Pisanelli Bice PLLC, a Las Vegas-based law firm, announced today that four of the firm’s leading attorneys will be honored with prestigious Best Lawyers Awards from Best Lawyers, the oldest and most respected peer-review in the global legal community. Recognizing their high-caliber professional abilities within the legal field and based upon a comprehensive peer review among top legal professionals, the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® will feature firm Cofounder and Partner James J. Pisanelli, firm Cofounder and Partner Todd L. Bice, Managing Partner Debra L. Spinelli, and Of Counsel M. Magali Mercera.
Celebrating Bice’s exceptional litigation skills, Best Lawyers will further recognize him in the 2025 edition of the Lawyer of the Year Awards.
In addition, Best Lawyers will feature firm associate Emily A. Buchwald in the 2025 edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America.
“This prominent recognition from Best Lawyers illustrates how several key members of our firm now lead the nation in a myriad of practice areas, a status earned through the determined application of insurmountable legal expertise, a highly strategic approach to complex litigation and a stalwart dedication to our clients’ success,” Spinelli said. “Our driven team of professionals takes immense pride in being honored alongside our respected legal colleagues, who clearly voiced their confidence in our top-level legal acumen through this rigorous peer-review process.”
Pisanelli’s Best Lawyers Award honors his outstanding contributions with bet-the-company litigation, commercial litigation, construction law, construction litigation and real-estate litigation.
Bice’s Best Lawyers Award recognizes his excellence in appellate practice, bet-the-company litigation, commercial litigation, first-amendment litigation, land-use and zoning litigation, and mergers-and-acquisitions litigation.
Bice’s Lawyer of the Year Award further honors his land-use and zoning litigation.
Spinelli’s Best Lawyers Award celebrates her esteemed accomplishments with bet-the-company litigation, commercial litigation, construction litigation and health-care litigation.
Mercera’s Best Lawyers Award honors her valuable efforts in commercial litigation.
Buchwald’s inclusion in Ones to Watch recognizes her top-quality work with civil rights law and commercial litigation.
Henderson’s Department of Economic Development was recognized as an Accredited Economic Development Organization by the International Economic Development Council. It is one of only 81 organizations worldwide to earn this honor. In addition to leading to the team to this accreditation, director of economic development and tourism Jared Smith is also a Certified Economic Developer—a distinction achieved by only about 2% of economic developers in the country.
Kevin Murray, manager of housing and justice systems, community solutions for SilverSummit Healthplan, a wholly owned subsidiary of Centene Corporation, has been elected to serve as a board member for the Southern Nevada Homeless Continuum of Care. Murray leads SilverSummit’s justice and housing programs and has spearheaded several important initiatives, including partnering with agencies like Las Vegas Rescue Mission and Salvation Army of Southern Nevada for emergency shelter collaborations. As a member of the board, he will contribute to the coordinated and regional approach in planning and providing services to combat homelessness and promote affordable housing solutions.
Select Health announced Jason Worthen as the new president for the Desert Region, overseeing operations in Southern Nevada. Worthen joined Select Health in November 2022 as Medicare assistant vice president, then served as vice president of government programs. As region president, he will be responsible for the development and execution of strategic initiatives across all aspects of Select Health’s activity in the health insurance market in the Desert Region. Prior to joining Select Health, Worthen served as the senior vice president for Medicare programs nationally for Steward Health Care and as regional vice president at Steward Health Care.
Three attorneys at Pisanelli Bice—managing partner Debra Spinelli, partner Jordan Smith and associate Tyler Stevens—will receive the honor of inclusion in Nevada Business Magazine’s 2024 list of Top Rank Attorneys, showcasing the top respected attorneys across Nevada, voted for inclusion by their peers.
Adam Bult will join Carrie Johnson as co-chair of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck’s litigation department. Bult’s practice focuses on complex commercial and construction disputes handling high-stakes, complicated litigation matters. He is also a member of the firm’s PRIDE group as well as co-chair of the firm’s recently launched sober affinity group, Brownstein Pathways.
Attorneys with Las Vegas-based Pisanelli Bice PLLC have been recognized by Best Lawyers©, a national peer-reviewed lawyer-ranking service. Five attorneys with the boutique law firm will appear in the 30th anniversary edition of The Best Lawyers in America© publication for their litigation work in Las Vegas.
Founding partner James J. Pisanelli has been recognized by Best Lawyers for the past 18 years. For 2024, he was selected for his work in bet-the-company litigation, commercial litigation, construction law, construction litigation, and real estate litigation.
The Best Lawyers in America© publication listed partner Todd L. Bice for the 17th consecutive year. For 2024, he was selected for his work in bet-the company litigation, appellate practice, commercial litigation, First Amendment litigation, land use and zoning litigation, and mergers and acquisitions litigation.
Managing partner Debra Spinelli has been recognized by Best Lawyers for the past 12 years. For 2024, she was listed for her work in commercial litigation, construction litigation and health care litigation.
For the sixth consecutive year, of counsel attorney M. Magali Mercera was recognized for her work in commercial litigation.
For the second year, associate attorney Emily Buchwald is a recipient of the “Ones to Watch in America” award in the categories of civil rights law and commercial litigation.
For more than 30 years, Best Lawyers has provided a ranking service and published the world’s premier guide for the legal profession and recognized top legal talent in more than 70 countries worldwide. It has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. The 28th edition of The Best Lawyers in America© highlights the top six percent of private practicing attorneys in the US. Recognition by Best Lawyers is solely based on exhaustive peer review surveys and only a single lawyer in each practice area and community is honored with a “Lawyer of the Year” award.
For more information about Best Lawyers, visit www.bestlawyers.com.
About Pisanelli Bice:
Pisanelli Bice is a Las Vegas-based firm focused primarily on commercial litigation. The firm, founded by attorneys James J. Pisanelli and Todd L. Bice, represents clients ranging from single entity developers and entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 companies, municipalities, public agencies as well as some of Nevada’s largest gaming companies. For more information, please visit www.pisanellibice.com.
About Best Lawyers:
Best Lawyers is the oldest and most respected lawyer ranking service in the world. For more than 30 years, Best Lawyers has assisted those in need of legal services to identify the lawyers best qualified to represent them in distant jurisdictions or unfamiliar specialties. Best Lawyers lists are published in leading local, regional, and national publications across the globe.
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LAS VEGAS – (August 1, 2023) – James J. Pisanelli and Todd L. Bice, founding partners of Pisanelli Bice PLLC, announced today that five of the firm’s attorneys were among select lawyers recognized on the esteemed 2023 Mountain States Super Lawyers lists. Super Lawyers is a national rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.
James J. Pisanelli and Todd L. Bice were honored as two of the leading top 100 lawyers in the mountain region, which includes Nevada, Montana, Utah, Wyoming and Idaho. Pisanelli and Bice have earned Top 100 Super Lawyers distinction every year since 2007. Managing partner Debra L. Spinelli and of counsel M. Magali Mercera were also recognized as 2023 Super Lawyers.
Spinelli was also selected to the Top 50 Women Mountain States Super Lawyers list again this year. The 2023 listing is the eighth consecutive year that Spinelli has been selected to the Top 50 Women list.
Attorney Emily A. Buchwald was named a 2023 Mountain States Rising Star. This is Buchwald’s second consecutive year appearing on the list.
Recognition by Super Lawyers is a prestigious and highly sought-after honor with only five percent of Nevada’s attorneys selected as Super Lawyers and 2.5 percent selected as Rising Stars. Attorneys are designated after undergoing a comprehensive nomination and evaluation process. This patented, multifaceted process includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates, and peer reviews by practice area. The result is a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of exceptional attorneys. Super Lawyers’ parent company, Thomson Reuters, is the world’s most respected source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals.
For more information about Super Lawyers, visit https://www.superlawyers.com.
Pisanelli Bice PLLC, a Las Vegas-based law firm, announced it has been named among the best law firms in the country with founding partners, James J. Pisanelli and Todd Bice as best lawyers in rankings compiled by the prestigious service Chambers & Partners.
Pisanelli Bice is honored in Band 1 of the Chambers USA 2023 for General Commercial Litigation. Chambers and Partners ranks attorneys and firms based on interviews with their clients and legal colleagues. The guide’s researchers report that Pisanelli Bice provides “quality representation in a range of commercial litigation for local gaming and hotel resorts, governmental bodies and construction companies,” and is “highly experienced at both trial and appellate level in issues arising out of corporate and real estate transactions including (mergers and acquisitions) and major property developments.”
Chambers also recognized and spotlighted both founders as outstanding litigators, as both Pisanelli and Bice are ranked as Band 1 attorneys for General Commercial Litigation.
The guide’s commentary notes that Pisanelli’s “strong litigation practice incorporates commercial, construction and health care expertise,” and is described by clients as an “ardent and steadfast” advocate.
Bice is described as “highly regarded in the market and earns particular praise for his trial skills. He represents clients in business disputes and offers expertise in gaming matters.”
The firm has represented Caesars Entertainment, City National Bank, Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority, MGM Resorts, the State of Nevada and United Health among other high-profile clients. This is the eighth year Pisanelli Bice received a Band 1 distinction.
