Editorial: A law unto themselves?

Tuesday, July 10, 2007 | 6:57 a.m.

Nevadans lodge complaints about attorneys more than almost any other state in the nation, yet when it comes time to root out the bad lawyers, law enforcement seems reluctant to do anything about them.

As reported by Sam Skolnik in Sunday's Las Vegas Sun, the Nevada State Bar Association's Client Security Fund, which reimburses people who have been ripped off by their lawyers, concluded that 21 attorneys had stolen $1.2 million from clients in 2004 and 2005.

But those attorneys were never criminally investigated or prosecuted.

This is not a priority in the legal system. It may not even be treated as a crime. The Clark County district attorney's office has only prosecuted two such cases in the past decade and none since 2002. Metro Police spokesman Bill Cassell said cases handled by the Nevada State Bar Association's Client Security Fund are civil matters. In other words, let the victim - already burned by one attorney - find another lawyer to file a lawsuit.

Las Vegas attorney John Shook, vice chairman of the fund, says change is needed. He wrote to the state attorney general's office in 2005 asking for help "in finding a simple and effective way to ensure that victims of this attorney fraud are heard and the attorneys are prosecuted."

He never received a reply. The lack of a reply is troubling considering the number of complaints lodged against attorneys and the fund's findings.

The Sun's review of complaints against attorneys in Nevada found that from 2002 to 2005 there was an average of one complaint for every five licensed attorneys. That rate is twice the national average and higher than every state but Arizona and Colorado.

Bar association officials say they are disciplining the same way other states do. The difference is that Nevada, with its explosive growth, is unlike other states.

Shook said there are some key reasons people complain. Some lawyers fall into addictive behaviors, which may lead to theft or other misconduct. Some lawyers focus on quantity, taking on a large number of clients, which potentially sacrifices quality. Some lawyers in Las Vegas may take advantage of a populace that has a lower education level than other cities.

"There's no doubt that the dynamic of a boomtown affects everything about the place," Shook said.

Unfortunately, one of the things left in the dust of Las Vegas' explosive growth has been oversight of the legal system. For example, the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline moves at glacial speed, letting the embarrassing reign of District Judge Elizabeth Halverson continue while it slowly performs its machinations behind closed doors.

Lawyers, judges and police should be moving quickly and cooperatively to address these problems because there is a perception that the legal system does not hold its own to the same standards it holds others. That must change.

The bar association and police should be working cooperatively. And the attorney general's office should take up the task of evaluating potential criminal cases involving lawyers and pursuing them. All of these investigations should be handled with vigor and a sense of urgency.

The bottom line is the public's trust, and those in the system must work harder to uphold it.