**2. Unlocking the Mysteries of Nevada’s Legal System**
Nevada is a state with a unique legal system, deeply influenced by the landscape of the Silver State. The state has one of the most pro-business and efficient court systems in the country, making the bar and bench generally friendly to the business community. The Nevada Supreme Court, for example, has a reputation for expediently ruling on cases and writing published opinions that guide practitioners working in the state. One of the most recent innovations of the Nevada Supreme Court was its well-received use of electronic filing under EDCR 8.03.
The state’s legislative body also has a history of passing laws friendly to business and free-marketeers. This is evidenced by Assembly Bill 375, passed in 2015, which eliminated the requirement that corporations and limited liability companies in Nevada hold annual meetings. This is just one of the many ways the Nevada legislature seeks to provide businesses operating in the state an edge over similar businesses operating in other states.
Although long known as a defendant-friendly jurisdiction , those days may be waning. For example, the Nevada Supreme Court recently tightened its grip on punitive damages awards in Davis v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 117 Nev. 212 (2001).
After 30 years of trial experience and over a decade of being named a Nevada Super Lawyer, I have many friends and colleagues who tell me good things about their experiences trying cases in the Las Vegas judicial districts. Long-time Insights readers are familiar with the relationships I have with my colleagues at GGRM’s sister firm, Nevada Injury Law Group, but this blog post is not about them. It’s about their competitors and their friends. It’s about the unique bench and bar culture that makes Nevada’s state courts a great place to try a case.
**3. The Cornerstones of Legal Publications in Nevada**
In Nevada, the legal press includes both online and offline publications distributed to the legal community throughout the state. The Nevada Legal News monthly newspaper, published for over 40 years, fills a statewide role as the state’s primary legal publication. It offers breaking courts news, coverage of the Nevada Legislature, plus detailed information about civil filings, bankruptcy filings, concealed carry, probate filings, and federal criminal filings. A secondary online-only publication, Nevada Justice, covers recent court rulings and legislation of interest to personal injury and workers’ compensation attorneys in Nevada. Las Vegas Injury Law Review also provides free, downloadable PDF articles for PI attorneys.
Additional resources of interest to Nevada attorneys are the Nevada Bar Journal, published by the State Bar of Nevada, the state bar’s monthly newsletter, the Nevada Lawyer Magazine, and the Legislative Bullens, which are summaries of Assembly and Senate bills tracked by the Legislative Council Bureau, Office of Finance and Research. Unfortunately, none of these publications require or provide any digital certification methods for tracking, making it less efficient and cost-effective for Nevada practitioners to retain subscriptions if they’re needed in the future. Unlike many other states which provide digital certification solutions via web servers and e-subscribing options, Nevada cannot directly send the publication or a verification of the subscription via email or other digital method. In addition, some Nevada counties have also published their own legal publications, including the Clark County Legal Directory, Reno Dispatch and Yellow Pages, Nevada Bar Yellow Pages, and Washoe County Bar Directory, which The Bar Association of Carson Valley has also published. In general, however, all of these publications are indexed, distributed and linked only in print form.
**4. Legal Journals and Blogs Worth Knowing About**
Several legal journals and blogs strive to inform the bench and bar in Nevada about current developments in the law, including significant verdicts. The most active legal journal in the state is Nevada Lawyer (issuing 10 issues a year), published by the State Bar of Nevada. Recent articles include pieces on managing mental health in the practice of law and how to help children with incarcerated parents apply to college. Members can also contribute articles, which are published only after a peer-review process. Articles cover diverse topics such as predictive coding in e-discovery and recent immigration reforms.
The most well-known legal blog in Nevada is the "Nevada Appeals Blog," maintained by the Team at the Reno and Las Vegas offices of the Wilson Elser law firm, which employs a number of former appellate law clerks. The blog summarizes opinions issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Nevada appellate courts. Court filings are updated with summaries when significant cases are being decided. In addition, it includes commentary on appellate practice and motion practice. There are also posts about what former Nevada Supreme Court Justice Nancy Becker is doing since her retirement from the bench, as well as postings on other local judicial happenings.
In addition, there are three noteworthy Nevada legal blogs:
The "The Nevada Real Estate Lawyer" blog, written by attorney Steve Harris, offers practical advice for real estate attorneys, including information on zoning, criminal and civil ramifications for real estate investors, and advice on dealing with banks and lenders.
The "Nevada Business Real Estate Blog" offers coverage of real estate laws.
Finally, there is the "Nevada Personal Injury Blog," maintained by the Las Vegas injury law firm Claggett & Sykes. It discusses personal injury cases and legislative changes.
**5. The Legal System and Press in Nevada Courts**
As key providers of primary legal materials, the legal press has an important role in the state’s court system. With its knowledge of Nevada law and Nevada reporters’ sense of the full reach of primary legal sources, legal publishers are well-positioned to help connect lawyers, judges, law libraries, law schools, and the general public with these primary legal sources.
Since the state does not officially disseminate its case law to legal publishers, some Nevada secondary legal sources have the in-house staff needed to create an "independent" citation for case law published in their products and databases. Otherwise, other members of the legal community must have the tools and knowledge to create citations. Legal press and other members of the legal community create easy-to-use online resources to assist researchers in crafting citation information.
Nevada’s open and transparent court system encourages public access to the courts in a variety of ways. "All meetings of public bodies must be called and conducted in open public sessions, with exceptions only for actively involved participants[.]" See Nev. Rev. Stats. §241.020. The press plays a crucial role in alerting the public about these public meetings. "Any Governor, member of the Legislature or public body may, in relation to matters within his or her duties, prescribe rules governing the holding and conduct of all meetings." See Nev. Rev. Stats. §241.030. These rules may dictate notice and recording requirements for public meetings. See, e.g., Nev. Rev. Stats. §241.035. However, there probably is no express rule related to the recording and publication of records on court hearings at the state level .
In 2009, the Nevada Supreme Court held that "[a]n open trial is a protected right under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution." Thomas & Thomas Rod & Custom v. White, 573 P.2d 431, 436 (Nev. 1978). This holding positions the Nevada Supreme Court with some control over whether a person "has the right to a digital recording of his [or her] trial." Id. The Nevada Supreme Court did not set out the precise scope of this right. Id. The privacy and confidentiality issues surrounding the discussion of any interests affected by the right to record and publish court proceedings were beyond the court’s analysis. Id. These issues probably should be governed by rules and not open-ended discretion. Id.
In addition to recording and publishing rulings and decisions of the Nevada Supreme Court to the public, publishing and indexing select Supreme Court opinions may increase the amount of information legally- and non-legally trained advocates can access about Nevada state and federal caselaw.
As mentioned above, some members of the legal press independently circulate some Nevada Supreme Court opinions by email to selected subscribers (e.g., legal scholars and state governmental officials; these opinions are likely circulated on a regional or nationwide basis). However, other members may redirect primary sources (e.g., California CEB Actions) to a publisher’s independent legal research platform and create enhanced- and print-based versions. However, enhanced- and print-based versions are not available until the publisher has exchanged the publisher’s product for primary source materials and accurately processed the materials for inclusion in the publisher’s platform (and perhaps some time thereafter).
**6. Finding Breaking News in the Nevada Legal Press and Beyond**
Nevada’s legal press is alive with breaking stories involving landmark legal settlements, recent statewide ballot initiatives, and emerging issues. One of the biggest legal stories in 2011 was the announcement of a $503 million settlement between the State of Nevada and Bank of America. Nevada was able to negotiate the deal on behalf of its taxpayers to settle price fixing lawsuits that alleged the Bank conspired to fix the price of credit-default swap contracts on the Bank’s Merrill Lynch unit. On June 25, the U.S. House approved funding cuts of $2 million that would close the federal courts for an entire week. The story was highlighted in other major news outlets across the country, such as The Washington Post as it would directly affect the Las Vegas federal courthouse. The Legislature recently passed Senate Bill 307, which will make public all communications sent to and from public employees and officials, leading to concerns of harassment. The Sunshine Week Blog, which focuses on transparency in government, reported on the bill and interviewed Nevada State Senator Majority Leader Steven Horsford. Recently, the City Council of North Las Vegas passed ordinances concerning medical marijuana establishments, restrictions on where the establishments can be located, and the zoning and licensing of the establishments, aligning the city with the State in terms of restrictions. The Las Vegas Review-Journal recently reported on the plans for a new East Las Vegas trust covering 10 square miles that will likely consist of senior and affordable housing.
**7. Navigating Online Legal Resources in Nevada
Visitors to the site are probably already very familiar with the benefits of reading Nevada legal publications, but they may not be aware of the technology behind it. So how can readers access Nevada’s most read legal periodicals and other legal resources online? And how is technology shaping the future of legal press accessibility in Nevada? Fortunately for readers, subscription costs continue to be economical as well. You can view and/or subscribe to Nevada Lawyer magazine online for just $30 a year (12 issues) and easily access the Nevada Supreme Court and Eighth Judicial District Court opinions online for free.
The Nevada Board of Continuing Legal Education offers an electronic subscription option that will deliver Nevada Lawyer straight to your inbox every month. For $40 , you can get all of our content in one easy-to-access digital format that is both portable and easy to print.
Meanwhile, MyNevadaLawLibrary.com has emerged as a leading online provider of court documents in the state, allowing subscribers to access cases, opinions, and other state legal documents for just $250 a year. This will allow readers to keep up with even the newest legal news as it unfolds from anywhere in the world. Nevada Lawyer Magazine itself is now also offering the magazine in digital format as well.