The first medical marijuana dispensary in Nevada is yet to open, but the lawsuits are already flying as applicants jockey for a starting position in the state’s green gold rush.
GB Sciences Nevada LLC, a company that won city approval for a Las Vegas dispensary but missed the cut on state licensing, has filed a lawsuit challenging the state’s rankings. The state also faces a lawsuit from seven dispensary applicants hoping to open in unincorporated Clark County who gained county approval but not state approval.
Industry observers say the lawsuits won’t stop the medical marijuana boom, but deal a setback that will slow the expansion of the industry at a critical juncture.
Much is at stake for Nevada’s would-be medical pot barons: Entry into the lucrative field is limited and competitive, and the possibility of legalized recreational use could fuel the industry’s future growth.
The Nevada industry’s entry into the courtroom mirrors what has happened elsewhere in the United States as medical marijuana started, including neighboring Arizona.
“My opinion is it’s not good for the industry,” said John Laub, president of the Las Vegas Medical Marijuana Association, of the lawsuits. “I’m not happy with it.”
On Friday, lawyers for the seven applicants who won approval from Clark County but not the state asked a judge to order the state to reconsider.
Todd L. Bice was born and raised in the farming community of Winner, S.D. The town was named Winner because it won a contest to have the railroad pass through town, he said.
Bice went to the University of South Dakota before completing law school at the University of Nebraska. After law school he moved to Las Vegas and began working. Today he is co-founding partner in the law firm of Pisanelli Bice in downtown Las Vegas.
Q. It appears most of your practice is dedicated to commercial, land and zoning, mergers and acquisitions, and gaming. What drew you to focus your career and your practice to these areas?
Our firm is principally and almost exclusively a litigation firm. All those other subject matters that your referencing, we get involved, our firm gets involved in those types of matters when there’s some sort of a contested dispute, whether in court, arbitration, something like that. So that is our exclusive area of practice: litigation or dispute resolution. I ended up in those areas of practice when I moved here (as a young lawyer). I worked for Frank Schreck for nearly 20 years. Frank is probably one of the pre-eminent gaming lawyers in the world. And as a consequence … that’s the sort of work that you just naturally gravitate into because that was the type of work that Frank was bringing to the firm, and bringing to me and others, as young lawyers. So that’s the practice we’d develop and the expertise that we’d develop. So it’s really a byproduct of working for Frank for 20 years.
Q. What does it mean to you to have your firm receive five Tier 1 rankings in the U.S. News-Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” 2015?
I think its evidence of the type of work that we do and the type of people that we have here. You don’t get those sorts of accomplishments by not doing good work for clients because those (rankings) … are largely a product of client interviews and client assessments. We take a great deal of pride in the fact that our clients think highly of the services that we provide.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Nevada Supreme Court could decide as early as Monday whether a judge in Reno or one in Las Vegas should hear a bid by state taxi regulators and limousine firms to block ride-sharing company Uber Technologies from operating in the state.
The high court received written arguments from both sides last week on an expedited schedule that would allow the justices to rule before a court hearing set Tuesday in Reno. Washoe County District Court Judge Scott Freeman is scheduled to decide whether to extend a temporary order he issued last month to stop Uber from doing business in the state.
“There is no reason, nor would it be appropriate, for both the case in Clark County and the case in Washoe County to move forward simultaneously,” said attorney Donald Campbell, representing Uber.
The state attorney general’s office and a lawyer representing Bell Limo and Whittlesea Checker Taxi argued that although the Nevada Transportation Authority sought restraining orders in courts in Reno, Carson City and Las Vegas, written documents were submitted first to Freeman. The Carson City case was later consolidated with the Washoe County case.
LAS VEGAS – James J. Pisanelli and Todd L. Bice, founding partners of the litigation firm Pisanelli Bice PLCC, announced the firm has received five Tier 1 metropolitan rankings by U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” in 2015.
Pisanelli Bice received a Tier 1 ranking for five practice areas in Las Vegas, including Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Construction, Litigation – Land Use & Zoning, Litigation – Mergers & Acquisitions, and Litigation – Real Estate. The firm also received a Tier 2 ranking in Litigation – First Amendment.
In order to be eligible to receive a U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” ranking, a firm must have at least one attorney who has received a high enough peer review to be listed in the current edition of Best Lawyers. Firms are eligible in the practice areas and metropolitan areas in which they have listed lawyers.
The “Best Law Firms” rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process based on client feedback, information provided by a Law Firm Leaders Survey, and the evaluations of 52,488 individual leading lawyers collected by Best Lawyers in its most recent annual survey.
James Pisanelli and Todd Bice started their law firm, Pisanelli Bice, four years ago and have quickly risen to prominence in the Las Vegas Valley and internationally. Among the cases they are handling are the well-publicized dispute between Wynn Resorts and former board director Kazuo Okada, as well as a wrongful termination case brought by the former CEO of Sands China. Pisanelli says he owes his firm’s success to the cultures of teamwork and service fostered within it.
What is the best business advice you’ve received, and whom did it come from?
Two things: The first came from our former partner and lifelong friend, Frank Schreck. From the time we were very young associates working for Frank to the last days of our partnership with him, Frank always implored us to surround ourselves with smart people. Not only did we have the comfort as young lawyers of being surrounded by smart, experienced people who could help us with any given problem on any given day, but we were also constantly challenged to elevate our practice and thinking to a higher level.
Todd Bice and I brought that philosophy to our new firm. We hand-picked every member of the firm and continue to challenge and elevate one another. It is a remarkable experience to be challenged on a daily basis as the senior member of a firm in the same manner I was challenged as one a member of Frank’s firm.
