Legal Question in Employment Law in Nevada

If you are on your way to district court, I presume that you have already been denied benefits twice, once before a appeal hearing referee and the once before a board of review. After working in this area of law for quite some time, it is my opinion that you needed a lawyer most when you participated in your first appeal before a hearing referee. Assistance from a lawyer at that initial stage would have far less costly than assistance from one now. That first appeal was the only opportunity you had to present evidence, make objections to the admission of evidence, and to present legal arguments. The district court will not allow you to present new evidence that you should have presented at the first hearing, and generally, the court will not allow you to present legal arguments under new theories. The court also will not reevaluate credibility evidence, so if you did not adequately impeach witnesses, you likely lost any opportunity to do so now. At the district court level, an lawyer will likely cost you much more than you would have spent at the initial stages, particularly because the lawyer will have to review the appeal transcript one or more times prior to preparing for the district court hearing. We always advise our clients to make the strongest showing possible (which usually requires legal assistance) at the first appeal hearing, particularly because one has the best chance of prevailing at that level, and it's generally much cheaper to prevail at that level.