Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Law Quarterly:

Legal briefs

Lewis and Roca reaches milestone in Nevada

The law firm Lewis and Roca said it has the largest intellectual property practice in Nevada and that it was recognized in the 2010 Top Patent Firms list published by Intellectual Property Today.

Firms are ranked according to the number of utility patents issued in 2009 where the firm or individual is listed as the legal representative on the registration. There are 356 law firms on the 2010 list.

Project REAL receives grants for programs

The Foundation for Relevant Education About the Law (Project REAL), a nonprofit foundation that helps students understand democracy, constitutions and Nevada’s judicial system, received grants to assist with funding programs and operational costs.

Project REAL was awarded a Robert Z. Hawkins Foundation grant, a Nevada Law Foundation grant, a Nevada Humanities grant, a Frank and Victoria Fertitta grant and a State Bar of Nevada grant. The grants were awarded to enable Project REAL to offer its five programs: Play by the Rules, Foundations of Democracy, Your Day in Court, REAL Drama and education websites.

The Nevada Law Foundation and National Humanities grants were awarded specifically to support the REAL Drama program in Clark County.

REAL Drama is designed to teach immigration law in middle and high schools through a play. The play focuses on a family of mixed immigration status involved in deportation proceedings and is performed by actors from the Las Vegas Academy of Performing Arts. After the show, an immigration professional answers students’ questions.

“Immigration is a large issue in Clark County and the purpose of REAL Drama is to give students a setting where they can talk about their feelings civilly,” said Judith Simpson, executive director of Project REAL. “After the play, the immigration professional not only answers students’ questions, but stimulates discussion of the issues raised by the play, making students feel comfortable to speak their opinions.”

Play by the Rules is Project REAL’s largest program with 25,000 students using the materials. It teaches middle school students about Nevada law relevant to their lives. The concept is simple: You can’t play the game without knowing the rules. The program will be expanded to all Nevada counties by this month.

Law firm named an affiliate of Meritas

The law firm McDonald Carano Wilson announced that the firm was recently named the new Las Vegas affiliate of Meritas, a nonprofit global alliance of business law firms.

Meritas has 170 member firms that employ more than 6,600 lawyers worldwide. The organization’s goal is to connect business owners and in-house counsel with expert worldwide legal counsel who offer local insight, local rates and superior client service.

Since 1990, McDonald Carano Wilson has served as the Meritas affiliate in Reno. The latest announcement effectively makes the firm the statewide affiliate.

State Bar gives grants to 12 nonprofit groups

The State Bar of Nevada’s Lawyer Referral and Information Service announced its 2010 grants totaling $148,843 to 12 Nevada nonprofit organizations dedicated to providing legal services and education to the community.

Each year, the grant program receives applications from organizations seeking funding for a variety of legal services and public service programs and activities. The $148,843 paid out supports grant requests determined to be most closely aligned with the missions of the State Bar and the Lawyer Referral and Information Service — a nonprofit service operated by the bar that provides free lawyer referrals to the public.

“The State Bar is firmly committed to supporting access to justice programs” said Kimberly Farmer, executive director. “The State Bar of Nevada LRIS Grant Award Program exemplifies the commitment to improve access to the legal system, to improve administration of justice, to promote better access to legal information, and to provide public education about our legal system.”

Grants were awarded to:

• Nevada Supreme Court toward the costs of the Rural Courts Videoconferencing Project.

• Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada (formerly Clark County Legal Services) toward the costs of printing brochures reflecting its name change.

• Nevada Legal Services toward the costs of the Rural Nevada Pro Bono Enhancement Project.

• Project REAL toward the costs of Play by the Rules — a law-related education program.

• Clark County Law Foundation toward the costs of the Trial By Peers Program.

• Senior Citizen’s Law Project toward the costs of community outreach services and a technology upgrade.

• Washoe County Bar Association toward the costs of the publication of “Now That You’re 18” — a legal-oriented “survival guide” for teens.

• American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada toward the costs of the One Year Indigent Project to investigate and improve Nevada’s indigent defense system.

• Asian Bar Association of Las Vegas toward the costs of the Language of Law Legal Workshops.

• Nevada Foundation for Consumer Education toward the printing and video production costs of “The People’s Law School Series.”

• Special Advocates for Elders, Washoe County toward the costs of the Safe Program.

• Special Advocates for Elders, Douglas County toward the costs of the Safe Program.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy