LAS VEGAS – (July 15, 2021) – James J. Pisanelli and Todd L. Bice, founding partners of Pisanelli Bice PLLC, announced today that six of the firm’s attorneys were among select lawyers recognized on the esteemed 2021 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 2021 Super Lawyers. This is the tenth consecutive year Spinelli has been selected for a Super Lawyers list. 2021 marks the first year Mercera has been selected as a Super Lawyer.
Spinelli was also selected to the Top 50 Women Mountain States Super Lawyers list again this year. The 2021 listing is the sixth consecutive year that Spinelli has been selected to the Top 50 Women list.
Attorneys Dustun H. Holmes and Ava M. Schaefer were named 2021 Mountain States Rising Stars. This is Schaefer’s sixth consecutive year appearing on the list, and it is the fifth consecutive year that Holmes has been named a Rising Star.
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.
About Super Lawyers
Super Lawyers state and regional listings are published nationwide in Super Lawyers Magazines and in leading city and regional magazines and newspapers across the country. Super Lawyers Magazines also feature editorial profiles of attorneys who embody excellence in the practice of law. For more information about Super Lawyers, visit https://www.superlawyers.com.
LAS VEGAS (June 28, 2021) – James J. Pisanelli and Todd L. Bice, founding partners of Pisanelli Bice PLLC, announced today that the boutique law firm has been named among the country’s best litigation firms in rankings compiled by the prestigious service Chambers & Partners.
Pisanelli Bice is one of only four Nevada firms honored in Band 1 of the Chambers USA 2021 guide for General Commercial Litigation. Chambers and Partners ranks attorneys and firms based on interviews with their clients and legal colleagues.
The guide quotes a client as saying, “Pisanelli Bice is the best litigation resource in Nevada by a mile.” Another client describes the team’s attorneys as “extremely experienced lawyers who have argued cases up to the Nevada Supreme Court and are respected by judges all the way up,” adding the attorneys “have the practicality of understanding the connection between law and business.”
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 “maintains a sterling practice in complex commercial litigation, with noted expertise in healthcare-related and defamation cases,” and a client states that he is a “legend in the community – a gentleman lawyer who can push aggressively but think carefully.”
Bice is described as being “recommended for his experience as a commercial litigator and for his expertise in gaming-related concerns,” with a client stating he “has handled some of the highest-stakes cases.”
The firm has represented Caesars Entertainment, City National Bank, Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority, MGM Resorts, the State of Nevada, Las Vegas Sun, and United Health among other high-profile clients. This is the sixth year Pisanelli Bice received a Band 1 distinction.
About Pisanelli Bice
Pisanelli Bice is a Las Vegas-based law 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 and some of Nevada’s largest gaming companies.
About Chambers and Partners
Chambers and Partners has published guides to the legal profession since 1990. With a team of over 150 full-time researchers at its London head office, the company identifies and rank the world`s best lawyers and law firms based on in-depth, objective research.
LAS VEGAS – (May 6, 2021) – James J. Pisanelli and Todd L. Bice, founding partners of Pisanelli Bice, are pleased to announce that John A. Fortin has joined the firm as an associate attorney.
Mr. Fortin will practice in commercial litigation at both the trial and appellate levels, focusing on data privacy, cybersecurity, and the evolving problems posed by the Internet of Things (IoT).
“We are excited to welcome John to the firm,” said Pisanelli. “With his expertise and background in emerging technology issues, we believe he will provide a unique specialty to our company and will be a valuable asset for our clients.”
Prior to joining Pisanelli Bice, Mr. Fortin served in the Unites States Navy. For over a decade, he worked as a Cryptologist and Information Warfare Specialist, interfacing with and collaborating across the intelligence community, specifically for the National Security Agency (NSA). Upon matriculation to law school, Mr. Fortin transitioned to the Naval Reserves where he continues to serve today.
Mr. Fortin graduated magna cum laude from the University of Richmond, T.C. Williams School of Law. During law school, he served as the Manuscript Editor for the Richmond Law Review and was a member of the school’s moot court team and earned The Order of Barristers honor. He additionally obtained an LL.M. in Global Antitrust Law & Economics from George Mason University, Antonin Scalia Law School. During law school, he interned for both a Federal District Court Judge and an associate Justice on the Colorado Supreme Court. Following graduation, Mr. Fortin clerked for Chief Justice Hardesty of the Nevada Supreme Court.
Mr. Fortin is passionate about serving the community — particularly veterans. In law school, he dedicated hundreds of hours to veterans and their families. The University of Richmond awarded him the Public Interest Law Association Pro Bono Award, the school’s most prestigious honor for community and pro bono service. Additionally, Mr. Fortin regularly volunteers for the Legal Aid Center for Southern Nevada and the pro bono appellate program. He further serves as a JD Ambassador for Service to School, a nonprofit dedicated to assisting transitioning service members seeking admission and scholarships to the nation’s premier law schools.
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, represent 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.
Brittnie Watkins, an attorney with the Las Vegas law firm Pisanelli Bice PLLC, has been named by Gov. Steve Sisolak to the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
Her appointment is effective May 3.
She replaces Terry Johnson, whose term ended this month and who has been a board member since November 2012.
“I am confident Brittnie is the right person for this crucial appointment,” Sisolak said in a release Tuesday.
“Brittnie’s impressive educational background and legal experience in the gaming industry will make her an excellent addition to Nevada’s Gaming Control Board and to our state,” Sisolak said. “As Nevada’s gaming industry continues to recover from the pandemic, it’s critical that we remain the gold standard and operate with the highest integrity, and I am confident Brittnie will help us achieve that goal.”
Watkins’ first Control Board meeting will be May 5.
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SAN FRANCISCO — The founder and former CEO of right-leaning social media site Parler is suing the company he created and its controlling owner, political megadonor Rebekah Mercer, alleging his ownership stake was taken from him.
John Matze, who founded Parler in 2018 with funding from Mercer, filed the suit in Nevada District Court on Monday. Matze has said he was forced out of the company in early February, just weeks after Parler became embroiled in controversy surrounding the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, resulting in the site being knocked offline for more than a month.
The suit, which was announced in a news release by Matze’s attorneys and uploaded online by the Las Vegas Sun, names Parler, Mercer, interim CEO Mark Meckler and investors Jeffrey Wernick and Dan Bongino as defendants, as well as a corporation believed to be controlled by Mercer.
In the complaint, Matze alleges that Mercer and others plotted to steal Matze’s 40 percent stake in the company, later saying the fair market value for his stake was worth only $3. The “outlandish and arrogant theft” is “the product of a conspiratorial agreement,” the suit says.
Mercer, who backed Donald Trump during his successful 2016 presidential bid, owns the controlling stake in the company, and has now installed her allies to run Parler, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to candidly discuss private matters.
Parler executives, including Meckler and Wernick, did not respond to requests for comment. Mercer and Bongino did not respond to requests for comment. Law firm Pisanelli Bice said in a statement that Matze would not have any further comment.
Matze says in the suit that Parler is being “hijacked” away from being the free expression site he first imagined. The suit alleges that Mercer “sought to co-opt” Parler to encourage her political views.
“It became apparent to Matze that Meckler’s efforts were not to grow Parler as a free expression platform, but instead to redirect it into what Meckler called as the ‘tip of the conservative spear’ for a brand of conservatism in keeping with Mercer’s preferences,” the lawsuit alleges.
Parler grew from a niche social media site to a relatively mainstream option in 2020 when prominent conservative politicians and pundits began joining and promoting the site, many saying they were fed up with so-called “censorship” on Twitter and Facebook. Twitter had started labeling Trump’s tweets with fact checks, and Parler positioned itself as the “free-speech” alternative site.
After the election, Parler’s user base boomed to more than 10 million, bolstered by people seeking alternative social media sites as Trump and his allies spread false narratives about the veracity of the election.
Parler had about 15 million users before it was knocked offline in January, following reports that people had used the site to encourage the attack on the Capitol. Amazon, Apple and Google pulled their technical support for Parler, saying it was not moderating content robustly enough, effectively turning off the lights for the service.
Parler came back online more than a month later with a new cloud computing provider, Los Angeles-based SkySilk. In his suit, Matze claims he was the one who secured the new hosting provider and set up a version of the moderating system Parler is now using.
“However, as Meckler lacked the technical know-how to actually run such a social media platform — and his real role was to simply push a political agenda — the implementation was beyond lacking,” according to the suit.
Matze is seeking an unspecified amount in damages.
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