Representing the top attorney’s in Nevada, the 100 Southern Nevada lawyers and the 25 Northern Nevada lawyers included in the 2010 Legal Elite have earned the trust and endorsement of their peers. These attorneys have been recommended by the people that know them best, the lawyers they work with or see across a courtroom. Who better to determine a lawyer’s merit than another attorney?
Out of the 10,360 licensed attorneys in Nevada, 125 are being honored as this year’s top attorneys. Whereas previously, only the top 100 statewide were honored, due to the difference in regional size, this year attorneys from both ends of the state are being honored in two separate lists: Top 100 Southern Nevada and Top 25 Northern Nevada. Additionally, lawyers were asked to submit three names for the best up-and-coming attorneys. This third annual Legal Elite list is the result of those recommendations.
Methodology
Balloting for Legal Elite began earlier this year when Nevada Business Magazine asked members of the Nevada Bar to nominated their peers. Attorney’s were sent email ballots as well as encouraged to nominate through the website. The response was outstanding.
After sorting through countless ballots, the arduous process of determining this year’s Legal Elite began. Each attorney was given a score based on the number of votes he or she received and whether the votes came from within their firm (one point) or outside their firm (three points). Only lawyers that are licensed in Nevada were eligible to participate.
After each vote was tabulated, our research team began to review the top scorers and determine their eligibility. They also reviewed each of the top 20 best up-and-coming attorneys. The following pages highlight the top attorneys as chosen by their peers and will provide an invaluable resource for anyone looking to retain an attorney.
2010 Legal Elite – Topping the List
Greenberg Traurig received more votes than any other firm for Southern Nevada Legal Elite.
Lewis and Roca received more votes than any other firm for Northern Nevada Legal Elite.
Bothe Greenberg Traurig and Lewis and Roca tied for the most votes received in the Best Up and Coming category.
10 of the Best Up and Coming Attorneys were also named in the Legal Elite list.
There is a combined total of 1,272 years of experience for attorneys licensed in Nevada on the Southern Nevada Top 100 list.
There is a combined total of 439 years of experience for attorneys licensed in Nevada on the Northern Nevada Top 25 list.
There are 53 firms, one public utility and one government agency represented in the Legal Elite.
The majority of the 2010 Legal Elite focus on litigation as their practice emphasis.
There are 10,360 attorneys licensed in the state of Nevada according to the Nevada Bar Association.
Attorney Profiles
Donald J. Campbell
Practice Areas
• Commercial Litigation
• Catastrophic Personal Injury
• White Collar Criminal Defense
Campbell & Williams
700 S. 7th Street
Las Vegas, NV, 89101
P 702.328.5222
F 702.382.0540
dj@campbellandwilliams.com
www.campbellandwilliams.com
Mr. Campbell is the senior partner in the Las Vegas firm of Campbell & Williams. He is a former assistant United States attorney and Chief of the Organized Crime and Drug Task Forces. Mr. Campbell has been lead counsel in a long list of well-publicized jury trials, having represented such notable clients as Donald Trump, The Wall Street Journal, the Las Vegas Review Journal and Zuffa, LLC.
Mr. Campbell’s trial work in the field of business litigation, catastrophic personal injury and corporate criminal defense has earned him multiple listings in Woodward & White’s Best Lawyers in America as well as Martindale-Hubbell’s Registrar of Preeminent Lawyers. In 1994 he was named a Fellow of the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers, an honor reserved to the top 1 percent of trial lawyers in the United States.
Jill Garcia
Practice Areas
• Labor and Employment
Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.
3800 Howard Hughes Pkwy, Ste. 1100
Las Vegas, NV 89169
P 702.791.7600
F 702.369.5694
www.ogletreedeakins.com
jill.garcia@odnss.com
Jill Garcia devotes her practice to representing management in all aspects of labor and employment law and handles claims involving wrongful termination, sexual harassment, discrimination, defamation, wage and hour, and leave. She also counsels employers on decisions related to hiring, termination and disciplinary actions, and provides guidance on reductions in force. Ms. Garcia handles investigations of charges of discrimination filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Nevada Equal Rights Commission.
Jill Garcia is one of the founding shareholders of Ogletree Deakins’ Las Vegas office. The office opened in January 2010, which now includes eight attorneys. Las Vegas is adding attorneys to its team to add specialties such as OSHA and Immigration to its practices. With 40 offices from coast to coast, Ogletree Deakins is equipped to help Nevada employers both locally and across the nation.
David Grant
Practice Areas
• Estate & Business Planning
• Asset Protection
• Trust Administration
• Federal Taxation
Jeffrey Burr, LTD.
2600 Paseo Verde Parkway
Henderson, NV 89074
P 702.433.4455
F 702.451.1853
david@jeffreyburr.com
www.jeffreyburr.com
David M. Grant is a Partner as well as the Director of Legal Services at Jeffrey Burr, LTD. In addition to handling the estate planning needs for some of Nevada’s wealthiest families, Mr. Grant also regularly speaks and writes on the topics of trusts and estates, federal tax law, and asset preservation. He graduated from Southern Utah University (B.S., Accounting, Magna Cum Laude), the University of Utah (Master of Accountancy), and the University of Houston (J.D.). Before attending law school, he worked for the international accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche. Mr. Grant serves as Chairman of the Roundtable Committee for the State Bar of Nevada Probate & Trust Section and sits on the boards of the Southpac Offshore Planning Institute, the Nevada State College Foundation, the Southern Utah University School of Business, the Henderson Community Foundation, the Vegas PBS Planned Giving Council, and the Gift Planning Advisors.
Mark A. Hutchison
Practice Areas
• Business & Commercial Litigation
• Tort Litigation
• Trust & Probate Litigation
• Professional Liability Defense
• Appellate Litigation
Hutchison & Steffen
Peccole Professional Park
10080 W. Alta Dr., Ste. 200
Las Vegas, NV 89145
P 702.385.2500
F 702.385.2086
info@hutchlegal.com
www.hutchlegal.com
Mark A. Hutchison is a founding member of the Law Firm of Hutchison & Steffen and an AV-rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell®. Mark practices primarily in civil litigation. A native Las Vegan, Mark graduated from UNLV (high distinction) and received his J.D., magna cum laude, from BYU. In 2010, Mark was appointed by Nevada’s governor as lead special counsel for the State of Nevada in the multi-state lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the federal healthcare legislation. In addition to suing the federal government, Mark was lead trial counsel in a lawsuit against the Franchise Tax Board of the State of California, which lasted over 10 years and resulted in a jury verdict in the client’s favor totaling $388.1 million. The verdict is one of the country’s largest jury verdicts ever rendered in favor of a single plaintiff.
Chris Kaempfer
Practice Areas
• Land Use
• Zoning and Government Affairs
• Real Estate and Construction
Kaempfer Crowell Renshaw Gronauer & Fiorentino
8345 West Sunset Road, Suite 250
Las Vegas, Nevada 89113
P 702.792.7000
F 702.796.7181
www.kcnvlaw.com
info@kcnvlaw.com
Chris Kaempfer has been practicing land use and administrative law in Nevada for over 30 years and has successfully argued precedent setting land use cases in both state and federal court. Chris’ practice has also been devoted to the areas of real estate, construction and sports law. He represents the general contracting firm of Marnell Corrao Associates Inc. one of the premier hotel/resort builders in the country. Since 1986, he has been General Counsel to the Las Vegas Stars and 51’s and has been personally involved in the myriad of issues regarding the operation of a minor league baseball franchise. Chris has coached baseball and softball for nearly as long as he has practiced law, the last eight years as the head coach of The Meadows high school softball program, taking the state title in 2003. Chris has achieved an AV rating, the highest ranking given by Martindale Hubbell, an international peer-review rating system for the legal profession.
Jennifer Lazovich
Practice Areas
• Land Use
• Zoning and Government Affairs
• Legislative Affairs
Kaempfer Crowell Renshaw Gronauer & Fiorentino
8345 West Sunset Road, Suite 250
Las Vegas, Nevada 89113
P 702.792.7000
F 702.796.7181
www.kcnvlaw.com
info@kcnvlaw.com
A native Nevadan, Jennifer Lazovich has been a key member of the Firm’s government and legislative affairs practice since 2001, and represents clients before local governmental entities and the Nevada Legislature. Jennifer provides counsel to large casino-resorts, residential, industrial and commercial developers, educational institutions and other prominent businesses. She regularly appears before county and municipal commissions, councils and boards on planning, zoning and building matters and has negotiated numerous development agreements and land use entitlements for Nevada ‘s top master-planned communities, industrial and commercial developers and gaming companies. Jennifer has participated in the past four sessions of the Nevada Legislature, where she drafted, amended and advocated legislation covering land use, water and property rights, health care issues, gaming and business matters. Jennifer is the Chair of Public Policy for the Southern Nevada Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure and she is also a member of the Prospector’s Club in Reno.
John T. Steffen
Practice Areas
• Landlord/Tenant
• Business & Commercial Litigation
• Healthcare Professionals Advocacy
• Personal Injury
Hutchison & Steffen
Peccole Professional Park
10080 W. Alta Dr., Ste. 200
Las Vegas, NV 89145
P 702.385.2500
F 702.385.2086
info@hutchlegal.com
www.hutchlegal.com
John T. Steffen is a shareholder and co-founder of the Law Firm of Hutchison & Steffen and an AV-rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell®. John practices primarily in the areas of business and commercial litigation, landlord/tenant law, and personal injury. John received his B.A. in Speech Communications from BYU and his J.D. from University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law.
In addition to serving his clients, John enjoys mentoring other attorneys and managing the expansion of Hutchison & Steffen, which has grown steadily to nearly 40 attorneys in three states. His passion for his work was recently captured in a book he co-wrote, Strategies for Growing a Law Firm.
John is admitted to practice in both the state and federal courts of Nevada. He is a member of the American Bar Association and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.
Sarah K. Suter
Practice Areas
• Civil Litigation
• Insurance Defense
• Personal Injury
• Product Liability
• Construction Defect Litigation
Ryan Mercaldo & Worthington LLP
8912 Spanish Ridge Avenue, Suite 130
Las Vegas, Nevada 89148
P 702-880-9222
F 702-880-9221
ssuter@rmwfirm.com
www.rmwfirm.com
Ms. Suter is an associate in the Las Vegas office of Ryan Mercaldo & Worthington LLP. She is a passionate, conscientious attorney committed to providing personalized, high quality legal work to each of her clients. Ms. Suter was born in Mason City, Iowa and received a Bachelor of Social Work with a minor in Economics from Augsburg College in 2003. She received her Juris Doctorate Degree in 2006 from William Mitchell College of Law, and was admitted to the Nevada State Bar and the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada in 2007. In 2010 she was appointed as a Mediator for the Nevada Foreclosure Mediation Program. Ms. Suter has extensive experience representing developers, general contractors and small business owners in complex litigation. She enjoys practicing law at RMW, which provides its clients with quality legal representation in a variety of practice areas throughout California, Nevada and Arizona.
J. Colby Williams
Practice Areas
• Commercial Litigation
• First Amendment Law
• Appellate Practice
• Personal Injury
Campbell & Williams
700 S. 7th Street
Las Vegas, NV, 89101
P 702.328.5222
F 702.382.0540
jcw@campbellandwilliams.com
www.campbellandwilliams.com
J. Colby Williams of Campbell & Williams has consistently been listed in Martindale Hubbell’s Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers as well as Woodward & White’s Best Lawyers in America. Mr. Williams is recognized as one of Nevada’s brightest legal minds, evidenced by the fact that over the last decade, the Nevada Supreme Court has adopted arguments advanced by Mr. Williams in numerous precedent setting cases involving important issues of product liability, punitive damages, First Amendment law and corporate governance.
Lisa Zastrow
Practice Areas
• Administrative and Regulatory Law
• Litigation
Kaempfer Crowell Renshaw Gronauer & Fiorentino
8345 West Sunset Road, Las Vegas, Nevada 89113
P 702.792.7000
F 702.796.7181
www.kcnvlaw.com
info@kcnvlaw.com
Lisa Zastrow handles business and complex commercial litigation matters, as well as matters involving constitutional law, professional malpractice defense, employment law and constructional defect. Lisa also has experience in administrative law, advising clients regarding health and safety related workplace issues specific to Nevada Occupational Safety & Health Administration. As an experienced trial lawyer, Lisa successfully represents clients in state and federal court, as well as through all forms of alternative dispute resolution, and represents and advises clients concerning various employment issues. Lisa has obtained temporary restraining orders on behalf of business court, obtaining preliminary and permanent injunctions on matters involving real estate development and propriety and confidential business information. In 2006, Lisa was instrumental in obtaining a favorable outcome before a three-judge member arbitration panel for a developer defending against a $12 million construction claim brought by a national contractor. Lisa provides pro bono services to children through Clark County Legal Services, Children’s Attorney Project (CAP).
