacket should fit your shoulders correctly with little or no puck-ering. • The jacket should be easy to button with some room for comfort.• Your jacket sleeves should fall where your hand and wrist meet. • The lapels should lay flat against your chest • The length of your suit jacket should allow .you to comfortably grasp the bottom with your hands.


VIP clients enjoy a private scotch locker room.

Pants need to be tailored, as well. The most common type is the flat-front. (Though we are seeing pleats again on the runways, but those should be saved the sartorial junkies.) The most flattering pants have no pleats, a standard to shorter rise, on-seam pockets, and narrow legs that are slight-ly tapered at the bottom with plain bottoms. (Insider Intel: Leave phones and wallets outof your front pockets. Less is more.)

Quality Over Quantity. Always. This is another rule of thumb: It is al-ways best to have five stellar suits versus 15 average ones. My recommen-dation is and will always be to spend a little more for a quality-made suit, because it will stay in your wardrobe for many years to come. And here’s an excellent tip for how you can help make that happen: You should only be dry cleaning your suits two or three times a year. There is a misconcep-tion that it should be done more often, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The chemicals and machines will have a negative effect on the fabric, causing fibers to become shiny, and more likely to break down and tear more frequently.

Canvassed or Fused? What Is It? What’s The Difference? Back in the day, suits were made with a full canvas. The suit jacket was constructed with a layer of horsehair underneath the wool that is between the lining and the fabric. The canvassed garment kept its shape, and therefore looked better and lasted longer. Nowadays, designers use the more cost-effective way of constructing a suit by fusing the garment. Fusing means there is an inner lining that is glued to the shell of the wool. The fused garment is known to have a bubbling effect, and over time can be ruined because of the glue spoiling due to improper care (re-read that tip about not going overboard with dry cleaning). Most reputable and luxury fashion designers will de-sign their garments fully canvassed. Although technology has allowed for better fusing, a canvassed garment is the preferred choice. Before buying, you should know what you’re looking at.

Don’t Ignore Your Inner Layer. Word to the wise: Clothing is supposed to fit you, and one of the biggest fashion faux pas for men is the oversize dress shirt. You can easily avoid this by asking your stylist to measure your neck, sleeves and chest. Your dress shirt should fit your neck cor-rectly (and I recommend going up a half-inch to an inch from your skin measurement to allow for comfort and shrinkage). The body of the shirt and the sleeves should fit just right, with a little room for comfort. There is nothing worse than a dress shirt that is too tight.

As for style, opt for shirts that are not just solid. One of the best ways to reinvent a suit is to add a brilliant dress shirt with subtle patterns with color. Don’t be afraid of purple and pink.

Total-Package Takeaway. Accessories are crucial to your suit ensem-ble. In my book, your suit must always—I repeat: always—have a pocket square. Your pocket square doesn’t always have to make sense, either...meaning, go out on a limb and throw on some paisley, or get wild with polka dots. Whatever you pick, your pocket square shows that you thought about your ensemble and that you pay attention to details. Same goes for lapel pins, lapel flowers, silk knots in your lapel buttonholes, and one or two bracelets...they’re all icing on the cake.

Your shoes and belt should be in the same color spectrum (no brown shoes with a black belt, please and thank you). And, you cannot neglect adding splashy socks to your ensemble that are colorful and boldly pat-terned. Neckties and bowties are also great additions, too. And during the fall/winter months, add a scarf for warmth and for fashion’s sake. Even in the desert that is Las Vegas.

Back To Basics...Or Not. I haven’t discussed the colors of your suits, but they are in fact of the utmost importance. If you are just building your wardrobe, then navy, black, grey, and chocolate brown are musts. If you are trying to stay more conservative, look for fabrics that have subtle pat-terns (tonal stripes or microdots are a great start; as are a shadowed win-dowpane). My overall advice? Keep solid colors to a minimum, because if you want to stand out from the crowd, you cannot do that in a solid black suit. If you insist on solids, reference the accessories section above.

Materials matter, as well: For everyday suits, stick to wools that are in the super 100 to 140 range for optimal use, and save the cashmere for special occasions. (If all of this is new to you, ask your professional stylist to edu-cate you on the different weaves and grades of fabric.) Finally, you cannot forget to own at least one tuxedo in the navy or black family.

Final Thoughts are Made For You. I have saved the best advice for last, which is that every man, at least once in his life, has to own a custom suit. The custom suit is a cut above the rest because as the name infers, it is made specifically for your measurements. At STITCHED, up to35 different measurements are taken by a highly skilled and highly educated custom clothier who will also take pictures of you so the tailors can see for whom they are sewing. Your custom-suiting appointment includes a con-sultation, and an experience in our lounge that was designed specifically for custom appointments (think tufted leather furniture, 72 scotch lock-ers; million-dollar views of the Las Vegas Strip; limited-edition photogra-phy and art) not to mention the thousands of fabrics at your disposal. You become, in essence, your own designer. You choose fabrics, lapel width, thread color, pockets, lining, buttons, and buttonhole color, all with as much or as little help as you’d like. It is a singularly special process.

And when your fully canvassed bespoke garment arrives (typically 4-6 weeks later, with rush options available) not only will you have the best-fitting suit you have ever worn, but you will have made a little history for yourself as you align your modern tastes with the detail that paved the way for the Golden Age of Courtroom Attire. Cheers to that.

Ricci J. Lopez-Hammargren is the general manager at STITCHED at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.


BAR REVIEW

SKYFALLBy Jen Chase

Atop the recently renovated Delano Las Vegas sits Skyfall Lounge–an ultra-chic space with a breathtaking birds-eye, North-facing view of the entire Strip’s city lights, and a refined, energetic cocktail menu that is befitting of the setting. After more than $2 million in renovations, Skyfall Lounge and its companion restaurant Rivea, brought to you by Michelin-rated chef Alain Ducasse, align with Las Vegas’ (daresay) sky-high stan-dards in both service and beauty. And Skyfall’s unique location at the very top of Delano makes it a gorgeous cocktalian’s destina-tion location for locals with out-of-town guests; for celebrating deal-sealing success; or being the perfect stop for both pre- and post-dining entertainment.

If you don’t want a full dinner (though honestly, you should con-sider it: this is Rivea’s first U.S. location and features Ducasse’s French Riviera-inspired cuisine with Italian accents), Rivea’s menu has both main courses and small plates…the latter of which are available in the lounge. Highly recommended is the Provençal Caponata with capers and pinenuts, and the Foccacia di Recco, a uniquely traditional cracker-like bread with a creamy cheese center that rarely appears on U.S. menus. A true treat for an Italophile gourmand.

BAR REVIEW

As spectacular as a Ducasse dish can be, Skyfall specializes in its drinks that are categorized by the feelings they invoke: Golden Hour cocktails harken to how you feel during those magic moments of twilight…a blessed time of any Las Vegas day-turn-ing-night as you soak in the surrounds of our purple mountains’ majesty. Effervescent drinks contain bubbly carbonation to jump-start your sipping experience. Stirred cocktails are spirit-forward drinks, like, say, a contempo-rary take on a Negroni. Shaken cocktails are like classics let loose on the playground. Case in point: This month’s Editor’s Choice Pour, the “Shake It Off ” (see the next page).

With its balanced combination of location, libation and gustation, we predict Skyfall will be on a short list for becoming one of the Strip’s newest, most dependable spots to stun and satisfy, from belly to eye. Which can be hard to accomplish gracefully in this city, but man, we love it when new places try.

Skyfall LoungeDELANO Las Vegas3940 S. Las Vegas Blvd.Las Vegas NV 89119

Editor’s Choice

SHAKE IT OFF Skyfall describes this little number as an el-egant take on a strawberry margarita that features jalapeño-infused Espolon blanco te-quila, Dolin dry vermouth, fresh strawberry puree, and fresh lemon juice. A drink we think Ms. Swift would endorse.


If Elvis Presley were with us, on Jan. 8, 2016 he would’ve turned 81 years old. There are few people living today who can actually say they were among Presley’s closest friends, but Las Vegas resident Sam Thompson is one of them. He spent years in Presley’s inner circle and was widely regarded as one of The King’s closest con-fidants. Thompson is a retired judge and music executive who is also the brother of Linda Thompson, Presley’s longtime girlfriend. Thompson spent years as Presley’s head of security and traveling companion. He is a humble Southern Gentleman who prefers not to ruminate on his rank in Presley’s life, but chooses to honor Pres-ley’s memory with personal stories that let fans know the remark-able human being who was The King of Rock and Roll.

I caught up with Thompson while he was literally rolling down the river aboard a steamboat on the Mississippi. We connected mo-ments after Thompson shared some stories with fans aboard an American Queen Steamboat that was hosting an Elvis Presley trib-ute cruise for which Thompson contributes his many Presley tales. Vegas Legal: How long were you and Elvis close?

Sam Thompson: Well, I’m not going to be pretentious and say we were best friends. I’ll leave that for others to decide if they feel that’s true. (Who’s to say who was Elvis’ best friend?) He certainly was one of the greatest friends, greatest mentors and greatest benefac-tors that I ever had. I knew him for 5 years and travelled with him for the bulk of that and worked for him. For 2 years I was on his payroll. The rest of the time, I just travelled with him as a friend and was his confidante. We stayed up many ‘a night and we talk-ed all night long…and talked about personal things. So yeah: he meant a lot to me and he changed my life.

VL: If you were to sit with Elvis today and have a con-versation about the world and current events, how do you think it would go? ST: I think we would be talking about how the music business has changed so much. How record deals have changed. The record deals that he had in the 50s, 60s and even the 70s were totally different [than the record deals] today. We’d be talking about music stream-ing, digital downloads and Spotify... and all that type of thing. We’d be talking about how poorly artists and writers are being paid for their endeavors. I think all those things would be really relevant to him. We’d be talking music.

VL: I’m writing this for a legal magazine, and you have a legal background yourself which is quite impressive.

ST: Well, I was a sheriff ’s deputy when I met Elvis and I had been admitted to law school, but I didn’t have the money to go. Elvis

had given me a guitar. It was the last guitar he had ever played live on stage, in Indianapolis, Ind., in June of 1977. After he died, I re-alized how valuable it was. I had it authenticated with the Martin Guitar company people, and I sold that guitar and it payed for my law school education. So I tell everybody Elvis put me through law school. Indirectly, he did.

I was an attorney in Memphis, I was a judge in juvenile court for 2 years and I was a general sessions trial judge for 8 years. I retired with 25 years of service with the state of Tennessee. Then I had a short stint in Los Angeles [where] I was the Vice President of Business and Legal Affairs for 143 Records. [As] general counsel I signed such artists as Josh Groban and Michael Bublé. We sold the record company and that’s why I came to Nevada in 2003. [Gover-nor] Kenny Guinn appointed me Commissioner for Transporta-tion and then [Governor] Jim Gibbons appointed me to the Public Utilities Commission and later made me Chairman of the Com-mission. I retired from the state of Nevada about 3 years ago.

VL: Elvis was personally involved in politics. A lot of people don’t know that he raised money and led the ef-fort to build the USS Arizona Memorial. How do you think Elvis would view the world today politically?

ST: I think with all the religious bigotry in the world—the hatred and all the violence and the killing in the name religion—I think Elvis would have a lot of problems with that. In 1968, when he did the Comeback Special, he actually had Walter Earl Brown write the song If I Can Dream and that came directly from Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speeches. Elvis recorded that song in June of 1968 just two months after Dr. King was killed.

I think Elvis would probably view what’s going on in the world to-day with a heavy heart and a great degree of sadness and misun-derstanding over how people can kill each other in the name of religion.

If

ELVIS Were Alive Today....

– By Charlotte Evans

OLDRICH / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

VL: It’s well known that Elvis loved Las Vegas. What would he say of it today?

ST: Elvis loved Las Vegas. Other than Memphis, his home, his two favorite places were Hawaii and Las Vegas. He liked going to other entertainers’ shows and he liked that nightlife. He liked the glitz and the speed and the fact that it was a 24-hour city. I think Elvis would still love Las Vegas. Las Vegas, in many ways, is still what it once was.

VL: If Elvis were alive today, do you think he’d be a big proponent of rehab?

ST: I’m on this steamboat, the American Queen, [with] EPE (Elvis Presley Enterprises), and I’m an ambassador for them on this boat. They do two Elvis cruises a year from Memphis and New Orleans. I just finished giving a talk about that…about the fact that [back then] there was no Betty Ford Clinic. It was really the kiss of death to confess to problems like Elvis had. Today with Robert Downey, Jr., and others, they go into rehab for serious drug addictions and they come out bigger stars than when they went in. But back in those days, you have to remember [that] culturally, Elvis’ orienta-tion was Jerry Lee Lewis, who lost his career almost over marrying his cousin. He felt like if it came out that he had this drug addic-tion, or even drug “problem,” it would have ruined his career. He was supremely concerned about what his fans thought of him. I think that he felt that his fans would be disillusioned and disap-pointed, and I think that’s why he hid it as long as he did and did not seek any help.

I also don’t think that Elvis realized that he truly had a drug addic-tion. He was taking pills prescribed by doctors. In that time, in that era, that was completely acceptable. For him “drugs” would have been heroin and marijuana and street drugs. He was taking pills from a pharmacy, so I really don’t think that he thought he had a drug problem.

VL: If you were able to talk with Elvis again, what would you want to say to him?

ST: I think I might say, “What happened? What happened to you? Not all the external pressures of what we read about in the tab-loids and everything, but what happened to you between your ears? What made you seek solace as you did with medication and retreat to your bedroom?” I think I’d want to know more about what dis-appointments influenced him and pushed him to the place he was. I wish—we were so young back then, Charlotte—I wish we all had a little more understanding and knew more about it and maybe could have done more with it. At the end of the day, people are their own arbiters of their future. We can do so little to influence them.

VL: What do you most want people to know about El-vis?

ST: I’m still just amazed. [For] 38 years he’s [been] dead, and peo-ple are still interested in his music and his legacy. They’re still in-terested in hearing his stories, so I’m just grateful to have the op-portunity to travel [the world] and to tell Elvis’ story because he’s not here to do that. I want to remind people that he was, after all, just a man—flesh and blood. People put him on a pedestal. I think it’s important to remind people that he was a very human, human being... just like the rest of us.


THE LAYMAN’S GUIDE TO

ORDERING WINE FROM ONE WHO KNOWS HER ‘FUN’ By Kat Thomas

I know the look. The head drops, eye contact is avoided and the body language starts to build a fortress around the wine list. This is my cue to tread gently. I smile, introduce myself as Kat the Wine Goddess, and let the table know that I am at their service for any-thing wine and/or spirits related. This is usually when the guest grasping the list timidly asks what my favorite food dishes are, which I gracefully acknowledge and help them navigate through. With trust built, the games begin. Sometimes I’m called back to assist and other times they know what they want and I merely take the order. (Who am I to dissuade someone from ordering the—insert popular overpriced name here—when they’re both proud and adamant about it?) It’s a table’s moments of hesitation—or, pure eagerness to hear from the girl with the sword on her back and garter full of knives—that I get to expend my knowledge; perhaps, even, suggesting a wine more ex-citing or gently priced than what a table wanted originally. (Please don’t misunderstand my intentions or work ethics, as I en-joy making the restaurant money and strive to do so. But I also have a partnership with my soul that is guided by intellect, passion and courage to speak my goddess mind when applicable. I can as-sure you that when you dine in my presence, I make every effort to hear what you’re hoping to taste and not make suggestions based solely on trends or my personal preferences.) This partnership between restaurant and my soul is how I define myself as a sommelier, or in my world, the sommelier at Rose.Rab-bit.Lie., located inside The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. But…what happens when I’m not there to serve and soothe wine-ordering nerves? Or better yet, what happens when you want to become the Wine God or Goddess of the moment? You don’t need my sword or my special wine pin to make that a reality. You need only what is in my head to be in yours. And since knowledge is power, here are

some thoughts to help you, from my perspective, on how I assist a table (…but don’t tell everyone or I’ll be out of a job!). Take Charge Of The Process First step is to ask for the wine list, as no other act will better establish your role as Wine God or Goddess of your table. Don’t let that person who “knows wine” always pick, or you may end up spending too much for a wine you never wanted to know. The next question I like to ask a table is, “White, red or both” (and remem-ber: that includes sparkling wines). Often, the query is concomitant with pricing, so you then must establish boundaries, both high and low. For the best wine is not always the most expensive, and the least pricey may not always be the best value. Once your table is at this point, the fun really begins

Interpreting Thy Wine List Take your gaze to the Table of Contents. The wine list will typically be bro-ken into categories of “body,” “region” and “variety.” Wine lists often travel through the styles of sparkling wines, into the whites, followed by reds, and end with sweet and dessert style wines. The flow is lightest to heaviest, so you’re already a step closer to picking even if you don’t know anything besides price and style. If someone wants a heavy red you’re move is to pick something listed toward the end of the reds than from among the first few. Now: There will always be exceptions to this presentation, but most wine directors write the list to mirror a food menu progression: light to heavy.

It’s All About Body...But What Does That Mean?Let’s talk more of this body concept, shall we?

The body of wine reflects a vignette of variety, alcohol and many times the vintage. Body is what the wine feels like in your mouth. Do you want something light, rich or beautifully in between? In this instance I like to think of Goldilocks and her three porridge selections…with the wines not relative to porridge temperatures, but to how thin or thick each may have been because of what they were made with. Imagine for example,


the lightest wine (or “coolest” and thinnest porridge) was made with, say, coconut water; the boldest wine (or “hottest” porridge) was made with a rich, non-GMO cream; and the third “just-right” porridge option, or in our case, that perfectly mid-road wine, was made with 2% organic milk. Ahhh, yes: Just right. Now, you choose what body of wine you want for the particular experi-ence: thin, rich or middle-of-the-road balanced. Want examples? Follow-ing my Goldilocks protocol, here we go: Lighter-bodied “cool-porridge” wines. For whites, there are the varieties I consider fun. To me these varieties are human and wallet-friendly and not common (to most drinkers) unless you’re a wine nerd or you’ve traveled to other regions of the planet and drank their wines. Try a Txakoli from Spain, Assyrtiko from Greece, or a Muscadet from France. For those more recognizable varieties, a Sauvignon Blanc from Sancerre or California, Pinot Grigio from Italy, and drier styles of German Riesling can make the moment just right. (Please note some Riesling can still be sweeter even though it’s considered “lighter.” They tend to have lower alcohol levels and feel more crisp and lively on the tongue.) If the list revolves around a specific cuisine, many a delicious Italian and Spanish white can fall into this category while staying committed to value pricing, as well. The category of lighter red wine indicates both texture and color, as these wines come from grapes with thinner skins. Barring that a vineyard isn’t secretly trying to make a Syrah, the light-bodied Pinot Noir can come from all over the planet. France, the United States and New Zealand are producing some beautiful and reasonable wines. Other classic styles of light-bodied reds that I’d call “fun” include Gamay from France; Zweigelt from Austria; and Blaufränkisch from Germany. Bold, full-bodied “hot-porridge” wines. Next, these big-daddy wines are the easiest to find on the list because they’re almost always toward the ends of the variety selections. They also tend to cost a little more because of winemaking practices. Oaked Char-donnay from Burgundy, the Unites States and Australia are easy choices, as are Viognier, Rhone blends, and old Riesling from Austria and Germany. The reds are numerous. Bordeaux varietals live in this realm—Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Malbec. Australia and the United States offer Grenache and Shiraz/Syrah, while Corvina from Italy and Zin-fandel keep your teeth stained with love and alcohol. Medium-bodied, “just-the-right-temp porridge” wines. These can be a great compromise for when there’s debate over what to order; however, it does get tricky here in the middle. Chardonnay rests between the lines based on producer and where it’s grown. Medium-bod-ied Chardonnay is found in Chablis…though there are other regions that produce lower alcohol and higher-acid styles with the same mouth-feel. Sauvignon Blanc from Bordeaux or the United States can be quite pleas-ing in the middle realm without too much oak influence, thus providing mostly texture and weight. (And note to the Wine Gods and Goddesses: If ignored, oak can greatly alter the perception of food profiles, so pay it some attention.) If you don’t want to worry about all of that, try something “fun” like Mala-goussia from Greece; Chenin Blanc from France; Albariño from Spain; Arneis from Italy; and Grüner Veltliner from Austria, all of which are some great examples of ways to impress without stress.

Medium-bodied reds include Tempranillo from Spain; Carménère from Chile; Sangiovese from Italy; some Syrah from France; and Pinotage from South Africa. Some even consider Nebbiolo from Italy, though this style of wine can be known for ripping faces off regardless of its body, age, and price, so order with knowledge. See? Variety is fun! Embrace the knowingness that no two wines are alike, but be aware they will exhibit qualities, or markers, that are shared. And when in doubt, remember to read the list lightest to heaviest. Or ask for the somm! Where’s That Wine From Again? Region can play an important role in a Wine God or Goddess’s decision, especially if you’re feeling adventurous; though the only rule of Old World vs. New World is that there are no rules except ones that establish histori-cal winemaking boundaries and techniques. Historically, Old World regions include France, Spain, Italy, Austria and Germany, while New World indicates the Americas, South Africa, Austra-lia, and New Zealand. In the very recent past, Old World could indicate less concentration of fruit, higher acidity and lower alcohol. The thought was that warmer regions—those considered in the New World—would show higher levels of fruit concentration while Old World styles would play off the cold land and have a more intense fruit flavor profile. However, climate shifts, progressive winemaking practices and commercial sales ex-pectations are intertwining Old and New. Now you know. Time To Rise and Order Does any of this make a difference if you’re so serious about ordering that you’re not having fun and enjoying the wine? Sometimes, you just have to take charge and become the Wine God or Goddess to stifle the impending uneasiness of others who dislike making a decision more than you. And that brings me to the last and most important step in the wine-ordering experience: take chances.

Enjoy the moments, and ask for help (if you wish). I can be found most days at the most amazing restaurant, Rose.Rabbit.Lie., located on the second level of The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. You’ll have no problem identifying me. I’ll be the one ready with my sword, my smile, and my unending willingness to toast life with a bottle that’s perfect for you…no matter who chooses it, or how. Kat Thomas is the Sommelier at Rose.Rabbit.Lie, at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, where for almost a year she’s been pouring to the delights of patrons. Known for her wit and way with a bottle and sword, her favorite wines are too many to mention; but the one that made her focus poignant was the 2006 Redigaffi Tua Rita (which also marked her first month of being a Somm on the floor in 2011). For Thomas, a successful night is one where she’s helped patrons feel bliss and comfort throughout the meal with food and wine pairings; porron pours; sabered anniversary bubbles; and most of all, serving up some Vintage Krug. Thomas is an Advanced Sommelier pursuing her master’s with the Court Of Master Sommeliers.


THE LAYMAN’S GUIDE TO

ORDERING WINE


There is much science about the medical efficacy of cannabis (marijuana) in oncology. Cannabis is plant that is classified in the United States as a controlled substance, and by federal law, possess-ing cannabis in most U.S. states is illegal. That said,16 states and the District of Columbia permit its use for certain medical conditions with a physician’s prescription; however, doctors in these states may not legally do so without violating federal law and can lose their federal license to prescribe drugs and may also be prosecuted. Presently, three states—Colorado, Maine, and New Mexico—li-cense producers and distributors of medical cannabis.

With that background established, let’s learn more as we delve into using cannabis in oncology.

What are the active compounds in cannabis? More than 400 chemical compounds have been discovered within

the cannabis plant. Of them, phytocannabinoids (or simply “can-nabinoids”) are the main components that exert most of the plant’s pharmacological activity.

Further, there are more than 60 identified cannabinoids, but the four most well studied and characterized cannabinoids are del-ta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (d-9-THC); cannabidiol (CBD); can-nabinol (CBN); and tetrahudrocannabivarin (THCV).

Cannabinoid compounds are currently available as either synthe-sized chemicals or whole plant extracts, including Dronabinol (or “Marinol”), an FDA-approved synthetic THC pill; Nabilone (or “Cesamet”), also an FDA-approved synthetic THC pill; and Nabix-imols (or “Sativex”); a not-yet-approved FDA natural tincture spray containing both THC and CBD.

Cannabis & CancerPrescribe Five Drugs or One Botanical? Your Choice.By Brian D. Lawenda, M.D.


What is the endocannabinoid system?Some of the most exciting cannaboid research involves the discov-ery of the body’s endocannabinoid system. Incredibly, our bodies make their own cannabinoid chemicals that interact and stimulate cannibinoid receptors on our cells. Studies continue to uncover the numerous functions of our endocannabinoid system, including: • Anti-inflammatory activity • Antioxidant activity • Inhibiting tumor cell growth • Inhibiting blood vessel growth to tumors • Antiviral activity • Involved in learning and nervous system plasticity • Pain processing • Neuroprotective effects • Visual perception • Immune system modulation

Routes of use of cannabis. Cannabis may be taken by mouth (i.e., baked products, butters, teas, liquid sprays tinctures, gum, beer, etc.) or may be inhaled through smoking or vaporizing.

One of the safest and most consistent ways to deliver a controllable dose of cannabis is through vaporization. It takes over one hour for Dronabinol (Marinol) to reach full systemic effect, compared to minutes for smoked orvaporized cannabis.

Safety of smoking cannabis. Research has found that habitual use of marijuana does not appear to lead to abnormalities in lung func-tion, nor does it increase the risks of chronic obstructive lung dis-ease (COPD) or either lung or upper airway cancer. It is associated with an increase in symptoms of chronic bronchitis; however, the symptoms go away upon discontinuation of use. That said, I still would prefer that my patients vaporize versus inhale smoke.

Uses of cannabis in oncology. As an integrative oncologist, I recommend using various methods for helping patients manage commonly encountered side effects and symptoms of cancer treat-ment and the cancer itself. Whenever possible, I start by suggesting non-pharmacologic therapies that have been shown to be effective, safe and are inexpensive. If the symptoms are moderate-to-severe or unlikely to be able to be controlled with non-pharmacologic ap-proaches, this is when I will recommend using natural botanical products and/or pharmaceutical drugs. Five commonly experi-enced symptoms in cancer patients are: • Nausea • Diminished appetite (and associated weight loss) • Pain

• Sleeping difficulties • Psychoemotional distress (i.e., anxiety, stress and depression)

Cannabis (as the whole plant compound) and the synthetic and ex-tracted delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (d-9-THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) have all been shown to have significant efficacy in improv-ing these five common symptoms in clinical trials. Your physician would need to prescribe five different drugs to (with the associated side effects and costs) to manage these symptoms...or, they could prescribe one drug that improves all five symptoms. If only one or two of these symptoms are causing significant problems, I typically don’t recommend using a cannabinoid since other pharmacologic options may be more effective in treating those individual symp-toms. However, it is quite common to see patients with the majori-ty of these symptoms manifesting at once (particularly in advanced stages of disease and treatment).

For these patients, I think it is very appropriate to recommend a cannabinoid or cannabis by itself or in combination with other pharmacologic (i.e., Megace for poor appetite, Zofran for nausea, etc.) and non-pharmacologic therapies (i.e., mind-body therapies, etc.). Recently reported data indicate that the combination of in-haled cannabis (via vaporization) with opioid pain medications leads to a synergistic effect, which decreases the amount of opioids needed for pain control. This synergistic action helps patients by reducing the side effects of higher dose requirements of opioids (i.e., sedation and nausea).

Is there any validity in using cannabis as an anti-cancer agent?There are no quality clinical studies in humans that prove whether cannabis is able to improve cancer-specific outcomes such as sur-vival, recurrence orprogression. However, there are interesting and promising preclinical studies (using cancer cells or animal studies) that demonstrate the anticancer activity of cannabinoids. Excerpts from studies posted by the U.S. NCI PDQ: Cannabis and Cannabi-noids include the following statements: • “Studies in mice and rats have shown that cannabinoids may in-hibit tumor growth by causing cell death, blocking cell growth, and blocking the development of blood vessels needed by tumors to grow.” • “Laboratory and animal studies have shown that cannabinoids may be able to kill cancer cells while protecting normal cells.” • “A study in mice showed that cannabinoids may protect against inflammation of the colon and may have potential in reducing the risk of colon cancer, andpossibly in its treatment.”•“A laboratory study of delta-9-THC in hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer) cells showed that it damaged or killed the cancer cells.

Cannabis & Cancer

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The same study of delta-9-THC in mouse models of liver can-cer showed that it had antitumor effects. Delta-9-THC has been shown to cause these effects by acting on molecules that may also be found in non-small cell lung cancer cells and breast cancer cells.”

So, when asked by my patients if using cannabis or cannabinoids can help improve their cancer-specific outcomes I can only point to preclinical data on that question. We know that many seem-ingly amazing outcomes have been reported in preclinical stud-ies, only to later have no effect in human studies. Therefore, it is important to recognize the limitations of projecting preclini-cal outcomes to human study outcomes. Safety of cannabinoids according to a 1995 review prepared for the World Health Or-ganization, “There are no recorded cases of overdose fatalities attributed to cannabis, and the estimated lethal dose for humans extrapolated from animal studies is so high that it cannot be achieved by ... users.”

In 2008, investigators at McGill University and the University of British Columbia reviewed 23 clinical investigations of medical cannabinoid drugs (typically oral THC or liquid cannabis ex-tracts) and eight observational studies conducted between 1966 and 2007. Investigators “did not find a higher incidence rate of serious adverse events associated with medical cannabinoid use” compared to non-using controls over these four decades. Phar-macologic studies indicate that a human would need to eat 1,500 pounds of cannabis within 15 minutes to achieve lethal levels of cannabinoids.

That said, cannabinoids are active drugs with potential side ef-fects and risks. According to Cancer.gov, potential side effects of cannabinoids may include: • Rapid heartbeat • Low blood pressure • Muscle relaxation • Bloodshot eyes • Slowed digestion • Dizziness • Depression • Hallucinations • Paranoia

Both cannabis and cannabinoids may be addictive. Symptoms of withdrawal from cannabinoids may include restlessness and hot flashes, and less common nausea and cramping.

Brian D. Lawenda, M.D., an integrative oncologist. He trained at Massachusetts General Hospital (Harvard Medical School) in radiation oncology and studied medical acupuncture at Stanford-UCLA (Helms Medi-cal Institute). He is the founder of IntegrativeOncology-Essentials[dot]com.

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6 EASY STEPS For Managing A Healthy Lifestyle

By Maryam Rastkerdar

It’s important to have fun, to realize that life is too short to constantly be worrying about “what could have been,” to engage in fun activities, and to move toward what the future has to offer. Living a healthy lifestyle is a combination of all of those things and sometimes involves implementing changes, and making an effort to live a positive and well-balanced life. But overall lifestyle changes take time. It is important to take gradual and pro-gressive strides toward improving your overall health and total wellness. And if you are able to do nothing else, always believe in yourself. It is a powerful tool that will lead to confidence and a happier state of mind.

Weave these tips into your 2016 regimen for feeling as good as you de-serve. You have more control than you think. 1. Adopt a well-balanced diet Eating well and regularly is the key to overall heath, including our men-tal well-being. A healthy lifestyle involves many choices. Incorporating a well-balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, and brain-boosting food helps us avoid nutritional deficiencies. Another key factor in healthy diet is moderation. Strive to feel satisfied at the end of a meal, not stuffed. 2. Incorporate healthy fats Saturated fat increases total cholesterol and LDL and may even increase the risk of developing type-2 diabetes. Meat, seafood and dairy products are sources of saturated fat. On the other hand, consuming polyunsaturat-ed fats can actually lower total cholesterol levels. These are found in nuts, fatty fish, and vegetable oils such as safflower oil. This category encompass-es omega-3 fatty acids, which are known as essential fatty acids (EFAs) and are provided through food since our bodies can’t make them. 3. Control sodium Limiting sodium is challenging in a world full of fast food, pre-packaged food and salty snacks. Cooking at home and inspecting canned-food labels will help limit the sodium excess, which can cause the body to retain water and may lead to high blood pressure. (High blood pressure is the leading cause of heart disease and stroke.) According to the American Heart As-sociation, the best approach for maintaining cardiovascular health is by limiting sodium consumption to 1500 mg/ day.

4. Get active The benefits of regular exercise extend far beyond weight management...it is an essential part of boosting energy ; maintaining a healthy heart and avoiding many chronic disease states such as type 2- diabetes. A moder-ate intensity cardio workout session of 150 min./week has been proven to

reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease; improve self-esteem, sleep quality, and reduce stress; and ease depressive symptoms. It is safe to say that implementing regular physical activity improves the overall qual-ity of life. 5. Get adequate sleep We all know that getting a good night’s sleep is important, but few of us actually make those eight hours a priority. To further complicate mat-ters, stimulants like coffee, energy drinks and external lights (including electronic devices) interfere with our circadian rhythm. Sleep needs vary across ages and are especially impacted by lifestyle and health. Adequate sleep is a necessity for our overall well-being as well as performing well in school and at work. Another important factor is the timing of sleep that affects a number of endocrine and neurological functions that are critical to the maintenance of overall health. 6. Reduce stress Controlling stress is another method for creating a healthy lifestyle. Like sleep deprivation, high levels of stress activate the release of cortisol, which is a life-sustaining hormone essential for body’s homeostasis. Also called the “stress hormone,” cortisol regulates many of the changes that occur in the body including blood sugar levels, blood pressure, immune responses and anti-inflammatory actions, to name a few. Controlling daily stress in-cludes identifying the underlying causes and creating steps to reduce stress levels. One method could be performing deep-breathing techniques when stress levels are intensified. Yoga can be an outlet for release of stress and relaxation from a stress-filled life.

Vegas Legal Magazine Winter 2016

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