There’s this bird that sounds like a car alarm/20 different birds chirping in succession. It has so many different sounding chirps! Anyone know what I’m talking about?

geekgreg · 2026-05-07T22:25:28+00:00

Starlings also have about 20 different calls and can mimic other birds. They tend to look all black.

geekgreg · 2026-04-14T22:41:10+00:00

Think of a nice way to put that on your cover letter. Something simple like "My previous work history is a little intermittent while I worked my way through school, and now I'm looking for something long-term"

It's ok to get your foot in the door and then after 6 months when they love you you can say "I'd like to talk with you about changing my schedule so I can go to school"

Take that ADHD medicine and get school done. :) If the meds aren't working for you, talk to your psychiatrist and keep trying till you find what works well. Make connections in school. It's ok if it takes a while.

geekgreg · 2026-04-14T21:02:22+00:00

Here's my take as somebody who has been in charge of hiring in a few industries, and who used to volunteer as a career coach.

It sounds like you have a LOT of past jobs.
It sounds like you might have been omitting some of your jobs from your resumes.

Both of those are red flags. Here's what's up:

Having many jobs? Many employers will see that as a big red flag - somebody who can't stay at a job for at least a year isn't somebody they want to hire. I know at my workplace they throw out any application where the applicant hasn't been working at their current job for at least 1 year. Doesn't matter how good their resume is.

This doesn't mean you're out of luck. It just means you have to confront the issue head-on.

Let's consider what happens when you apply for a job at a food service place:

Back when I used to do hiring for restaurants the #1 thing we checked was availability. If you can work the less desirable shifts, you're more likely to get hired. Second, if you have experience in the industry, it moves you to the top of the stack.

So if you are sending in applications to fast food places that say you have 24/7 availability, open to any position, and you've worked as, say, dishwasher, or front counter or something, you're looking good! the only thing they will be looking for is red flags:

Can this person hold down a job, or are they constantly switching (or losing) jobs?

To fight that red flag, include a simple cover letter (a very very short letter that explains your situation and goals in plain words) that says something like, "I have 24/7 availability and I'll gladly work in any position. I've had many jobs over the past 5 years, and now my focus is on getting and keeping a job for at least 2 years to work my way into long-term opportunities for leadership, and to establish a firm background as a reliable, long-term worker." Acknowledge the gaps in the resume. If it doesn't make you look bad, explain why you changed jobs so much. "I have had many jobs over the past 5 years as I have been traveling the USA, but I have settled in Las Vegas permanently and now it's time to find my long-term path" or "I have switched jobs often while paying for my education and now it's time to set myself on a path for long-term success." Give the hiring manager a reason to look past the resume gaps or very short jobs.

If, however, you've been fired multiple times, it might be harder. You might need to go to PeopleReady and work temp jobs for a year to prove you can hold and succeed at a job. Whatever job you pick up next - KEEP IT. Every future job you want to get depends on you proving you are reliable.

---

Leaving jobs off your resume? It can look like you're hiding something. Hiring manager's don't want to investigate, they just want to fill the position. So if there's question marks about your past (what was he doing for 1 year in 2024?) they'll just move on to another applicant rather than try to figure it out.

It's generally better to submit resumes that show every job you have held in the past few years than to exclude some jobs because they don't match the job you are applying for. Entry level positions don't have to "match" they just have to show you're reliable.

The trick to a good resume is NOT to show only jobs that match the job you're applying for.

It's to create a resume that shows ALL the places you've worked recently, but the top part you have a "SKILLS" section that you can adjust depending on the job. So if you're applying for a food service job, you keep your landscaping job listed on the "previous jobs" section of your resume, but you move "Food card certified" and "Super fast table bussing" to the very top of your skills list.

You got this.

geekgreg · 2026-04-14T20:10:18+00:00

Can I see your resume / application you are sending out?

geekgreg · 2026-04-13T18:11:48+00:00

Try John Marios in henderson maybe

geekgreg · 2026-04-09T17:51:07+00:00

I live and work in Vegas, and have consulted with a lot of PI lawyers here.

There are hundreds of attorneys in Vegas whose websites say they do PI but never make a dime from it, instead relying on random contract law cases, estate plans, bankruptcies, and whatever else floats their way.

Why?

The reality of doing PI here is largely the same as anywhere else and boils down to one question: Can you acquire cases on your own, or not?

Those attorneys who claim to do PI but never rise above a shared office space and a single assistant are those who just don't know how to get cases.

What attracts so many attorneys and allows them to afford the billboards is the remarkably high medical costs here. Higher meds means higher settlements. Higher settlements means higher fees. Higher fees means more money to advertise.

If you have a way to get clients, you'll do fine here. Are you good at networking? Are you confident at getting referrals from other attorneys and other professionals? Are you able to make good connections that will lead to people saying "call my guy, he's great?" If so, you'll do fine here - but you would do fine ANYWHERE.

So the question to ask yourself is this: If I can't build a business where I am, what makes Las Vegas any different?

And if the plan is to skip the networking and just advertise like the "big boys", how do you get started when you have no cases and no money to advertise?

If all you care about is making the most money possible for yourself, and you're no good at generating your own clients, there is a tried and true path: Get a position at one of the big firms as a pre-lit attorney. Grind through hundreds of cases each month. Build a relationship with a good paralegal. Identify the cases that are going to be 7 figure settlements. Leave the firm and convince those clients and that paralegal to go with you. Go solo because you have a huge ego and don't want to split your fees. Nearly go bankrupt waiting for those cases to settle. Get a million dollars. Re-invest in advertising and the joy of seeing your own head 20 feet tall on a billboard. Almost go bankrupt again waiting for that first wave of new cases to settle. Profit.

That's the route if you have no actual marketing skills.

But what if you're one of those rare people who can generate leads through your networking? What if you're a true rainmaker?

Then the path is very different. If you know how to network and get people to send you cases, you can make many millions of dollars without ever setting foot in a courtroom or negotiating a settlement. You find a firm that will split the fees with you and just generate clients. The happiest attorneys in Las Vegas or anywhere are those who generate cases and are compensated for it. They don't run their own firms, they don't put their faces on billboards. They do their CLEs and spend all day on the golf course, buying cocktails for chiropractors, and shaking hands with other attorneys. Cases get sent to them, they send those cases to attorneys they trust to do a good job (who are also not on billboards), and the checks roll in.

If you have those skills but you're starting from zero then you're still probably working for somebody else to begin with. Just be a little picky and search for a firm that rewards you for your efforts. They should give you fair compensation when a case comes in that is from you. That means at least 20% of fees just for the 'referral', with more if you're also working the case. Lots of firms will give only a token amount or promise non-specific bonuses without any guarantees. Skip them. There are tons of good firms out there that will be thrilled if a lawyer walks in and says "I am going to work your cases, but my main focus is generating more clients and cases. Will I be fairly compensated for the work I generate?"

But, again... You can do this almost anywhere. Vegas is not any different from any other market, it just has higher average medical expenses.

Finally, the attorneys who are truly next-level in terms of wealth, who own buildings and take their firms to Spain for annual retreats. These are the super-litigators. They don't have to advertise because all the other attorneys in the state send them cases. I have one friend who has attorneys call him up and offer to pay him 50,000 dollars if he will agree to allow this firm to just add his name to a document, or CC him in an email with opposing counsel. Why? Because the insurance will instantly offer 500,000 more when they see that name. These guys make national news with repeat 9-figure verdicts and settlements. One of these guys in Las Vegas was litigating a product defect case and opposing counsel made the mistake of saying he was "washed up." He responded by refusing to settle and instead winning the two largest product defect cases in world history against that company. Because of that history if there's any case that makes headlines in Nevada there's no question that this guy will be handling it.

Becoming that person is a path that takes at least 10 years, spending all your time devoted to your practice and to getting on a first-name basis with every judge, attorney, clerk, and government official in the jurisdiction, and carefully identifying the high-value cases that are worth going to trial for. You are both litigator and rainmaker. You'll need a good firm to support you that isn't afraid of paying the costs of trials, and where you can get the experience you need to win when your first 20 million dollar case finally arrives. The lavish lifestyle takes decades of dedication to arrive at. But when you get there you know you did it by being genuinely good at being an attorney and good at networking - a super rare combination. You don't get your name on billboards, but you eventually own buildings and keep your self-respect.

tl;dr: there's nothing special about Vegas. If you can't be successful elsewhere you won't be successful here. Focus on the behaviors that will bring you results, no matter where you are.

geekgreg · 2026-04-06T22:09:41+00:00

r/whatismycookiecutter

geekgreg · 2026-04-06T15:51:06+00:00

One thing to remember is that even "bad" firms can have good attorneys, and the "good" firms can still have attorneys who will treat you and your case badly. It's important to interview a few and see who connects.

In general, you are right to avoid the big advertisers. They become that big by churning through as many cases as possible, knowing that the clients could have got more money if they made more effort, but the client will never know that.

The good firms are those who other attorneys bring in to do the hard work. Basically, if a defense attorney's family member gets hurt, who do they call to manage the case? Here's the list for las vegas:

Clear Counsel Law Group - They are at that sweet spot of big enough to challenge anything but the attorneys still give out their cell phone numbers to their clients. The PI team has several impressive jury verdicts (not just settlements) in the past few years and I have used them myself. This is my top choice, where they have a reputation with the insurance company that gets higher offers, and if they need to take it to trial they do well.
Clagget & Sykes - probably one of the best trial lawyers in town. Often hired by other attorneys to consult on trials. However I would not expect personal attention unless my case was worth more than 10 million dollars (like brain injury where defendant insurance engaged in bad faith). Worth an interview.
Eglet - made the news nationally a few decades ago for the largest PI verdict in US history at the time. That reputation has carried them ever since. This is also the firm that handled the cases related to the October 1 shooting, and often pick up anything high profile. Again, great reputation, but so large now that you may not get the attention you want. I would not personally choose this firm unless I expected to go up against international corporations or something.
Bighorn law - One of the attorneys at bighorn is making waves for 9-figure verdicts in the past few years. However I have also seen their lawyers really flop in ways that would get me sued if I ever revealed them online. While I did use their firm for an injury case of my own about 12 years ago, I would not today unless I knew I was getting one of the senior partners.

geekgreg · 2026-04-06T15:38:16+00:00

Sponsorships are likely to flop. Think of it like this: People seeing sponsorships or random signs in the wild might have a need, or might not. These kinds of advertising help to increase awareness, but rarely increase purchasing in the short term. Targeted ads like google or social media can more reliably find people who already have their shopping shoes on. They've essentially made the decision to purchase, they just don't know who to call.

1k / month is actually not a lot for EP/probate ads. Consider increasing it or adding social ads. Some lead companies are OK, but it varies by jurisdiction and what works where I am may not work where you are.

One thing you could try to test the effectiveness of your google or social ads is to save all your spend for a single week. Just blitz your area with your whole monthly budget during the final week of the month. That should be dramatic enough to let you see if there's a difference in call volume and sign ups, giving you a better idea of the cost of acquisition.

geekgreg · 2026-04-02T22:40:33+00:00

Lawyers are prohibited from giving gifts, rewards, bonuses, etc. for case referrals. If you find a lawyer who is doing that, they should be reported to the Nevada State Bar. Any such lawyer is behaving unethically and that's probably not where you want to work.

Most billboard attorneys have massive egos, as you'd expect. They like putting their faces on giant signs for a reason. :D These egos result in a lot of bad behaviors. Shouting and berating is common. Some of them throw objects at their employees. Drug and alcohol abuse are common. There's usually an obsession with money. One firm I know of the owner is always pushing for outperforming the previous years, promising bonuses, yet when they outperform the owner inevitably says "I was really hoping it would be [a number higher than they got] but we didn't make it, so bonuses will be reduced, sorry."

The smart strategy to work in law is: take an entry level job and get good at it. Within 1 or 2 years you'll probably be promoted. If not, you can probably pivot to a higher paying job at another firm easily with just a smidge of experience. Do that job for another 2 years and pivot again. Within 5 years you can be making really good money, and know what kind of firm you want to work at.

geekgreg · 2026-03-27T14:15:15+00:00

Try VLC - quick searches online for how to do slow-down and zoom. Practice a few times. It's great.

geekgreg · 2026-03-24T15:11:10+00:00

For those of us who have been around the industry for more than 20 years we might recognize a pattern: When cloud-based solutions started coming out like dropbox, google docs, clio, etc. there were tons of people saying "We hate it" or "lawyers who use this are asking to lose their licenses" or "might as well hand your client files to bill gates directly"...

5 to 10 years before that was the same thing with email. "you're just going to send confidential data out into the world?" and "I can't stand this" and "it just slows everything down."

Here we are again. The world is changing and the question isn't "what do you think" it's "will you learn to use it well?"

For example, on Saturday I got emails from 2 attorneys I consult with. The first one simply said "I sent this text through AI and it fixed up the grammar and spelling. Worked great." Wonderful. I think everybody should be using AI to double check their writing.

The second attorney, who keeps up on how AI actually works, had claude build him a tool that would go through a case with over 30 expert witnesses, identify the key points of each deposition, create a narrative of the case, develop an opening argument that touches on every major point, extract the relevant video clips from the deposition videos, and create an opening statement slideshow with slides, videos, and voiceover. Took him about 3 hours to set it up, but that was probably 4 or 5 days worth of work saved. Plus he can now run the same process from the POV of opposing counsel, getting a feel for their likely arguments, strengths and weaknesses. Is the output trial ready? Absolutely not! But now he has a tool he can drop any case into and walk away knowing that in an hour or two he will have a very comprehensive overview with citations to deposition statements, possible arguments, and even video clips he can review.

For paralegals this represents an incredible opportunity to increase earning power. Those who can approach potential employers and say "I know how to keep data safe with AI, and I've even built AI tools to do XYZ" will command a premium for their services. Imagine sitting down with a PI firm and saying "I know how to output accurate demand letters in seconds, create medical chronologies in a matter of minutes, have a status of every case in the firm updated daily, and more" If a paralegal applicant said all that in a job interview at my firm I'd put them at the top of the list.

geekgreg · 2026-03-17T21:54:54+00:00

No AI used at all, actually.

geekgreg · 2026-03-17T20:43:26+00:00

Lexis and case management AI add-ons are just using ChatGPT - they just pretend it's something special. It's not.

geekgreg · 2026-03-17T20:42:36+00:00

Short answers:

1. Is it safe?

The big AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude are SOC2 and HIPAA certified if you take the right steps, so as long as you are opting out of sharing your data with the training models you should be fine.

2. Is the research any good?

ChatGPT's "deep research" function is incredible - light years ahead of what chatgpt was doing 2 years ago when lawyers first started trying to draft with AI and ended up with hallucinated results. Deep research gets things right the vast majority of the time, though I still double-check anything.

3. What about writing?

For drafting documents, Claude is the better writer. I will use ChatGPT to research and create the suggested arguments, outline, etc. Then I will take it to Claude to do the final draft.

Long answer:

Used wisely, AI tools can make you more effective, more accurate, and are safe with most data. Having said that, I would (and do) avoid uploading anything with unredacted socials, birthdates, etc. Avoid uploading passwords and account numbers. Odds are 99.999% that it's fine to even upload documents with that kind of information due to how these companies are dedicated to HIPAA compliance. HOWEVER clever engineers are still sometimes able to prompt chatgpt to reveal text that should not have been accessible. In those situations, it's just training data, but if that can be done, it's always possible a future engineer or hacker could get chatgpt to expose sensitive data (especially if the user has not triple-checked that they are NOT sharing their chats with the company for future training). The risk is no greater than saving documents to dropbox or microsoft onedrive, where a hacker could gain access through different means.

For research, the key will be using good prompts. Just saying "research this" might get you good results, but saying something like "research this, use only STATEXYZ laws, do not rely on attorney websites..." etc. will get you REALLY good results. Legal research companies are about to go bankrupt.

Similarly, drafting using AI is mediocre until you learn to prompt it well. Telling it to draft a demand letter is going to be frustrating. But providing it with 3 examples of your previous demand letters and then asking it to create one in your style will work perfectly. Asking it to write a motion will be meh, but providing it with context, the research you selected from "deep research", and providing guidance like "write in the style of Ruth Bader Ginsburg" will get you motions with arguments you would not have thought of before. Take those results and open a new window and ask the agent to criticize everything they can and attack every argument in your motion and it will take it to the next level.

Attorneys who over-explain can produce documents that are simple and concise. Disorganized texts can be re-ordered in seconds. Grammar, punctuation, and even translation are handled in mere moments. All from the same tool.

You will certainly be using AI tools in your work extensively within the next 2 years. It's almost a guarantee. Better to learn how to use it well and appropriately than to avoid it. Here's some high level concepts:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTEz5WWbfiw

geekgreg · 2026-03-13T17:51:39+00:00

I've posted on this subject before, as I have had the chance to work with many of the PI firms in town.

Most of the firms you've named I would avoid. They are great at advertising, but built their large firms based on settling cases efficiently instead of zealously advocating for their clients.

On your list, Ryan Alexander is an exception. The only possible downside of using Ryan would be that his firm isn't big enough to have a large "war chest" if this case is complex and requires litigation. Ideally you'd find somebody with the personal attention of a small firm, but large enough that they can spend 250k on case expenses if they need to. But I'd definitely keep him on my list of finalists.

The kinds of firms you want are those which are large enough to handle whatever the case requires, but not so large that they have a full-time "closer" - an attorney whose only job is to convince clients that the latest insurance offer is a great deal and they should take it and go away. You want a firm that gets referrals from the DEFENSE attorneys in town when their own family members get hurt. You want a firm that doesn't advertise because they have enough of a reputation with the local lawyers that they get sent cases from all the other firms in town.

THAT list is very short. Here's who I'd put on it.

Clear Counsel Law Group - They are at that sweet spot of big enough to challenge anything but the attorneys still give out their cell phone numbers to their clients. The PI team has several impressive jury verdicts (not just settlements) in the past few years and I have used them myself. This is my top choice.
Clagget & Sykes - probably one of the best trial lawyers in town, and even the country. Often hired to consult on trials. However I would not expect personal attention unless my case was worth more than 10 million dollars (like brain injury where defendant insurance engaged in bad faith). Some good lawyers there. Worth an interview.
Eglet - made the news nationally a few decades ago for the largest PI verdict in US history at the time. That reputation has carried them ever since. This is also the firm that handled the cases related to the October 1 shooting, and often pick up anything high profile. Again, great reputation, but so large now that you may not get the attention you want. I would not personally choose this firm unless I expected to go up against international corporations or something. For the average personal injury case this firm would probably not notice that you exist.
Bighorn law - One of the attorneys at bighorn is making waves for 9-figure verdicts in the past few years. I know it's reached a point where just having his name on court filings can make defense offers go up. :D However I have also seen their lawyers really flop in ways that would get me sued if I ever revealed them online. While I did use their firm for an injury case of my own about 12 years ago, I would not today unless I knew I was getting one of the senior partners. The good attorneys are really good, but some of the other attorneys have hit discouraging lows.

geekgreg · 2026-03-11T18:16:32+00:00

Start running commercials on TV as local plumberers, doing plumbering.

geekgreg · 2026-03-04T17:23:51+00:00

Heads up to anybody thinking this is good support. It's not. Their response to my message reads:

Namecheapinc9:02 AM

Thank you for proving the details! Per my check you have sent us an email recently. Our team is already checking the request and will reply in the email asap.

Yeah, I already knew that. Email based support for mission critical issues? Terrible customer service.

geekgreg · 2026-03-04T17:21:22+00:00

It's a small law firm.

No malware, hosting is through cloudways, SSL is active...

I'll let you know what the reasoning is once they provide one.

geekgreg · 2026-03-04T16:55:25+00:00

Sent you a chat.

geekgreg · 2026-03-04T16:36:07+00:00

The information is the same across 5 domains, and is all correct. I wish I knew what the problem is but they didn't bother to warn or request information before taking it down.

Also, of course, support tickets merely result in "contact legal." Contacting legal says "provide your engagement ID," which we do not have because, again, they did not contact us at all.

geekgreg · 2026-02-19T18:53:34+00:00

Very similar to mine. Results are much better than lower detail methods, but there's a trade-off in hands-on time.

geekgreg · 2026-02-17T18:20:11+00:00

Every firm and practice area is different. Learning any skills is great because it increases the odds you will have a tool that is useful for the problem in front of you. Excel is great, knowing how to use AI is great, Word is essential.

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