Describe your firm and areas of expertise.
Lewis Roca is a full-service law firm with about 300 attorneys spread over offices in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico. In addition to the army of litigators, attorneys specialize in intellectual property, business transactions, gaming law, and regulatory and government relations.
Here in Las Vegas, we have about 30 attorneys. Approximately half of us are litigators, some specializing in particular areas, such as Howard Cole in labor and employment. My partner, Dan Polsenberg, and I focus on appeals. Michael McCue heads our intellectual property group, and Tony Cabot has put together a world-class team of gaming attorneys.
Who are your clients?
In the appellate arena, all sorts of business entities and individuals who have been through trial and need either to reverse a judgment against them or to uphold one in their favor. We also enter cases before trial, to preserve a record for anticipated appeals. A cardinal rule of appeals is that you can't criticize the trial judge in the appellate court for mistakes that you never brought to the trial judge's attention. There is a basic fairness to the system.
Although, I don't accept every appeal that walks in the door. I take hard cases, certainly. I love a challenge and to be creative. But I won't take stupid positions. First, when you advance ridiculous arguments, most likely you'll still lose the case. The judges and justices are not dumb. Second, you're wasting your client's money on the effort. You shouldn't give people false hope so you'll have billable work. Third, one's professional reputation and credibility with the judiciary are just too important.
When I'm representing litigants in the district court, from beginning to end, my clients usually are small- to medium-size businesses protecting their contract rights.
When did you know you wanted to be a lawyer and what was your educational or career path leading up to that decision?
In high school. I watched "A Man for All Seasons" and it was love at first sight. I was fascinated by the underlying philosophy of law, the structure and fairness that it's supposed to provide, and seeing how awareness of the law can be necessary to pursue freedom and happiness. And truthfully, I also like the contest of it, the debate and intellectual sparring. I'm competitive.
I majored in philosophy for my undergraduate degree, anticipating law school. I wanted to master critical thinking and to practice building and deconstructing logical arguments. I enjoyed it.
Real-world experience also helps. In retrospect, my college jobs in sales were invaluable. Those jobs develop an intuition for the psychology of persuasion. You learn how to listen, to see the need, to come up with solutions and to explain why those solutions work.
What is the best part about being a lawyer in Las Vegas?
Opportunity. Most adult Las Vegans are from somewhere else. So, although having old friends and being plugged into a social network is always helpful, it seems to be less so here. Las Vegas is a meritocracy. If you work hard, show some ingenuity and make a habit of shaking hands, you can be somebody here. I'm grateful for that.
Originally published by Las Vegas Sun VegasINC
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