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 (Nov. 5, 2020) – Founding partners James J. Pisanelli and Todd L. Bice, of the litigation firm Pisanelli Bice PLLC, announced today the firm earned seven Tier 1 rankings by U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” for 2021.
The firm’s top-level designations are in the areas of Bet-the-Company Litigation, Appellate Practice, Commercial Litigation, Construction Law, Litigation – Construction, Litigation – Mergers and Acquisitions, and Litigation – Real Estate.
Pisanelli Bice has a long history in the U.S. News – Best Lawyers® rankings, having consecutively earned recognition since 2011.
The firm was named to the top tier based on a comprehensive evaluation process that includes client and peer evaluations of the firm’s expertise, responsiveness, understanding of a business and its needs, cost-effectiveness, civility, and whether they would refer another client to the firm. To be eligible, firms must have at least one attorney in the current edition of Best Lawyers in America©, which is one of the oldest and most respected peer-review publications in the legal profession.
Pisanelli Bice’s Tier 1 rankings will be included in the 11th annual edition of “Best Law Firms”- a definitive reference tool for legal representation across the U.S. The rankings also are available at http://bestlawfirms.usnews.com.
About “Best Law Firms”
The U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes the collection of client and lawyer evaluations, peer reviews from leading attorneys in their field, and reviews of additional information provided by law firms as part of the formal submission process. To be eligible for a ranking, a law firm must have at least one lawyer who is included in Best Lawyers in America© in that particular practice area and metro. For more information on U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms,” please visit http://bestlawfirms.usnews.com/.
LAS VEGAS – (Aug. 20, 2020) – 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 27th 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 15 years. For 2021, 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 14th consecutive year. For 2021, 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. Notably, he was also honored as a 2021 Las Vegas “Lawyer of the Year” in the category of bet-the-company litigation.
Managing partner Debra Spinelli has been recognized by Best Lawyers for the past nine years. For 2021, she was listed for her work in commercial litigation, construction litigation and health care litigation. For the third consecutive year, of counsel attorney M. Magali Mercera was recognized for her work in commercial litigation.
New to Best Lawyers this year is associate attorney Brittnie Watkins who is a recipient of the Las Vegas “Ones to Watch” award in the categories of appellate practice and commercial litigation.
The 27th edition of The Best Lawyers in America© highlights the top six percent of private practicing attorneys in the US and is organized by state, city, and practice area for easy readability. 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. Best Lawyers has provided this ranking service for over 30 years and has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence.
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.
LAS VEGAS – (June 15, 2020) – 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 2020 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.
Pisanelli, Bice and managing partner Debra L. Spinelli were honored once again as three 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. This is the ninth consecutive year Spinelli has been selected for a Super Lawyers list.
Spinelli was also selected to the Top 50 Women Mountain States Super Lawyers list again this year. The 2020 listing marks the fifth consecutive year that Spinelli has been selected to the Top 50 Women list.
Attorneys Dustun H. Holmes and Ava M. Schaefer were named 2020 Mountain States Rising Stars. This is Schaefer’s fifth consecutive year appearing on the list, and it is the fourth 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, click here.
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, click here.
A dispute between two prominent Las Vegas marijuana business owners has reached the courts, with the proprietor of Essence dispensaries accusing a former owner with The Apothecary Shoppe of embarking on a jealous campaign of slander aimed to do him more than $1 million in damage.
Armen Yemenidjian, a former casino executive who’s affiliated with three dispensaries, won another eight dispensary licenses last year and is part of a company that was recently acquired for $290 million, filed a lawsuit in Clark County Nov. 4 against Dr. Nick Spirtos. Yemenidjian alleges that Spirtos has accused him of criminal activity to other people, including lobbyist and former Assembly Speaker John Oceguera during an encounter at Gov. Steve Sisolak’s inaugural ball.
“Spirtos, in concert with others, undertook a scheme to slander Mr. Yemenidjian, because he has proven to be one of the most successful businessmen in the legal cannabis business,” the complaint says. “Rather than own his failures, Spirtos has resorted to smearing and spreading lies against others to harm their existing and future business opportunities.”
Spirtos, a gynecologic oncologist, was formerly affiliated with The Apothecary Shoppe, which has one dispensary in Southern Nevada but fell short in its attempt to win three other licenses in 2018. Reached by phone on Friday, Spirtos said he was traveling overseas and referred questions to his lawyer, who did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment on Friday and Monday.
The suit alleges that Spirtos made about a dozen private phone calls to George Kelesis, a member of the Nevada Tax Commission, to discuss undoing the result of the licensing round. Spirtos and Kelesis attend the same Greek church and are godparents to each others’ children, the suit says, but Kelesis spearheaded criticism of the state’s licensing process as a commissioner without disclosing the relationship.
Yemenidjian accuses Spirtos of talking to Oceguera at Sisolak’s inaugural ball this year and accusing Yemenidjian of “outright corruption” and criminal activity. He also said Spirtos surreptitiously recorded a meeting with Nevada Department of Taxation officials as part of an attempt to dupe the state employees in a meeting they had set up to review Spirtos’ application scores with him.
“Spirtos also hoped and planned that his slander would interfere with the State of Nevada’s licensing process for recreational marijuana since he did not obtain a license,” the complaint says. “Spirtos and those acting in concert with him have simply decided that maintaining their own market share and delaying competition in the marketplace is preferable.”
Yemendijian’s lawyer, Todd Bice, said that in a deposition for one of the lawsuits challenging the licensing process, and then when personally confronted by Yemenidjian, Spirtos denied making such comments and said he didn’t have a factual basis for making such allegations.
Bice said that to “insinuate that they were only chosen because of some nefarious criminal activity is just outrageous” in light of Essence scoring highly in licensing proceedings in different years in Nevada, and also in jurisdictions in California with different scorers. Bice also said the allegations could get published and then would be brought up in licensing reviews going forward.
“He’s just got to fight back against this. He can’t allow that kind of stuff to stand. It will then be weaponized … against him in the future,” Bice said in an interview.
The suit is the latest stemming from a contentious round of marijuana business licensing, in which more than 400 applications were submitted and 61 licenses awarded to 17 different companies including Essence. Many dispensary owners who did not win have sued the state, including Spirtos’ former company, whose suit alleges the state engaged in “rampant illegality and corruption.”
Spirtos has been a vehement critic of the licensing process, testifying to the Tax Commission that he believes that levels of corruption similar to that in the Nixon White House took place. The suit brought by his former company also alleges that Yemenidjian offered a job to the state’s former top marijuana regulator, Jorge Pupo.
Bice said there was no job offer, just a “passing reference,” and that Yemenidjian’s conversations with Pupo have been “wildly mischaracterized.”
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