Lawyer takes fines, reprimands, criticisms in stride

In law, victory is a matter of interpretation.

Personal injury attorney Glen Lerner agreed Wednesday to a public reprimand and a $5,000 fine from the State Bar of Nevada. Yet when I bumped into Lerner and his attorney, Dominic Gentile, at the Reno airport, Gentile happily declared, "We won."

Despite a fine and his third public reprimand, Lerner can reopen his practice in Washoe County and can advertise there to his heart's content. Plus, an allegation of attorney misconduct has been dismissed. Hence the declaration of victory.

Lerner, who dominates television airwaves and billboards with his face and phone number, was chased out of Washoe County in 2004.

Gentile said the force behind that effort was Peter Chase Neumann, another personal injury attorney who Gentile said "has an almost morbid dislike of personal injury attorneys who advertise."

The Bar brought a complaint against Lerner alleging his paralegals misled at least three clients into believing they were dealing with licensed attorneys. To settle that complaint, Lerner agreed to close his Reno office, cease his advertising there, and get out of Dodge -- I mean Reno. (The advertising restriction was before the rules on lawyers advertising were relaxed, another successful legal challenge by Gentile.)

At the time, it seemed odd Lerner was such a danger to the public that he would be banned from practicing in Reno, but not the rest of the state. But that's what he and his attorney Bill Terry agreed to do.

However, attorneys working for him kept on working with clients and filing cases.

The State Bar returned with a vengeance.

Gentile took up the case as a Fifth Amendment due process issue. "My gut told me the original order violated public policy. The Bar doesn't have the authority to restrict your practice. If anything, the Nevada Supreme Court has the absolute authority in terms of telling a lawyer he can or cannot practice."

On Wednesday, the get-out-of-town language was tossed out by a Bar panel. Lerner admitted he violated rules of professional conduct by "knowingly disobeying an obligation of a tribunal" when attorneys for his firm continued to practice in Reno. He admitted delaying a disciplinary matter by ignoring the Bar's motion to explain why he was still doing business in Reno. Gentile had told Lerner not to answer, in order to force the Bar to take action so he could challenge it.

"They were going to seek a suspension of Glen," Gentile said. "Instead of a suspension, he winds up reinstated in Reno."

In 2008, Lerner was reprimanded publicly because one of his attorneys, Kevin Rowe, was practicing law without a Nevada license, although he was licensed in Arizona, where Lerner also has offices. According to a Nevada Supreme Court opinion, Lerner also had three private reprimands involving unlicensed people practicing law in his firm.

In 2009, Lerner was reprimanded by the Bar for not showing up on the first day of a trial for a client charged with murder, which kind of leaves a guy hanging in more ways than one. Turns out it was a miscommunication between Lerner and one of his attorneys. District Judge Michelle Leavitt sanctioned and fined Lerner, but found his explanation "sincere."

Gentile said Lerner has no present intention to open a Reno office, but that doesn't mean he might not file cases there. Don't be surprised if Lerner buys a big honking billboard near Neumann's Reno law office, just to taunt the attorney.

Glen Lerner once told me he is more of a Joe Louis-style greeter than a practicing attorney, despite what his ad suggests. Other lawyers who aren't even listed on the firm's Web site handle the cases. But that's advertising for you.

Jane Ann Morrison's column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call 702- 383-0275. She also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/morrison.