Aviva Gordon Las Vegas Lawyer, Board Director, Wife & Mom

Who is Aviva Gordon?

Aviva Gordon has been a powerhouse attorney in the state of Nevada for over 20 years. She came to the state in By Brenda Damian

1994. At the time, Las Vegas was one of the fastest growing cities in the country. The face of Las Vegas was marketed as a family friendly destination, to attract diverse groups to the city. Local businesses, tourism, hospitality,

I have clients who have been my clients for the better part of 25 years. I have seen their businesses grow, address adversity, take advantage of opportunites and really go through the entire life of their business. Aviva Gordon “ “

and real estate were booming. The city successfully attracted people from all over the world and was the perfect place for people looking to get their start. Although Aviva has witnessed tremendous growth of the city, she like others, who have been here for some time have seen the adversity the city has had to overcome. Aviva has been here front and center to see the rise and falls of the economy. She was here when 9/11 happened, the Great Recession, October 1, and now Covid-19.

An unexpected Career Turn

Aviva Gordon attended law school in California prior to making her move to Las Vegas. She moved to the city with her then boyfriend, now husband. Thus, began her wildly successful career in Law. Practicing law for over 20 years now, it is hard to imagine Aviva Gordon in any other career. However, Aviva did not initially have her eyes set on law. Aviva was a Political Science Major. She had an internship with powerhouse congressman Morris Udall in 1987.

One day while sitting at his ofce he leaned back and asked, “So young lady, what is it you think you want to do?” Aviva said, “I think I want to go into politics. This is a really exciting life and… this makes perfect sense to”. [Morris Udall] said, “you need to go to law school”. “I said, Congressman…that’s not what I said”. He said, “well, young lady… frst, if you want to be involved with the creation of laws, you need to understand how it is that those laws get applied”.

“So I beautifully listen and I went to law school, not really planning on practicing law, still thinking I was going to go into politics, but when I was in law school, really just fell in love with the litigation process and the sort of aspects of advocating for somebody or something. So, politics was left way behind and I became a practicing lawyer”.

Fresh Start

When Aviva arrived in Nevada, she didn’t know anyone other than her husband. Having no connections didn’t deter her. Aviva managed to land a job that would mark the beginning of her career and open pathways that have led her to where she is now. “Much to my beneft, I got a job with a small business boutique frm… working with two of the most exceptional attorneys I’ve ever had the privilege of Jim Mayhan who is now United States district court judge and Frank Ellis, who is a dear, dear friend and an exceptional lawyer” said, Aviva.

She started working for them doing every aspect of business representation and over time Jim Mayhan, became a judge and Aviva and Frank formed a partnership for approximately 15 years. She then had an opportunity to go in house with a property management frm. Fast forward to today, Aviva Gordon practices exclusively for Gordon Law.

Gordon Law

In 2015, Aviva Gordan established Gordon Law in Nevada. Her frm specializes in handling legal needs for smallto-medium sized businesses and their owners. Her clients have the accessibility to professionally established counsel, unlike much larger frms that may have less experienced lawyer’s handle their cases. Aviva said, “What sets me apart from some of my colleagues is really...I think probably the way that I approach my clients, and that is that when they pick up the phone, they speak to me. I am part of, the comprehensive representation of things for their frm. I have clients who have been my clients for the better part of 25 years. I have seen their businesses grow, address adversity, take advantage of opportunities and really go through the entire life of their business. It is my… tremendous privilege to be able to be an intrinsic part of their team so that we can deal with transactional things and do so in an appropriate way so that hopefully we will never have to have litigation. But if we do have to have litigation, there isn’t a learning curve for a lawyer to come in to say…What is it that we’re talking about? What kind of business? What are your documents? Unlike most of my colleagues who are either transactional lawyers or litigation counsel…I bridge both sides of that gap… I provide…my clients sort of [a] one stop shop... Transactional lawyers oftentimes don’t necessarily understand or appreciate what happens when their documents get litigated and litigation counsel oftentimes doesn’t understand or appreciate what goes into the crafting and negotiation of language within those documents. I bring to my clients both sides of that equation”.

Secret to Aviva Gordon’s success

If you ask Aviva what her secret to her success is, you may be surprised at her answer. She doesn’t have one. You can attribute her success to good old hard work and a strong passion for what she

does. Aviva Gordon does, however, say that relationships in business are especially important in our town. “What is amazing about living and working in Nevada is relationships matter…they matter every place. I think they matter more signifcantly here…Even though there are 3 million people in the state, we are still a very linked up population and if you do good work and if you are involved in the community, if you bring value to those whom you with whom you interact…the success sort of fows from there. And because we are such a relatively…from… a business standpoint, small community, if you do good work, then you know, people hear about you and people know and can rely upon you…If you don’t do a good job, people know that very, very quickly. To the extent that I have successes, those successes are based upon our community and my ability to fnd myself deeply within our community and work within our community

Las Vegas’ Community

Conversations pre and post “One October” have changed in the Southern Nevada community. Pre “One October”, the conversations surrounding the lack of community in the state were rampant amongst people who didn’t live in Southern Nevada. Locals knew this was a misconception and proved it post, “One October”. Aviva Gordon

was, of course, here during the tragic events and very much remembers those conversations. She now believes the conversations about the lack of community in the state have all but disappeared. “I think those conversations about a lack of community in Southern Nevada have really disappeared. You saw people come together in a way that was touching and beautiful and nobody, nobody asked. We just all showed up for one another. But prior to that I would say to people, whatever it is that the Las Vegas convention authority puts out, that’s fantastic for tourists. But that is not the experience that we who lived here have. I’ve lived here for a very long time and it is my home and my time…on the strip or in casinos is limited for freight meals…as many other locals, I would say my time going to the strip is really only when somebody is in town or there’s some particularized reason for it. Otherwise I live in my community. Just like everybody lives in their respective communities”, said Aviva.

Henderson local & Chamber of Commerce Board of Director

Aviva has lived in the Henderson community for 17 years now. She recalls making the choice of where to live between Summerlin and Henderson. Ultimately, she and her family decided on Henderson saying that Henderson seemed more residential and less corporate and more livable than the other options. In addition to living in Henderson, Aviva Gordon serves and advocates for small businesses in the Henderson Chamber of Commerce. “I am on the executive board of directors for the Henderson chamber of commerce. I also chair its legislative committee and its issues committee. [I’m] really passionate about all of those things. But I will say for the most part, the legislative committee, because that committee, when the legislature is in session and even when it’s not… is an extraordinarily powerful voice for the business members of the Henderson chamber of commerce, which typically are smaller to medium sized businesses that don’t necessarily have the experience or the desire or the resources for advocacy as it relates to the state legislature and as bills come through and become laws that impact them. And with a singular and strong voice, the Henderson chamber really has a seat at the table with our legislature and with the executive branch as well to say where laws can be benefcial or detrimental to smaller businesses and in the backbone of all, all business, but particularly in Nevada is small business. It is my greatest privilege to be able to advocate on behalf of those smaller businesses”.

Balancing Career &

Motherhood

When it comes to Aviva Gordon’s Career and family life, she ofers advice but playfully warns you might not want to follow it. She doesn’t claim to have it all fgured out. She like many working mother’s is just taking it day by day and not being so hard on herself. The one thing she has found helpful is, staying present, saying, “I think what makes a diference… I try my hardest and oftentimes I fall short, but I try my hardest when I’m not working… that I am present with whatever it is that is going on with my family and conversely, when I am working that I’m present”.

Having a supportive partner has also helped when it comes to having a balance with work and family life. Aviva Gordon’s husband is a stay at home parent, and she says he does so selfessly and is grateful for their partnership. “None of that works without my husband’s involvement…he’s a stay at home dad and he has been since 2004. Which…enables me to dedicate and devote…parts of me to the community and to my business…I’m able to… confdently know that our children are being properly cared for…we see it truly as a partnership. There are things that I do for our family. There are things that he does for our family…it doesn’t always work and there are certainly times when diferent viewpoints create challenges. But I would say being true to who you are, trust all that you love to be true to who they are.

Remaining Hopeful during an uncertain time

Nevada has stood the test of time through tough times. For people like Aviva Gordon who have been here to witness the difcult moments, they remain hopeful that the community will unite and rise again. Perhaps a new normal will be forced upon some who’s businesses or jobs have been impacted, if you’ve proven to have a fghting spirit and brave enough to even start a business, that bravery doesn’t just go away. Aviva Gordon said, “We are strong and resourceful and creative and innovative. And you will see…new businesses that are born of the pandemic and you may very well see some businesses that do not come back. Some of the fundamentals are just not, strong enough to, to survive something like this. That doesn’t mean that those business owners and those people that are working in those businesses won’t survive. It just means that the business won’t survive. Those people… who have taken a chance to become business owners, they have a special kind of DNA within them and will fnd their path…I think what we need to make sure of though is…when we get to a point where we can reopen… that we’re cautious about it without being fearful about it. There’s a diference between those two things…to really recognize we are all in this together and to help other businesses. I’m doing that now. I’ve done a few webinars that have talked about some of the federal programs that have come through that have afected businesses and employers. I remain available to talk to people about what they can, cannot, should and should not do with their businesses right now. I wish I had a crystal ball to say on this date this is what it’s going to be. And they also know that shutting things down happens much more quickly than opening things back up and it, there’s going to be a recovery period. But…we are strong and creative, and I think that’s what it takes.” LV

Website: gordonlawlv.com Phone: (702) 527-5557 Address: 2850 W. Horizon Ridge Pkwy., Suite 200 Henderson, NV 89052 Email: agordon@GordonLawLV. com

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