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Nine Murchison & Cumming Lawyers Recognized by 2025 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America

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Murchison & Cumming, LLP is pleased to announce that nine attorneys have been recognized in the prestigious The Best Lawyers in America® (2025 Edition). This honor is a testament to their unwavering commitment to excellence and providing exceptional service to clients. The recognition underscores a lawyer’s dedication to achieving the best outcomes for their clients, upholding the highest ethical standards, and contributing positively to the legal community.

Jean A. Dalmore, Senior Partner in the Los Angeles office, has been recognized in the area of Litigation – Construction. Ms. Dalmore focuses her practice on construction litigation, representing developers, general contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers and design professionals in breach of contract, construction defect, professional negligence, and construction site accident cases. Ms. Dalmore also practices in professional liability, defending design professionals in construction, as well as insurance agents, real estate agents, brokers, accountants, and other design professionals in malpractice actions.

Michael J. Nunez, Senior Partner in the Las Vegas office, has been recognized in the areas of Appellate Practice, Litigation – Insurance, and Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants. Mr. Nunez focuses his practice on wrongful death, severe injury, transportation, product liability, malpractice, wage and hour claims, and defends clients in lawsuits involving construction accidents, water rights, and premises liability. Mr. Nunez is a founding board member of the Las Vegas Defense Lawyers (a civil defense bar) and serves on the Board of Directors for the Clark County Bar Association.

Friedrich W. Seitz, Senior Partner in the Los Angeles office, has been recognized in the area of Product Liability Litigation – Defendants. Mr. Seitz served as Managing Partner of the firm from 1986 to 2007. He focuses his practice on defending Electrical Utility companies in wildland fire cases, domestic and international product liability, aviation, catastrophic injuries and business litigation.

Matthew H. Printz, Partner in the San Diego office, has been recognized in the area of Litigation – Construction. Mr. Printz focuses his practice on construction and general liability law, representing developers and subcontractors in construction defect litigation, mechanic’s lien actions, and public works projects, while also handling products liability, personal injury, and professional liability cases.

William J. Snyder, Partner in the San Diego office, has been recognized in the area of Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants. Mr. Snyder focuses his practice on litigation in the areas of product liability, catastrophic injury, transportation, general and professional liability, employment, foodborne illness and environmental law/toxic torts.

Bryan J. Ure, Partner in the Las Vegas office, has been recognized in the area of Litigation – Construction. Mr. Ure also practices in the areas of healthcare, product liability, commercial litigation, and personal injury defense.

David A. Winkle, Partner in the Irvine office, has been recognized in the area of Litigation – Health Care. Mr. Winkle focuses his practice in the areas of health law and related litigation, including staff privileges and disputes, professional liability defense, and employment law. He regularly defends hospitals, doctors and other medical providers and professionals in medical malpractice actions.

Gregory A. Sargenti, Associate Partner in the Irvine office, has been recognized in the area of Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants. Mr. Sargenti focuses his practice in the areas of IP litigation, patent and trade mark prosecution, product liability defense, general liability, hospital and professional liability defense, hospitality, and general business litigation, insurance coverage and bad faith litigation.

Tyler N. Ure, Associate Partner in the Las Vegas office, has been recognized in the area of Commercial Litigation. Mr. Ure focuses his practice on insurance coverage and general liability. He also has experience in all areas of commercial litigation as well as creditor’s rights.

The Best Lawyers in America® is one of the most respected peer-review publications in the legal profession. Being included is a reflection of a lawyer’s impact on their field and the trust they have earned from both clients and fellow legal professionals.

Murchison & Cumming Names Two New Associate Partners

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Murchison & Cumming, LLP is pleased to announce that Julie Esposito and Tyler Ure have been elevated to Associate Partner.

Julie A. Esposito is based in the Los Angeles office, focusing her practice on general liability, products liability, and professional liability. Her experience includes handling matters in the arena of SIU (fraud) claims as well as assisting in the investigation of suspicious motor vehicle accidents and various property theft claims for several major insurance carriers.

Ms. Esposito served as a Judge pro tem for Los Angeles County and worked pro bono for the California Innocence Project and in the arena of constitutional law.

Julie received her B.A. in Political Science at California State University Northridge, awarded cum laude. She earned her J.D. at Loyola Law School, attending school at night while she worked as a law clerk during the day.

Tyler N. Ure is based in the Las Vegas office focusing his practice on insurance coverage, commercial litigation, and general liability. His experience includes representing clients ranging from national financial institutions to small business in the area of creditor’s rights.

Tyler received his Bachelor of Music with an emphasis in jazz studies from University of Nevada, Las Vegas, awarded cum laude. He continued onto William S. Boyd School of Law (J.D.) graduating magna cum laude. While in law school, he was an Editor of the Nevada Law Journal.

About Murchison & Cumming

Murchison & Cumming, LLP is a premier “Go-To” civil litigation firm with six offices throughout California and Nevada. Our attorneys specialize in the defense of domestic and international businesses, insurers, and high net-worth individuals, at trial and on appeal. Additionally, the firm’s attorneys handle employment matters and business transactions. Murchison & Cumming, LLP is a member of the USLAW Network and other prestigious bench and bar organizations, including the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel (FDCC) and American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA).

Seven Murchison & Cumming Lawyers Recognized by 2023 Editions of The Best Lawyers in America and The Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America

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Michael Nuñez , Anton Handal, William Snyder, Bryan Ure, and Tyler Ure have been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America 2023. Joshua Praw and Georgiana Nikias have been recognized by Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch.

Michael J. Nuñez is a Senior Partner and the Partner-in-Charge of M&C’s Las Vegas office and is a member of the firm’s Diversity Committee. Mr. Nuñez focuses his practice on general and professional liability litigation, hospitality, HOA, D&O, breaches of fiduciary duties, corporate litigation, contract disputes, and employment related matters.

Anton N. Handal is a Partner in the San Diego office and heads up the firm’s Business Transactions and IP Practice Groups. His practice focuses on business transactions including M&A and corporate structures. Mr. Handal also specializes in handling complex business disputes involving the Lanham Act, patent infringement, breaches of fiduciary duty, partnership break-ups, professional liability, products liability, anti-trust, and trade secrets litigation.

William J. Snyder is a Partner in the San Diego office and is the co-chair of the firm’s Food Borne Illness Practice Group. He focuses his practice on defending civil litigation lawsuits, including cases involving foodborne illness, product liability, catastrophic injury, maritime liability, general liability, representation of public entities, environmental law/toxic torts, professional liability, and employment litigation.

Bryan J. Ure is a Partner in the Las Vegas office focusing his practice on defense litigation in the areas of construction, business, products liability, and healthcare.

Tyler N. Ure is Senior Associate in the Las Vegas office focusing his practice on insurance coverage and general liability. He also has experience in all areas of commercial litigation as well as creditor’s rights.

Joshua W. Praw is a Partner in the Los Angeles office focusing his practice on commercial general liability, products liability, toxic tort, and construction defect. Mr. Praw Co-Chair’s the firm’s Summer Associate Program and Post-Bar Law Clerk Program where he trains, mentors, and oversees the firm’s summer associates and post-bar law clerks.

Georgiana A. Nikias is an Associate Partner in the Los Angeles office. She has experience in business litigation, trademark litigation, copyright litigation, employment law, products liability, general liability, art law, and commercial real estate litigation.

Best Lawyers is “the oldest and most respected peer review publication in the legal profession. Recognition in Best Lawyers is widely regarded by both clients and legal professionals as a significant honor, conferred on a lawyer by his or her peers.”

Five Murchison & Cumming Lawyers Recognized by Best Lawyers

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Chip Farrell, Jean Daly, William Snyder, and Tyler Ure have been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America 2022. Joshua Praw has been recognized by Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch; this is an honor for lawyers who have been in practice for 5 – 9 years.

Edmund G. “Chip” Farrell, III is a Senior Partner in the Los Angeles office. Mr. Farrell serves as Chair of the firm’s Appellate Law practice group and Co-Chair of the Professional Liability practice group. As chair of the Appellate Law group, he has been involved in the handling of over 400 appeals and writ petitions and has argued before the California Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and in all six districts of the Court of Appeal of the state of California. He has been certified as an Appellate Specialist by the State Bar of California. Additionally, Mr. Farrell has devoted much of his practice to the defense of professional liability claims, including attorneys and brokers.

William J. Snyder is a Partner in the San Diego office and serves as Co-Chair of the firm’s Foodborne Illnesses practice group. In addition to foodborne illnesses litigation, he focuses his practice in the areas of product liability, catastrophic injury, general liability, professional liability, employment, representation of public entities, and environmental law/toxic torts.

Tyler N. Ure is Senior Associate in the Las Vegas office and focuses his practice on insurance coverage, professional liability, and commercial general liability. He has experience in all areas of commercial litigation as well as creditor’s rights.

Joshua W. Praw is an Associate in the Los Angeles office focusing his practice on commercial general liability, products liability, and toxic tort. Mr. Praw Co-Chair’s the firm’s Summer Associate Program and Post-Bar Law Clerk Program where he trains, mentors, and oversees the firm’s summer associates and post-bar law clerks.

Best Lawyers is “the oldest and most respected peer review publication in the legal profession. Recognition in Best Lawyers is widely regarded by both clients and legal professionals as a significant honor, conferred on a lawyer by his or her peers.”

What Whistleblower Laws Mean for Your Small Business

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By: Tyler N. Ure

If you run a small business, chances are you have not spent much time thinking about whistleblowers and whistleblower protection. Many high-profile whistleblower cases involve sounding the alarm on fraud and government contracts, but government contractors are not the only ones who need to understand whistleblower laws. Virtually any employee “who blows the whistle” on unlawful activity is entitled to protections. There are a number of state and federal whistleblower protection laws, but OSHA oversees a large swath of these protections.

What Whistleblower Laws does OSHA Enforce?

OSHA’s mandate is broad. OSHA will oversee whistleblower claims relating to workplace safety or health, asbestos in schools, cargo containers, airline, commercial motor carrier, consumer product, environmental, financial reform, food safety, health insurance reform, motor vehicle safety, nuclear, pipeline, public transportation agency, railroad, maritime, motor vehicle safety, and securities laws. Chances are, if you are running any kind of business, OSHA is going to have some oversight involving whistleblower protection.

When Does OSHA Get Involved?

All Whistleblower laws try to prevent retaliation against an employee for engaging in a protected activity. An employee is engaging in a protected activity if they report violations of the law to any person or state or local government. An employer retaliates by undertaking any kind of adverse unfavorable personnel action including termination, demotion, denying overtime or promotion, discipline, reducing pay or hours, and suspension. An employee who is retaliated against may file a complaint with OSHA which triggers an investigation.

How to protect against retaliation claims

Once an employee has complained, a business needs to proceed cautiously. The employee can still be disciplined for conduct not related to the whistleblowing, but any kind of discipline is probably going to be construed as retaliation.

Every business should create a whistleblower policy and then follow it meticulously. Components of this policy might include:

  • Have a complaint system and investigate complaints thoroughly. You want to promote a culture of openness. This includes having a complaint system that protects both the person coming forward with the complaint and the target of the complaint. Even if you discover that another employee is not complying with legal requirements, chances are they are making innocent mistakes that can be corrected early.
  • Document, document, document. Every step of the investigation needs to be documented. Employee statements should be written down. The dates and outcomes of any steps of the investigation could be recorded. Records are key in making sure the investigation is fair and proving that later. Your employee is probably keeping a real-time journal, you need to do the same.
  • Proceed cautiously with discipline. Any discipline is going to be perceived as retaliatory. If you must discipline the employee for other conduct, make sure best efforts are made to explain the reasons for the disciplinary action to the employee. Again, document those reasons clearly and thoroughly.

Quenching Nevada’s Thirst for Beer: Checklist for Starting a Nevada Brewery

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By: Tyler N. Ure and Bryan J. Ure

Murchison & Cumming Blog: Post 85

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For many, turning their passion into a business comes with equal parts excitement and trepidation. When it comes time to turn that passion into profit, that initial enthusiasm can be quickly tempered by legal and regulatory hurdles. Those who have turned their home-breweries into commercial breweries know this pain particularly well. Nevada presents unique challenges to this process in part due to laws that have not kept up with the emerging craft brew industry.

While the manufacture and sale of beer is highly regulated at many levels, craft breweries continue to expand at an ever increasing pace. Nevada is lagging well behind other states, but it is expected that the brewery drought of the hot desert will soon be quenched. In 2015, craft breweries expanded to make up 21% of the total U.S. Beer market. With such growth, Nevada should follow suit.

The market for Nevada is prime, and this is good news for brewers. Nevada, which imposes more stringent regulations than most other states is missing out on some of this phenomenal growth. In 2014, Nevada had 25 breweries, ranking 39th in breweries per capita. This presents both challenge and opportunity for those willing to embark on their goals.

Craft Brewers are no strangers to complex tasks. Just like careful attention is paid to mash schedules and boil times to get the best product in the glass, there’s a pattern to follow if you want to get that product to a paying consumer. To get started, the checklist seems easy enough, but it can be complicated by the practicalities of regulation. Because most brewers enjoy brewing first, and business second, the goals of opening a brewery can be at odds for your typical brewer. If you have the right amount of dedication (and capital), there are a few basic requirements to get started.

You’ve most likely already done step one, figure out what to call your brewery. You’re going to want to make sure that the name, or a similar name, is not already taken. A quick Google search is a good place to start, but you should also check the Nevada Secretary of State, and the United States Patent and Trademark Database.

With the perfect name selected, it’s time to form a legal entity and obtain trademark protection. Forming a legal entity, such as an LLC or a corporation, is an important early step as it would help protect your personal assets from the liabilities of the brewery. It’s also a good time to hammer out the responsibilities between several owners of the brewery. At this point, it’s a good time to contact a lawyer specializing in the brew industry. A mistake on your corporate setup could cost you both time and a lot of money. Especially if you have partners and employees, the process becomes more complicated legally. Contacting qualified legal counsel will also be beneficial for the remaining few steps on your way to opening a Nevada brewery or brewpub.

A trademark protects your brand name and logos associated with the brewery’s goods. The trademark process can take 12 to 18 months and begins by filing an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”). If the USPTO determines that there is a reason your mark should not be registered, you will be notified and given an opportunity to respond. If there is no objection to application, the mark is published giving others a chance to object. If there are no objections, the mark becomes registered by the USPTO. Each name and individual label for your beer should be trademarked.

You are also going to need to file a “Brewer’s Notice” with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (“TTB”). It can be a daunting and lengthy process, so it is best to start as soon as practical. Before you begin making beer for sale, the TTB has to approve your operation, recipes, and beer labels.

Nevada also requires a brewer to obtain a license from the State of Nevada, as well as other local license. There are two routes at this point: the operation of a brewery or the operation of a brew-pub. Brew pubs are an exception to the three-tier scheme which allows a brew-pub operator to sell directly to consumers. There is, however, currently a 15,000 barrel annual cap on production. There is no cap on a brewery’s production, but a brewery is prohibited from selling beer directly to the public. In addition to obtaining a state license, a brew pub must obtain an appropriate local retail liquor license.

If you’ve decided to open a brew-pub, it’s time to start brewing. If you’ve opened a brewery, one more note of caution– you’re going to want to carefully consider your agreements with distributors. A contract with a distributor is a long-term arrangement and can be difficult to terminate. This is perhaps the single most significant hurdle to starting a brewery and making it profitable. Nevada law on distribution is unique and challenging, but there are solutions.

Despite the legal hurdles, momentum is still strong in the craft-brewery industry. Having the right information and guidance is critical in ensuring your business opens smoothly. If you would like more information on how to start a Nevada brewery, we can help. As Nevada and California lawyers, we maintain the experience necessary to helping you open and run your brewery without having to worry about the regulations that reduce most brewer’s plans into nothing more than wort.

Tyler N. Ure is an attorney and home brewer who has a fondness for brewing german altbier. Bryan J. Ure is also an attorney, who has a fondness for drinking german altbiers.

Murchison & Cumming Welcomes New Senior Associate to the Las Vegas Office

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Murchison & Cumming, LLP is pleased to announce that Tyler N. Ure has joined the firm’s Las Vegas office as a Senior Associate. Mr. Ure focuses his practice on commercial litigation including general liability. He has previous experience in all areas of commercial litigation as well as creditor’s rights.

Mr. Ure is a graduate of William S. Boyd School of Law (J.D.) where he graduated Magna Cum Laude and was an Editor of the Nevada Law Journal. While in law school Mr. Ure was a Judicial Extern for Judge Philip M. Pro with the United States District Court. At University of Nevada, Las Vegas (B.M.) Mr. Ure graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Music with an emphasis in jazz studies.

“We are very happy to have Tyler on the team,” said Partner-in-Charge Michael J. Nunez. “He comes to us with a very impressive background and a sterling reputation in the legal community.”

About Murchison & Cumming, LLP
With a firm history dating to 1930, Murchison & Cumming, LLP is a premier, AV-rated civil litigation firm with five offices in California and Las Vegas, whose attorneys specialize in the defense of domestic and international businesses, insurers and individuals, at trial and on appeal. The firm’s attorneys also handle employment matters and business transactions. The firm is a member of the USLAW and Insuralex Networks.