Casino Enterprise Management

The law firm of Dickinson Wright continues to bolster its growing gaming practice through a recent expansion in the Silver State, adding three Nevada-based gaming specialists and giving its legal team even more depth in the complex global gaming arena.

Dickinson Wright, headquartered in Detroit, boasts a team of 375 lawyers with diverse specialties that cover the entire spectrum of today’s commercial and Indian gaming industries, both nationally and internationally. It operates 13 offices in six states, the District of Columbia and Toronto, Canada, and it has cooperation agreements with MdME in Macau; with Velchev & Co. in Sophia, Bulgaria; in Malta with WH Partners; and in Lima, Peru with Varela & Fonseca.

The gaming practice has more than 30 lawyers focusing on a variety of areas, including regulatory, tax, finance, real estate, mergers and acquisitions, human resources, trademark, patent, copyright and litigation.

Bringing aboard the three new gaming specialist attorneys strengthens an already deep bench and underscores the firm’s commitment to serving an increasingly global industry, Robert Stocker, who leads the gaming practice, said in a recent interview.

While legal gaming in the United States started out being quite state-specific, first in Nevada and later Atlantic City, N.J., it has grown tremendously nationally and internationally. “And the reason for that is the Internet. The Internet is the most significant technological advancement since the invention of the printing press because what it has done is it has broken down country and state barriers,” Stocker said. “So the reality in the legal business is that today gaming is an international business.”

Examples are abundant, he said, pointing to the expansion into new international jurisdictions by U.S. gaming operators, mergers and acquisitions activity on the manufacturer side and the march of Internet gaming into new territories.

Dickinson Wright’s gaming practice is uniquely equipped to help clients navigate the complex issues they face in an increasingly global gaming arena.

“In-house legal counsel doesn’t like having to deal with 300 lawyers. What they want to be able to deal with is a very small group of lawyers that can address their issues on a regional, national and global basis, because then their lawyers really understand the big picture of their business, but also it’s very cost effective, because if you have one law firm handling issues on a broad territorial basis, that’s going to be a heck of a lot less expensive than if you have 30 law firms doing it,” Stocker said.

Dickinson Wright recognized this practical reality more than a decade ago and has bolstered its gaming practice accordingly, Stocker said. One early move Dickinson Wright made was asking Toronto-based gaming lawyer Michael Lipton to join the firm.

“My approach to Michael and asking him to join the firm was a recognition of this international basis because Canada was a lot more open to things through the lottery in each of the provinces, and so, before most U.S. lawyers were even thinking about it, he was dealing with Internet issues and international issues for all the operators that were outside of North America wanting to come in and do business with the lotteries,” Stocker said. “And it was the beginning of the vision that the firm had that I was asked to implement and that Michael and I have now been working diligently to implement in terms of developing a gaming practice that is absolutely international in scope. That’s why we have the cooperation agreements.”

While the firm’s gaming attorneys are well equipped to understand the international gaming scene, Stocker said it’s important to have relationships with experts on the ground in specific jurisdictions.
Dickinson Wright has such relationships with respected firms in Peru, Malta, Macau and Bulgaria.

“I think we’re the first practice really focusing on being truly an international gaming law firm. We think we’re there already, but we keep building on it,” Stocker said.

Lipton agreed. “The industry has grown dramatically since its origins in this state and some of the companies that are the giants of the industry today reflect the international aspect of the industry,” he said. “Scientific Games is a perfect example. It’s a worldwide company from the perspective of providing different types of gaming services, whether it’s lottery, scratch tickets, slot machines and the like.”

Regulators, while only regulating their particular jurisdiction, often effect change in other regions, Lipton said. “More and more regulators have memorandums of understanding and so there is communication among regulators on an international basis—you do something in one jurisdiction, and that has a ripple effect in another jurisdiction.”

Lipton saw this happening early on in the 1990s when he started to become involved in Internet gaming-related work. “I quickly saw that the opportunity was there, and by getting out there, speaking on a global basis, writing articles on a global basis, we quickly became known as a firm that had an international type of operation. And to a large degree if you follow the North American gold standard, you can take that anywhere and as long as that’s the advice that you’re giving to your clients, then whether it’s Hong Kong, Macau, South America, Mexico or Europe, if you follow that particular gold standard, you’ll be OK,” he said. “And to a large degree we owe that to our Nevada compatriots, because of the way they were able to bootstrap this industry and bring it to the position that it is today in 2015.”





























Nevada Strong
Because of the manner in which Nevada has set the bar for gaming expansion and regulatory evolution, it has paved the way for firms such as Dickinson Wright, Lipton said.

“Our task has been made easier from a perspective that we espouse the gold standard with the recognition that we are of an international caliber and we offer these services on an international basis and have developed a very strong profile, a network of clients, in relation to people who not only want to come to North America, but also people who are from North America who want to go out to various areas throughout the world,” Lipton said. “We continue to grow and develop that particular practice. Las Vegas is the mecca of the gaming world. It’s the mecca from a legal perspective, and with the addition of these three lawyers who are sitting in this room today, we think that we have been able to establish a new gaming law force here in Nevada from an international perspective.”

These three experienced Nevada attorneys are helping to bring Dickinson Wright’s diverse and global force to bear in Nevada, Stocker said. “That’s not to say there are not other good gaming lawyers out here; there are many of them. They’re excellent, but we think that we have something unique in terms of our international aspect, our size and the reputation and the profile that we have and the roster of clients on a global basis,” he said. “And with these three people here, it just absolutely complements what we’ve been doing and we’re thrilled to know that they are here.”

So who are the three Nevada-based lawyers who have recently joined Dickinson Wright’s gaming practice? They are Jennifer Gaynor and Greg Gemignani, who came to the firm from Lionel Sawyer & Collins, and Kate Lowenhar-Fisher, who came to the firm from Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP.

Greg Gemignani has a systems engineering background that makes him an invaluable counselor to gaming technology companies and for advice and comment on gaming statutory and regulatory requirements. Kate Lowenhar-Fisher has spent her entire career practicing all aspects of gaming law and has extensive experience handling complex multi-jurisdictional gaming transactions. Jennifer Gaynor has a decade of experience advising on and pursuing legislative and regulatory strategies before state and local agencies.

Dickinson Wright often consults with other jurisdictions seeking to implement gaming, Stocker said, citing work for states, Indian country jurisdictions and international jurisdictions. “With the kind of expertise sitting here in this room collectively we’re able to really provide consulting services to countries worldwide that are looking at either entering into the gaming market or at expanding into, for example, Internet gaming,” he said.

Gemignani said, while proud to have worked with attorneys such as the late Bob Faiss and former Sen. Richard Bryan at Lionel Sawyer, he is honored to have joined the Dickinson Wright team, and he praised the caliber of attorneys in the gaming practice. “It’s a rare opportunity,” Gemignani said, “and I’m fortunate that the opportunity arose when it did.”

Lowenhar-Fisher said her 14 years at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Shreck working with Frank Shreck, David Arrajj and Ellen Schulhofer gave her an in-depth education in gaming law transactions—including its most recent move into Internet gaming.

“I’ve gotten to watch the evolution of gaming law—from authorizing of legislation for Internet gaming, fast-forward a decade to developing the regulations and to being involved in licensing some of the first Internet gaming operators in the country and having the opportunity to work with world-class international service providers, the people who have the know-how to bring Internet gaming to our brick-and-mortar casinos, and to facilitate those conversations with our regulators.”

She said she has followed the careers and worked with her counterparts over the years.

“I’ve had the good fortune to follow Jen’s career, and she’s done some very good work, and I’ve been across the table from Greg many times and side-by-side with him in a million conferences in our tiny ecosystem so I know his good work,” Lowenhar-Fisher said. “So this is all serendipity for me. I think I was in a fantastic place when I started my career to learn what I learned, and then I get a call from Dickinson Wright, and I have known Bob and Michael professionally for a long time, and I have always been just extremely impressed by the two of them, and I’ve learned a lot from the two of them over the years, and it was just a great opportunity for me to help launch the Las Vegas gaming practice.”

Gaynor also praised her peers, Lowenhar-Fisher and Gemignani.

“I’m incredibly glad that I landed here with Kate and Greg. We all do slightly different things, but when we work together we kind of do a little bit of everything when it comes to the gaming world,” Gaynor said.

Like Gemignani, Gaynor came from Lionel Sawyer, where she was employed for 10 years and worked with Faiss, who is often credited with helping write the state’s gaming regulations. “You couldn’t learn from anyone better. And one of the great things about working with Bob is even though we were a Nevada-only firm, his focus on gaming was always very international, so throughout my career working with him, helping him with projects, doing research into developing gaming in different countries and jurisdictions, I’ve always seen it as a very global thing and understood how it comes back to Nevada, and the reason they came back to Bob was he helped write the gaming laws here, and those are the gaming laws that are copied and promulgated all around the world. I’m very glad I landed at a firm that understands that and really has an international footprint.”

The attorneys also touched on some of the issues likely to be debated during the current Nevada legislative session. “The gaming bills are percolating,” Gaynor said. “I know one of the things that they’re working on is how do they deal with licensing of associated equipment manufacturers.”

Another issue likely to come before the Legislature is casino nightclubs, and whether certain employees should be registered as gaming employees, Gemignani said.

The elephant in the halls of the Legislature is Nevada’s budget shortfall and how business, including gaming, may face new taxes and fees to fill the hole created by the revenue shortfall. “It’s on the table,” Gaynor said during the interview a week before the Legislature got down to business. “We’ve heard about the governor’s business license fee plan, which is pretty simple but not that simple when it comes down to it. If that comes forward I think you’re going to see a lot of carve outs and exemptions and very careful wording.”

Gaynor expects the session will produce some revenue-increasing plan because of the urgency of needing funds to provide essential services. “Part of what I’ve heard is every business in the state of Nevada wants to be part of the solution; they just don’t want to be the only one,” she said. “Obviously there’s going to be a lot of horse trading. There’s going to be a lot of negotiating. There’s going to be a lot of devils in the details by the time this all comes out.”

Growth Trajectory
While the three newest gaming attorney members will be kept plenty busy, they’re also likely to see their ranks expand. Dickinson Wright, which has been recognized by American Lawyer magazine as one of the top 200 law firms in the country, continues to grow, Lipton said. “We have found the secret sauce to attracting and developing and growing with laterals,” while maintaining the firm’s culture and identity. “It’s just a good place for many people to come and practice law. And you’re looking at two people who were successfully recruited as laterals: Bob and I.”

Stocker said the firm has made a conscious investment in gaming’s up-and-coming lawyers in Nevada, where Dickinson Wright has had offices since 2010.

“We all know that the regulatory lawyers in gaming are actually a small group of people, and there are excellent lawyers in this state, some of whom are aging,” he said. “The next generation is coming up and is poised to become leaders in the industry as we move forward, and I think that it is very important that a firm has a strong complement of the bright, knowledgeable and well-respected members of the generation of gaming lawyers who are becoming leaders in the gaming industry. Greg, Kate and Jennifer are significant members of this generation and are perfect fits for Dickinson Wright’s growing Nevada presence.”

Marian Green is the managing editor of Casino Enterprise Management. She can be reached at (702) 630-9409 or marianbg[at]aol.com.