Many Southern Nevada law firms received a “Metropolitan Tier 1 Ranking” on the 2016 US News-Best Law Firms List. The list ranks firms in practice areas after getting input from clients, peers and a formal submission process. The firms are: Alverson Taylor Mortensen & Sanders; Armstrong Teasdale; Bailey Kennedy; Ballard Spahr; Black & LoBello; Boies, Schiller & Flexner; Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck; Bruce A. Leslie; Campbell & Williams; Carlyon Law Group; Childs Watson & Gallagher; Dickinson Wright; Ecker Law Group; Emmel & Klegerman; Fennemore Craig; Fisher & Phillips; Fox Rothschild; Garman Turner Gordon; Goold Patterson; Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani; Gordon Silver; Greenberg Traurig; Greenman, Goldberg, Raby & Martinez; Hartwell Thalacker; Hejmanowski & McCrea; Hilbrecht & Associates; Holland & Hart; Holley, Driggs, Walch, Fine, Wray, Puzey & Thompson; Howard & Howard; Jackson Lewis; Jay H. Brown; Jeffrey Burr; Jimmerson Hansen; John D. O’Brien; Jolley Urga Wirth Woodbury & Little; Kaempfer Crowell; Kamer Zucker Abbott; Kathleen Jane England; Kemp, Jones & Coulthard; Kenneth A. Woloson Law Office; Kirby J. Smith; Kolesar & Leatham; Law Office of Daniel Marks; Law Offices of Gerald I. Gillock & Associates; Law Offices of Kathleen M. Paustian; Law Offices of Steven J. Parsons; Law Offices of William Terry; Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith; Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie; Littler Mendelson; Lubbers Law; Marquis Aurbach Coffing; Maupin Naylor Braster, Attorneys at Law; McDonald Carano Wilson; McGroarty Law; Morris Law Group; Nutile Law; Oshins & Associates; Ogletree Deakins; Pecos Law Group; Peel Brimley; Pisanelli Bice; Pitaro & Fumo; Prudhomme Law Office; Rice Reuther Sullivan & Carroll; Rowe Law Group; Santoro Whitmire; Schwartzer & McPherson; Snell & Wilmer; Cobeaga Law Firm; Law Offices of Brian C. Padgett; Rushforth Firm; Weide & Miller; Weinberg Wheeler Hudgins Gunn & Dial; Whittemore Gaming Group; Wright Stanish & Winckler
Naylor & Braster, Attorneys at Law changed its firm name to Maupin Naylor Braster.
Fabian Clendenin and Van Cott, Bagley, Cornwall & McCarthy, have combined to form Fabian VanCott, with an office at 601 S. 10th St., Las Vegas.
Tammy Peterson, a shareholder in Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck’s Las Vegas office, was inducted as a fellow into the American College of Trial Lawyers.
Brandy Sanderson is a paralegal at Jolley Urga Woodbury & Little Attorneys at Law, assisting the attorneys with civil litigation.
Aaron Ford, an attorney at Snell & Wilmer, is serving on the board of directors of the Public Education Foundation.
Kade Miller and Alaina Stephens joined Snell & Wilmer. Miller is an associate in corporate and securities and commercial finance. Stephens is a staff attorney in bad faith insurance litigation and insurance coverage.
Jason Bacigalupi joined Lewis Roca Rothgerber as an associate in the gaming practice group.
Erin Lewis of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck is on the board of directors of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Nevada.
Alexander LeVeque is a partner at Solomon Dwiggins & Freer. He practices commercial, trust and estate law, including cases related to contract, real estate, corporate and construction disputes.
Natalie Cheung is an associate with Lewis Roca Rothgerber’s business transactions practice group.
Fisher & Phillips moved its office to Bank of America Plaza at 300 S. Fourth St.
Jeffrey Lavigne joined Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck’s litigation department. He’ll focus on commercial litigation and assist business clients in disputes involving trial and arbitration.
Snell & Wilmer partner Cynthia Alexander joined UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law’s public interest law advisory board. The 23-member board comprises legal professionals from the judiciary, private firms, academia, nonprofit organizations and government. The firm’s Kelly Dove received the law school’s Distinguished Service Alumni award. The firm’s Cynthia Alexander is on the board of directors of the Las Vegas Rescue Mission.
Christopher Fowler, Craig Friedel and Jeremy Welland are associates at Solomon Dwiggins & Freer. Fowler focuses on estate planning, business planning, asset protection planning and tax advice. Friedel focuses on trusts estates and small business litigation. Welland practices trust and estate litigation and general civil litigation.
Roy Smolarz is working at Wilson Elser’s Las Vegas office to serve his Nevada-based client roster.
The American Motorcyclist Association awarded Las Vegas Municipal Court the 2015 Motorcycle Safety Award, marking the first time a court has been honored by the AMA. The Las Vegas Municipal Court is the first in the country to implement a three-step traffic school program for motorcyclists found guilty by plea or trial, of a moving traffic violation.
PRO BONO HONOREES
Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada honored local attorneys who together over the past year have provided over 25,000 hours of free legal services for low-income Nevadans in Clark County. Over 5,000 clients were provided pro bono legal services by Legal Aid Center’s volunteers in 2015. Honorees included:
• Pro Bono Attorney of the Year: Ogonna Brown
• Law Firm of the Year: Lewis Roca Rothgerber
• Lied Award for Most Hours for Law Firm: Lewis Roca Rothgerber
• Lied Award for Most Cases for Law Firm: Kunin & Carman
• Lied Award for Most Hours for Attorney: Airene Williamson
• Lied Award for Most Cases for Attorney: Ishi Kunin
• William S. Boyd Award of Excellence: Christina Hixson and the Lied Foundation Trust
• Justice Nancy Becker Pro Bono Award of Judicial Excellence: Judge Frank P. Sullivan
• Vince A. Consul Memorial Pro Bono Award: Benjamin Reitz
• Louis Wiener Service Award: Shannon Wilson
• Myrna Williams Children’s Pro Bono Award: The Lawyers of Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara
• Award of Excellence: Travis Barrick
• Public Interest Law Student of Distinction: Samantha Rice
• Ask-A-Lawyer Community Commitment Award: Mitch Cobeaga
• Volunteer Surrogate Award: Daniel Maul
• 100 Hour Club Members: West Allen, Paola Armeni, Shea Backus, Travis Barrick, Sarah Bassett, Eunice Beattie, Matthew Carter, Robert Cerceo, Andrea Champion, Mark Connot, William Curran, Laura Deeter, Michael DeLee, Bob Dickerson, Sabrina Dolson, Deborah Elsasser, Holly Fic, Marc Fox, Mark Gardberg, Puneet Garg, John George, Jacqueline Gilbert, Melissa Hagen, Carol Harris, Nancy Heimerle, Nathan Henderson, Marla Hudgens, Greg Ivie, Christopher Jorgensen, Samira Knight, Malani Kotchka-Alanes, Timothy Kuhls, Ishi Kunin, Patricia Lee, Jonathan Lee, Daniel Licciardi, Michele LoBello, Dawn Lozano, Racheal Mastel, Colleen McCarty, Michael McKelleb, Monique McNeill, Michael Muehle, Tracy O’Steen, Dan Polsenberg, Corinne Price, Carrie Primas, Benjamin Reitz, Randal Shimon, Jordan Smith, Abraham Smith, Kelly Stout, Mario Valencia, Airene Williamson, Shannon Wilson, Karen Wong, Homa Woodrum, Shane Young, Meng Zhong