LAS VEGAS — Christensen, Glaser, Fink, Jacobs, Weil & Shapiro LLP has opened an office in Las Vegas to serve its growing client base.

Joining Jim Mace, former head of the Real Estate, Energy and Finance Law Practice Group for Snell & Wilmer’s Las Vegas office, as a partner in Christensen Glaser’s Las Vegas office will be Las Vegas native Mandy S. Shavinsky, Joseph F. Schmitt and six other lawyers who will be joining the firm as associates.  Both Shavinsky and Schmitt worked with Mace at Snell & Wilmer.

Christensen Glaser’s past work in Las Vegas includes landmark litigation and such historic transactions as MGM MIRAGE’s acquisitions of the Mirage Resorts and Mandalay Resort Group assets.  In addition, Christensen Glaser was involved in the sale or purchase of such iconic Las Vegas landmarks as Caesars Palace, the Desert Inn, the Sands, the Stardust, the Fremont and the Marina.

In the litigation arena, in the early 1980s, the firm represented MGM Grand, Inc. in fire-related litigation arising out of the tragic 1980 fire at the former MGM Grand.  Since then, the firm has regularly handled litigation in a variety of businesses, including construction defect claims, disputes with insurers, breach of contract claims and securities litigation.

Currently, the firm serves as lead counsel for CityCenter.  The 76-acre contemporary urban development, valued at more than $7 billion, is one of the largest real estate projects ever undertaken in the United States.

With CityCenter, Christensen Glaser lawyers have been immersed in all legal matters related to construction, architecture, land use, environmental issues, contracts, hotel management, energy, retail sites and residential development.  Of particular note is the firm’s legal work involving meeting some of the most stringent environmental and energy goals ever set for a construction project.

The firm also represented MGM MIRAGE in its recent sale of a 50 percent interest in CityCenter to Dubai World.