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.
The other important business advice I received was from Kim Sinatra, general counsel of Wynn Resorts. Kim said her company is a 24-hour-a-day business, and she needs lawyers who are available to help solve its problems on a 24-hour basis. Her point was not merely that she wanted people to answer their phones at all hours of the day and night, but that she needed her lawyers to understand her business and help her solve her company’s problems. This was a reminder that lawyers are, at the end of the day, in the service business.
How have you established your business so quickly and earned such influential work?
I am sure that is a product of many factors coming together at the right time, not the least of which was good fortune. Equally important was the support from Frank Schreck. Over the course of a 17-year partnership with Frank, he provided us with an extraordinary platform that gave us the opportunity to both know and represent the who’s who of the Nevada gaming industry.
Several clients said they hire lawyers, not law firms. That philosophy was common throughout the business community. In fact, we found ourselves a bit shorthanded at the start, not realizing that virtually all of our clients and all of our cases would come with us. We are as appreciative now as we were then for that vote of confidence.
Why do you think boutique law firms are on the rise?
The idea of clients hiring lawyers, rather than law firms, seems to support the success of many boutique law firms in Nevada. I also believe, which was one of the reasons we created a boutique firm, that a concentrated practice on one area of law may give us an advantage over the general practice firms. In our boutique commercial litigation firm, every person in the firm, starting from the top all the way down to our summer clerks and interns, focuses on commercial litigation and nothing else. Our firm culture is borderline obsessive as it relates to strategizing and problem-solving. This obsession is one of our strengths.
The boutique format also allows us to control our client base and conflict network. That is, with everyone focused on one area of practice, we have a better ability to focus on client service and understanding our clients’ business and legal needs. We have the ability to ensure that we are not taking in clients who are at odds with the business interests of our core clientele. I think this loyalty to a particular market segment is part of the attraction of the boutique litigation firm.
If you could change one thing about Las Vegas, what would it be?
Though I am wholly incompetent to offer an opinion on how to fix the problem, I would love to see the public education system in Las Vegas improved dramatically. This is a problem that runs deep through all facets of our community, including the business community. An educated populous lifts the entirety of a community, not just those with kids in the system. In other words, this is a problem for all of us and will likely take the entirety of the community to fix it.
What do you do after work?
Friday nights after work are usually reserved for dinner with my mother, cousin and siblings. We usually eat a big Italian feast, clear the table and then play cards for several hours into the night. The games are serious and competitive which, as a litigator, means that they are fun. On weekends, I am usually in Southern California enjoying the perpetual 73-degree weather.
Describe your management style.
I find great benefit in delegating responsibility to younger attorneys in the office to help develop their skills and to appropriately manage the costs of any given case. While the buck always stops at our desks, we very much have a team approach to all problem solving, which is a natural offshoot of the smart people philosophy.
What is your dream job, outside of your current field?
I have always fantasized about being a chef. Cooking was a very large part of our family culture when I was a child and remains that way today. I love the artistry and complexity of cooking and admire successful chefs whenever I encounter them. With that said, I am very much aware that I romanticize the job as it is back-breaking and very difficult work.
Whom do you admire and why?
I actually admire many people, too many to list here. From the 30,000-foot level, I am an admirer of Bill Gates, but not for his success with Microsoft. I admire the responsibility that he and his wife have accepted as it relates to their extraordinary wealth. Rather than leave what has to be unimaginable resources to their own children, they set aside what they believe to be a reasonable amount for them and dedicated the remainder of their wealth to charitable causes. In short, they have set out to leave this world a better place than they found it.
What is something that people might not know about you?
It comes as a surprise to people to learn that I am a conflict avoider in my personal life. We fight for a living as litigators, and I find little room for fighting when away from the job. Some think this is a good thing, others not so much.