Las Vegas Attorneys

Reflect On The New Year

 By Charlotte Evans 

It’s time to salute 2015 with the immortal words of grand sage Willie Wonka: “Adieu, Adieu, Parting is such sweet sorrow…”

As we collectively look back at the past year (and aspire to make the new one better) we thought it might be enlightening to survey those in the Las Vegas community who are paid to help us fix problems, plan for them, and (wherever possible) avoid them. This brave array of Las Vegas attorneys were willing to weigh in on their lives in 2015 and to share their hopes and dreams for 2016. Their candor was both humorous and sober, and (as you might imagine) hope for peace in the new year was high on many minds.

Reboledo Attorney

SANDRA REBOLLEDO

Law Office of Sandra Rebolledo

In 2015, I was really inspired that…my daughter recently went to Central America to help the indigenous people there with medical treatment through UCLA. Most kids don’t want to take on that role in society [and] I’m really proud that my daughter is inspired to do things like that and is driven to help humanity. The highlight of my work-world in 2015 was getting to help…an older Mexican couple who were badly injured in a car accident. They were a very sweet, humble couple and I was able to help get them a decent settlement (the injuries were substantial). They were able to buy a ranch in Mexico. Of course injury is a horrible price to pay, but in the end they have something and I could help them. When I see I can make a difference in someone’s life it makes my life worthwhile. Next year, I hope to…have more of an active voice in the community…not just locally but maybe even nationally. I’m thinking about writing about international affairs and how to bring different cultures together. When I think about next year…[I] would sound like a beauty queen to say, “I want world peace” (laughter), but I would certainly like human beings to have more respect for each other. If we give in to hate, then humanity will fail. We’re here to prove that humanity is meant to love, or else we have no purpose.

Gdallas Horton Attorney

G DALLAS HORTON 

Dallas Horton & Associates

Best part of my 2015? That’s a big one and it’s an easy answer. I paid my divorce debt off! (laughter) For the best professional part of my 2015, I’d have to say…my baby girl went off to college, which gave me the opportunity to focus on work for the first time in years without the obligations of single parenting. It’s a tough job being a single dad in this town. Looking toward 2016…my resolution is to make back all the money I paid to my ex-wife (more laughter.) My [professional] goal is to exceed my biggest judgment of $9.6 million and go above $10 million. If I could wave my “Magic Wand of Hope” for 2016, I’d announce to the world that…I think everybody needs to calm down a lot. Everything is so violent and so visceral and so divisive. I think everybody in the country needs to simmer down because I don’t think that’s productive. I think as a group we all need to work towards unity.

Christine Booze Attorney

CHRISTINE BOOZE

Atkin Winner Sherrod

Looking back, the greatest gift I enjoyed in 2015 was…the excellent health care that my family received. And the greatest gift I was able to professionally offer was…meeting the needs of my clients without compromise. In 2016, I’m resolving to…do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit but, in humility, to value others above myself...And I’m hoping that in 2016 the rest of the world will…be able to respect one another’s views and abstain from violence.

Eric Chen Attorney

ERIC CHEN

Eric Chen Law

Looking back on it…2015 wasn’t a very good year for me, personally (laughter.) I just went through a divorce. But the upshot of my professional year was that…this is [my] second year in my new office and I couldn’t be happier. We’ve been able to get the top clients, especially the highly influential businesspeople from Shanghai, to come over to this town to invest. I’ve been fortunate to be a part of those business projects. I can see the flood of sophisticated businesspeople from overseas coming to this town. Looking at what’s ahead for me in the new year…I’m trying to adjust to my new life and to make every day as fulfilling and happy as I can. I look forward to new personal opportunities, and as an attorney I’m handling things on a greater scale. I don’t know what’s going to come into my life but I’m a very optimistic person. I will do the best I can, and I have more time to do my work. With all the scary stuff going on in the world, my hopes and dreams for all of us globally would be to find a way to…neutralize the dangers of terrorism in the world….I travel the world and have been doing that for the past 20 years without too much concern for my safety or the safety of tourists. Now, the world is a different place. We see irrational hatred that is not necessarily based on facts or truth, and some people are being conditioned that way. We need to stem the tide of people becoming like that.

EdBernstein Attorney

ED BERNSTEIN

Edward M. Bernstein & Associates

My most shining moment from 2015 was that…my oldest daughter had a double organ transplant over Thanksgiving at the Cleveland Clinic. We have been waiting for years. She’s 27 and she’s been ill since she was 3 years old. The highlight of my year was her getting this transplant. She has a long road ahead and she will need additional procedures, but she’s doing great. Professionally, this year made me proud to think that…[after] 40 years, [our] firm continues to be innovative and to consistently fine tune the kind of service we provide to our clients. We spent the year training our employees on how to have leadership skills and to better communicate with our clients, with each other and with the vendors. I feel the training brought the firm to a whole new level of operation. My 2016 New Year’s resolution is…more of a hope: I’m looking forward to my daughter getting well and being able to have a new start in life. We are very excited. My resolution is to be as supportive as I can be. Beyond myself, my hopes for 2016 are…for my family, friends, staff and clients to find real joy in the upcoming year. An answer about “world peace” is kind of an obvious one but I think all of us can have an impact in the areas where we are directly responsible.

Do I think the world is more dangerous? Not really. I think there have been horrible atrocities throughout the history of the world. I think now people are more outraged by it which is a good thing, instead of standing by and watching it like they did in WWll. It’s almost a positive thing that people are more aware because maybe the good guys will do something.SandraDouglass Morgan Attorney

SANDRA DOUGLASS MORGAN

North Las Vegas City Attorney

The best part of my 2015 is beautifully simple: It was all about…having another good year of health and safety [for my] family and extended family. Professionally, this year I was proud to be a part of…negotiating and finalizing development agreements that will help the financial stability and growth of the City of North Las Vegas. My New Year’s resolution for 2016 is...to value, and spend more time with, my close friends and family. Thinking beyond my own sphere and out into the world…my hope would be for everyone to impress upon the youth and children the importance and value of life. If people would value life more, I don’t think it would be that easy to take a life.LindseyDamare Attorney

OZZIE FUMO

Pitaro & Fumo Chtd

My personal highlight of 2015 is that…my wife and I have been married now for 5 years and we’re stronger than ever. That’s my personal highlight. I decided to run for the Assembly District 21 and that is a personal decision that is a milestone in my life. Professionally, the best part of the year was…we got a man out of jail who was in custody for 6 years without having a trial. We took the state to trial and ended up getting a not guilty on one count, and seven counts hung. We got a deal we could not refuse with the man finally released from custody on a very limited term of probation. This year’s resolution is going to be a little different: Every year for the last 40 years I’ve done the traditional “I want to get to the gym more” or “I want to lose weight” and all those things are personal goals that you never really achieved or wanted. This year, with everything going on in the world, I started to think about trying to be the change you want to see in the world. Whether it’s just opening the door for someone or donating more to charity and helping, I want to be the change I want to see in Las Vegas, in our country and in the world. In 2016, I’d love for there to be…peace on earth. I would like to see us work toward peace, maybe listen to each other more. There is so much violence, we’re not even surprised by it.

Demare

LINDSAY DEMAREE

Ballard Spahr LLP

My personal highlight of 2015 was…seeing [friends and family] and being able to reconnect while going to destination weddings. I had a lot of friends and family getting married this past year. A little closer to home, my professional highlight of 2015 was…moving to a new law firm in March and getting to focus on consumer financial services litigation. I’m excited the firm offers a national platform in this industry and I’m working with attorneys I respect and admire. In the coming year, I’m committing to…getting better at setting realistic goals for myself professionally and personally. There’s a tendency to try to do everything, which is not realistic. I need to be more realistic…and, be honest that I require eight hours of sleep. I want to accept the fact that I won’t be at the gym at 5am and not beat myself up for missing unrealistic goals. As for progress and prosperity around the world in 2016…it would be nice to see some resolution in the Middle East with all the fighting and conflict going on. (Or, is that violating my resolution about not setting unrealistic goals? Maybe it would just be nice to turn on the news and not see another disaster going on.)

Theodore

THEODORE PARKER III

Parker Nelson Law

The highlight of my 2015 was that…my daughter got into Stanford. It’s her accomplishment so I can’t really take credit, but I’m proud. However, this professional highlight of the year was in fact mine: Examining Nevada Supreme Court Justice Ron Parraguirre on the stand (who was a plaintiff’s witness in a product liability trial involving the drug Actos). Also, getting the Law Firm of the Year Award from the National Bar Association. Looking ahead to this upcoming year, I want to…challenge myself at work and in the courtroom. Some people shy away from challenges and try to find the path of least resistance. My whole goal is to seek greater challenges. And if I could hope for something positive to happen in the world in 2016…I would hope to see an end to terrorism; but that’s beyond realistic. I’d also like to see a cure for autism. I have a niece with autism and I understand how so many people are affected. Another hope I have is I’d like to see a more congenial, almost collegial, atmosphere among Nevada lawyers. We’ve grown so much and I think we’ve lost a lot of that.

Glenn

GLEN HOWARD

Bourassa Law Group

My personal highlight of 2015 was…welcoming a new member to the family in Las Vegas. I had a nephew. I also celebrated my 40th birthday, so it’s on to bigger and better things in the new decade in my life. What made me proud professionally was that I…helped our firm implement a marketing and strategic plan that increased our new client intake by 500 percent. Beforehand, we were working off word-of-mouth, guerilla marketing. We ramped up our online advertising using applications, network and website advertising, and an online plan which really helped skyrocket our business. My New Year’s resolution for 2016 is…to become healthier, to work out more, and to spend time with my family. I would like to continue to grow our business and expand into other states and locations. I would also like to take trips to exotic locations like The Far East (China and Japan) and hopefully Fiji or somewhere in Europe.  And as for my hopes for the world in the upcoming year…I would definitely like to see less gun violence in the United States and elsewhere. I would like to see more peace and a new President that will drive us in the right direction.

Charlotte Evans is an award-winning journalist who freelances as a media relations specialist and writer. She has lived in the Las Vegas Valley since 1992, and for more than 17 years anchored the news at KLAS-TV, the CBS affiliate in Las Vegas.

Las Vegas Attorneys Reflect On The New Year.