UNLV Law Magazine 2018

CELEBRATING 20 YEARS

UNLV Law THE MAGAZINE OF THE WILLIAM S. BOYD SCHOOL OF LAW | 2018

A LAW SCHOOL IS (BATTLE) BORN Jason Frierson, Barbara Buckley and other leaders look back at the origins and impact of Nevada’s first law school

GOVERNOR SANDOVAL JOINS THE BOYD FAMILY // MEET 7 ALUMNI NOW SITTING ON THE BENCH

UNLV Law

CELEBRATING 20 YEARS

UNLV Law THE MAGAZINE OF THE WILLIAM

2018

S. BOYD SCHOOL OF LAW | 2018

features A LAW SCHOOL IS (BATTLE) BORN other leaders look back Jason Frierson, Barbara Buckley and first law school at the origins and impact of Nevada’s

GOVERNOR SANDOVAL JOINS THE

BOYD FAMILY // MEET 7 ALUMNI

NOW SITTING ON THE BENCH

ON THE COVER

Nevada Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson and Barbara Buckley, Executive Director of the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada and former Nevada Assembly Speaker, pose in front of the William S. Boyd School of Law on the UNLV campus.

(Connie Palen)

NEVADA BOARD OF REGENTS UNLV appreciates the leadership and support of our Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents.

Kevin J. Page, Chairman Jason Geddes, Ph.D.,Vice Chairman Dr. Andrea Anderson Dr. Patrick R. Carter Carol Del Carlo Mark W. Doubrava, M.D. Trevor Hayes Sam Lieberman Cathy McAdoo John T. Moran Allison Stephens Rick Trachok Anthony L. Williams Dr. Thom Reilly, Chancellor Dean J. Gould, Chief of Staff and Special Counsel to the Board of Regents

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LEADING THE WAY

As outgoing Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval prepares for his new role as UNLV Law’s Distinguished Fellow in Law and Leadership, he and his colleagues—including a few adversaries—look back on a life dedicated to serving others.

Contents features

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ALL RISE

Boyd alumni are making a difference all across Nevada in every sector of law. That includes the judiciary, where seven alums currently mete out justice from the bench.

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LIVING THE HIGH LIFE

Several people with ties to Boyd played a part in what was a hugely successful first year for the recreational marijuana industry.

And as this budding business grows, the legal opportunities for future Boyd graduates are endless.

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AN ORAL HISTORY ON THE ORIGINS OF UNLV LAW

As Boyd celebrates its 20th anniversary, journey back in time with those who helped create Nevada’s first accredited law school, and learn how a dream became reality.

departments

2 FROM THE DEAN’S DESK 4 OPENING ARGUMENT 6 CENTERS & CLINICS 10 GIVING BACK 12 WHO KNEW? 46 FACULTY FOCUS 52 THE GALLERY 56 CLASS ACTIONS 60 DONORS 64 REMEMBERING 1 OCTOBER 2018 | UNLV Law

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A MESSAGE FROM DEAN DANIEL W. HAMILTON

FROM THE DEAN’S DESK

I

Twenty Years Down … Many More to Go

recall the first time I recognized the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law was a law school to be reckoned with— one that was becoming a major player on the national stage.

It was 2009, and I was chair of the hiring committee at the University of Illinois College of Law. We were aggressively pursuing a faculty candidate with impressive credentials from Stanford Law with two Ph.Ds. That this candidate decided to accept another offer was disappointing but not particularly shocking—after all, Illinois was hardly the only big-time law school recruiting this talented candidate.

However, I must say I was surprised when I learned that Marketa Trimble had opted for the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law. I remember thinking, “Our school is over 100 years old. UNLV has barely been around for a decade. How is this possible?” For a scholar with Marketa’s credentials to select UNLV among serious other choices made an impression upon me. It was a clear sign that Boyd was really making a mark.

Fast-forward some four years to 2013, when I was lucky enough to be hired as UNLV Law’s fourth dean. Needless to say, by then, I knew what Marketa saw in this unique law school: talented and passionate faculty and staff members driven to continue boosting Boyd’s profile; a student body that’s geographically, academically, and socially diverse; unparalleled support from community leaders who have generously invested—financially and otherwise—in the law school; and, above all, a deep and abiding commitment to serving the legal needs of the entire state of Nevada.

In the years since, I’ve gained an even greater appreciation for this remarkable institution and all that it represents. So as we recognize a milestone anniversary, I want to take a moment to look back at what UNLV Law has accomplished in 20 short years, and why we’re positioned for more and more suc2

UNLV Law | 2018

cess going forward.

*** It is rare and remarkable for a law school to go from a standing start to one of the nation’s top public law schools—one that competes with institutions that have a 100-year headstart—in just two decades.

But as I learned soon after arriving here, this is a community unlike any other.

From the planning stages in the mid-1990s until the day the law school opened its doors in August 1998, the goal wasn’t just to build Nevada’s first accredited law school but to make it a top law school in short order, one that would serve the citizens of Nevada in myriad ways.

This vision was shared by all who were associated with taking the law school from concept to reality—in particular, then-UNLV President Carol Harter, founding Dean Richard Morgan, and our namesake and benefactor William S. Boyd, among so many others. It is this vision that continues to inform all we do today.

Take, for instance, all the great work coming out of our Thomas & Mack Legal Clinic, which, thanks to a founding gift from the Thomas and Mack families, is now home to nine clinics that are primarily staffed by Boyd students and serve the legal needs of all Nevadans.

One clinic that drew national attention this past year is our Immigration Clinic, which contains the Edward M. Bernstein & Associates Children’s Rights Program. Under this program, Bernstein Fellow Laura Barrera traveled around the country putting parents back together with their children while ensuring that unaccompanied minors have representation in court. This is sometimes thankless, but vitally important work.

Our Investor Protection Clinic is equally inspiring. Led by Boyd Professor Benjamin Edwards, this clinic (see Page 9) assists those in the community who believe they’ve been wronged in the buying and selling of securities. With more and more of our stu-

dents expressing an interest in business law, it’s important for them to grasp the complexities of securities law and learn about protecting investors’ rights.

The latest additions are first, the Rosenblum Family Foundation Tax Clinic, which is committed to providing tax justice to Nevada’s citizens under the leadership of Professor Francine Lipman, as well as Boyd alum and Program Director Sonya Watson. Funded in part by a federal grant and endowed with a donation from local attorney/businessman Russell Rosenblum, this clinic aims to ensure low-income Nevadans receive all they’re entitled to under federal tax laws (for additional details, see Page 7).

Next, the Thomas & Mack Legal Clinic also launched a new Misdemeanor Clinic working in Department 12 of the Las Vegas Justice Court. UNLV’s Misdemeanor Clinic aims to put law students at the vanguard of a national wave of legal reform efforts to improve procedures for and representation of defendants charged with minor crimes. Misdemeanor crimes typically include petty theft, trespass, disorderly conduct, vandalism, and driving offenses. Even though misdemeanor convictions often have long-term consequences—including large fines and fees and a corresponding loss of employment and housing—many misdemeanor defendants do not qualify for a public defender because they don’t face jail or prison sentences. I want to thank Professors Eve Hanan and Anne Traum for launching this important initiative.

As you can see, the common thread running through these and all of our clinics is service to our community. That’s not by accident, as community service has been one of UNLV Law’s fundamental commitments since day one. In fact, it was on day one that Dean Morgan and Barbara Buckley, the executive director of Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada, met and immediately formed a partnership that jumpstarted Boyd’s community service program.

In the 20-year history of the program—which requires all Boyd students to spend one semester assisting with community-wide classes for the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada and Nevada Legal Services—more than 70,000 people have received assistance from Boyd students and faculty.

With Barbara continuing to work in part-

FROM THE DEAN’S DESK

nership with founding Associate Dean Christine Smith, I’m anxious to see that number rise as we work together to meet the community’s needs.

Of course, a law school can only go as far as its faculty takes it, and Boyd has been on a 20-year winning streak of attracting and retaining the most dedicated, prolific, and innovative faculty members in the country. In fact, we rank among the top 50 for law school faculty citations, as others continue to rely on our scholars’ expertise when it comes to shaping policy.

This year, we bolstered our already stellar faculty roster with the additions of Professors Frank Rudy Cooper, Director of our soon-to-launch Program on Race, Gender and Policing, and Stewart Chang, who teaches contracts, immigration law, and comparative law and sexuality, among other subjects. (Learn more about Frank and Stewart on Pages 46 and 51, respectively.)

Speaking of faculty, this year, UNLV Law’s Lawyering Process Program was recognized as the No. 1 legal-writing program in the country—a culmination of two decades of hard work by founding faculty member Terry Pollman and her colleagues. At Boyd, we are committed to training lawyers to be skilled practitioners, and thanks to the work of our legalwriting faculty, our graduates are practice-ready when they leave the classroom and enter the workplace. (More on our Lawyering Process Program can be found on Page 16.)

In addition to providing our students with a top-notch legal education, we must also give them access to those who shape law and policy. This is why in 2017 the law school named retired U.S. Senator Harry Reid our first Distinguished Fellow in Law and Policy. In addition to bringing in national leaders to speak about antitrust matters and the legislative process, Senator Reid was instrumental in recruiting California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to visit the Thomas & Mack Moot Courtroom in March to participate in the first of an ongoing series of conversations on gun policy in Nevada and around the country.

Attorney General Becerra is one of several guest lecturers we brought in this past year, as the law school continues to fulfill its pledge of being at the forefront of important policy discussions. Among those who graciously took time to speak with our students, faculty, and community were former U.S. Congresswoman Jane Harman of California; Preet Bharara, the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York; and former federal judge and Whitewater prosecutor Ken Starr.

As noted, Senator Reid had the distinction of being Boyd’s first Distinguished Fellow, and this year he has some company: Renowned gaming attorney and former adjunct professor Anthony Cabot is our first Distinguished Fellow in Gaming Law, while outgoing Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval brings his vast leadership experience to the southern part of the state as a Distinguished Fellow in Law and Leadership.

Tony Cabot promises to be a huge asset both for our students who are seeking careers in gaming law and in our engagements with key players in the gaming industry (for more about Professor Cabot, see Page 14). Meanwhile, Governor Sandoval’s leadership abilities helped make him one of the most successful governors in Nevada history (learn all about his life and career on Page 20). As he assumes this

new role at Boyd, Governor Sandoval will be an invaluable resource to our students as we build a Law and Leadership program that will attract top policymakers from around the world and expose our students to a variety of different policy ideas and political views.

On the student and alumni fronts, there’s much to celebrate this year. Our Black Law Students Association was one of only 20 teams to qualify for the national finals of the Thurgood Marshall Mock Trial Competition (see Page 13), while La Voz—Boyd’s Latin/Hispanic Law Student Association—was recently named “Law Student Organization of the Year” for the second consecutive year (see Page 12).

Our LL.M. in Gaming Law and Regulation graduated its third class this year, as Boyd continues to be the only law school in the nation to offer a master’s degree in gaming law.

The high quality of this LL.M. program was exemplified in January when Governor Sandoval appointed Boyd alum Becky Harris (LL.M. Class of 2016) as the first female Chair of the Nevada Gaming Control Board (see Page 15).

Yet another Sandoval appointment involving a UNLV Law alum made history last year: The governor named Tierra Jones (J.D. Class of 2006) to the Eighth Judicial District Court, making her the first African-American woman in state history to serve on the District Court. Including Judge Jones, seven UNLV Law alums are currently serving on the bench (meet them all on Page 25).

Harris and Jones are just two of many examples of Boyd graduates impacting Nevada’s legal community. Our alums now account for roughly one-quarter of the members of the Nevada Bar—and that doesn’t include those who have gone on to practice law in other jurisdictions. What’s particularly impressive is these graduates are having a profound positive influence across a variety of legal fields, whether it’s practicing at a prestigious law firm, crafting key policy as legislators, helping to reform juvenile justice, or clerking for state and federal judges.

Of course, if not for UNLV Law’s commitment to remaining accessible and affordable, some of these alums doing such meaningful work would never have had the opportunity to pursue a law degree. At a time when public law school tuition continues to skyrocket, we’ve held the line—something we never could do without the continued support of our generous donors. So a big thank you goes out to all who have invested in this school and continue to believe in its mission.

I know I speak for many when I say it’s been an incredible first 20 years filled with far more accomplishments than a law school this age could have possibly been expected to achieve. As we rightfully celebrate these accomplishments and look ahead to the next 20 years, I can confidently say: We’re just getting started!

Daniel W. Hamilton Dean and Richard J. Morgan Professor of Law Learn more: Read Boyd Briefs, a weekly newsletter from Dean Dan spotlighting Boyd faculty, students, and alumni. Subscribe at law.unlv.edu/BoydBriefs.

UNLV LAW MAGAZINE EDITOR MATT JACOB ASSOCIATE EDITOR MICHAEL BERTETTO GRAPHIC DESIGNER CHED WHITNEY CONTRIBUTING WRITERS STEVE BORNFELD CAMILLE CANNON PATRICK EVERSON GAEL HEES STEVE SEBELIUS LISSA TOWNSEND RODGERS CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS JOSHUA HAWKINS CONNIE PALEN LONNIE TIMMONS III UNLV ACTING PRESIDENT MARTA MEANA EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT & PROVOST DIANE CHASE DEAN, WILLIAM S. BOYD SCHOOL OF LAW DANIEL W. HAMILTON SUBSCRIBER UPDATES Update your address and submit Class Actions items at: law.unlv.edu/alumni/ StayConnected READER FEEDBACK UNLV Law magazine welcomes feedback from readers. Submit comments at: law.unlv.edu/magazine UNLV Law magazine is published by the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law, Office of Communications 4505 S. Maryland Parkway, Box 451003, Las Vegas, Nevada 89154-1003 (702) 895-3671 law.unlv.edu UNLV is an AA/EEO INSTITUTION 2018 | UNLV Law

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A PROMINENT MEMBER OF NEVADA’S LEGAL COMMUNITY PRESENTS A COMPELLING CASE

OPENING ARGUMENT

GUEST COLUMN | BARBARA E. BUCKLEY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, LEGAL AID CENTER OF SOUTHERN NEVADA

Together, We Serve

PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN UNLV LAW AND LEGAL AID CENTER CONTINUES TO BENEFIT A COMMUNITY IN NEED

waiting a really long time for you. I want to talk to you about public service and community service.”

I then braced for his response.

“Actually,” he said, “I want to make that one of the hallmarks of the law school—one of the things we’re known for. So how about as a condition of graduation, every student works at your office?”

You could’ve scraped me off the floor.

Stunned, but in a good way, I stammered, “What? Yes! Wonderful!”

Soon after, the seeds for Boyd’s Community Service Program were sown. The program called for first-year UNLV Law students—ones like Jason Frierson, a member of Boyd’s charter class who today is Speaker of the Nevada Assembly, a posi-

N

early 30 years ago, fresh out of the University of Arizona’s James E. Rogers College of Law, I made two important life decisions. The first was to return to my adopted hometown of Las Vegas, where I had started my legal career as a legal assistant while earning my bachelor’s degree at night attending classes at UNLV. The second was to dedicate my legal career to public-interest law and to become a staff attorney with a legal-aid program now known as Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada.

As I settled into my first official job in law, I quickly learned that people were losing their homes, children, and life savings because they didn’t have access to a lawyer.

I remember one landlord who decided to illegally evict tenants who fell behind in their rent payment because he thought the tenants were too poor and uneducated to do anything about it. (This resulted in one of the first class actions I ever filed.)

Individuals struggled with everyday legal problems, and legal-aid programs were too small and underfunded to be of much assistance. Compounding the problem was the fact that consumer-protection laws were virtually nonexistent. But even though the landscape was bleak for individuals who could not afford an attorney, I knew things could change for the better. I also knew that an army of law students could only help in our effort.

I remember early talk about creating Nevada’s first publicly funded law school, and thinking what an incredible resource such an institution would be for legal-aid programs and our clients. I also thought about all the Nevadans who would no longer have to leave the state to study law.

As the first person in my family to go to college, much less law school, I know that were it not for my mentor, Rich Myers, I never would have had the courage to leave 4

UNLV Law | 2018

the state to study law. I looked forward to the day when others would be able to accomplish their dream of being a lawyer, and do so right here in Nevada.

In the mid-1990s, forces slowly coalesced behind the creation of the law school. Key university and community leaders supported it, while legislative leaders—including myself by this time—endorsed the funding needed to start it. Finally, in July 1997, then-Governor Bob Miller signed a bill that made the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law a reality.

By this point, I had become Executive Director of Legal Aid Center (a position I hold to this day), and I was convinced that a partnership between our office and our new law school would be mutually beneficial.

So a couple of weeks after Richard Morgan assumed his post as UNLV Law’s Founding Dean, I paid a visit to his office, which at the time was this little cubbyhole in the Bigelow Health Sciences Building.

I remember how I introduced myself like it happened yesterday: “Hi. I’ve been

I remember early talk about creating Nevada’s first publicly funded law school, and thinking what an incredible resource such an institution would be for legal-aid programs and our clients. I also thought about all the Nevadans who would no longer have to leave the state to study law. tion I once held—to volunteer with Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada (and, later, Nevada Legal Services). Over the course of a semester, students would be trained to teach legal classes in a variety of law disciplines to the general public. The program was later expanded to add offerings such as the valuable “Kids’ Court School.”

To date, Boyd’s nearly 2,400 graduates have gone through the program and served more than 70,000 members of the community. Some of those citizens would end up qualifying as Legal Aid Center clients; others didn’t, but still benefited greatly from the legal knowledge imparted by students.

Of course, the Community Service Program is just one of several ways in which Legal Aid Center and UNLV Law have worked in tandem to offer vital legal

OPENING ARGUMENT

support to those who need it most. Take, for example, our Partners in Pro Bono Program, where we match a pro bono attorney with a student and a case from our waiting list. Not only does an already-busy attorney get much-needed assistance, but the student gets real-world experience, be it interviewing clients or conducting case research. All the while, our office benefits from having 20 cases taken off our waiting list during the month this particular program is offered.

Additionally, the annual Community Law Day results in hundreds of individuals learning the law in a variety of areas or getting a fresh start thanks to record-sealing or warrant-quashing services. To watch the sea of law students dressed in red shirts, along with our Legal Aid and Boyd Law staff, assist hundreds of community members—well, it’s quite a sight to behold. And one I dreamed about in the early ’90s.

Unfortunately, a segment of our community remains critically underserved. In fact, the most recent legal-needs assessment found that 900,000 Nevadans qualify for legal-aid services. That staggering number just underscores the point that our relationship with the Boyd School of Law is as valuable today as it was the day I walked into Dean Morgan’s office two decades ago.

Needless to say, being associated with this outstanding law school since its inception has been incredibly meaningful to me both personally and professionally. In fact, as Legal Aid Center’s staff has modestly expanded over the years, I’m proud to report that

Above: Barbara Buckley presents Jason Frierson with the inaugural Barbara Buckley Community Service Award during Boyd’s first commencement ceremony in 2001. Left: Buckley, who was Speaker of the Nevada Assembly from 2007-11, passes the gavel to Frierson, who took over as Assembly Speaker in 2017.

To date, Boyd’s nearly 2,400 graduates have gone through the Community Service Program and served more than 70,000 members of the community.

nearly 30 percent of our current attorney staff (15 attorneys in all) is Boyd graduates.

So as UNLV Law celebrates its 20th anniversary, I salute everyone—past and present—who has worked to provide this state with an institution it so desperately needed. I am especially grateful to the talented Deans— Dick Morgan, John White, Nancy Rapoport, and Dan Hamilton—for their incredible leadership, as well as their continued dedication to the law school’s community service mission. Also, big thanks to Founding Associate Dean Christine Smith, who has coordinated almost every public service program Boyd has offered and who remains wholly committed to our partnership.

Lastly, I want to thank every Boyd student who has volunteered their time to legal aid and public-interest law—including those students to whom I’ve been so honored to present the annual Barbara Buckley Community Service Award at commencement ceremonies.

UNLV Law is to be commended for all it has achieved in so little time. And given the quality of the school’s administration, faculty, and students, I have little doubt that there will be as much to laud in 20 years as there is today.

2018 | UNLV Law

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IMMIGRATION LAW

CENTERS & CLINICS

Reaching Out to Lend a Hand STUDENTS DO THEIR PART TO AID UNLV LAW’S IMMIGRATION CLINIC DURING A TIME OF GREAT NEED

BY STEVE BORNFELD It has long been a mission of the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law to be of service to those who, for whatever reason, lack access to justice. And in modern times, no segment of American society has needed that access more than immigrants and their families. That’s why the law school founded its Immigration Clinic—and why everyone associated with it dutifully and proudly labors to aid legally imperiled individuals who are desperate to realize the American dream.

“All of us at the clinic feel needed all the time, and in a way I feel lucky for that,” says Professor Michael Kagan, Director of the Immigration Clinic. “I have friends and relatives who ask me, when they are appalled at something they see in the news, ‘What can I do?’ For me the answer is really simple: I just show up for work.”

Heartbreaking headlines emanate from the US.-Mexico border, but spill over into cities throughout America, with Las Vegas particularly impacted. In some Clark County ZIP codes, Kagan says, one out of every three people were born in a foreign country, with many families housing citizens, immigrants with green cards, and those who are undocumented—sometimes all under one roof. “Every time we say we shouldn’t take on anymore clients, another one calls and we just can’t turn them away,” Kagan says.

Kagan credits UNLV Law students for propelling the clinic forward when it’s most needed—and doing so with great zeal. “They are right there with us,” he says. “We’ve never seen so much enthusiasm. The students really push us to do more.”

Among them is Daniel Brady, who last year was a volunteer working on application renewals of “Dreamers” (as participants of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals—DACA—program are known). “That has been by far the most rewarding thing I’ve done,” says Brady, who is entering his second year of law school and has advanced to student attorney at the clinic this year.

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Citing an encounter with a teenage high school student and her parents—neither of whom were comfortable speaking English—Brady recalls that after assisting the girl with her forms, it was a simple glance that lingers in his heart. “I hadn’t spoken to her parents one on one, but as I walk them out, they turn to me and just say ‘Thank you,’ and the look of gratitude they had—I just can’t express it in words.”

It was a defining moment for Brady, one he couldn’t have experienced in a classroom lecture setting or studying for exams in the law library.

“The first year in law school you’re just in books, reading all these appellate decisions with abstract rulings,” he says. “But this was something that was real, where I could help somebody who didn’t know where they could go, and the Immigration Clinic was giving them a little guidance. It was a reality check on what law school is actually preparing you for, which is to help people.”

Preparing to launch her nascent legal career with a federal clerkship at U.S. District Court, former student attorney and recent

Boyd graduate Margarita Elias enumerates her highlights with the clinic, including working on two appellate cases—one with the Board of Immigration Appeals, the other with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Yet another memorable accomplishment was taking part in a meeting with Nevada Congresswoman Jacky Rosen, who visited the clinic in February to learn about the challenges facing Unaccompanied Alien Child (UAC) clients. “We got to bring in a few clients and an interpreter so they could speak to Ms. Rosen about how they got here, the violence and gangs they experienced in Central America, and why they need asylum relief,” says Elias, the daughter of Mexican immigrants who is awaiting the results of the bar exam she recently took.

“There’s been talk of wanting to place further restrictions on asylum relief for undocumented minors, and we wanted her to know why the system shouldn’t be any more difficult than it already is, so she would have something to take back to Congress to discuss.”

TAX LAW

CENTERS & CLINICS

Tax Justice Blossoms ROSENBLUM TAX CLINIC PROVIDES REPRESENTATION TO THOSE WITH LIMITED MEANS WHO ARE ENGAGED IN IRS TAX CONTROVERSIES

BY STEVE BORNFELD Since opening its doors in August 2017, the Rosenblum Family Foundation Tax Clinic at the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law has provided pro bono “tax justice” to qualifying low-income families and taxpayers for whom English is a second language. The clinic serves all of Nevada and is currently managing nearly 50 client matters, with Boyd students taking the lead on tax matters under faculty supervision.

Russell Rosenblum with Anne Mazzola LIPMAN: Because our federal income tax system is so complicated, it can be very intimidating for taxpayers. This intimidation is compounded if, for example, a taxpayer is struggling financially or is a recent immigrant. The Tax Clinic serves as a statewide resource for tax education, outreach, representation, and training; we help Nevadans navigate tax systems in a manner that makes a meaningful difference in their daily lives and, in turn, teaches law students not only about substantive and procedural tax law, but priceless life lessons.

WATSON: The number of people in our state who are in tax court, unrepresented, is astonishing. That’s an indicator of the need we have here. Taxpayers get a letter from the

Partially funded by a federal grant requiring matching funds, the Tax Clinic has been endowed with a generous donation by local attorney/businessman Russell Rosenblum, founding member of RMR Capital Group. Clinic faculty serve Nevadans with ongoing taxpayer education and outreach programs, including an active Twitter account (@UNLVLawLITC) and “Tax Talk Tuesdays,” a commuter radio segment that provides weekly tax tips and traps for the unwary.

The segment airs at 8:45 a.m. Tuesdays on UNLV’s station KUNVFM 91.5, also streaming live at 915TheSource.org/Listen.

We recently spoke with the Tax Clinic’s founding donor and faculty—Russell Rosenblum; Sonya Watson, the clinic’s Director and 2013 Boyd graduate; and William S. Boyd Professor of Law Francine Lipman—about their passion for tax justice and how the clinic is meeting an important need in Nevada:

Sonya Watson, J.D. ’13

IRS, and oftentimes the amount due is so insignificant that other attorneys won’t take the case because of cost-benefit analysis.

If you owe $1,000, you’re not going to hire an attorney to fight for you, because you’ll rack up more than $1,000 in legal fees in the time it takes to resolve the case. We are there to meet that need for those taxpayers.

ROSENBLUM: Somebody who owes $700 or $800 who makes $12 an hour? They don’t have that. And if it turns out they didn’t owe it, they may feel they have to pay it anyway. They might quit their job and hide, because the IRS might start garnishing [wages]—and if they move from on the books to off the books, they pay no taxes. That hurts our overall tax base and

Professor Francine Lipman economic growth.

helps Nevada achieve these goals.

LIPMAN: Many economic benefits are delivered for lower- and middle-income families through the federal income tax system.

Making sure Nevadans have access to these benefits is critical not only for them, their children, and any dependent seniors, but also for economically challenged neighborhoods.

Tax refunds are typically spent in taxpayers’ neighborhoods, providing a targeted method of stimulating local economies. But if lowerincome Nevadans are not able to access these federal resources, they—and especially their children—suffer, as does the entire state. It is critical that all Nevadans have access to these federal tax benefits and have representation if necessary to receive them. The Tax Clinic

WATSON: Taxpayers often feel the IRS is this big machine that’s coming for them, and they’re afraid. We can dissipate a lot of that fear by explaining the issues and options in each taxpayer’s case. Our goal is to resolve the taxpayer’s issues favorably, but even if a favorable outcome isn’t possible, taxpayers leave our office having had the opportunity to be heard.

LIPMAN: The Tax Clinic is a win-win for all Nevadans. It embodies the goals of UNLV Law to serve the state as well as train law students to take ownership of problems and solve them for a greater good in our local communities and beyond.

2018 | UNLV Law

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SALTMAN CENTER

CENTERS & CLINICS

The Art of Settling Differences DISPUTE RESOLUTION CONCENTRATION GIVES BOYD STUDENTS THE NECESSARY TOOLS TO SUCCEED IN THE MODERN-DAY LITIGATION WORLD

BY LISSA TOWNSEND RODGERS There’s no denying that the courtroom intrigue and high drama depicted in such popular Hollywood productions as A Few Good Men, … And Justice for All, and Law & Order is quite alluring. There’s also no denying that these depictions aren’t exactly representative of how the law plays out in the real world, where most litigation in the 21st century doesn’t advance to the courtroom.

“People who go to law school may view litigation the way it’s conveyed in movies and TV shows, which is that lawyers spend a lot of time in court,” says Jean Sternlight, the Michael and Sonja Saltman Professor of Law at the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law. “But the truth of the matter is that very few cases actually go to court these days.”

Which is precisely the reason why UNLV Law offers a Dispute Resolution Concentration, which launched last year and teaches students how to be effective lawyers and client advocates in a legal environment that’s different today than in past generations.

“What we’re hoping to do in this concentration, in short, is prepare students for the real world they will face when they become litigators,” says Sternlight, who in addition to being a faculty supervisor for the Dispute Resolution Concentration is the Director of the school’s Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution. “Students will become adept at interviewing and counseling clients, [and in] negotiation, mediation, and arbitration.”

Of course, courtroom litigation is still an important skill, one that remains part of any law school’s curriculum, including Boyd’s.

However, the reality is we now live in a time where the majority of a lawyer’s work involves negotiating at a conference-room table or presenting a case before an arbitrator.

“Being a lawyer is all about resolving disputes or preventing them from happening in the first place,” says Lydia Nussbaum, a UNLV Law Associate Professor who is part of the Dispute Resolution Concentration’s 8

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Jean Sternlight, Professor of Law

faculty. “No matter what area of practice students go into, they will find clients with problems that need resolution.

“I think Boyd students want to learn more than black-letter law and want to understand how lawyering looks in real life, and that means being a dispute resolver.”

Robin Gonzales certainly is one UNLV Law student who would echo that statement. He gravitated toward the Dispute Resolution Concentration after experiencing a lot of religious and socio-political conflicts growing up in the southern Philippines.

“I became comfortable with high-stress situations and became comfortable with conflicts, which led me to be fascinated with what causes them and how to resolve them,” says Gonzales, who is in his third year at Boyd and slated to earn his J.D. in May 2019. “The Dispute Resolution Concentration has broadened my interest and understanding of conflict resolution and has helped me hone my skills in the resolution part of conflict resolution.”

Gonzales notes that he has benefited greatly from the hands-on experiences offered through the concentration, be it mediating family cases or arbitrating parking disputes.

Those real-world opportunities also extend to the law school’s Mediation Clinic, where

Lydia Nussbaum, Associate Professor of Law

students help to facilitate settlement negotiations as neutral third-party participants.

“This is a unique role that provides students a learning experience they will find nowhere else in law school,” says Nussbaum, the clinic’s Director. “Rather than advocating for one side against another, students see all sides of a dispute; rather than advising and counseling a client, students must reserve their judgments and use communication skills to help both parties articulate and pursue their own interests; and, rather than focusing exclusively on legal disputation, students see, firsthand, the complex human dynamics that drive legal disputes and that ultimately can lead to their resolution.”

Besides offering Boyd students a chance to tangibly practice the art of dispute resolution, Nussbaum points out that the Mediation Clinic serves as a valuable resource for all Clark County citizens.

“First of all, the mediations are free. And second, mediation offers many litigants an important opportunity to sit down, talk, and see whether they can work out their dispute on their own,” Nussbaum says.

“For many individuals, having a say in how their case is resolved, rather than relying on a judge to decide, is an empowering and satisfying experience.”

INVESTOR PROTECTION

CENTERS & CLINICS

Law students from across the nation—including five from Boyd— meet with members of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Helping to Right a Wrong WITH ASSISTANCE FROM UNLV LAW STUDENTS, THE INVESTOR PROTECTION CLINIC HELPS THOSE HARMED BY POOR FINANCIAL ADVICE

BY LISSA TOWNSEND RODGERS When small investors find themselves on the bad end of a deal, they often don’t know what recourse they have. After losing thousands of dollars, it can be difficult to figure out where to turn. That’s where the Investor Protection Clinic at the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law comes to the rescue.

The clinic offers pro-bono advice to clients who believe they’ve been wronged by a stockbroker, which is a significant problem in Southern Nevada. One issue, as a Wall Street Journal survey revealed a few years ago, is that Las Vegas has a high concentration of stockbrokers

with troubled pasts. Sometimes, they look to prey upon those who have money they’re willing to invest but little knowledge or experience with the investment game.

As a result, clients might be duped into signing complex financial agreements they don’t understand.

“The clinic focuses on two things: helping people hurt by bad advice and working to help regulators make better rules in the public’s interest,” says Boyd Professor Benjamin Edwards, who founded the Investor Protection Clinic in January 2018. “In Las Vegas, there are a lot of people who make good money without being financially sophisticated, so they may be particularly vulnerable.”

While the clinic’s primary goal is to provide a vital community service, there is a very important secondary benefit: Because the clinic is primarily staffed by Boyd students, future lawyers receive valuable, hands-on experience in what is a complex legal field.

“It’s an opportunity to see what it would be like to work in a small securities firm, from client interaction to working on complex matters,” Edwards says. “The students emerge with a better understanding of the kinds of financial products that are out there and how securities arbitration works.”

In addition to helping Boyd students gain real-world legal expertise on the home front, the Investor Protection Clinic occasionally offers important experiences outside of Las Vegas. For instance, during the spring semester, five students traveled to Washington, D.C., where they met with Securities and Exchange Commissioners. They even got to sit in on a meeting of the SEC Investor Advisory Committee—a big deal for anyone passionate about the field.

“The students got to meet four of the five sitting Commissioners,” Edwards says. “In the securities world, that’s like getting to meet the Pope and many of the cardinals.”

FINANCIAL PROGRAM AIDS 1 OCTOBER SURVIVORS The horrific events of October 1, 2017—when 58 people died and hundreds more were wounded in the worst mass shooting in U.S. history—will never be forgotten. Nor will the outpouring of support that flowed in from the Las Vegas community and far beyond.

Much of that support was financial, with millions of dollars donated to funds that were created to assist victims, survivors, and their families in their time of need.

Not long after the money began coming in, UNLV Professor Benjamin Edwards was asked to write financial literacy materials to help survivors protect their disbursements. Knowing that research shows literacy materials don’t help, Edwards—founder of Boyd’s Investor Protection Clinic—helped establish the Las Vegas Survivors Project (LVSurvivors.org).

The goal of the project, which was undertaken by the Institute for Fiduciary Standard in conjunction with the Investor Protection Clinic, was to offer survivors a safe and easy way to obtain quality and free advice from trusted financial professionals from across the country.

“We coordinated a national outreach for pro-bono fiduciary advisers to provide free financial planning for survivors of the 1 October shooting,” Edwards says. “Survivors and the families of victims need to make that money last.

And this program gives them access to high-quality advice instead of commission-driven sales pitches.”

During a time of tremendous emotional distress, it’s advice that is no doubt appreciated.

2018 | UNLV Law

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A GLIMPSE INTO BOYD’S GOOD WORKS IN THE COMMUNITY

GIVING BACK

PUBLIC INTEREST ADVISORY BOARD Cynthia Alexander, Dickinson Wright The Honorable Nancy Allf, Eighth Judicial District Court Kristine Bergstrom, Nevada Legal Services Venicia Considine, Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada Bill Curran, Ballard Spahr Chief Justice Michael Douglas, Supreme Court of Nevada Nikki Harris, William S. Boyd School of Law AnnaMarie Johnson, Nevada Legal Services The Honorable Joanna Kishner, Eighth Judicial District Court Patricia Lee, Hutchison & Steffen Noah Malgeri, Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada Professor Lydia Nussbaum, William S. Boyd School of Law Shannon Phenix, Office of the Clark County Public Defender Shaina Plaksin Dan Polsenberg, Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP Deacon Thomas Roberts, Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada Samantha Scofield, William S. Boyd School of Law Associate Dean Christine Smith, William S. Boyd School of Law The Honorable Gloria Sturman, Eighth Judicial District Court Elana Turner Graham, Southern Nevada Senior Law Program Brittnie Watkins, Pisanelli Bice

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UNLV Law | 2018

At Your Service SAMANTHA SCOFIELD EPITOMIZES UNLV LAW’S ENDURING COMMITMENT TO THE COMMUNITY

BY CAMILLE CANNON At a time when most girls her age were caught up in the frivolities of teenage life and giving little thought to a career, Samantha Scofield was laser focused on her future: She was determined to become a lawyer, and it all stemmed from being raised in foster care from the age of 13.

“I saw how many disadvantages there are [for foster children],” says Scofield, a third-year student and public interest fellow at the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law. “I wanted to become a voice and advocate for youth.”

Scofield began working toward that goal as an undergraduate at the University of Nevada, Reno, where she double-majored in political

science and criminal justice/prelaw, while also pursuing minors in business administration and philosophy. She even carved out time during her final semester to volunteer with a Reno-based version of Boyd Law’s Kids’ Court School, Reno, participating in mock trials that educate child witnesses about the court process.

Knowing that UNLV Law was responsible for founding a program she greatly admired helped convince Scofield to head south to begin her legal journey. “Boyd’s commitment to public interest drew me in,” she says.

It’s a commitment that’s been in place since the law school opened 20 years ago. In fact, every Boyd student who has earned their J.D. has been required to complete the school’s community service program. As part of a partnership with Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada and Nevada Legal Services, Boyd students—with supervision from attorneys—teach free legal education classes to members of the Southern Nevada community.

The year-round classes are offered to the public as often as three times a week at the law school, Legal Aid Center, and the Clark County Library. During the sessions, students cover such legal topics as family law, record-seal-

ing, immigration, bankruptcy, and small-claims issues, among others.

“I’m proud of our students and the work they do in the program,” says Christine Smith, Boyd’s Associate Dean for Public Service, Compliance, and Administration. “This is one way the law school serves those who need access to justice but can’t afford an attorney.”

As Boyd’s founding associate dean, Smith spearheaded the development of the semester-long program, which students must complete by the end of the fall semester of their second year. Smith estimates that Boyd students have served more than 70,000 people.

“This program has become a vital piece of our legal infrastructure in helping meet unmet legal needs,” says Barbara Buckley, Executive Director of Legal Aid Center. “The feedback is so incredibly positive. [Attendees] just don’t have access to this quality of information anywhere else.”

While the community benefits greatly from the students’ efforts, students themselves receive something valuable, too: on-the-job experience and an appreciation for the importance of pro bono work.

“It helps [make] better lawyers,” says Cliff Marcek, UNLV Law’s Coordinator of Community Service.

Like many Boyd students before her, Scofield has expanded her public interest work beyond the community service program. For instance, as a public interest fellow, she works with Smith to research pro bono policies of Nevada law firms, so that the law school can give students information on firms that value pro bono service.

On top of all that—and her studies—Scofield is a Volunteer Education Advocate through Legal Aid Center. In this role, she helps children who don’t have a parent obtain the scholastic resources they need to succeed in the classroom. In other words, Scofield is well on her way to living her dream.

“Boyd has really given me the opportunity to do what I want with my law degree,” she says. “And no matter what I do, I want to be able to help children.”

GIVING BACK

And the Winner Is …

CODY FREDERICK HONORED AS BOYD’S COMMUNITY SERVICE STUDENT OF THE YEAR

BY LISSA TOWNSEND RODGERS Cody Frederick knew that he’d have to take part in the community service program if he wanted to earn his law degree from the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law. He just didn’t realize he’d get much more out of the experience than simply checking off another graduation requirement.

“You hear things about access to justice, you hear the buzzwords, but you don’t really feel it until you get into it,” says Frederick, who is in his third year at UNLV Law. “That’s what [the program] meant to me.”

A partnership with Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada and Nevada Legal Services, the program requires Boyd students to help teach free legal education classes to members of the community, many of whom are underserved.

During his semester-long community service course last year, Frederick offered instruction on the legal complexities surrounding guardianship. During one class, he realized that information displayed in handouts and PowerPoint presentations did not correspond, so he took measures to align the two. “I thought: Simplify a little bit, find the areas that were most important, and really highlight them. That way [attendees] could take notes and interact with the booklet.”

Additionally, prior to Boyd’s annual Community Law Day, Frederick revised and clarified another in-depth PowerPoint presentation to reflect recent state-enacted changes to Nevada’s adult guardianship laws.

“Cody worked tirelessly to ensure the legal information we provided to the public about adult guardianship and legal reforms was accurate, up to date, and easy to understand,” says Christine Miller, Director of Community Initiatives and Outreach at Legal Aid Center. “His efforts benefited not only those who attended Community Law Day last year but also those attending the recurring Guardianship Community Legal Education class.”

For all of his hard work, Frederick was named Community Service Student of the Semester for Summer 2017 (receiving a $1,000 scholarship for books). That was fol-

lowed by the Community Service Student of the Year honor, for which Frederick received the Richard L. Brown Community Service Award, an annual scholarship that pays for a half-semester’s tuition.

The award is named in honor of Richard L. Brown, the founding director of the school’s Wiener-Rogers Law Library and a Boyd professor from 1998 until 2008. Brown, who passed away in 2013, played a key role in launching the community service program, and it remained a passion throughout his tenure with the school.

The program’s mission has remained unchanged since Brown helped create it: to provide the community—particularly Legal Aid Center and Nevada Legal Services clients—needed assistance, and to offer students important real-world legal experience.

“It gives [students] an opportunity to work with real people with real problems,” Smith says. “They also learn a whole other area of law that they may not otherwise be exposed to, and how to teach that to somebody who doesn’t have their legal knowledge.”

To date, the program has assisted more than 70,000 people, and Smith says the vast

RICHARD L. BROWN SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS 2013 - Allison Vittangeli 2014 - Sean Young 2015 - Jessica Georgescu 2016 - Beatriz Aguirre 2017 - Cody Frederick

majority has expressed gratitude for the students’ help. “Every week I read the feedback from the attendees, and it’s eye-opening to see how much just that two-hour class means to them in getting them to a place where they can resolve their legal issues.”

Count Frederick among many Boyd students—past and present—who acknowledge that the community service program has been mutually beneficial. “[Students] can really understand the meaning of why they are going into law school: to help people,” Frederick says. “In the beginning of law school, it kind of sets that tone for why you’re doing this.”

2018 | UNLV Law

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INTERESTING INSIGHTS INTO THE BOYD COMMUNITY WHO KNEW?

Making a Difference COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY HELPS LA VOZ SECURE NATIONAL AWARD “Before I even began law school, my Huellas family were the people I could turn to for help during the application process. Likewise, my La Voz family facilitated the transition to law school through answering my questions [and] giving me advice.”

BY LISSA TOWNSEND RODGERS At a time of great divisiveness across the country, it might seem like the concept of working together for the common good of all is on the verge of extinction. But for members of La Voz, the Latin/Hispanic Law Student Association at the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law, that concept not only remains alive and well, it’s at the forefront of their mission.

“We’re an organization that seeks to empower others,” says Ellsie Lucero, current president of La Voz. “Our members are motivated to make a positive impact in their communities and open doors for others on the same path.”

For the past 12 years, La Voz has been striving to boost the success of current and potential law students who aren’t traditionally represented in the legal community.

Their efforts have been so successful that the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) named UNLV Law’s La Voz as its “Law Student Organization of the Year” for both 2017 and 2018.

Central to the mission of La Voz is a farreaching and award-winning mentorship program called Huellas (translated as “footprints”), which links together high school students, undergraduates, Boyd students, and members of the local legal profession.

Briana Martinez, who served as La Voz president during the 2017-18 school year, says the over-arching goal of the Huellas program is to “get everybody to the next step.”

Martinez notes that the program connected her with many professors and administrators, and that being part of La Voz has forced her to engage with the local community—both in and out of legal circles.

“It helped me be more involved in the legal community outside of law school,” she says. “I know so many attorneys and judges because of that. I’ve even gotten to know people in general—people who aren’t attorneys—because La Voz has been so involved [in various community efforts].”

For Lucero, the support system provided by the Huellas program and La Voz enhanced her chances of being a successful law student.

“Before I even began law school, my Huel12

UNLV Law | 2018

Ellsie Lucero La Voz president

las family were the people I could turn to for help during the application process,” she says. “Likewise, my La Voz family facilitated the transition to law school through answering my questions [and] giving me advice.”

With most successful community-minded programs, there’s usually a sort of “pay it forward” element involved, and La Voz is no different. In addition to serving as Huellas mentors for high school and undergrad students, La Voz members take part in various community initiatives. One of those took place in September 2017, when La Voz co-hosted a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) event with fellow students from the Immigration Law Society and the Black Law Students Association. A panel

discussion was followed by a legal clinic during which volunteers from all three student groups assisted DACA applicants with renewals.

Martinez recalls that the entire program was put together in less than a week.

“There was such a need for it. Nobody in the community had had such a big event—we wanted to help as many people as possible with the renewals, and we also wanted to educate people, because there was so much information out there that was wrong,” she says. “It was very fulfilling. Even as law students, we were able to help our community in a time of need.”

This year, in addition to hosting its annual Huellas kickoff event at the start of the fall semester, Lucero says La Voz is planning a Rebel Raiser fundraiser for Huellas scholarships. It’s one of just several events on the docket as the organization seeks to continue to fulfill its mission of lending a helping hand to those who need it. “These programs enable community outreach,” Lucero says, “because they extend beyond the law school and the legal community.”

WHO KNEW?

Come One, Come All BLACK LAW STUDENTS ASSOCIATION LOOKS TO BUILD ON ITS SUCCESS FOLLOWING A STRONG FINISH AT PRESTIGIOUS NATIONAL MOCK TRIAL COMPETITION

BY PATRICK EVERSON The UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law takes great pride in its many achievements over the past 20 years, particularly those efforts that highlight diversity. Among noteworthy contributors in that respect is the school’s chapter of the Black Law Students Association (BLSA), which is coming off some of its greatest success in the 201718 academic year.

In January 2018, the BLSA fielded a four-person team in the regional round of the annual Thurgood Marshall Mock Trial Competition.

Caleb Green, Beatriz Aguirre, Austin Barnum, and Christopher Guy led UNLV to a second-place finish and a spot in the 20-team national finals, just the second time a Boyd team qualified for nationals in this event (the other being in 2012).

“It was a great achievement for us, especially given that this is the first year to my knowledge that the mock trial competition has been an emphasis at our school,” says Green, who was the chapter’s president last year and is now a third-year law student.

Even though the team was forced to shuffle its lineup in the finals because of scheduling conflicts—with Green and Barnum joined

by Casey Thomas and M’Aggie Huggins—UNLV still managed to place 12th. It’s an impressive accomplishment for which Green credits not only the efforts of his classmates, but also the legal community throughout Southern Nevada. “It speaks to the support of the legal community and the caliber of students at the Boyd School of Law,” he says.

The BLSA will be looking to keep its momentum rolling into the 2018-19 academic year under second-year law student Zaniah Jordan, who has stepped into the role of chapter president. Along with continuing to emphasize the national mock trial competition, Jordan’s goals for this year are to elevate the BLSA’s presence in the community and create more awareness across the entire UNLV campus.

“We want to focus more on community service, whether it’s to youth or at the undergraduate level,” Jordan says. “A lot of [UNLV] students don’t know we have a law school on campus. We want to [provide] help to anyone interested in the law school or just graduate school in general. We just want to make our presence a little more known campus-wide, not just at Boyd.”

Green adds that the BLSA will continue to advocate for issues important to its members and to the broader society. For instance, last year, the chapter was active in the NFL’s national anthem protest debate and also assisted with a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals workshop, training law school students how to assist DACA applicants in properly filling out forms.

But of course, learning to become an effective lawyer remains of paramount importance to the BLSA and its members.

“One thing that is definitely in our mission is providing programming and opportunities to further polish our legal skills,”

“You don’t have to be African-American or black to be in BLSA. We want to make that clearly known.

You can be whoever you are. And by having a wide range of people who can help us achieve our goals, we can all learn from each other.”

Zaniah Jordan Black Law Students Association president

Green says.

Bolstering the BLSA’s membership ranks is also a priority, and to that end, Jordan offers a reminder that the organization is open to all comers.

“You don’t have to be African-American or black to be in BLSA. We want to make that clearly known,” Jordan says. “You can be whoever you are.

“And by having a wide range of people who can help us achieve our goals, we can all learn from each other.”

2018 | UNLV Law

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WHO KNEW?

GAMING LAW ADVISORY BOARD Michael Alonso, Alonso Law; Patricia Becker, Patricia Becker and Associates; Bo Bernhard, UNLV International Gaming Institute; Peter Bernhard, Kaempfer Crowell; Michael Brunet, Snow Covered Capital, LLC; AG Burnett, McDonald Carano; Anthony Cabot, Distinguished Fellow in Gaming Law, UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law; Jacob Coin, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians; Bill Curran, Ballard Spahr LLP; Lou Dorn, Monarch Casino and Resort, Inc.; Mark Dunn, Aristocrat Technologies; Katie Fellows, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino; Phyllis Gilland, Golden Entertainment, Inc.; Gregory Giordano, McDonald Carano; A.J. Hicks, McDonald Carano; Jacqui Krum, Wynn Resorts; Tom Jingoli, Konami Gaming; Terry Johnson, Nevada Gaming Control Board; Jan Jones Blackhurst, Caesars Entertainment; Yvette Landau, W.A. Richardson Builders, LLC; Brian Larson, Boyd Gaming Corp; Katie Lever, The Drew; Mark Lipparelli, Golden Entertainment, Inc.; John McManus, MGM Resorts International; Kevin Mullally, Gaming Labs International, LLC; Maren Parry, Ballard Spahr LLP; Anthony Pearl, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas; Michael Prescott, IGT; Jennifer Roberts, International Center for Gaming Regulation; Jeffrey Rodefer, Holland & Hart; Scott Scherer, Holland & Hart; Frank Schreck, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP ; Jeffrey Silver, Dickinson Wright PLLV; Kim Sinatra; Mike Sloan, Fertitta Entertainment; Keith Smith, Boyd Gaming Corp.; Randolph Townsend; Ellen Whittemore, Wynn Resorts; Andre Wilsenach, UNLV International Center for Gaming Regulation 14

UNLV Law | 2018

Master of the Game RESPECTED GAMING ATTORNEY ANTHONY CABOT JOINS BOYD’S LL.M. PROGRAM AS A DISTINGUISHED FELLOW

BY PATRICK EVERSON It’s been 37 years since Anthony Cabot earned his law degree from Arizona State University and immediately began practicing gaming law in Las Vegas, at the esteemed firm Lionel Sawyer & Collins. But now, it’s back to school for arguably one of the most renowned lawyers in his field of expertise.

In January, Cabot joined the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law as a Distinguished Fellow in Gaming Law. It was a natural fit for someone who never stopped his studious ways.

“During my 37 years of practice, I always had a very academic interest,” Cabot says. “I actually wrote 12 books on various aspects of gaming law.”

Not only that, but he served as an adjunct professor about 18 years ago, and after UNLV Law opened, he taught gaming law and regulation to undergrads, then to Juris Doctor students. Now he instructs students in Boyd’s LL.M. in Gaming Law and Regulation.

“It’s been terrific,” Cabot says of his Distinguished Fellow role. “The LL.M. program has been in existence for four years, and I’ve had the opportunity to be involved in it from the beginning, to shape the curriculum and classes. This fellowship allows me to have a much greater focus on the program, to enrich the education of students.”

Not that he’s stopped being a prolific writer. He recently completed his latest book, co-written with Keith Miller, titled Sports Wagering in America: Policies, Economics, and Regulation. And the timing

was no accident, what with sports betting being the hot topic in gaming circles following a major decision handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court in May: the repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, a ruling that opened the door to the expansion of sports betting beyond Nevada’s borders for the first time.

“Once the Supreme Court did that, it basically gave states the opportunity to regulate sports wagering and even eSports wagering,” Cabot says. “The problem is that states now have this new gaming product, [but] they don’t have the ability to control the integrity of the event people are betting on. What do the states do? We have to figure out how to work with the federal government, state governments, sports leagues, and sportsbook operators—

all the other stakeholders.”

And he’s not just talking about mainstream sports betting; eSports has its own unique set of issues for the gaming law community.

“That one is fraught with dangers, because realistically you can say, ‘What is the likelihood of an NFL or NBA game being fixed?

It’s very small,’” Cabot says. “But eSports—you’re talking about kids playing these games. They’re much more susceptible to outside influences, and [eSports] governing leagues aren’t well-established. It’s a high-octane motor in a bicycle frame. How do you get comfortable that it’s honest?”

It’s a subject that fascinates Cabot—and one that will certainly work its way into his class curriculum as he goes back to school for the 2018-19 academic year.

WHO KNEW?

Bucking the Odds WITH HER UNLV LAW LL.M. DEGREE IN HAND, BECKY HARRIS BECOMES FIRST WOMAN TO CHAIR NEVADA’S GAMING CONTROL BOARD

BY PATRICK EVERSON Two years ago, in the midst of her first term in the Nevada Senate, Becky Harris earned her master’s degree from the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law, as a member of the school’s inaugural class in the LL.M. in Gaming Law and Regulation.

Given her role in the state Senate—particularly on the judiciary committee—it only made sense to add to her 1992 law degree from Brigham Young University, to go along with her undergraduate and master’s degrees in political science from BYU and UNLV, respectively.

“What I really liked about the LL.M. program was the blend of academic rigor and practical experience. Each student was able to custom-make the learning experience,” Harris says, while specifically pointing to the three-credit internship she turned into multifaceted training. “I took three one-credithour internships: one with a Strip casino, one at a sportsbook, and one with the Nevada Gaming Control Board (GCB). I wanted a breadth of gaming experience—a broadbased understanding of the gaming industry.

“Little did I know that my most valuable internship would be with the Nevada Gaming Control Board.”

Valuable indeed, because in January, Governor Brian Sandoval presented to Harris the opportunity to become Chair of the Gaming Control Board. While her recently obtained degree from Boyd certainly helped Harris feel comfortable taking on the new challenge—in doing so, she became the first woman to chair the GCB—it wasn’t an easy decision to leave her post in the Legislature.

“It was very difficult,” she says. “Serving as a State Senator in District 9 was one of the most profound experiences of my life.”

Ultimately, Harris chose to make the leap in part because she felt prepared thanks to her hands-on experiences at Boyd—particularly the one with the GCB. “That internship was really helpful. It was an opportunity to look at the day-to-day function of the Board.”

Harris’ appointment was also a feather in the cap of the LL.M. program.

“She took full advantage of the benefits of the program, including working with faculty on a paper that will be included in a book, [as well as] creating a casino game and learning casino operations through the externship program,” says Sarah Gonzales, UNLV Law’s Director of Graduate Programs. “We are so proud to have a Boyd alum serve as the first woman to chair the Nevada Gaming Control Board.”

Now, of course, come the challenges of that role.

This year, sports betting has been the dominant topic, following the Supreme Court’s May 14 decision to allow states to decide if they want to join Nevada in passing sports-betting legislation. But Harris notes there are other front-burner issues in the

Silver State, specifically wagering on eSports (“It’s going to be interesting to see how the entertainment sector intersects with gaming,” she says), and whether, if at all, legalized medical and recreational marijuana will cross paths with gaming.

Whatever issues arise in her new publicservice role, Harris is eager to tackle them one at a time and work with the Board to come up with the best possible solutions—which just happens to be one of her greatest strengths, as some friends and colleagues noted when they called to offer congratulations.

“I was told, ‘You are a problem solver, solving one set of problems and challenges after another, and you’re gonna love it.’ And they were right. I love a good challenge, and I love serving on the Board,” Harris says. “This is a chance to serve the state in a different way, and it already has been incredibly satisfying.”

2018 | UNLV Law

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WHO KNEW?

So Let It be Written …

THANKS TO SKILLED PROFESSORS, DRIVEN STUDENTS AND COMMITTED ADMINISTRATORS, BOYD’S LEGAL WRITING PROGRAM IS SECOND TO NONE

BY STEVE BORNFELD On the road to a stellar legal career, this is where UNLV Law students make a “write” turn.

“I had a judge once tell me that they hired clerks from Harvard and Yale, but they always added a UNLV clerk to make sure they had a clerk who knew how to write and research,” says Professor Terrill Pollman, a member of the founding faculty of the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law who was charged with developing the school’s Lawyering Process Program.

The program’s mission since day one: Teach Boyd’s up-and-coming legal eagles the art of legal writing and research. And Pollman’s UNLV/Ivy League anecdote validates the program’s status as the No. 1 legal writing program in the nation, as ranked earlier this year by U.S. News & World Report.

Focused on legal communication with clients and fellow attorneys, theories of per16

UNLV Law | 2018

suasive writing and rhetoric, plus contract writing, research, interviewing, counseling, and negotiation, the required three-semester, nine-credit curriculum boils down to what Pollman calls “teaching smart law students the conventions of the legal community of discourse.”

Imparting those legal smarts begins with a smart plan of action led by a core of sharp and accomplished professors. In this regard, Boyd features an all-star roster, with faculty members who have won nearly every award given for teaching and scholarship in legal writing. These awards include the Burton Award for Outstanding Contributions to Legal Writing Education; the Marjorie Rombauer Award; the Linda Berger Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Legal Writing Scholarship; the Blackwell Teaching Award; the AALS Legal Writing, Research, and Reasoning Section Award; the Rocky Mountain Legal Writing Award; and the Theresa Phelps Award for Legal Writing Scholarship.

“We’ve hired some of the very top scholars in legal writing,” Pollman says of the teaching faculty whose members have served as presidents and board members of every major national legal writing organization.

“We’ve written [a combined] 10 textbooks, and three-quarters of the [law schools] in the country have used one of our textbooks.

Once you start getting good people, it’s easy to get more good people.”

Of course, what’s a well-credentialed faculty without a classroom of eager legal minds to mold? Pride in the Lawyering Process Program Boyd’s Lawyering has spread to the point Process Program where students sign up faculty: Back row for more than the three (from left), Peter required courses. “The Brandon Bayer, admissions office and Linda Edwards, the dean find us the best Rebecca L. students to work with,” Scharf, and Lori Pollman says. “One of D. Johnson; the things that UNLV front row (from prides itself on, justifileft), Mary Beth ably, is that students at Beazley, Terrill the law school create a Pollman, and great sense of commuLinda L. Berger. nity. In those first-year writing classes, which need to be small, that sense often blooms.”

Illustrating that point, Pollman recalls testifying in front of a Nevada Assembly committee and finding that four of the seven committee members were Boyd alumni. “They are all saying, ‘Hi Professor Pollman! What are you doing here?’ Where in the United States would you go to testify in front of your state Legislature and have four of your former students there? That’s a special thing that happens through the legal writing program.”

Given that legal writing hasn’t always been embraced in law-school circles—Pollman describes that prior to 1990, legal writing programs were considered “the ugly stepchild of the law faculty”—the support of all four of Boyd’s deans, as well as the entire faculty, has been vital. Fact is, legal writing has always been a focal point of Boyd’s curriculum.

“It’s a pretty labor-intensive thing to teach, so you have to devote resources to create a quality program, and our deans have been supportive of that,” Pollman says. “They have not said, ‘Oh, we can get other students or adjuncts to teach that.’ As somebody who came here with the job of creating the program, I’ve been incredibly grateful for that.”

The commitment extends beyond the classroom, too, with the school hosting and participating in conferences to share what they’ve learned while simultaneously encouraging the legal community at-large to embrace what is a critical component of law.

Combine all of it—a top-tier faculty, dedicated students, unwavering administrative support, and a sense of community—and you’ve got the right recipe for a program to write its way to national glory.

WHO KNEW?

Prescription for Success HEALTH LAW PROGRAM CONTINUES TO PAIR STUDENTS WITH LEGISLATORS TO HELP SOLVE PRESSING HEALTH CARE NEEDS

BY PATRICK EVERSON Health care has become a key issue in local and national politics, and as such it’s also become a key legal issue. The UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law recognized that fact when it launched its Health Law Program, which prepares students in that realm while also proving to be a valuable community and statewide resource.

It’s an important area of concentration as legislators try to figure out how to meet the health care needs of all their constituents.

“Like other academic programs, we aspire to teach students about the field, and we have our research projects,” says Dr. David Orentlicher, who joined the Boyd staff in July 2017 as co-director of the Health Law Program. “But it’s also this idea about being a resource, because health policy is such a critical issue. One of the issues high on the agenda for our state Legislature is: How do you make access to care universal?

And even when you solve the access problem, there’s the cost-containment problem.”

As the holder of medical and law degrees from Harvard—and as someone who served six years in the Indiana House of Representatives—Orentlicher is uniquely qualified to help UNLV Law students approach such issues from all directions. And the program is doing just that, particularly in two ways: hosting symposia that drill down on problems to help find solutions; and through its health

legislation course, which aims to assist state lawmakers in crafting health care bills.

On the former, UNLV hosted an opioid conference in February 2018, addressing one of the nation’s most pressing drug-use problems, particularly in Las Vegas.

“Here we have a critical health problem for our country and for our state, and it’s hit especially hard in Southern Nevada,” Orentlicher says. “It’s very important that as the Legislature and the governor fashion policies, they learn from experiences and best practices. We brought in national and international experts to address policies—here’s what’s been effective, here’s what’s not been effective, here’s what we don’t know yet.

“It’s important to do, because we’re a public university and the only law school in Nevada. We’re there to do what we think is best for the state, based on what we know from studies. We can give [lawmakers] objective, neutral, reliable information.”

An added bonus of the health legislation course: It literally puts Boyd students in the thick of the policy-crafting process.

Paul Edwards, the general counsel for the Nevada Board of Pharmacy, participates in a panel discussion as part of a conference about the opioid epidemic that was hosted by UNLV Law in February 2018.

“Students work on legislative proposals, in conjunction with members of the Legislature,” Orentlicher says. This past year, that included partnering with Nevada Senator Pat Spearman on ways to get to full health-care coverage, and with Senator David Parks on a death-with-dignity bill, ahead of the 2019 legislative session, which begins in February.

“It’s great for students to understand the legislative process.

That’s when you find out what you do and do not understand,” Orentlicher said. “One thing I learned when I was a state legislator is that it’s a part-time thing.

You have another job, and you don’t have the staffing that Congress has, so you really need to find helpful sources of information. Both with the Health Law Program in general, and this course, our goal is to help fill those needs.”

HEALTH LAW ADVISORY BOARD Connie Akridge, JD, MBA, Holland & Hart, Las Vegas Office; Barbara Atkinson, MD, UNLV School of Medicine; Lawrence Barnard, MBA, Dignity Health – St. Rose Dominican, San Martin Campus; Annette Bradley, JD, Southern Nevada Health District; Michelle Chino, Ph.D., Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, UNLV School of Community Health Sciences; Peter Christiansen, JD, Christiansen Law Offices; Renee Coffman, Ph.D., RPh, Roseman University of Health Sciences; Ellen Cosgrove, MD, FACP, UNLV School of Medicine; Georgia Dounis, DDS, MS, Interdisciplinary Center on Aging Research & Education, UNLV School of Dental Medicine; Janet Dufek, MS, Ph.D., UNLV Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition Sciences; Carole Fisher, Nathan Adelson Hospice; Samantha Fredrickson, JD, Planned Parenthood of Southern Nevada; Paul Janda, DO, JD, Valley Hospital Medical Center Neurology Residency Program; Sam Kaufman, MS, Desert Springs Hospital; Deborah Kuhls, MD, FACS, FCCM, Professor of Surgery, and Principal Academic Officer, Las Vegas Campus, University of Nevada School of Medicine; John O’Reilly, JD, MBA, O’Reilly Law Group; Chair, University Medical Center Governing Board; Cheryl Perna, MSN, RN, UNLV School of Nursing; Melissa Piasecki, MD, University of Nevada School of Medicine; Susan Pitz, JD, MBA, University Medical Center; Michael Saltman, JD, The Vista Group; Lynn Stange, RN, BSN, MA, CHC, Nathan Adelson Hospice; Vincent Thomas, MD, MHA, FHRS, Children’s Hospital and Medical Center - Omaha, Nebraska; John Valery White, JD, William S. Boyd School of Law; Richard Whitley, MS, Nevada Department of Health and Human Services; Dylan Wint, MD, Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health 2018 | UNLV Law

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WHO KNEW?

For Your Protection

LOOKING FOR A LEGAL FIELD IN HIGH DEMAND IN THE INFORMATION AGE? LOOK NO FURTHER THAN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW

BY LISSA TOWNSEND RODGERS The law is an ever-changing, alwaysevolving phenomenon, and nowhere is this truer than in the field of intellectual property law. And in a city as technologically and creatively dynamic as Las Vegas, it’s particularly important to have attorneys who are well-trained to handle intellectual property disputes.

It’s why the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law provides students an opportunity to pursue a degree with a concentration in this complex, yet critical, legal area.

“Intellectual property law protects the creations, inventions, and intangible assets of authors, inventors, and businesses—assets that are of tremendous importance and ever-increasing value in today’s economies,” says Marketa Trimble, the Samuel S. Lionel Professor of Intellectual Property Law who has been one of Boyd’s intellectual property law professors since 2010.

Students who opt for the concentration do in-depth explorations of the many issues related to intellectual property law—a legal 18

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area with which all attorneys should be familiar regardless of their chosen career path.

After all, if there’s one field of law that casts a wide net over multiple industries, it’s intellectual property.

“IP issues are pervasive in all areas of business, research, and creative activity, so it is crucial for lawyers to be able to spot those issues and flag them for clients,” says Mary LaFrance, the IGT Professor of Intellectual Property who has been teaching at UNLV Law since 1999. “Even if the lawyer is not an IP expert, simply identifying the issue so that an expert can be consulted will help the client avoid costly mistakes.”

One reason Boyd students might elect to focus their studies on intellectual property is that it’s very much a field in demand. In the Information Age, where a few clicks of a button is usually all it takes for someone to misappropriate another’s intangible property, there’s an endless stream of work that requires the expertise of intellectual property lawyers.

“The Internet has changed things dramatically, because it makes it possible to

copy, distribute, or publicly perform digitized products with minimal effort and with no need for a costly apparatus,” LaFrance says. “The Internet also complicates enforcement of patent, trademark, and trade secrets laws.”

Making things even more complicated is that rapid advances in technology can render IP laws—even those recently enacted—obsolete in short order. And while the law tries to keep pace with seemingly never-ending innovations in the Information Age, it’s a race that’s nearly impossible to win.

“New laws do not always keep up with the latest technological developments and can rarely anticipate forthcoming developments,” Trimble says. “Therefore, the greatest challenge today is to pass legislation that best addresses current issues while not impeding current and future technological advances.”

One way to ensure that intellectual property laws and their implementation remain as current as possible is to gather leading experts to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the industry.

For example, UNLV Law hosted a conference on October 4, 2018, titled “Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement at Trade Shows: International Perspectives and Best Practices.”

Andrei Iancu, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, delivered the keynote speech, while speakers from the United States, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Spain, and Switzerland participated on several panels.

“Trade shows are important venues for the exchange of information about the latest developments in technology, and protection of intellectual property rights at trade shows is therefore of special importance,” Trimble says.

Also of importance: the role Boyd alumni play in the ever-evolving field of intellectual property law.

“We’ve had a great track record of placing our graduates in firms doing interesting IP work, and they are now moving into the ranks of partners and shareholders at those firms, as well as taking leadership roles in the IP section of the Nevada Bar,” says LaFrance, noting that a number of past students have returned to Boyd to share their knowledge with the next generation of IP attorneys. “They bring a lot of expertise back to the classroom, and help to inspire our current students.”

WHO KNEW?

Plenty of Work to Do BOYD’S WORKPLACE LAW CONCENTRATION TRAINS STUDENTS IN A MULTIFACETED AREA OF LAW THAT’S IN HIGH DEMAND—ESPECIALLY IN NEVADA

BY LISSA TOWNSEND RODGERS The field of workplace law may not have the drama of the criminal courtroom or the high-stakes excitement of securities law, but it makes headlines—particularly in Las Vegas, where everything from union contract negotiations to disputes in the entertainment industry have kept workplace law attorneys busy for years.

Given that fact, it’s no surprise that the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law offers a concentration dedicated to workplace law.

After all, the school is uniquely positioned— both academically and geographically—to facilitate the exploration of this vast, complex legal field.

“There are only a handful of workplace law programs across the country, so it’s particular innovative in a place where it’s really necessary,” says Professor Ann C. McGinley, co-director of Boyd’s Workplace Law Concentration and author of multiple articles and books on the subject.

This past year, more than any other, workplace law has been a hot-button topic in the wake of the international #MeToo movement.

And Las Vegas, as much as any other city, has found itself at the center of the controversy, be it the highly publicized sexual harassment accusations of casino mogul Steve Wynn or under-the-radar cases involving workers up, down, and around the Strip.

“In Las Vegas and every other place in the country right now, everybody is paying a lot of attention to employment discrimination law, especially the anti-harassment provision of anti-discrimination law,” says McGinley, whose many scholarly works include her book Masculinity at Work: Employment Discrimination Through a Different Lens, which examines harassment and bullying through the multidimensional masculinities theory.

“A lot of the state’s casinos have highly sexualized employment, and there’s a very important discussion that has to happen around sexual harassment—it’s a little different here [in Nevada] than in other places.”

Boyd Professor Ruben Garcia, who codirects the Workplace Law Concentration with McGinley, notes that what makes Nevada (and specifically Las Vegas) a hotbed for workplace law is that the primary industry— tourism—is so multilayered. “The difference between Las Vegas and the rest of the country is that we’re on the cutting edge of so many of these [workplace law] issues,” he says.

Specifically, Garcia points out that Southern Nevada has a higher percentage of union members among its workforce than many regions of the country. And as was the case with the Culinary Union this past year, those

members are often involved in hotly contested contract negotiations involving workplace law attorneys.

Then there’s the matter of employment law, which covers a wide demographic in Nevada, from casino executives to undocumented workers. Garcia—who, like McGinley, has written extensively about workplace law—discussed the latter topic in his book, Marginal Workers: How Legal Fault Lines Divide Workers and Leave Them Without Protection.

Yet another area of workplace law that’s unique to the Silver State is, of course, gaming—although not as unique as it once was, with the industry rapidly expanding across the country. And as that continues, other jurisdictions where gaming is present will encounter their own workplace law disputes— and be in need of attorneys who possess the expertise to settle them.

That’s where UNLV Law students who matriculate through the Workplace Law Concentration stand to have a key advantage.

“We have been doing workplace law in the gaming industry for decades, so we have special expertise here on how that works,” Garcia says. “Obviously our students will have a basis for those cutting-edge issues—whether it’s in discrimination or organizing or collective bargaining—by doing law here at Boyd.”

Adds McGinley: “We also have some other concentrations that have some really interesting connections. Workplace law overlaps and makes for a rich curriculum for our students that helps train them for the future.”

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LEADING THE WAY As he prepares to relinquish the governor’s office and assume his new leadership role at UNLV Law, Brian Sandoval and those who know him best reflect on a life dedicated to serving others | By Steve Sebelius

B

rian Sandoval’s first lessons in leadership came in the most unlikely of places: sheep pens.

In his youth, the man who would eventually become Nevada’s 30th governor did family chores tending a flock of sheep in the northern Nevada town of Sparks. He’d later like to joke that cleaning up after the sheep is what prepared him for a career in politics (it turned out to be a joke rooted in truth).

It’s a political career that began in earnest in 1984, when Sandoval—then a 21-year-old student at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR)—sent an internship application to the office of Nevada U.S. Senator Paul Laxalt, a man whose father happened to be a sheepherder. A line in Sandoval’s essay about a childhood job tending sheep caught the Republican senator’s eye, and helped get Sandoval the internship.

Although the internship lasted just one semester, getting to work for Laxalt—during the reelection campaign of Ronald Reagan, Laxalt’s best friend—proved to be an experience full of lessons that would shape Sandoval’s rise through every facet of Nevada leadership, which would touch all three branches of government.

“When I applied, I never thought I’d be accepted. It was like going to Mars, that I would be able to intern for a U.S. Senator in Washington, D.C.,” Sandoval says during the same week all of Nevada mourned Laxalt’s death at age 96. “Where leadership and politics really started to form for me is when I interned for him.”

It was the first step in a long political career that would take Sandoval from writing laws 20

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LEADING THE WAY: BRIAN SANDOVAL

in the Assembly, to enforcing them—first as lifelong mission of making a difference. So in a member (and later chairman) of the Ne1994, he ran for office for the first time, seekvada Gaming Commission, then as Nevada ing the Reno Assembly seat that had been attorney general—to interpreting them as a vacated by Assemblyman Jim Gibbons, who federal judge, and finally to the apex of state was making a first (and ultimately unsucgovernment as governor. Along the way he cessful) bid for governor. collected wisdom that he’ll soon be sharing Sandoval recalls learning an important with students at the UNLV William S. Boyd lesson in his early days as a legislator: It was School of Law as the school’s first Distinmore about the people being served than the guished Fellow in Law and Leadership. person in the office. “As I grew into positions But it all began in those sheep pens, a of public service, I recognized it was about chore that helped a young Sandoval earn helping people and making a difference vermoney and learn responsibility. Initially sus being called ‘Mr. Sandoval,’” he says. “It shy and afraid of public speaking, Sandoval was a big maturation process for me as well. gained an appreciation for leadership from What I learned and was exposed to [as an asreports he wrote about former U.S. presisemblyman] made me better as I went on.” dents and Civil War generals.

It was in the Legislature that Sandoval All the while, one particular goal came began developing his distinctive leadership into clear focus early in Sandoval’s life, style, one that valued deliberation over rash something he credits his parents for instilling.

“I had always hoped, and I guess I have my parents to thank for this, that whatever I did, [I would] make a difference,” Sandoval says. “So when you put all of those things together, I think that was the beginning of my leadership career.” *** he direction one’s life takes often has as much to do with happenstance as anything. And this was certainly the case for Brian Sandoval, whose future was in part informed by an early exposure to law and lawyers, the result of his mother’s job as a legal secretary at the federal courthouse.

In the afternoons after getting out of Little Flower School—a Catholic BRIAN SANDOVAL elementary school in Reno—Sandoval would head to the federal building and sometimes sit in the back of the courtroom watching the law in full moaction, and thoughtful consideration over tion. Years later, he’d work as a cashier and quick sound bites. He also learned—from the busboy in the building’s cafeteria, a job that attorneys with whom he practiced and from afforded him the chance to meet and intersuch state lawmakers as legendary longtime act with some of those lawyers and judges Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio of Reno— he observed as a youngster. “That makes an the value of working across the aisle. impression on a 13-year-old kid,” Sandoval “I don’t think anybody would have desays. “And I thought, ‘Wow, what a place scribed me as partisan at any point in my where you could make a difference in peocareer,” Sandoval says. “For me, it was about ple’s lives!’” gathering all the facts and information, lisSo, after graduating from UNR, Sandotening, and then, based on what I heard and val moved on to The Ohio State University’s saw, reaching the best informed decision Moritz College of Law, earning his J.D. in that I could.”

1989. Rather than remain in Ohio, though, Years later, his style would earn him he returned to his native Reno to begin his praise from colleagues across the political legal career, first as an attorney at various spectrum. firms in town before eventually starting his “Part of what I think is special about him own practice. is his authenticity,” says state Senator Heidi However, five years into practicing law, Gansert, R-Reno.

Sandoval yearned to do more to advance his Gansert certainly knows Sandoval well:

“I don’t think anybody would have described me as partisan at any point in my career. For me, it was about gathering all the facts and information, listening, and then, based on what I heard and saw, reaching the best informed decision that I could.”

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The two were classmates at Reno’s Bishop Manogue High School, where Gansert served as Sandoval’s vice president when he was elected student-body president, his first political office. Decades later, Gansert would once again serve Sandoval—as chief of staff after he’d been elected governor.

Of course, it’s one thing for a longtime, ideologically similar friend to lavish praise on Sandoval. It’s another when it comes from a political foe. “He’s deliberate, thoughtful, and has an ability to listen to both sides and really discern what the most important issues are,” says state Senator Yvanna Cancela, D-Las Vegas. “He doesn’t need to make grand speeches or have bombs thrown into the political back and forth.”

In fact, Cancela—who is currently pursuing her law degree as a second-year student at Boyd—calls herself Sandoval’s No. 1 fan, which might seem odd considering the governor vetoed her 2017 bill that would’ve required drug makers to reveal more information about prices for diabetes medications. But rather than simply stamp that veto and walk away, Sandoval authored a typically deliberative veto message—one that gave Cancela a virtual road map to writing a bill he could sign. Which is what she did, and by session’s end, a new version of the legislation became law with Sandoval’s signature.

“He’s not interested in playing games when the lives of people are involved,” Cancela says.

Although some suggest Sandoval’s style stems from his legal training, he says it grows out of his personality and background. “It’s just in me,” he says.

“That has always just been my instinct, and the credit for that really goes to my parents [teaching me] to not reach a conclusion without listening to people.” *** ome saw potential in Sandoval from his earliest days.

“Brian Sandoval was always special,” says Pete Ernaut, chief government relations officer at R&R Partners who was a classmate of Sandoval’s at UNR. “You didn’t know what he was going to do, [but] you knew it was going to be important.”

Ernaut recalls Sandoval as a serious student who obviously had the temperament to study law. Although Ernaut later transferred from UNR to the University of Southern California, he and Sandoval shared a lifelong friendship that would extend to serving together in the Assembly.

While Ernaut did three terms in the Assembly, Sandoval departed after two in 1998 when then-Democratic Governor Bob Miller

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LEADING THE WAY: BRIAN SANDOVAL

appointed him to the Nevada Gaming Commission, one of Nevada’s two casino-industry regulatory divisions. The following year, newly elected Republican Governor Kenny Guinn—a man who, like Laxalt and Raggio, would become a mentor—made the then 35-year-old Sandoval the youngest chairman in the history of the Gaming Commission.

One of the many issues Sandoval tackled on the commission was taking on federal efforts to abolish sports gambling (which, until early in spring 2018, was legal only in Nevada). He also dealt with the thorny issue of neighborhood casinos, which had flared into a political conflagration in Las Vegas.

After four years on the commission, opportunity knocked again for Sandoval in 2002. And again he answered, running for and winning Nevada’s attorney general post, the first time in state history that a Latino ascended to a statewide position. He served under Guinn during the unusually contentious 2003 Legislature, when partisan bickering over taxes kept lawmakers from approving a budget for schools.

Sandoval famously delivered a lawsuit to the Nevada Supreme Court on behalf of the governor at midnight on the first day of the new fiscal year, seeking to compel the Legislature to fulfill its constitutional duties.

In addition to handling his own responsibilities as attorney general, Sandoval was in charge of leading a staff of deputies. One such deputy was a young attorney named Jason Frierson, who was just a few years removed from being a member of UNLV Law’s first graduating class.

Like Sandoval, Frierson was a UNR alum. Unlike Sandoval, Frierson was a Democrat. But that difference didn’t stop Sandoval from considering—and eventually hiring and mentoring—the man who today is Speaker of the Nevada Assembly.

“He and I have had a healthy respect for each other and our ability to be frank with each other,” says Frierson, who recalls being surprised that Sandoval personally interviewed him for the deputy attorney general job. “He’s always been very thoughtful about policies, even compromises. He’s always going to be an example of someone I will point to as a statesman, regardless of party.”

After Frierson was hired, the two would occasionally engage in discussions about family and the demands of political life on elected officials. Soon, though, they would go their separate ways, when the man who once cleaned out sheep pens took a career detour to the judiciary. Once again, it in-

volved Sandoval intersecting with a Democrat—only this time, the most powerful Democrat in the country: Harry Reid, a lifelong Nevadan and the state’s longest-serving U.S. Senator.

It was 2004, and Reid was gearing up for re-election when—perhaps sensing that the attorney general with the rising political star might enter the race and end up as his chief opponent—Reid proposed Sandoval’s name to then-President George W. Bush as a candidate for the federal bench.

Bush agreed, Sandoval’s nomination was approved on an 89-0 vote (with 11 senators not voting), and on October 26, 2005, he as-

don’t ever let this become routine, because you’re dealing with human beings, people who have friends and family,” Sandoval says. “Even though you’ve done a hundred sentencings or you’ve accepted a hundred pleas, remember that even though you’ve seen 100 people, they’ve only seen you once.” *** ob security. It’s something we all long for, and the second Sandoval was confirmed as a federal judge, he had that security.

For life. But even as he sat on the bench each day, Sandoval was fully aware that a political storm was brewing in Carson City.

It was 2009, and Jim Gibbons, whom Sandoval had succeeded in the Legislature 16 years prior, had been elected governor but was facing personal scandal and political headwinds.

Of course, nobody in the Democratic Party was shedding any tears for the embattled governor; rather, realizing Gibbons’ prospects for re-election were slim, they were prepared to reclaim the governor’s mansion for the first time in a decade.

What those Democrats probably weren’t expecting was that a federal judge would come out of nowhere and pick off Gibbons before they could. Not that Sandoval immediately jumped at the chance to challenge Gibbons. Indeed, running for governor—even against an unpopular incumbent—was a daunting prospect for Sandoval. In addition to his lifetime appointment to the bench, he had the potential of rising to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit—maybe even someday the U.S. Supreme Court.

Then there was this little historiBrian Sandoval, circa cal hurdle to clear: No incumbent 1994 in his first year as a governor in Nevada had ever lost in Nevada Assemblyman. a primary.

After discussing the matter with family and friends, including Ernaut, Sandoval decided the risk was worth sumed his position as a U.S. District Court taking: On September 15, 2009, he resigned judge for the District of Nevada. his judgeship and announced he would take By all accounts, Sandoval enjoyed his on Gibbons. The rest is history. “It takes a four years on the federal bench, especially special guy to put the state ahead of his own the times he was able to fill in on panels [career] security,” Ernaut says. for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth As governor, Sandoval confronted many Circuit. He counted fellow Nevada District issues that would test his leadership mettle.

Court judges such as Howard McKibben, They ranged from tragedies such as a deadly Edward Reed, Philip Pro, and Larry Hicks crash at the Reno Air Races and the murder as his mentors. of National Guard soldiers at a Carson City After becoming governor, it was SandoIHOP restaurant—the incidents occurred 10 val’s turn to serve as a judicial mentor of days apart in September 2011—to the Octosorts: While appointing judges to courts ber 1 mass shooting in Las Vegas. The latter in Nevada, he would recall his time on the tragedy has been particularly difficult to get bench to future state jurists. “I tell them past. “That took something out of me that I

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will never put back,” he says. “I hope that you should never underestimate how imD.C., does not make its way to Nevada.” nobody ever has to experience that. Those portant it is to look somebody in the eye Hutchison, a fellow lawyer, says he’s come kinds of things never go away.” and tell them that this is what I’m doing to admire Sandoval’s style, both personSandoval dealt with political crises, as and this is why, and you may not like it and ally and professionally. “Brian Sandoval is a well. After running on a pledge not to raise I understand that you do not like it, but you judge,” Hutchison says. “He looks at the evitaxes, an adverse court ruling swept away need to understand why I’ve made the decidence, weighs it and evaluates it and comes more than $60 million from the state’s budsion that I have.” out with a decision. … He doesn’t just disget on the eve of the close of the 2011 legisTo that point, Republicans during the miss people who disagree with him.” lative session. Sandoval had two choices: 2017 session wanted Sandoval to threaten to Among the many Nevadans who believe go back on his promise by extending a tax veto any budget unless Democrats included the state is in better hands after eight years of package that was set to expire, or make funding for a stalled school-choice program, Sandoval’s leadership is his former studentadditional and painful cuts to the budget, one that the governor favored and signed council vice president: “I think he’s leaving a including schools. He chose to extend the into law in 2015. But Sandoval, a veteran of strong legacy,” Gansert says. taxes, which earned him the ire of many that contentious 2003 session under Guinn, *** Republicans. or Sandoval, that legacy is That doesn’t include his current somewhat bittersweet. With lieutenant governor, Mark Hutchison, the recent death of Laxalt— a former state senator who ran for the which was preceded by the passings PILLARS OF LEADERSHIP No. 2 spot in 2014 because Sandoval The following 10 principles were distilled from conversations with Governor of Guinn in 2010 and Raggio in 2012— asked him to do so. “Now the question Brian Sandoval and his associates, as well as through observations of his three of the great men of Nevada poliisn’t, ‘What is the Republican thing leadership style over his many years in public office. tics are gone. With them went a difto do?’ it’s ‘What’s best for Nevada?’”

1) Work hard and always come prepared. Good decisions are based on ferent style of political leadership, one Hutchison says. “Brian Sandoval good information, and that takes research and a thorough understanding of that distinguished campaigning from wakes up every day and thinks about the material. governing, politics from pragmatism, what’s the best thing for Nevada.”

2) Learn first, then decide. Get all the facts and hear from all sides, then and partisanship from comity. And Gansert says her longtime friend make a decision based on the evidence. now the man who has embodied that had pledged to improve education in 3) Be pragmatic. The goal of public policy is to find solutions to the style as much as anyone is stepping off Nevada, along with fighting unemproblems that vex people. Don’t let ideology or philosophy get in the way of that stage, too. ployment and adding new businesses. a good answer to a problem.

He does so, though, to begin yet anHe kept those promises, she says, even 4) Give credit where credit is due. Nobody succeeds on their own. other new chapter. As UNLV Law’s reorganizing government to put the Surround yourself with smart people, and give them credit for their part in first Distinguished Fellow in Law and governor directly in charge of economthe process.

Leadership, Sandoval aspires to adic development. That latter maneuver 5) Always do what’s in the best interests of all. Don’t allow special vance the program’s goals, which inmeant one thing: Success or failure interests or personal preferences to stand in the way of doing what you know clude preparing future lawyers to take would be on his shoulders. “It was is right. leadership positions in government personal to him,” she says. “He took on 6) Clearly articulate why you’re saying no. Explaining to people how and public service; bringing together more than he had to as governor.” and why you’ve reached a decision—even one they disagree with or one that national and state leaders and scholErnaut notes that Sandoval didn’t disappoints—helps them feel they’ve been heard and helps them understand ars to discuss theory and application; set out to extend taxes, or impose the your reasoning. and furthering the academic study of state’s first tax on business revenue, 7) Be Attentive. Always listen, especially to those who don’t agree, to see leadership, and the role and ethics of which he did in 2015. He said the govif they have valid ideas, and don’t be afraid to implement those ideas. Also lawyers in leadership positions. ernor was committed to improving listen to individuals as they describe their specific lives and situations so you Although Laxalt, Raggio, and schools, and realized that couldn’t be can better relate to what they’re going through.

Guinn are no longer here to see where done without more money. “He went 8) Be sincere. Never lie, mislead, or shade the truth. Follow this path their protégé leads this important about it in the fairest way possible,” consistently, and others will know you’re being honest. program, Sandoval insists he’ll conErnaut says. “Sandoval is a lifelong, 9) Try to keep your promises. In politics, this is easier said than done. tinue to be guided by the leadership proud Republican. But he’s a NevaBut by trying your best to honor your word, you instill faith and confidence in lessons he gleaned from that trio. dan first, and that’s all you need to your ability to lead.

“You’ll like this, because I know know about him.”

10) Give it your all. No matter the endeavor, always give your very best you’re a big Star Wars geek,” SandoFrierson says his dealings with Saneffort every day, so when it’s completed, you will know it was a job well done. val tells an interviewer. “Sometimes doval as governor were made easier I worry that I’m the last of the Jedi. I because of the respect both had for do. That’s why it’s important to me to the process. “There are a lot of us who stand up this Law and Leadership proshare Governor Sandoval’s values and resaw the potential for another standoff that gram, because hopefully I can convey these spect for the institution,” he says. “We both would shut down Nevada’s government and lessons, as I’m one of the last people who reagreed to put Nevada first in all of that.” close schools. He refused the entreaties from ally had the benefit of watching and learning For Sandoval, all of his decisions—whethsome in his party. from these giants. All three of them are on er made as governor, federal judge, attorney “I absolutely believe that the road to good the Mount Rushmore of Nevada.” general, or legislator—always came back to public policy and success is paved by workIf Sandoval really is the last of the Jedi, his fundamental principles: fairness, delibing across the aisle, both parties working then perhaps his new position will enable eration, and honesty. together. Hopefully that’s been a hallmark him to fulfill the command Master Yoda gave “I’ve always been straight with people,” of my career as governor,” Sandoval says. to his final student, Luke Skywalker: “Pass he says. “I’ve never misled anybody. And “I hope what is happening in Washington, on what you have learned.”

F

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UNLV Law | 2018

All Rise These seven Nevada judges took different routes to their respective bench positions, but all share one common trait: They cut their legal teeth at UNLV Law

BY PATRICK EVERSON

M

ost of us dread the thought of going to court, whether to fight a traffic ticket or serve on a jury. Then there are those who actually live to not only be in a courtroom but to run it, as judges working to fairly administer justice every day.

The UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law has given rise to many such individuals, and the citizens of Clark County—and beyond—are certainly better off for it. That’s because these justices aren’t satisfied simply meting out jail sentences or fines. The common thread among all of them is a strong desire to be problem-solvers, to find remedies that help those in need get their lives on track.

The following is a look at seven Boyd alums who have distinguished themselves on the bench in a variety of ways.

2018 | UNLV Law

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“When I think back to Boyd, it’s still to me about a sense of community. Boyd established a community law program where students would go out and give free classes to the public. It was really about giving back to the community.”

— LAS VEGAS JUSTICE COURT CHIEF JUDGE JOE BONAVENTURE

Chief Judge Sam Bateman (Class of 2002)

Sam Bateman earned his economics degree from his home state University of Utah in 1999, then pretty much proceeded directly to UNLV Law. But that path wasn’t exactly as conventional as it might appear.

“I was 21 years old and didn’t have the slightest idea what I was doing,” Bateman recalls. “I was down here in Las Vegas for my birthday, and I wandered over to the law school, which at the time was at the old Paradise Elementary School. I figured I’d stop in and see the lay of the land. It was definitely close to home, it was less expensive, plus it’s Las Vegas. You can’t go wrong there!”

And Bateman didn’t, graduating with the school’s second class in 2002. He went on to clerk for Judge Larry Hicks in U.S. District Court downtown, spent a year with the law firm of Hale Lane Peek Dennison and Howard, then in 2004 moved on to the Clark County District Attorney’s Office, where he remained for 12½ years. His service there overlapped his time as City of Henderson planning commissioner from 2007 to 2011, and his 2011-2016 stretch on the Henderson City Council.

In 2016, Bateman left all that behind for Henderson Justice Court, first finishing out a vacated term before winning an election this year to retain that post for a sixyear term. For Bateman, it’s been a case of back to the future, as he acknowledges his clerkship with Judge Hicks is what first lit his judicial fire.

“That was probably my favorite job,” he says. “Then being a prosecutor for 12½ years, I’ve basically been in front of darn-near every judge in Clark County.”

Though his time on the bench has been short, it has been successful—Bateman is now Chief Judge—and productive, particularly through making court appearances just a bit more tolerable for those who the court serves.

“What I’ve been trying to work on is updating technology in the court, making it more user-friendly, trying to streamline the process,” Bateman says. “People who use the court here have a more efficient time and a better customer-service experience through the use of updated procedures and technology. I’ve seen technology in so many courts. I can implement in Henderson what I’ve seen work elsewhere.”

Looking back at his time at Boyd, Bateman says being a law student during the school’s infancy prepared him and his peers to be more solution-oriented in the legal community.

“Those first four [years at Boyd], anybody on the ground floor would’ve developed the resilience and the ability to be a problemsolver,” Bateman says, noting that his time with such unique peers in a new setting was the most memorable part of law school. “We had a very diverse student body, in terms of life experience. In a sense, it was vintage Las Vegas. Our median age was 30 years old. Now it’s probably low 20s. We had a lot of nontraditional students. But it was unique and a benefit to everybody. I had a lot more fun as a law student than I did as a college undergraduate.”

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UNLV Law | 2018

Chief Judge Joe Bonaventure (Class of 2001)

Joe Bonaventure is a lifelong Las Vegan, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in economics from UNLV in 1998—the same year the Boyd School of Law opened. So it was only natural that he stayed here to attain his goal of getting a law degree, as a member of Boyd’s first graduating class in 2001.

A mere three years after earning his J.D.—during which time he did two clerkships, worked as a deputy district attorney for Clark County, and had a short stint in private practice—Bonaventure ran for and was elected to Las Vegas Justice Court as a Justice of the Peace. He was just 29 years old.

Fourteen years later, Bonaventure remains in that role, but his view of how to mete out justice has dramatically shifted.

“When I started, I considered myself a law-and-order judge,” says Bonaventure, now the court’s Chief Judge. “I’ve changed my philosophy in my time on the court. After taking over the DUI program, I saw the value of [overseeing] a problem-solving type of court—the life-changing outcomes for participants. And in my time as Chief Judge, I’ve established a community court. I was involved in the planning process, and I currently preside over that court, which is aimed at low-level nonviolent misdemeanors—quality-oflife offenses.”

The focal point of community court is addressing homeless issues on the Las Vegas Strip. Bonaventure says it works to identify individuals stuck in a revolving door in the criminal justice system.

“We attempt to end that cycle, to address the underlying root cause of criminal behavior, and come up with individualized plans,” Bonaventure says. “I get to spend more time with these individuals, assessing their family or employment situations. We identify services they are eligible for, such as housing, education, and employment, and have them do community service. You really see the difference you can make with defendants. It’s really satisfying.”

It all comes back to Bonaventure’s strong ties to his hometown, something that was further instilled in him as part of UNLV Law’s charter class.

“When I think back to Boyd, it’s still to me about a sense of community,” Bonaventure says. “In our second and third years, Boyd established a community law program. Law students would go out and give free classes to the public. It was really about giving back to the community.”

“Boyd prepared me well for the road I traveled, giving me a lot of connections with the Las Vegas legal community.” — CLARK COUNTY DISTRICT COURT JUDGE TIERRA D. JONES

Judge Cynthia Cruz

Judge Tierra D. Jones

How many judges can say they earned their bachelor’s degree in athletic training? Cynthia Cruz, who serves as a Justice of the Peace on the Las Vegas Justice Court, is among the likely few who can.

A near lifelong Las Vegan, Cruz obtained that undergraduate degree from UNLV in 1993 and immediately put it to work by starting a personal training business. Among the clients she worked with at gyms across the Las Vegas Valley were several attorneys. “I remember talking to [current Nevada Supreme Court] Justice Mike Cherry on the treadmill one day,” Cruz says. “The law school had opened here, and I just sat there and thought, ‘I wonder if I can do this?’”

In 2000, she decided to find out by taking the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). After scoring well, Cruz applied to only one law school: UNLV, whose admissions office welcomed her with open arms.

“Evidently,” Cruz says today, “training all those attorneys, they changed my mindset.”

After earning her law degree in 2003, Cruz clerked for Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass, then went to work for current Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson—Glass’ husband— as a criminal defense attorney. In 2007, she started her own practice, working in criminal defense, along with juvenile and family law. Five years later, Cruz began looking for a new career challenge, which led to her entering the 2012 race for the Department 5 Justice Court seat.

“I ran against an incumbent, with a shoestring-budget campaign,” Cruz recalls of her winning effort.

It’s been a rewarding stretch on the bench thus far, but Cruz says the achievement she’s most proud of is just beginning to take effect.

“I’m presiding over Adult Drug Court,” says Cruz, who earlier this year ran for re-election unopposed and is now locked in for a second six-year term. “When I took over at the start of 2016, we had very limited funding, so I’ve been hunting down and applying for federal grants.

We received a $1.95 million grant that we just got notified about. It’s going to bring in about $400,000 per year, allowing us to add 50 new participants annually. It’s going to help more people in the community who have substance-abuse problems.”

Cruz credits a laundry list of Boyd faculty for preparing her well to address the challenges of a law career. “We have such a phenomenal faculty,” she says.

Specifically, she has a fondness for Jay Bybee, who before becoming a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit taught Cruz and her peers a valuable lesson. “Never, ever, ever ask Judge Bybee for a multiple-choice examination. My entire class learned that the hard way,” Cruz says with a laugh. “He gave you an exam that would be like, ‘Is Answer 1 more correct than Answer 2, or less correct than Answer 3?’”

With 15 years of hindsight, though, Cruz says the challenges and instruction offered by Bybee and his peers were keys to her successful career path—not to mention that of countless others.

“The faculty that I studied under at Boyd taught us how to critically think, how to evolve an argument, through writing or having to think very fast on our feet in court, like when being asked questions by a judge,” Cruz recalls. “When you came out of law school, you had a lot of tools to do things correctly.”

Tierra D. Jones is among the latest Boyd graduates to reach the bench, having been appointed by Governor Brian Sandoval to a vacated Clark County District Court seat in April 2017. But she’ll have plenty more experience coming her way, as she’s running unopposed in November’s election, ensuring her seat on the bench in Department 10 through 2020.

Jones’ move to the bench was perhaps only a matter of natural progression, given the Nevada native’s diverse service to the public since gaining her law degree in 2006. After graduating from UNLV Law, she clerked for Judge Stewart Bell in District Court; worked as an attorney in the Clark County Public Defender’s Office; lobbied on behalf of that office during the 2011 Legislature; spent nearly two years at the Nye County District Attorney’s Office; then spent about three years as a prosecutor with the Clark County District Attorney’s office.

“Boyd prepared me well for the road I traveled,” Jones says, adding that the preparation wasn’t just within the classroom walls.

“The school gave me a lot of connections with the Las Vegas legal community. That gave me the ability to build those relationships.”

Just as important, Jones learned from those relationships and from her subsequent work helping the legal community in an array of public-service posts, which in turn helped prepare her for the bench. As a District Court judge, Jones has a split case load of criminal and civil matters, creating a challenging balance, but she’s working for positive outcomes in both realms.

“It’s a huge accomplishment to get versed in rules of civil procedures and different civil situations that will arise,” Jones says. “A lot of people think you can only help those in family court or in criminal court, but you have the ability to help a lot of people from the civil court aspect, as well.”

Looking back on her days at Boyd, Jones aligned with many of her former classmates-turned-jurists in mentioning how the school’s community service component has served her well throughout her legal career. “You will use that forever—figuring out who needs those services and then putting people in touch with those services,” she says.

Specifically, Jones recalls her participation in the school’s LEAP program—Legal Education and Assistance to Prisoners—as a valuable learning experience. “I’d travel to prison and help inmates draft legal pleadings,” she says. “That program is very memorable. It gives me a different outlook now, because I was once there. It’s interesting to see these pleadings, now that I’m reviewing their legal proceedings. It’s very interesting to come full circle.”

(Class of 2003)

(Class of 2006)

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“It was always a goal of mine to be on the bench. I used to tell my teachers in high school that I’d be a Justice of the Peace.” — ELKO COUNTY JUDGE MASON SIMONS

Judge Rebecca Kern (Class of 2004)

Rebecca Kern had a game plan to be an accountant, earning her undergraduate degree from UNLV in that specialty in 2000. She even went to work in the industry during the year that followed—but as she sat at a desk and crunched numbers, she could not quite get one thought out of her mind.

“When I was working on my undergraduate degree, I realized the classes I liked most were law-oriented,” Kern says. “After graduation, I was thinking I might go on to become a certified public accountant, but I also thought, ‘If I am going to go back to school, I would like [to get] a law degree.’ I was more interested in law school than getting a master’s degree in accounting. I applied only to Boyd, because I was born and raised in Las Vegas.”

Kern was accepted to UNLV Law in 2001, and in 2004 was a member of the school’s fourth graduating class. She went on to work at private practices over the next 12 years, focusing first on family law, then branching out into other areas of civil law before eventually moving more into real estate and mortgage law.

The latter civil experience, she says, is what ultimately led her to the Las Vegas Justice Court bench.

“As an attorney doing that type of law, I appeared in Justice Court frequently, as well as in District Court,” Kern says. “With my experience as an attorney, along with my desire to help the community, I felt like I would better be able to give back more as a judge. It was a better fit and the role I wanted to take.”

So Kern ran for the Justice Court’s Department 6 seat in 2016, surviving a tightly contested three-candidate primary, then worked hard to unseat the incumbent in the general election to earn a six-year term as Justice of the Peace.

With Kern getting settled in on the bench, she points to her early professional experiences aiding the community as her most satisfying accomplishment.

“Definitely my pro bono work,” Kern says of efforts that led to her earning multiple awards for her dedication to assisting those unable to afford representation. “A lot of the clients were indigent or close thereto. It was rewarding to provide legal assistance to help my clients move forward in a positive way.”

For Kern, it all comes back to that sense of community, something that was a big part of her experience at Boyd. “The student body and faculty were very tight-knit. I remember classmates being helpful and kind. We really had a diverse student body with students at different places in their lives, including some working on a second career—there was even a practicing doctor. That kind of diversity allowed us to gain knowledge from one another’s life experiences. It was really wonderful.”

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UNLV Law | 2018

Judge Mason Simons (Class of 2003)

The world of law doesn’t just exist in the big city. Locales far from Las Vegas’ bright lights need bright legal minds, too. Fortunately, years ago, Mason Simons discovered he and his family needed the smallertown life as much as the smaller town needed someone like him.

Since earning his J.D. from Boyd in 2003, Simons has spent most of the ensuing 15 years in Elko County, dispensing justice from the bench in one form or another the past 11½ years.

“I was pretty wet behind the ears when I started my career as a Court Master,” Simons recalls of the juvenile and family law assignment. Simons’ prior experience: 18 months clerking for Clark County District Court Judge Gloria S. O’Malley, before making the move to Elko County as a deputy public defender.

Simons spent six years as Court Master, during which he also served as child support hearing master in Ely and Pioche. He then ran for and won his race for Elko Township Justice of the Peace in November 2012.

As if that weren’t enough, the Elko City Council then appointed him to serve as a municipal court judge. But Simons is more than happy to be a busy justice.

“It was always a goal of mine to be on the bench. I used to tell my teachers in high school that I’d be a Justice of the Peace,” he says.

“When I first left the clerkship, my goal was to work for a DA’s office.

I just kind of landed as a public defender by happenstance. I felt good about Elko. It was a good fit for my family.”

Today, as a father of four, Simons continues to work to make Elko a good fit for all families, most notably through the years he’s spent first running the juvenile drug court, then establishing and running the family drug court program.

“I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished with our specialty programs,” he says. “If we don’t address the underlying problems—drug addiction, in this case—then we really just make the problem worse.”

Simons pointed back to several law school experiences that helped shape his career, but one stood out a bit more profoundly than the others. “My last semester, we had the Immigration Clinic, and there was a Tibetan Lama trying to get asylum,” Simons says. “Several students worked on his case, and we helped him get asylum. He still lives in the U.S. today. That was a fascinating experience.”

He adds that the school’s emphasis on real-world experience was of tremendous benefit, specifically mentioning his time working at the Clark County District Attorney’s office and in Las Vegas Family Court. “One of the things I was most grateful for was the opportunity to participate in two externship programs and a clinical program,” he says. “I’m a practical guy, and I wanted that practical, on-theground experience.”

“Two of my professors went onto the Ninth Circuit as judges. We had such illustrious professors in this elementary-school setting.” — CLARK COUNTY DISTRICT COURT JUDGE LINDA MARQUIS

Judge Linda Marquis (Class of 2003)

Linda Marquis got an early start to her legal career, working at a law office when she was 15 years old. But at the time, she had no expectation of staying in that field. “I didn’t like lawyers,” Marquis says now with a laugh. “It was not until I was a senior in college, when I was out of that law office and had a little perspective, that I had that awakening.”

Marquis was at Middle Tennessee State University at the time, completing her undergraduate work in criminal justice in 1999. She then returned home to pursue her law degree at UNLV, entering Boyd’s part-time evening program in 1999 and graduating in 2003.

She recalls it as a very memorable time in the Las Vegas legal scene.

“My first day of Introduction to Law Week was the first day of the preliminary hearing in the Binion case,” Marquis says of the infamous Ted Binion murder trial that garnered national attention. “By the time I started studying for the bar exam, the Nevada Supreme Court had issued a decision that ordered a new trial in the case. So the Binion trial basically served as bookends for my time at UNLV.” In fact, Marquis even ended up clerking for attorney Bill Terry, who was on the defense team in the Binion case. From there, she went on to be a both a Justice of the Peace pro-tem for Las Vegas Justice Court, and an alternate judge for the City of Las Vegas Municipal Court. Later, she was appointed by the Clark County Commission to the Clark County Police Fatality Review Board.

Impressed with her work in those roles, several people encouraged Marquis to run for a seat on the bench, overtures she repeatedly declined. But in 2014, Marquis finally decided to take the judicial plunge, running for Clark County District Court’s Department B seat. She prevailed, earning a six-year term to a post dedicated to Family Court, a role that she relishes as a mother herself. “This is an opportunity to be involved and make a significant impact,” Marquis says. “In this role, I can issue a decision that makes a difference right away for families in Clark County.”

Nearing the end of her fourth year on the bench, Marquis counts among her chief accomplishments her efforts to keep at-risk citizens safe. “We’ve improved upon our temporary protective order process, giving victims access in so many ways in this digital age,” Marquis says. “We are not in a 9-to-5 age, so we worked with our partners to allow victims to file for those orders from different locations.”

As she looks back at her career and all she’s accomplished, Marquis credits the faculty at Boyd for preparing her well. “Two of my professors went onto the Ninth Circuit as judges,” Marquis says. “We had such illustrious professors in this elementary-school setting.”

It was a setting that provided some memorable lighter moments.

“One of the study rooms was the [old] walk-in freezer in the cafeteria,” recalls Marquis, a past president of Boyd’s Alumni Association. “It was the best study room, because it was quiet and also cold, which was good, because the air conditioning in the rest of the place wasn’t great. I will always favorably recall my days studying in the walk-in freezer.”

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Living the High Life From professors to alumni to students, the UNLV Law community is helping to light the legal path for Nevada’s flourishing marijuana industry BY LISSA TOWNSEND RODGERS

N

o matter which side of the fence you stand on when it comes to the legalization of marijuana, one point is undebatable: In the State of Nevada, recreational cannabis use has been highly popular and immensely profitable.

Since legal adult sales began in July 2017, more than $420 million in marijuana products have been sold, generating nearly $70 million in tax revenue—about 140 percent of what was predicted.

And as cannabis in the Silver State has evolved, UNLV Law has been involved, with professors and alumni helping to make the state a model for others rolling out their own programs.

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UNLV Law | 2018

“Time and time again people have said Nevada is the gold standard for marijuana regulation,” says Francine Lipman, a William S. Boyd Professor of Law who helped create marijuana taxation laws after being appointed by Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval to the Nevada Tax Commission in 2016. “And our law students are literally on the front lines of making this work better.”

Indeed they are. Take, for instance, Riana Durrett. She’s the Executive Director of the Nevada Dispensary Association, which advocated for Question 2, the ballot measure that voters passed in 2016 to officially legalize recreational marijuana use. Durrett graduated from UNLV

Law in 2008—one year after Eva Segerblom earned her J.D. from Boyd.

A partner at Maddox Segerblom Canepa, Segerblom is a Reno-based attorney who has represented both medical and recreational marijuana clients, including active dispensary, cultivation, and production businesses, as well as individuals and entities seeking licenses for dispensaries, production, and/ or cultivation. Segerblom also happens to be the daughter of the Nevada legislator considered the godfather of the state’s marijuana movement, Senator Tick Segerblom.

Both father and daughter acknowledge that the overwhelming first-year success enjoyed by the recreational marijuana industry can be traced to the solid foundation that was established three years ago when the state rolled out its medical marijuana rules and regulations.

“Starting in August, 2015, when the first dispensary opened, other than a few small hiccups the trajectory has been straight up, with the biggest surprise being there have been no surprises,” Tick Segerblom says.

“Whether by design or luck, Nevada hit the sweet spot for developing a secure and robust cannabis industry.”

Adds Eva Segerblom: “Building on the medical [marijuana] program—the most regulated and successful medical program in the United States—rather than setting up a completely different program for adult use allowed us to come to market much more quickly and smoothly than California. I don’t think there is any denying the success of our adult-use program’s first year.”

Budding Issues That’s not to say there weren’t a few twists on the path from medical to recreational consumption. Despite the careful planning, one significant issue arose between the state’s Department of Taxation and the liquor distributors who were initially given exclusive rights for recreational marijuana distribution. When the Tax Department determined that the liquor industry couldn’t meet distribution demands, it expanded licensure to non-liquor companies.

That led alcohol distributors to file a lawsuit against the Tax Department, with the case ultimately landing in the lap of the state Supreme Court, where it presently sits. “There was significant litigation that created tension no one wanted to create,” says Lipman, who is one of the nation’s top tax-law professors. “In retrospect, people would address the [recreational marijuana] statute differently.”

That dispute aside, as Tick Segerblom notes, it has been smooth sailing thus far for the state’s marijuana programs. For that, Durrett credits the collaborative relationship that’s been fostered between the regulators and the regulated.

“The state has a kind of consensus between the industry and the governor’s office, lawmakers, regulators, and other stakeholders,” Durrett says. “There’s a really good connec-

“Building on the medical [marijuana] program—the most regulated and successful medical program in the United States—rather than setting up a completely different program for adult use allowed us to come to market much more quickly and smoothly than California.”

Eva Segerblom Partner at Maddox Segerblom Canepa

tion between the industry and the lawmakers—they work hand-in-hand to develop the outstanding regulations that we have now.”

A crucial point to remember, however, is that not every jurisdiction in the state has adopted recreational marijuana regulations.

In fact, some of Nevada’s rural areas have resisted issuing recreational marijuana licenses. Two of those rural jurisdictions are Storey County and the City of Fallon, which are involved in litigation with businesses represented by Maddox Segerblom Canepa.

“Rural cannabis businesses are met with both a lack of education among the people that represent rural communities as to the realities of our medical and adult-use programs, as well as draconian attitudes toward considering marijuana a business at all,” Eva Segerblom says. She’s quick to add, though, that more rural leaders—such as Daniel Corona, the mayor of West Wendover in northeast Nevada—are starting to become better informed about the cannabis industry, while also advocating for the business opportunities it offers their communities.

Not in This Joint Perhaps the biggest legal sticking point facing the state’s marijuana industry involves the matter of social consumption—particularly as it relates to the tourism sector.

In jurisdictions where recreational marijuana is legal, citizens can purchase cannabis products and consume them in private residences. However, current ordinances prohibit use in public areas, including on the Las Vegas Strip and inside resort-casinos.

That means any of the 40 million-plus tourists over the age of 21 who visit Las Vegas annually can walk into a dispensary and purchase whatever they’d like—they just have nowhere to go to legally consume it.

Several Boyd students have been at the forefront of the public-consumption topic, crafting a white paper that was published in April 2018 in the Nevada Law Journal. The document—which will be discussed during a Marijuana White Paper Symposium on November 2, 2018, at the Thomas & Mack Moot Court—covered everything from zoning to transportation to air-quality considerations for employees.

Ask Boyd professor Dr. David Orentlicher, the co-director of UNLV’s Health Law Program, about marijuana’s public-consumption debate, and he compares it to a similar hot-button public-health topic: the soda tax that some U.S. cities and several foreign countries have instituted. “There are different kinds of arguments—[the] public-health argument, to control obesity, but also the argument about revenue-raising interests,” he says.

Stirring the Pot Besides the convoluted public-consumption issue, there’s another critical legal hurdle facing the entire medical and recreational cannabis industry: Distributing, possessing, and consuming pot is still illegal in the eyes of the federal government. And that isn’t going to change anytime soon. In fact, as recently as January 2018, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memo directing “all U.S. Attorneys to use previously established prosecutorial principles” to prosecute marijuana crimes.

“The federal ban on marijuana not only affects the user, but it affects banking and casinos,” Orentlicher says. “Those institutions are heavily regulated by the federal government.”

While Sessions’ directive may have put a slight damper on the marijuana industry, Orentlicher doubts there will be a full federal crackdown on states that have legalized cannabis. Still, as long as marijuana remains a Schedule 1 drug, there will be roadblocks to doing deep dives into the overall effects of cannabis. “That’s sorely needed,” Eva Segerblom says. “Nevada could be a mecca for cannabis research, but as long as universities are still dependent on federal funding, it’s an impossibility.”

On the bright side, the marijuana industry is providing new, intriguing, and potentially lucrative opportunities for the latest generation of lawyers. “I’ve already seen it with my tax-law students who are now in-house counsel for marijuana businesses that are going public in Canada,” Lipman says. “That’s exciting for someone less than five years out of law school to be on the front lines.”

Durrett can certainly attest to that. After previously working in criminal and immigration law, the Boyd alumna has relished the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of what is a burgeoning industry.

“It’s more fun than anything else,” Durrett says of her role with the Nevada Dispensary Association. “In criminal [law], you’re arguing rules that have been argued for more than 100 years, and many of those rules have not changed for more than 100 years. Attorneys who have been involved [with marijuana] are literally writing some of the rules or giving input into what those rules should be.

“It’s a very engaging field, because it is new and there will still be new laws emerging over the next decade—new laws every year, probably. So I say jump in!”

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CELEBRATING 20 YEARS

An

ORAL HISTORY ON THE CREATION OF

NEVADA’S FIRST

STATE-SUPPORTED, FULLY ACCREDITED

LAW SCHOOL

... AND ITS HUMBLE BEGINNINGS INSIDE A RENOVATED ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

BY MATT JACOB 32

UNLV Law | 2018

“I always said to myself once I was in a position financially, I would donate the money to start a law school.”

T William S. Boyd

he young man who would go on to become one of Nevada’s most respected and successful casino moguls didn’t have a choice.

Neither did the future Nevada governor.

Or the future majority leader of the United States Senate. Or the managing partner of one of Nevada’s most prominent philanthropic family companies.

In fact, for the first 130-some years of this state’s history, not a single Nevadan who desired a legal education from an accredited institution had a choice: They had to pack up and flee their home state’s borders. Because Nevada didn’t have such an institution.

Just how rare was that? Well, as recently as the day before the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law opened its doors, only two states in the union didn’t offer its citizens a place to study law. One was Alaska; the other, Nevada.

The same Nevada that for a solid decade from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s regularly wore the label “Fastest Growing State in the Nation.”

The same Nevada that had long had a robust legal community. (Finding a lawyer in this state? Easy. Finding one educated in this state? Impossible.)

The same Nevada that as far back as the late 1960s deemed it important to create a state-supported school of medicine, which opened on the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), in March 1969. Yet a quarter-century later? No law school.

Sure, there were a couple of attempts to explore the need for a state-funded law school, but no action was taken. And while one privately funded law school did land in Reno in the 1980s, it never came close to gaining accreditation and thus was shuttered. So by the mid-1990s, Nevada remained with Alaska on that dubious list. And it irked a lot of people, including that respected and successful casino mogul.

“I thought there were many men and women from Nevada who would probably be good lawyers but who wouldn’t have an opportunity to go to law school because of the out-of-state expense,” says William S. (Bill) Boyd, who earned his bachelor’s degree at UNR before incurring those out-of-state fees at the University of Utah College of Law. “So I always said to myself once I was in a position financially, I would donate the money to start a law school.”

In late 1996, the Executive Chairman of Boyd Gaming did just that, pledging $5 million toward the founding of Nevada’s first official law school, one that would ultimately bear his name. It’s a gift that could be best characterized as a gigantic leap of faith. But rest assured, Bill Boyd didn’t take that leap alone.

Indeed, everyone associated with the formation of the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law essentially strapped a parachute on their back, not knowing if it would actually deploy when they yanked the ripcord. But all believed it was a risk worth taking, because of the prestige it would add to UNLV, and the potential to positively impact both the state’s legal community and community at-large.

To celebrate UNLV Law’s 20th anniversary, we tracked down many of the key players who were involved in the building of Boyd and asked them to share their memories, from pre-conception all the way through a challenging-yet-rewarding first year that ultimately established a culture that exists to this day.

THE SUBJECTS WILLIAM S. BOYD Boyd connection: Namesake and Benefactor Current: Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of Boyd Gaming FRANK D. DURAND Boyd connection: Founding Assistant Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid Current: Associate Dean for Student Affairs JASON FRIERSON Boyd connection: Member of charter class (1998) and first graduating class (2001) Current: Speaker of the Nevada State Assembly DR. CAROL HARTER Boyd connection: UNLV President, 1995-2006 Current: Retired Executive Director and founder of The Beverly Rogers, Carol C. Harter Black Mountain Institute BOB MILLER Boyd connection: As Nevada governor (1989-1999), signed bill that assured public funding for UNLV Law Current: Owner, Robert J. Miller Consulting RICHARD (DICK) MORGAN Boyd connection: Founding Dean, 1997-2007 Current: Retired TERRILL (TERRY) POLLMAN Boyd connection: Member of founding faculty Current: Professor of Law JUDGE PHILIP PRO Boyd connection: Early advocate and supporter; member of law school’s founding advisory board Current: Retired U.S. District Court Judge, District of Nevada; Case Manager, JAMS SEN. HARRY REID Boyd connection: Early advocate and supporter as Nevada’s longest-serving U.S. Senator Current: Retired U.S. Senator; Distinguished Fellow in Law and Policy, UNLV Law CHRISTINE SMITH Boyd connection: Founding Associate Dean Current: Associate Dean for Public Service, Compliance and Administration TOM THOMAS Boyd connection: Early advocate and supporter; founder of the Thomas & Mack Legal Clinic Clinic Current: Managing Partner, Thomas & Mack Co.

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n 1972, three years after the UNR School of Medicine opened, the state hired Willard Pedrick—founding dean at Arizona State University’s College of Law—to commission a feasibility study to determine if there was a need for a law school in Nevada. Pedrick’s findings: There was indeed a need, but state leaders chose not to act on that recommendation. Another feasibility study in 1980 was even more conclusive about the need for a law school. Again, however, the state took a pass.

GOVERNOR BOB MILLER (NEVADA’S 26TH GOVERNOR, 1989-99): I do remember it was periodically discussed whether we should have a law school in Nevada, and if we did, where would it be? But mostly it was about should we have one. I thought we should, because we had such a population growth that there was a need.

And also I thought it would enhance the stature of our university system.

RETIRED U.S. SENATOR HARRY REID (DISTINGUISHED FELLOW IN LAW AND POLICY AT UNLV LAW): One of the complaints I heard from the time I went to Washington, D.C.—which was in 1983—was, “Why don’t we have a law school?” It was hard to believe that a state like Nevada could have a medical school but no law school.

BILL BOYD (EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN OF BOYD GAMING; LONGTIME COMMUNITY PHILANTHROPIST): When I was practicing law, I thought about a law school coming to Southern Nevada, because the medical school was in Northern Nevada. However, when I talked to my contemporaries practicing at that time, they said, “Bill, we don’t need a law school in Southern Nevada. It’s already competitive enough.” But once I was financially able to donate the money, it became a goal for me.

JUDGE PHIL PRO (RETIRED U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEVADA, 1987-2015; FOUNDING MEMBER OF LAW SCHOOL’S ADVISORY BOARD): When you go back to the analysis that Dean Pedrick did in 1972, you could glean that there was unquestionably a need. But to do it, you had to have the support of the Legislature, and you had to be affiliated with the university system.

TOM THOMAS (MANAGING PARTNER OF THOMAS & MACK COMPANY; LONGTIME BENEFACTOR OF UNLV): It’s a moot point if there are no [public] dollars. Without state support, trying to start a law school with funds strictly from philanthropy, it just didn’t make sense. We needed both arms willing to make financial contributions for it to materialize.

PRO: I was involved in two prior committees and efforts to get a law school done, and it really gained traction during 34

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Bob Maxson’s tenure [as UNLV President, 1984-94]. … But it died because there was no funding in the Legislature, and the timing just wasn’t right.

REID: The state kind of got burned by the medical school, because Howard Hughes promised all this money [to help fund it], but frankly he didn’t generate much. It was mostly talk. So the state was leery about getting burned again.

THOMAS: Obviously, my dad [E. Parry Thomas] and Jerry Mack were very involved with UNLV and wanted to see UNLV have the necessary appendages to grow into a major university. And since the med school was up in Reno, they were looking at a law school down here. They seriously kicked it around. But after investigating it, they didn’t find that the state Legislature at the time was going to provide the necessary financial support to put together a good law school.

There were many, many other demands on the higher-education system, both in Reno and Las Vegas. At the time, the tea leaves said those other demands were going to get the necessary funding. Which, in hindight, was probably the right decision.

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he state may have been reluctant to get behind a law school, but someone in the private sector was willing to roll the dice on his own. In September 1981, the Nevada School of Law at Old College opened in a former parochial school in Reno. The charter class had 34 members, but the institution never gained accreditation from the American Bar Association.

Consequently, Old College shuttered in 1988.

REID: It was started by a good, well-intentioned man from Montana named War-

Without a suitable building on UNLV’s main campus, the Boyd School of Law was initally housed in recently vacated Paradise Elementary School on Tropicana Avenue. ren Nelson. He’s the man who brought keno to Nevada—he and a Catholic priest in Great Falls, Montana, developed that game, and he brought it to Nevada, and it was a huge success. He then spent a lot of his money on this new law school.

PRO: There were in fact graduates from Old School who became lawyers in Nevada, although they could not sit for the bar in other states.

REID: It was better than nothing, but not a helluva lot. Nelson was a relatively uneducated man and certainly was not educated in the law.

PRO: You had a lot of local support for it in Reno, but it did not have much of a statewide presence, nor did it have a direct funding affiliation with the university system. Without a solid funding base, you just couldn’t succeed. But Old College was a positive, because it fed an important narrative: We do need a law school, and here’s an example.

It turned out not to be successful, but that doesn’t mean it was a loser. It was a positive step in developing that critical mass.

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o as the 1980s gave way to the final decade of the 20th century, the song remained the same: If Nevada’s citizens wanted to go to law school, they’d have to head out of state—just like Boyd, Reid, Miller, and Thomas had. Yet another feasibility study in 1990 yielded the same results as the first two: The need for a law school existed, but the state support did not.

Finally, in 1995, real momentum began to build when influential Nevada Assemblyman Morse Arberry convinced the Nevada Legisla-

CELEBRATING 20 YEARS for a Law School at UNLV,” which he delivered to the Nevada Board of Regents via teleconference.

HARTER: He had done a great deal of research about the state, about the potential funding, about what was needed—he had a very rational set of reasons for why he was recommending that the state create the law school at UNLV. That was very persuasive from a person with Tony’s kind of experience—he had three law-school deanships.

And the research he did, the data that he presented to the board, just reinforced the case we were making.

But all three of the law schools Tony worked at were in the East, so during his video presentation, he didn’t know how to pronounce Nevada—he said Ne-VAH-duh—and one of our regents wanted to reject the whole thing because of that!

T ture to approve a $500,000 appropriation for the planning of a law school. Around the same time, UNLV hired its seventh—and first female—president, a veteran educator and administrator who left her post as president of the State University of New York (SUNY) at Geneseo to head West.

CAROL HARTER (UNLV PRESIDENT, 1995-2006): I was so excited about the opportunities to build a great university in Las Vegas. Here you had this major energetic city in the West that at the time was a good teaching institution, but beyond some scholars who had done some research, it hadn’t developed the kind of powerhouse programs that a university often has. And that involves both a law school and a medical school—there’s just no question that all the great universities have those.

So I accepted the job in February and came on board officially on July 1. During the interim, the chancellor—at the time, Richard Jarvis—called to tell me that Morse Arberry had put aside $500,000 for the planning of a law school. The chancellor was a bit shocked himself, but of course he wanted me to know that, because when I got to town, we’d have to decide if we want to pursue it. That made me extremely curious and interested and excited about the possibility. Ultimately, founding a law school became a very major priority for me when I arrived.

REID: I talked with President Harter on a number of occasions, and she [believed] that a law school would be good for the university and good for the state. She was extremely talented in a number of ways.

PRO: On August 10, 1995, I sent Carol a lengthy letter that outlined the merits of a law school and why I thought she should

From left: Law school founder William S. Boyd, founding Dean Richard “Dick” Morgan, and then-UNLV President Carol Harter. pursue it. To my delight, she embraced it.

She said, “Phil, I’d like to do this. What do we need to do?” I shared with her materials from the prior committees I served on, and since she was new to town, there were some organizational meetings we had at Tam Alumni Center. Then she got in touch with some others and a committee was formed.

From there, it picked up steam pretty quickly—it was off to the races.

HARTER: I put together a little committee of community people to vet the merits of a law school, and the two who rose to the top in support of it—who were the most avid advocates—were federal Judge Phil Pro and Franny Forsman, a former federal public defender and [then]-president of the Nevada Bar Association. The two of them were wonderful. They gave me all kinds of great ideas.

PRO: I come from California, where there are probably more law schools than there are driving schools. The way Nevada was growing, and being a young lawyer and then a young judge here, it was apparent to me that we had a lot of really qualified young people in the state who would be great lawyers if they only had the opportunity.

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ne man who supported the judge’s hypothesis was Anthony Santoro, then president of Rogers Williams University in Rhode Island and former dean of its law school.

In 1996, Harter hired Santoro as a consultant to explore the pros and cons of UNLV creating a law school. He prepared a presentation titled “A Plan

hat regent wasn’t alone. Whether it was established attorneys in the legal community not keen on a school they thought might flood the market with direct competition, or a Legislature and governor concerned about money, or a rival school to the north wondering why a law school wouldn’t be in the same region as the state capital and Supreme Court, there was legitimate opposition. And, thus, much lobbying to be done.

REID: People generally speaking don’t like lawyers—we don’t really have a big fan base. So whenever the topic of starting a law school came up, the general consensus was, “Why? Why do we need more lawyers?”

PRO: It wasn’t unanimous among the members of the legal community. There were lawyers and judges who didn’t like the idea initially and had sort of a closed-shop attitude: “Well, God, we’ve got enough lawyers.

We don’t need the competition.” I’d like to think they’ve all since been converted.

HARTER: The Nevada State Bar is hard, and people who come to Nevada to practice law have to study and pass that Bar. So there was a nervousness about a new law school producing too many people who would compete with the folks who had worked so hard to establish their practices in Nevada. There was push-back in the community.

Even the chairman of the Board of Regents at that time—Maddy Graves—wasn’t in favor of it. I think it was because people in the community persuaded him that maybe it wasn’t such a good idea.

And then, of course, there were people at UNR who were nervous about it as well.

They saw UNLV as a kind of stepchild of UNR at that point, and they felt the competition that UNLV was trying to build a major university. In some cases, they wanted to argue that any law school should be placed in Reno, because it would be close to the capital.

Of course, we turned around and said, “Well, then the medical school should be at UNLV!” 2018 | UNLV Law

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BOYD LAW SCHOOL MILLER: Because the medical school was in Reno, there was lobbying at the time that the law school should be placed there, too.

REID: I gave a speech last year at UNLV’s new medical school, and I said then as I’ll tell you now: A big mistake was made by the Nevada Legislature in 1969 by placing the medical school in the north; it should’ve been in the south. Why? Because to have a successful medical school, you need a large indigent population, and Reno didn’t have that.

Hindsight is 20-20, but we really should’ve put the medical school down here and the law school up there—that’s where the state Supreme Court is and where the seated government is. But we didn’t do that.

MILLER: It belonged in Las Vegas. First of all, you already had the medical school in Reno. So if you’re just trying to be equitable, a law school would logically be in Las Vegas. But more importantly, there was such a huge disparity in population. Are you trying to serve a population of 2 million or a population of a few hundred thousand? If you wanted it to be convenient and accessible, it had to be in the state’s largest city.

HARTER: [Then-UNR President] Joe Crowley wound up supporting us, which was critical, because he had been at UNR for so many years and had so many connections in the Legislature that had he chosen in the long run to really fight the creation of a law school at UNLV, I don’t think we would’ve gotten it. He was that powerful with [late state Senator] Bill Raggio and other legislators whom he could’ve turned against us.

Ultimately, the legislators also were supportive, although in some cases begrudgingly! [Laughs.} Even Governor Miller resisted it a bit at the beginning. What he was afraid of, which is what governors should be afraid of, is the amount of money that it would take to start a law school and build buildings—all the tremendous capital costs—would take away from the undergraduate programs at UNLV or elsewhere.

MILLER: The way the process worked was that the university regents would get together and give us a list of priorities—after they met with the entire university system— for capital improvements. As I recall, a law school wasn’t highly ranked on the list—it might not even have been on it. But we put the funding in for a feasibility study.

HARTER: It’s not that [Miller] didn’t want us to have a law school—he’s always been extremely supportive since then—but at the beginning, and rightfully so, any politician had to worry about where the heck the money’s going to come from.

MILLER: The secret weapon UNLV had was Fred Albrecht. He was the university’s vice president at the time who happened to be the godparent of one of my children. We were good friends, and he had spoken on behalf of the law school. So I adjusted the bud36

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get to [include funding for the law school] to kind of get the groundwork going.

HARTER: I promised Governor Miller that we would raise private money. And that was the key to garnering support within both the political structure of Nevada and the community: raising private money. And, of course, Bill Boyd was the key to that.

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nter Lyle Rivera, then UNLV’s Vice President for Development and Community Relations. Rivera knew Bill Boyd well, which means he knew that Boyd always believed UNLV should consider starting a law school. So in the fall of 1996, Rivera arranged a lunch between his boss and his friend.

HARTER: I talked to Bill at length about the potential for the law school. That’s when he shared with me that he had to go out of state to get his law degree, and he recognized Nevada had this need. He was very student-oriented in his thinking. He wasn’t into it just for the prestige of a law school; he really saw that students needed that in-state option, because he hadn’t had it.

So during the lunch, I explained to him that the politics were strongly connected to being able to raise private money. I think I may have had that $5 million figure in mind and mentioned it to him.

BOYD: Someone had to break the ice and decide to donate the money to start the law school.

HARTER: Oh my God, I was so overjoyed. I didn’t jump up and down—I’m too lady-like to do that. [Laughs.] But I could have! Because the most important thing about those moments is the commitment.

The actual implementation is so much less important. And I knew Bill’s commitment was the key to the whole thing.

MILLER: When you’re looking at capital expenditures and you want to prioritize things, my philosophy was if there was a significant private donation to bolster the state funds, then it should be moved up on the priority list. Because it gives the state an opportunity to do more things. So any capital improvements we could leverage with private donations, we would leverage. So [Boyd’s contribution] was significant. It made a big difference.

BOYD: I also went to the Nevada Legislature with [former UNLV interim President] Kenny Guinn, who was running for governor at that time, and vowed to support the law school.

HARTER: It was natural to name the school after Bill Boyd, because he was not only the first major donor but he had also agreed to commit more money in the future.

REID: You couldn’t find a more credentialed person to have a name on the law school than Bill Boyd. He was a real lawyer.

I can remember when he did legal work that

wasn’t up in the clouds—it was basic law. He was a good guy, and I admire him for spending some of the money he made in Nevada on the law school.

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s significant as Boyd’s $5 million pledge was, it turns out that it was a drop in the bucket compared to the commitment he made to Harter about five years later: $25 million to be donated over time.

Those contributions were supported by other philanthropic pledges by such notable community leaders as the Thomas & Mack Families, Jim Rogers, and Michael and Sonja Saltman.

HARTER: The way business happens in Las Vegas is very interesting. The understood absolute was you don’t write down all this stuff. You do a handshake, and you trust ’em. They give you their word, and you could always count on it. In all my years at UNLV, I never once—ever!—had someone retract a pledge after they made it.

Still, that was kind of new to me. Academic that I am, I was more used to getting everything in writing. But I very quickly learned that the culture here was when someone offers you something, you believe it, you shake hands, and it’s done. And that’s basically what it was with Bill Boyd.

BOYD: I talked to many of my personal friends and acquaintances about also donating to the law school. So in addition to the $5 million gift, there were gifts from a number of persons—the largest being from the Thomas & Mack families and Michael and Sonja Saltman—who were a great help in getting the law school started.

HARTER: After seeking [additional] private donations, we had $7 million by the time we went before the Regents and Legislature—because we had to persuade both— with our final request.

REID: The woman who did as much, if not more, than anyone was Carol Harter. She was not a lawyer, but she understood that a law school not only would be good for Nevada, but it would improve the standing of UNLV. And she got Kenny Guinn, who preceded her as UNLV president and was going to be our next governor, and Jim Rogers, who was the [Nevada System of Higher Education] chancellor working for nothing, to sign on to the deal. Governor Bob Miller signed onto the deal. And she got federal judges to like the idea. But she was the cheerleader.

She was quiet, unassuming but an extremely gifted lobbyist for things she wanted. I give her a tremendous amount of credit.

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he Legislature approved funding in the spring of 1997, and in July, Bob Miller made it official, signing into law a bill that authorized the creation of the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law. With that monumental hurdle cleared, it came time for some

CELEBRATING 20 YEARS

important decisions, the biggest being: How soon could the law school open for business?

Most ventures of the sort take a least a couple of years to get up and running. But Harter was convinced she didn’t have that kind of time.

HARTER: You can always go back and question your own judgment about these things, but it was my very strong feeling that if we didn’t move this right when the momentum and excitement was there, we could lose it. Here we’ve got $7 million in private contributions, as well as state funding, and I wasn’t convinced it would still be there if we waited for two years.

PRO: I thought it was essential that we move on it—we had to strike while the iron was hot, while the money was there.

THOMAS: That’s kind of a private industry attitude—to say, “No, no, no. We’re not waiting. We’re getting underway.” And you look at how we build casinos in this town, it’s 24/7. Well, this was a 24/7 law school.

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o the decision was made: UNLV Law would open in August 1998, a year after it was formally approved. Next on the todo list? Find a suitable location. Harter recalls that there was early pressure to place the law school downtown—“There were powers-that-be who wanted to make it a central part of downtown redevelopment”—but she and others were adamant about it being a central part of UNLV’s academic environment. Just one problem: There wasn’t a building on campus big enough to house a law school.

So the focus turned to a decades-old grammar school across from campus that was scheduled to be vacated after the 1997-98 school year. Irony of ironies, this antiquated, about-to-be-abandoned school was called Paradise Elementary.

HARTER: There wasn’t much of a choice.

We had to have classroom space, we had to have restrooms, we had to have the available technology. In fact, it cost us more than we wanted to spend to wire it. We had to go underground across Tropicana Avenue to connect the school to the university, and it cost a couple of million bucks that we hadn’t really anticipated. But it would’ve cost way more than that to get another comparable kind of space.

We looked at spaces downtown, we looked at a plaza right in the neighborhood where Paradise was, we looked at several other places that were close to campus, but the cheapest and most reasonable alternative was Paradise Elementary.

MILLER: I’d played basketball at Paradise Elementary School when I was in seventh grade. At that time, it was way outside of town! Now it was the home of a law school. It seemed like a bizarre coincidence.

But you had to do with what you had.

THOMAS: I thought it was brilliant to take [over] an unused asset that was immediately adjacent to UNLV. Because it showed the energy behind getting under way and not sitting around waiting until you had the perfect physical plant. And they were spoton, because the students were willing to go there. And it provided lots of humor for the first couple of years.

RICHARD MORGAN (UNLV LAW FOUNDING DEAN): I was less than overwhelmed by the potential of the place as a site for a law school.

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ichard (Dick) Morgan went into law somewhat unexpectedly. After graduating from U.C. Berkeley in 1967, his plan was to get his Ph.D. in political science and become an educator, following the paths of his

Dean Dick Morgan addresses members of the 1998 charter class of the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law. mother and grandfather. First, though, he took a planned, yearlong hiatus from school, during which he took a job with the IRS. At the same time, Morgan’s older brother was finishing up law school, and his positive experience convinced his sibling to shift career gears. Morgan enrolled at UCLA School of Law in fall 1968, earned his law degree, and went on to work in private practice for more than a decade before finding his way to academia.

In 1980, Morgan secured a job as a tenuretrack professor of law at Arizona State. One of the men who participated in the hiring process was the law school’s founding dean who had since returned to the faculty: Willard Pedrick—the same Willard Pedrick who eight years earlier was hired to research whether there was a need for a law school in Nevada.

Morgan would go on to follow in Pedrick’s footsteps as dean of Arizona State’s College of Law, a position he was firmly entrenched in (and happy with) when he first learned about a new law school being created some 300 miles to the north—a school searching for its first dean.

MORGAN: Willard Pedrick was a good friend and mentor of mine, and he told me if I ever had a chance to start a law school at a good state university, I should jump on it. He said the happiest part of his professional career had been the nine years that he was the founding dean at Arizona State.

Pedrick unfortunately passed away in 1996, so he wasn’t still around when I decided to follow his advice and apply at UNLV in March of 1997. But his advice and recol2018 | UNLV Law

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BOYD LAW SCHOOL lections of his happy experiences certainly played a major role in my decision. Pedrick was a terrific guy. He was one of the best human beings I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing and working with.

CHRISTINE SMITH (UNLV LAW’S FOUNDING ASSOCIATE DEAN; WORKED UNDER MORGAN AT ARIZONA STATE COLLEGE OF LAW): Willard was a great mentor to both myself and Dick. And he used to always tell us, “If you ever have a chance to start a law school, you have to start a law school.”

MORGAN: I also wanted … to see if we couldn’t make some changes in legal education—put a little more emphasis on legal research, writing, and dispute resolution— just do some things that would not radically alter legal education but make it better. And I thought a new law school would provide an opportunity to do that.

I wanted to have a law school that had a community-service mission—one that viewed everything that it did in terms of “Is this useful to the community?” I wanted to have a law school that integrated a clinical program and a public-service program right in the middle of the curriculum. A lot of law schools had clinics and public-service programs, but they were not as central to the core of the [curriculum] as I wanted them to be. So I had some ambitions about how we might make some modest reforms and improvements to legal education, and I thought a startup situation would be a good opportunity to try some of those things.

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fter an initial meeting with a member of the dean’s search committee, Morgan was invited to Las Vegas for a more formal interview in early June. It was then that Harter dropped the bombshell that the law school was being fast-tracked and would be opening in about 14 months. It was a prospect that startled every single candidate Harter interviewed, including Dick Morgan. It just startled him a little bit less than the others.

MORGAN: I told her that was an extraordinarily big undertaking, that ordinarily it took at least a year-and-a-half— sometimes two or two-and-a-half years—to get a law school off the ground.

She was really worried if it didn’t open in a year’s time from when we were talking that it might be lost forever. I disagreed with her, but I told her if that was her decision, I would certainly try to make the law school happen in a year’s time. But it wasn’t going to be pretty and wasn’t going to be easy.

HARTER: Of all the finalists we considered—and there were a lot of good ones— Dick was the only one who said, “I can do this in a year.” And that was key to his hiring. Not that there weren’t many other great characteristics of Dick Morgan.

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MORGAN: During that trip, in addition to meeting with Carol, I met Bill Boyd, whom I thought was a terrific supporter and exactly the kind of community person that this school needed to have behind it. I also met the advisory board for the law school and was very, very impressed with the commitment that the people from the community were expressing for this school. And I met with a lot of faculty and staff from UNLV who were extremely supportive. I got really excited during those meetings about the possibility of building something really terrific.

But I told Carol, “Look, if we’re going to do this, you’ve got to let me add some really key people to work with me on this, if they’ll come. I can’t be breaking in people [I didn’t know] in trusted positions.”

HARTER: Dick said, “Let me bring over a couple of people from Arizona State— people I know who can help fast-track this.” I said, “You bring whoever you need to get this done in a year!”

MORGAN: A couple of weeks later, I got invited back up to Las Vegas, and my wife accompanied me on that trip. We were in Vegas on June 24, 1997, which was our 30th wedding anniversary. Carol told us to go have our anniversary dinner at this restaurant she really liked. It was during that visit that she offered me the job. I said, “OK, but there are a couple of things you ought to know. The first is that my wife and I have planned a 30th anniversary trip to Alaska.

We are going to be gone for six weeks in July and August, and I’m not cancelling that. So that means we wouldn’t really get started on the law school until September 1.” And she said, “That’s OK with me.”

PRO: I was not involved in the dean interviews, but I had all of the papers on each

Dean Dick Morgan and UNLV President Carol Harter (far left) address a group during a Feburary 1998 reception at UNLV’s Science and Engineering Building. of the candidates, and [Morgan] was very impressive. And of course, once I had the chance to meet him, I knew he was absolutely the right guy. He had this energy and a sense of vision of what this could become. He knew the subject matter—he was intelligent and committed. He totally bought into it.

HARTER: I was really confident Dick was the right guy. Maybe I shouldn’t have been [laughs], but I was.

The interviews were long and hard. They had to be, because you can’t make a mistake when you’re hiring someone to start a new school. The candidates were all terrific in terms of their law-school experiences, but they were also very hesitant to commit to being able to start it up fast. Dick, however, did not hesitate. Even though I’m sure there were times when he went back to Arizona and thought, “What have I done?” [Laughs.]

MORGAN: I was scared to death about the time frames—I mean, I was scared to death about failing in general, because I’d never started a law school before. But with the time frame, I was doubly scared to death.

THOMAS: The decision to go after Dick Morgan was absolutely inspired. He not only was at a place in his career that he was willing to take the risk to create a brandnew law school—at the time, there hadn’t been a new public law school created in the U.S. for some time, so this was a big deal— but he had the resources, contacts, and reputation that enabled him to bring along the faculty that started the law school. So it was very easy to bet on his vision and on his

CELEBRATING 20 YEARS I never looked back. I never once thought, “What the hell are you doing? Why’d you do this?” I’m glad I jumped.

MORGAN: The fact those three people agreed to come gave me the courage to go forward with it, because I had great confidence in them and their abilities, and I knew I could delegate huge amounts of work to them.

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hile Morgan had three vital pieces of his puzzle in place theoretically, none of them were in Las Vegas on his first day on the job, September 3, 1997. Smith arrived two weeks later, but Brown and Berkheiser didn’t settle in until early 1998. So on Morgan’s first day, the only other law school staff member was his assistant, Dianne Fouret, a longtime UNLV employee who was involved in the dean search process and who came over from Carol Harter’s office.

capacities to do something important.

BOYD: Dick Morgan was the ideal dean for the law school. I was never at a public community event where Dick Morgan wasn’t also present. He was always out advocating for the law school. No one could have done a better job than Dick. The proof of that is the fact that we became accredited at the fastest possible time.

HARTER: There’s nobody I’ve met who can make quicker and better decisions than Dick Morgan. And he worked absolutely tirelessly. There are just no words to describe how good he was. He was the perfect choice, and I never thought twice about it.

We were lucky to get him and lucky he could make that kind of commitment. I just have the highest respect for Dick. He was maybe one of the best hires I ever made.

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organ and his wife, Tina, did indeed take their six-week vacation to Alaska. But before (and during) the trip, he spent time trying to convince those three colleagues from Arizona State to join him on this wild new adventure.

MORGAN: The people I had in mind were Christine Smith—Chris and I had been working together for a long time at ASU, and I had great trust in her—and Richard Brown, who is now deceased unfortunately, but he was a great faculty member, in addition to being the founding law librarian at UNLV; he had been the law library director at ASU. And Mary Berkheiser, who recently retired from the faculty, also indicated she wanted to come. She was a clinical professor.

SMITH: It wasn’t an easy decision, and it wasn’t one that I made lightly or right away. I knew at the beginning of June that

Study time in Boyd’s early years meant visiting the law library, which was housed inside a renovated cafeteria/multipurpose room at Paradise Elementary School. he probably had this job and that he wanted me to come along. We had been meeting at his house in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturdays, and we were excited about the prospect of working with him to start a new school.

MORGAN: Before I accepted the job, I had a meeting in the living room of my house. Rick, Chris, and Mary were there, and we talked for a long time about the challenges we’d be facing—about how exciting it was, but how daunting it was at the same time. And the fact that we all had very, very good jobs at a very, very good law school that we would be giving up in order to take a flier [on UNLV], where we might fall on our faces.

After a lot of substantive conversation about what are we going to do when and who’s going to do what, I remember Rick Brown saying, “Well sometimes, you just all have to hold hands and jump.” And I think Mary said, “Well, let’s hold hands!”

SMITH: Mary Berkheiser and I over the years have talked about that often. Rick really encouraged Mary and I, saying, “Come on—we can do this!”

But it wasn’t until Dick was on his trip to Alaska that I finally committed. I was at my desk at Arizona State, and I had this physical thing happen to me. I was all stressed out about, “Am I going to do this? Am I not going to do this?” when suddenly, while sitting at my computer, I just felt all the tension leave me. I had this feeling that, “This is going to be fine. Just go do it.”

So I called Tina and said, “I’m in!” And

MORGAN: Dianne Fouret was invaluable in starting the law school. Knowing that I needed someone who was familiar with UNLV and Nevada, I was lucky to recruit her to be a key founder of the law school.

So when I walked into the first of what would be my many temporary offices at UNLV, Dianne was sitting behind the desk, and she said, “Well, welcome to Las Vegas,” and I said, “Thanks, I’m happy to be here.”

Then I looked at her and said, “Now what the hell do we do?” [Laughs.]

And she said, “Well, let me tell you: Tomorrow, you’re going to appear on a local radio show. And then I’ve got you booked the next day to meet with X, Y, and Z. And the following day you’re going to be speaking to the Clark County Bar Association. So that’ll get you started.” And I said, “That’s great! Thank you—I really appreciate you pointing me in the right direction.”

At that Clark County Bar Association luncheon, which I remember very, very well, I outlined my vision for a community servicefocused law school that would be a great asset to Las Vegas. And there was some considerable skepticism on the part of at least a few lawyers who rose to say they couldn’t imagine why anybody would want to support a startup law school at UNLV. And I just said, “Well, I promise you that we’re going to build something that’s not only going to be accredited by the ABA; we’re going to build a really, really, really good law school that this community is going to be proud of. It’s going to be here for a long, long time and do some really good things.”

Well, Natalie Patton, who attended the luncheon as a reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, put all of that in the paper the next day. And I remember reading that and thinking, “Oh, God, I hope I can make good on that—because I certainly promised a lot!”

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ith little in the way of staff resources, Morgan was forced to don many hats in his first few months 2018 | UNLV Law

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BOYD LAW SCHOOL on the job. At the top of his long priority list, though, was recruiting a top-notch faculty.

MORGAN: We had to do that to have credibility and be able to say to potential students, “OK, we’re starting life as a brandnew, unaccredited law school, but you should be comforted by the fact that we’ve rounded up six or eight people with excellent reputations who left good, tenured jobs to come here, showing how confident they are in the law school. They wouldn’t have come here if they didn’t think this was going to be a winning operation, so you should have the guts to come here, too.”

It was also important so when I went into the community to drum up political or donor support, I could say, “Look at this great faculty that we put in place. This shows that this is a law school that is going to succeed.”

PRO: My wife and I had the delight of attending dinners at Dick’s home when he would host faculty that he was trying attract to the law school. He was not a hard-sell guy, but he would tell these professors, “Of course it’s risky—coming to Nevada, coming to a new law school, leaving an established university for one that isn’t. But how many opportunities are you going to have in your career to be part of starting something new and exciting?”

They could tell you their own stories about what motivated them to come, but I can tell you, that resonated with a lot of faculty members, and it was apparent to me that it was an influencing factor.

THOMAS: As much as anything, the strengths of Dick Morgan and his early team he brought on board—the three or four leaders he brought to work with him— and their ability to go out and convince topnotch faculty to take a roll of the dice on a law school in Las Vegas housed in an elementary school … they obviously put their egos at the door. It was a total leap of faith.

MORGAN: By about February or March of 1998, we had all of the founding faculty we had recruited come out to Las Vegas, and we did sort of a beauty show. We invited the community to come out and we said, “Here are all the people we’ve hired. Look at their credentials—they’re great. And they’re going to be the basis for building a great law school.”

FRANK DURAND (LEFT GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL TO BE UNLV LAW’S FOUNDING ASSISTANT DEAN OF ADMISSIONS): Dick was actually looking to hire my sister, who was the one who alerted me as to what was going on in Las Vegas. So I sort of got into Dick’s vision a little bit because of my sister. It was one of the most fortuitous things that’s ever happened to me.

I of course jumped at the opportunity because I desperately wanted to get back to the West. My sister and I were raised in Al40

UNLV Law | 2018

Long before he was Speaker of the Nevada Assembly, Jason Frierson was a member of Boyd’s charter class, which graduated in 2001. buquerque, so getting close to Albuquerque had been a priority for a while.

TERRILL (TERRY) POLLMAN (LEFT UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS COLLEGE OF LAW TO BE FOUNDING UNLV LAW FACULTY MEMBER): I was raised in Arizona, I really loved the West, and I was sick of living anywhere else. Poor Chris Smith called me two or three times, and I said, “No, Las Vegas is not the West!” Then Dick called me twice, and finally he said, “Just come look.” And I did.

I recall I was staying at Treasure Island, and I was supposed to meet Mary Berkheiser and go to breakfast. I was standing in front of the hotel and up she walked, looked at me, and said, “You know you have this job if you want it. It’s all about us convincing you. So don’t worry!” I had never been on a job interview like that. It made the job harder to turn down, because it was a very welcoming feeling. Once I was here, it was just too exciting a project to worry about whether or not I’d like Las Vegas.

DURAND: I remember very distinctly that I submitted a letter of interest to Dianne, who was accepting such things, on April 23, 1997—I remember that because it was my birthday. I thought, “Hey, this is a good birthday omen—maybe something really good is going to come out of this thing,” which of course it did.

But when I came out in October and interviewed, I was absolutely convinced that

I was not going to get the job. The first interview was fine. We had a gathering at Chris’ apartment, and it was wonderful. But I don’t think I said a word the entire evening.

SMITH: Maybe that’s why we hired you!

DURAND: Maybe that’s exactly what they were looking for, I couldn’t tell. There were some wonderful personalities in that room—Dick Morgan, Chris, Mary B., Rick Brown—everyone was talking and I was kind of looking for my opportunity to jump into the fray, but it just wasn’t happening. I didn’t feel like I’d really distinguished myself.

So we went to the hotel that night, and I said to my wife Veronica, “This isn’t happening. This isn’t gonna work.” The next day, there was a more formal interview,

CELEBRATING 20 YEARS much more conventional, and I thought it went pretty well. But I still wasn’t counting any chickens. Lo and behold, I got a call from Dick Morgan a few weeks later, and I was over the moon.

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t was one thing to try to convince experienced professors to leave established positions and take a chance on a new law school.

It was quite another to inform them that they’d be spending the first couple of years teaching and working out of a renovated elementary school.

MORGAN: There was one faculty member who really wanted to come—she’s a very well-known person—but she could not bring herself to settle into an office at Paradise. But it wasn’t just Paradise; it was also Las Vegas.

She couldn’t get past the image of Las Vegas as Sin City. So at least one recruitment effort failed because of the locale and the circumstances. And there were probably students who didn’t come for the same reason.

SMITH: I found out [about Paradise Elementary] in July when we came and had the meeting with Carol Harter and toured campus. We went across the street and saw the school, and I actually thought it was better than it had been described. So I was like, “Yeah, we can do this; this isn’t that bad.”

And if you talk to the charter class and many [faculty], we all really have a fondness for that place. Parking was great! And what law school library has an old elementary school cafeteria freezer as a study room?

That doesn’t happen very often. [Laughs.]

POLLMAN: I don’t remember worrying about [Paradise] at all. I don’t remember when I learned about it or that it seemed problematic to me. I mean, not having a desk at first was [tough]. But it was sort of all part of the fun. And Paradise turned out to be a really big community builder.

DURAND: I’ve loved my entire time here, but I don’t think I’ve loved any portion of that time more than I loved those years [at Paradise]. Because that time sort of told me that the people who are here are committed to this. They’re not put off by the facilities or their conditions. They’re committed to what it is we’re doing here, which goes far beyond the physical structure.

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ake no mistake, though: That physical structure needed a lot of work to accommodate a law school. And with the elementary school year ending in mid-June and the law school opening in mid-August, there was very little time to complete the transformation.

MORGAN: When I came for my first interview and learned the plan was for the law school to open at Paradise Elementary, I told Carol that, with appropriate renovations, it would be workable as a temporary facility. There would have to be a solid plan

in place for an excellent permanent facility, but I thought the ABA would give us provisional accreditation in a place like Paradise Elementary School if we were only going to be in there for a couple or three years. So I thought we could make it work HARTER: Dick said, “As long as the students and faculty know that there’s going to be a future building on the campus, they’ll live with this.” And they did, and they were great about it. Oh, sure, there was some whining, but it was amazing how well they dealt with that space. Of course, they knew a much better space was coming—and right in the middle of campus.

MORGAN: But I told Carol I didn’t know how the hell we were going to get it renovated in six or eight weeks’ time. And she said, “Well, we’ll throw everything we have to at it to make it happen.”

HARTER: We did it fast, because we had to. There was no choice. Everybody who worked on it—the physical facilities people, the finance people, everybody—knew it was high priority for the university.

MORGAN: I had gone to Carol about two or three months before the law school was due to open, and I said, “We need to have a backup plan. Do you have any place we can go on campus for temporary classrooms or faculty offices if we don’t finish this renovation?” And she and the people who were working on [refurbishing Paradise] looked and came back and said, “No, we don’t.”

We thought about maybe enlisting a high school to use their classrooms at night or something. But ultimately we just decided, “Well, we’re going to do this without a net.”

DURAND: After the elementary school year ended, Dianne Fouret and I and some others came to the Paradise complex, and the alterations to the buildings were starting to happen. I guess if I ever had a moment of panic, that might’ve been it. Because I saw the state of things and thought, “How in the hell is all of this going to be made into some semblance of an operational law school in time?”

I remember turning on a faucet and the water coming out brown. I thought, “OK, there are lots of problems here. I know these construction guys are good, but this is really asking a lot of them!” And of course they did a great job.

JASON FRIERSON (SPEAKER OF NEVADA ASSEMBLY; MEMBER OF UNLV LAW’S CHARTER AND FIRST GRADUATING CLASSES, 1998-2001): Starting at Paradise Elementary didn’t bother me at all. I actually drove by and got a kick out of the fact that there was still playground equipment at the school site, really until just before school started. I thought they wouldn’t remove it and that it would be a funny stress reliever for us.

DURAND: Some of the individuals we

had admitted to the law school wanted to do a campus visit. And I thought, “Well, it’s going to be interesting to see how this goes.” Most of them said, “Great—this is wonderful.” But a few students came in, looked around, and said, “Really?” And they didn’t come. And you know what? I’m glad they didn’t come.

Because their heart wasn’t in it.

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f putting a solid faculty in place was priority No. 1 for Dick Morgan, getting an admissions office in place was a close second.

But by the time he hired Durand, the law school had missed out on the traditional fall recruiting window. So, much like everything else, the admissions process was also accelerated. The good news was Durand and Morgan had a plan.

DURAND: I would say it was more selling than recruiting. We had weekly information sessions where people would come in and I’d kind of give them the rundown of where things stood. And the inevitable questions would come up about accreditation and other things. But there was a huge appetite for this place, a huge pent-up demand for a law school in the state of Nevada. And that was reflected more than anything else in the very large size of our part-time evening program.

There were a number of individuals who had been waiting for a law school but who had to get on with life and do other things—they had careers and families, but law school was always in the back of their mind. So they really had this zeal do this law program however they had to do it.

MORGAN: We obviously wanted a student body that had a lot of Nevadans, but we didn’t want exclusively Nevadans, because you wanted some geographic diversity and diversity in terms of where people had gone to undergrad. We also wanted to start with a part-time program, so we were looking for some experienced [professionals] who wanted to go to law school parttime while working full-time jobs.

HARTER: We told the state we’d try to admit the vast majority of students from Nevada. The Legislature basically insisted on that, which was fine. But we were glad they didn’t stick us with an absolute number, which is impossible to work with. Because when people from out of state see a new school and see it positively—“Boy, it would be fun to go to this school!”—you tend to get some out-of-state students with terrific credentials. So you had to balance wanting the best Nevada students with some of these out-of-state students who were excited about being part of a new thing.

DURAND: There were a lot of applicants who had been admitted to other schools who were a little torn, thinking, “Should I go for this thing that I think is going to be a sure thing, or take what I know is a sure thing? Do I want to be a part of this adventure?” And a 2018 | UNLV Law

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BOYD LAW SCHOOL lot of people did. Great Nevadans like Jason Frierson said, “Yeah, I want to be a part of this. This is something unique and special.”

They believed in the mission, they believed in us, and they believed in Dick.

A

t 28 years old, Jason Frierson was several years removed from his days of playing football at UNR, where he earned his bachelor’s degree. Employed at the school as a student adviser, law school was nowhere on his radar—even though his older brother pegged an overly argumentative and persuasive Frierson as a lawyer at 5 years old.

But when a former college classmate, one who had similar grades, got into law school, Frierson had an epiphany: “If he can do it, I can do it.” After taking the Law School Admission Test, Frierson began applying to law schools. That’s when UNR president Joe Crowley encouraged him to consider the new law school in Las Vegas.

FRIERSON: Originally, my default plan was I would go to UNLV if I didn’t get in anywhere else. That thought was partially because I had been thinking about returning to [my native] California and partially because UNLV wasn’t accredited.

Lo and behold, I got into every law school I applied to, including UNLV. From there, I assessed my options, and every scenario put UNLV at the top—whether it was being able to save money because of my in-state residency or because I had relatives in Las Vegas or because I valued the Nevada roots that I had established.

I actually visited a few of the other law schools that accepted me, but it just didn’t make sense for me to go anywhere else.

MORGAN: Jason could’ve gone to a lot of places. But Frank Durand did a great job of convincing him that he could make a big splash at UNLV, and he did—he made a very big splash.

FRIERSON: I visited the campus twice. I met with Frank Durand, and I grilled him— about the prospects of being accredited, about the timeline for the new [permanent] school being built, about the commitment to public service. That last one was key. I was really impressed by what seemed to be an early commitment to engaging with the community. By the end of my second visit, it was a no-brainer. I knew I was coming down here.

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e wasn’t alone. In all, 142 students—77 full-time, 65-part time—were admitted as Boyd’s charter class. The diversity was off the charts, from 22-year-old recently graduated college students to retired senior citizens to even a brain surgeon. But there was one common trait they each shared: a willingness to bet on Boyd.

MORGAN: Not only did that first class agree to the discomforts of taking classes at Paradise for a couple of years—which turned 42

UNLV Law | 2018

Founding Assistant Dean Frank D. Durand

Founding Professor Mary Berkheiser

out to be all three years—but they were risking the fact that they might graduate from a law school that was unaccredited. Or they might graduate from a law school that, while accredited, had a crappy reputation. They didn’t know what they were getting into other than what I was promising them.

MILLER: They didn’t come across the country in a covered wagon, but they were pioneers in a sense.

SMITH: That’s what was so great about that whole group is that we all had this pioneering spirit. I don’t think there was anyone there who thought that this wasn’t going to work.

POLLMAN: They were risk-takers, but I also think they were a lot like we were— sort of [thinking], “What’s the worst that could happen? Why not be part of that sense of adventure and fun and discovery?”

DURAND: I frequently say this, and I’m going to say it again: I’m very grateful to our charter class, because they established a culture for the student body here at Boyd that exists to this day. It’s a much more collegial, collaborative, non-competitive culture than a lot of law schools.

I’m not going to say there wasn’t competition, because certainly there was—you bring talented people together, they’re going to compete. But it was a healthy competition. And there was a lot of fun and camaraderie and enjoying this unique adventure that we all got to be a part of. So I will always give credit to our charter class for creating a culture that has continued throughout Boyd’s history.

duction to Law Week, which actually took place on the main campus. Soon, students, faculty, and staff would make the pilgrimage to Paradise, where the cafeteria had been converted into the law library and a former kitchen freezer nearby was the study room. Indeed, the first year of the Boyd School of Law can be summed up in one word: memorable.

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n a sweltering Monday morning in August 1998, Nevada’s first law school officially opened with Intro-

MORGAN: While orientation was going on at a building on campus, the library’s shelves were getting stocked with books.

And the furniture had been in the faculty offices for about 10 minutes when the faculty showed up to sit at their desks. By the skin of our teeth, we made it.

FRIERSON: When we came over, it was late summer during monsoon season, and we had a lot of water leaks—it wasn’t an issue of us getting leaked on in the classroom, but I remember a few times there were leaks in the library and the small number of books we had had to be protected. And we had a lot of challenges with getting the heating and air conditioning working properly.

DURAND: The air conditioners were like jet engines. When you turned them on, it was great because everything cooled down, but in terms of the students being able to hear the faculty, that got to be challenging.

FRIERSON: Even though they had removed a lot of the elementary school equipment, you still had the boys and girls signs on the bathroom. But we were in it together, and we could only chuckle about it. The reality was, we didn’t know any better.

HARTER: I remember the height of the toilets. We always said, “It’s good that we hired a short dean!”

MORGAN: [Laughs.] I got a lot of mileage out of that, because I’m only 5-foot-6,

CELEBRATING 20 YEARS a really fine group of people, and the subsequent classes were fine groups of people, too.

And of course as the years went by, the applicant pools got bigger and bigger, and the competition for seats got stiffer and stiffer.

THOMAS: You look at some of the people who came out of that first and second year, they’re pretty dynamic individuals who are making a huge difference in both the city and the state. And had the university waited two or three years for a perfect facility to be built to start the law school, those students would’ve gone elsewhere. And they probably would’ve sought legal and career opportunities in other places and wouldn’t have blessed this state with their talents.

T so one of my running jokes would be that we have the kids-size toilets, but they’re perfect for me! They’re a problem for other people, but I like them—I like them a lot!

PRO: I had more than one student tell me that [Paradise] was the only time in their college careers where their car was their locker. You could literally drive up in the school parking lot next to the building and walk into your class, then go out to your car to retrieve books for the next class.

DURAND: The parking situation was great for all of us, because you could actually go to lunch. If you go off campus for lunch now, you have no parking space when you come back. Back then, we could go to lunch freely and without worry.

POLLMAN: Well, not always. We had a small faculty covering two programs—the full-time program during the day and the part-time program at night. And if there was an event at either time, the expectation was that the entire faculty would always attend.

Well, it seemed like Dick lined up every dignitary, senator, judge—anyone who was anyone—to come to the school. Everyone wanted to come talk to us. So every day in addition to a pretty heavy teaching load, you would be like, “Who’s the lunch speaker?” You had to go and pretend like you’re listening while you prepared for class.

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he original plan was the law school would remain at Paradise for no more than three years, but it turned out to be four because of a delay in preparing the new on-campus home—the vacated Dickinson Library. The state-of-the-art facility on the east end of campus remains Boyd’s home to this day, but to a person, all who were there for that first year look back fondly at the bond that could’ve only been forged at Paradise.

UNLV Law Professor Carl Tobias addresses a class in an auditorium on UNLV’s main campus, as there wasn’t a classroom big enough at Paradise Elementary School.

PRO: There was a sense of camaraderie that developed among the students—that they were part of something new and fun.

FRIERSON: We had a 24-hour driving range across the street, and that was study hall for many of us. We’d go over there and just hit some balls and talk it out.

POLLMAN: There would be things like somebody doing a barbecue in the back of their truck at lunch. Or there would be tai-chi lessons on the baseball field. And we’d have Aloha Fridays. It was all part of the experience, and I do believe that was the glue that made people not worry about accreditation.

MORGAN: Paradise wouldn’t have been sustainable for the long term, but for the people who went there—who were a risktaking group to start with—the fact you were in a crappy facility was the least of the risks.

FRIERSON: I had a challenging first year. My grandparents lived in Las Vegas, and my grandfather passed away during my first semester. Then, toward the end of that semester, I had put all my notes on a disk, which I loaned to a friend. Somehow, the disk got inadvertently corrupted, and I lost all my notes two weeks before finals started. But I had classmates there to bail me out. I’m sure in many schools, they would’ve seen that as a competitive edge, but I had no shortage of folks to help me get caught up.

MORGAN: That first-year class was far better academically and just as human beings than we had any right to expect. Having not opened our admissions office until halfway through the normal cycle, god knows how bad it could’ve been. But it turned out we had

he UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law received provisional accreditation from the American Bar Association in 2000, then in February 2003—following a dynamic presentation in front of the ABA’s accreditation committee that featured speeches from, among others, Carol Harter, Dick Morgan, Bill Boyd, and Jim Rogers—Nevada had its first accredited law school.

As of May 2018, 2,385 students had earned J.D.’s from Boyd. The number of full-time faculty has grown from nine to 47. And for the past decade, Boyd has consistently ranked among the top 100 law schools in the nation. Additionally, its part-time J.D. program ranks 17th; its Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution ranks 10th among the nation’s dispute-resolution programs; it ranks third among all U.S. law schools for placing students in coveted court clerkships; and, this year, UNLV Law climbed to No. 1 in the legal-writing rankings.

Meanwhile, the Thomas & Mack Legal Clinic—dubbed “A Laboratory for Justice”—is home to nine clinics that cover everything from immigration and juvenile justice to tax and investor assistance. And UNLV is the only law school in the nation to offer a master’s degree in Gaming Law and Regulation. As for Dick Morgan’s mission to build a law school dedicated to community service? Accomplished: In addition to the legal clinics, more than 70,000 Nevadans have received assistance through Boyd’s Community Service Program that operates in tandem with the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada and Nevada Legal Services. That, of course, doesn’t include the countless number of Nevadans whom Boyd graduates have served as private-practice attorneys, pro-bono attorneys, judges, legislators, and legal advocates.

Yes, it may have taken far too long for Nevada to create its first fully sustainable public law school, but it sure hasn’t taken very long for that school to make a big impact. And those who were there at the beginning are beyond gratified— nobody more so than the school’s namesake.

BOYD: I’m quite proud that the law school has graduated so many fine lawyers, not only for Nevada but other states as well. And I’ve 2018 | UNLV Law

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BOYD LAW SCHOOL been pleasantly surprised and pleased at how high a rating the law school has achieved as noted in U.S. News & World Report. It has done much better than I had imagined.

My donations have indeed been well spent—but the only reason they have been well spent is because of the great job Dick Morgan did, as well as the subsequent deans and all the great professors who have taught at the law school.

PRO: I doubt you would find a member of the legal community anywhere in Nevada who wouldn’t be proud of what Boyd has become.

REID: As a Distinguished Fellow [in Law and Policy at UNLV Law], I have a nice office at the law school. And when I drive there, I pass by Paradise Elementary School. It’s still there. And a lot of times I’ll say, “There’s the law school. That’s where it started—in an old elementary school.”

THOMAS: When I look at the quality of the graduates—the number who are now impacting our Legislature and moving into judicial positions—for them to go to a law school that schooled them in what was important to Nevada as opposed to what was important in Arizona, Utah, or California— as had been the case in the past—the impact has been immense.

PRO: Have Boyd graduates made a difference? Hell yes. Now you look around the state and see so many [alumni] who have moved up from law clerks and associates who are now partners in law firms, they’re in the Legislature, they’re in business, they’re in gaming, they’re on the bench— they’re in all facets of community life.

When Carol Harter retired, I wrote her another letter and talked about all the wonderful things she’ll be remembered for—like being the university’s first female president, as well as other distinctions— but I told her I’d always remember her as the mother of UNLV’s law school. And the father of it, of course, is Dick Morgan, who was just incredible.

MORGAN: I’m very proud of the fact that the school turned out the way that I said it was going to. The people who came along to support me and who came along after me have made good on my promises.

So I’m very thankful.

HARTER: Getting it going was a great challenge but a great deal of fun—at least after the initial difficulties, of which there were quite a few.

PRO: In different talks I’ve given in connection with the law school or at the law school, I’ve referenced those bullet points I gave to Carol in that first letter I sent her in August 1995, where I outlined all the reasons why I thought pursuing a law school at UNLV was worthwhile. And guess what?

Every damn one of them has been accomplished, and more—so much more.

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“I doubt you would find a member of the legal community anywhere in Nevada who wouldn’t be proud of what Boyd has become.”

Judge Philip Pro

CELEBRATING 20 YEARS

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SCHOLARSHIPS, PRESENTATIONS, AND OTHER NEWS

FACULTY FOCUS

A Plan for Action PROFESSOR FRANK RUDY COOPER STRIVES FOR FAR-REACHING IMPACT WITH NEW PROGRAM ON RACE, GENDER, AND POLICING

BY CAMILLE CANNON If you ever get the chance to scan the résumé of Professor Frank Rudy Cooper, make sure you’re sitting down. Because the accomplishments that jump off the page are dizzying.

For instance, as a teacher’s assistant at Harvard, Cooper worked under such prestigious scholars as Dr. Cornel West and Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. Then, as a professor at Suffolk University Law School—where he taught most recently—Cooper co-founded two nationally recognized workshops: the John Mercer Langston Writing Workshop and Society of American Law Teachers/Latina/o Critical Legal Theory Inc. Faculty Development Workshop.

Those, of course, just begin to scratch the surface. But as impressive as Cooper’s past achievements have been, it’s the work he’s poised to do in his latest role that very well may have the most lasting and significant impact.

Following an extensive nationwide search, Cooper was hired earlier this year to direct the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law’s new Program on Race, Gender, and Policing. It’s a program Cooper believes can effect police practices in a substantive way, starting in Nevada and, eventually, spreading across the country.

He says the fact Boyd is the state’s lone law school only bolsters the program’s potential. “I’ve worked at two private law schools [Suffolk and Villanova]. Certainly, those law schools are plugged into their local communities, but not in the way that you are plugged into your local community when you represent the state,” Cooper says.

That close community connection, along with a diverse student population and trusted relationships with well-respected faculty—he co-edited the book Masculinities and the Law: a Multidimensional Approach with fellow Boyd Professor Ann McGinley—are reasons Cooper says he was excited to join the UNLV Law family.

In his role as professor, Cooper will teach criminal procedure (fall semester) and a special topics course on race, gender, and law (spring semester). Outside the classroom, he and fellow UNLV Law Professor Ruben Garcia are co-hosting—with help from several Boyd faculty and staff—October’s joint meeting of the Western Law Professors of Color, and the Conference of Asian-Pacific American Law Faculty.

Cooper also intends to host panels and seminars with leaders in the police field through the Program on Race, Gender, and Policing.

Having been a victim of racial profiling in the past, it’s a program Cooper is vested in both professionally and personally.

“I want the program to start coming up with some best practices for police departments to maybe diversify themselves, but regardless of that, be able to work well with people who come from different communities and backgrounds than they do,” Cooper says. “How can they not only change the things that are angering communities, but also think about positive practices?”

Changing the world … yet another thing for Cooper to add to his résumé—and Boyd’s.

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FACULTY FOCUS

‘Is This Constitutional?’

IT’S A QUESTION CONSTITUTIONAL LAW PROFESSOR IAN BARTRUM FIELDS REGULARLY—ONE HE’S HAPPY (AND MORE THAN QUALIFIED) TO ANSWER

BY CAMILLE CANNON Ian Bartrum has taught at the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law since 2011, but there was a time when he was uncertain he’d become a professor. After teaching high school for four years, Bartrum decided to pursue his J.D., with the end goal of one day teaching constitutional law.

“I had taken a constitutional law class in college and really liked it,” Bartrum says. “I never had much intention of going into practice, but I wanted to teach.”

Unfortunately, right around the time he made this important life decision, he learned his father had been diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer. “I knew I wanted to be with my family,” Bartrum says.

That meant returning to his home state of Vermont. So Bartrum left Washington D.C., where he was teaching history, and enrolled at Vermont Law School, the state’s only law school—and one that specialized in environmental law. “I remember going to the career center there and telling them that I wanted to be a law professor,” he recalls. “They essentially said, ‘You can’t get there from here.’”

But he did. After earning his J.D. in Vermont, Bartrum received his LL.M. from Yale Law School (yes, that Yale), where he was also an Irving S. Ribicoff Fellow in Law. After departing Yale, Bartrum taught constitutional law classes at Drake University in Iowa for two years prior to joining Boyd.

“Being from Vermont, I never really imagined myself in Iowa or Nevada,” he says.

“But the faculty [at Boyd] is excellent. It’s a great scholarly environment, and it’s allowed me to write what I want to and be a part of broader constitutional law.”

That includes being a leading expert on news stories that intersect with constitutional law—of which there have been many of late, including Cliven Bundy’s standoff (and recent case dismissal) and the National Football League’s national anthem controversy. Those cases—among many

“Being from Vermont, I never really imagined myself in Iowa or Nevada,” Bartrum says. “But the faculty [at Boyd] is excellent. It’s a great scholarly environment, and it’s allowed me to write what I want to and be a part of broader constitutional law.” others—have more people asking, “Is this Constitutional?”

“It’s been an interesting year-and-a-half for constitutional lawyers and professors,” Bartrum says.

Regarding the Bundy case, Bartrum wrote an article earlier this year for the Nevada Law Journal Forum titled “Searching for Cliven Bundy: The Constitution and Public Lands.”

In it, he examined distinct perspectives from a trio of angles: those who see the Bundys as heroic, those who see them as “welfare cowboys,” and the members of law enforcement who view them as “simply outlaws.”

Bartrum ultimately concluded that there’s never been much of a legal case behind the Bundys, but rather a political one—and that’s proven to be a match to the fire of other groups that suddenly feel emboldened to challenge the federal government. And the fact the charges against the Bundys were

dropped will likely signal to others that “it’s as right a time as there’s ever been” to stand tall against the government, Bartrum says.

As for the NFL anthem issue, the league as a private entity isn’t bound by the constitution’s First Amendment. However, Bartrum notes that when certain folks in Washington, D.C., run to social media and threaten to repeal the NFL’s government-protected tax exemption if the league allows its players to exercise free speech by kneeling for the national anthem, it gets more complicated.

Then there’s the legal matter involving Colin Kaepernick, the former NFL quarterback at the center of the anthem protests.

“If the [NFL] is colluding to keep him from getting hired, then he has a claim that goes beyond free speech,” Bartrum says.

In addition to the piece for the Nevada Law Journal Forum, Bartrum has been building upon his scholarly articles—as well as research he’s done on the historical separation of power—in a book he’s writing about judicial power in the United States. “The book eventually goes to the current debate: How much supremacy does the judiciary or the Supreme Court really have to say what the constitution means?”

It’s a complicated, nuanced question that isn’t easy to answer, but Bartrum doesn’t mind giving it a shot. Good thing he took that constitutional law class in college.

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FACULTY FOCUS

FACULTY AWARDS The Outstanding Teaching by a Part-Time Faculty Member award went to Distinguished Fellow in Gaming Law Tony Cabot at the 2018 UNLV Academic Achievement Awards.

Professor Linda Edwards, the E.L. Cord Foundation Professor of Law, received the Teresa Godwin Phelps Award for her 2017 article, “Telling Stories in the Supreme Court: Voices Briefs and the Role of Democracy in Constitutional Deliberation,” published in Vol. 29 of the Yale J. L. & Feminism.

The College of Southern Nevada honored Professor Michael Kagan, Director of the Immigration Clinic, with the “Diversity Excellence Award for 2017-18,” which is presented to a community partner. In recognizing the Immigration Clinic, they write: “We are particularly thankful to you for all the work you have put forth to serve our students and the members of our immigrant communities.”

Professor Nancy Rapoport, Garman Turner Gordon Professor of Law, was recognized as a 2018 Legacy Builder for her services that improve the quality of life for all Nevadans by the Las Vegas chapter of the NAACP. At the Rocky Mountain Legal Writing Conference, Professor Rebecca Scharf was presented with the 2018 Rocky Mountain Award for “contributions beyond measure to the Rocky Mountain Legal Writing Community.”

The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) named the Children’s Immigration Clinic of the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law as the recipient of NCJFCJ’s 2018 Innovator of the Year Award.

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Linda L. Berger, Family Foundation Professor of Law

Ann C. McGinley, William S. Boyd Professor of Law

A Matter of Perspective BOYD PROFESSORS CONTRIBUTE TO FEMINIST JUDGMENTS SERIES, EXPLORING HOW KEY LEGAL OPINIONS MIGHT HAVE DIFFERED IF VIEWED THROUGH A FEMINIST PRISM

BY CAMILLE CANNON While speaking at a conference at the University of Colorado, Boulder in 2012, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg addressed a question she was occasionally asked about the makeup of the land’s highest court: When will there be enough women on the Supreme Court? “When I say, ‘When there are nine,’ people are shocked. But there had been nine men, and nobody’s ever raised a question about that.”

Raising questions is precisely

what the authors and editors of Feminist Judgments: Rewritten Opinions of the United States Supreme Court set out to do. In 2016, Linda Berger, Family Foundation Professor of Law at the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law, and her co-editors published the original volume with Cambridge University Press, examining what the outcomes of U.S. Supreme Court cases could have been if they’d been decided from a feminist perspective. The U.S. Feminist Judgments Project is one of a growing number of similar inter-

national endeavors.

“In the process, people said to us, ‘You’ve got to do other subject matters, other courts,’” Berger says. And so the group obliged: In 2017, Feminist Judgments: Rewritten Tax Opinions was published, and six others are currently in progress, with UNLV law professors authoring opinions in four of them.

For the volume that focuses on employment discrimination, Berger and the co-editors of the series turned to William S. Boyd Professor of Law Ann McGinley, esteemed masculinities scholar and co-director of Boyd’s Workplace Law Program. McGinley’s manuscript is expected to be completed by fall 2019. “On the subject of employment discrimination, Ann McGinley is the editor you’d

FACULTY FOCUS

want,” Berger says. “She is the person.”

McGinley’s written works include Masculinity at Work: Employment Discrimination Through a Different Lens, as well as an opinion in Feminist Judgments. She’s also written 50 law review articles on employment discrimination. So she is indeed the right person for the task—and given that workplace harassment is at the center of the #MeToo movement, this is absolutely the right time to address the topic.

“This movement is prime for talking about how law has not done an excellent job figuring out employment discrimination,” says McGinley, who has written extensively about sexual and gender-based harassment.

Her volume will explore 15 employment discrimination cases—including disputes that arose in Nevada between Nevada employers and employees, and were decided by the U.S. Supreme Court—that she and her co-editor selected, with help from a board of employment discrimination experts they assembled. Like the volumes that came before it, each case is examined with a rewritten opinion and a commentary from a feminist perspective—an analysis of the original judgment’s impact, and how it differs from the feminist perspective—written by different authors.

Unlike previous volumes, McGinley has made an effort for the employment discrimination opinions to be “consistent with one another and create a new body of law.”

Therefore, the new commentaries will feature an additional layer: explaining how subsequent employment discrimination cases would have been affected by a feminist judgment.

“This MeToo movement is prime for talking about how law has not done an excellent job figuring out employment discrimination.”

Ann C. McGinley William S. Boyd Professor of Law and co-director of Boyd’s Workplace Law Program

SELECTED SCHOLARLY WORKS FROM THE FACULTY Stewart Chang, Our National Psychosis: Guns, Terror, and Hegemonic Masculinity, 53 Harv. C.R.-C.L. L. Rev. __.

Frank Rudy Cooper, The Geneaology of Programmatic Stop and Frisk: The Discourse to Practice Circuit, 73 U. of Miami L. Rev. __.

Benjamin P. Edwards & Ann C. McGinley, Venture Bearding, 52 U.C. Davis L. Rev. __.

Sara Gordon, About a Revolution: Toward Integrated Treatment in Drug and Mental Health Courts, 97 N.C. L. Rev. __.

M. Eve Hanan, Remorse Bias, 83 Mo. L. Rev. 301 (2018).

Michael Kagan, Chevron’s Liability Exception, 104 Iowa L. Rev __.

Ann C. McGinley, Gender, Law, and Culture in the Legal Workplace: A Chilean Case Study, 61 Ariz. L. Rev. __.

Of course, the only way to gather a diverse group of opinions was to recruit a diverse group of writers, so McGinley and her co-editor enlisted authors of different ages, races, sexual orientations and genders, and from different legal settings.

“A lot of students read opinions and say, ‘That’s just the way the law is,’” McGinley says. “Then you read [Feminist Judgments] and you think, ‘Oh my goodness, here’s where the law is. If the feminist perspective had been used, the law would be way out in front of where it is now.’ That will hopefully train a new group of students to go out, become lawyers, become judges, and change the law.”

Lydia Nussbaum, Realizing Restorative Justice: Legal Rules and Standards for School Discipline Reform, 69 Hastings L. J. 583 (2018).

David Orentlicher, Politics and the Supreme Court: The Need for Ideological Balance, 79 U. Pitt. L. Rev. __.

Addie C. Rolnick, Defending White Space, 40 Cardozo L. Rev. __.

Jeffery W. Stempel, Judicial Peremptory Challenges as Access Enhancers, 86 Fordham L. Rev. 2263 (2018).

Stacey A. Tovino, A Right to Care, 70 Ala. L. Rev. __ Marketa Trimble, Territorialization of the Internet Domain Name System, 45 Pepp. L. Rev. __.

2018 | UNLV Law

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FACULTY FOCUS

Pillar of Support THOUGH THE SPOTLIGHT MAY OCCASIONALLY SHINE ON PROFESSOR, PROMOTER, AND IMPROMPTU PERFORMER RUBEN GARCIA, HIS FOCUS ALWAYS REMAINS ON THE TEAM

BY CAMILLE CANNON

“It’s part of my ethos as a labor lawyer.

I believe that we all succeed because of everyone else supporting us.”

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When asked what would surprise most people who first meet him, Professor Ruben Garcia says, “I have a propensity to break into song.” Usually, it’s something by Bruce Springsteen (he jokes about a “shrine to The Boss” in his office), and he clearly subscribes to the notion that all the world is potentially a stage. “It’s happened in class, in karaoke clubs, and at home.”

While he may take the spotlight for a song or two, when it comes to his work, the co-director of the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law’s Workplace Law Program is the consummate team player.

Always has been, always will be.

“It’s part of my ethos as a labor lawyer,” he says. “I believe that we all succeed because of everyone else supporting us.”

That outlook serves Garcia, and the rest of Boyd’s faculty, well in his role as Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Research. In that position, Garcia’s responsibilities include mentoring junior faculty and facilitating their access to share their work via travel, encouraging scholarship and distributing works in progress, and establishing strong partnerships for UNLV Law around the country.

“Just as we market our teaching, we market what we do in terms of research. That’s one of the coins of currency that we have,” Garcia says. “Even though we’ve done a tremendous job, [the law school has] youth on our side, for better or worse.”

One way in which Garcia works to bring more visibility to the UNLV Law’s research is by networking in national organizations. Garcia previously served on the ACLU of Nevada’s board of directors, as co-president of the Society of American Law Teachers, and is currently on the board of directors for the American Constitution Society (he’s also an adviser to Boyd’s ACS student chapter.)

In tune with the ways of the modern world, Garcia also maintains a strong Twitter presence (@ProfRubenGarcia), where he shares his colleagues’ writing and engages with other legal professionals across the country. “My goal is to make every colleague feel like they’re supported and that their work is getting promoted,” Garcia says.

Another way Garcia accomplishes this objective is co-planning the Western Law Professors of Color conference, scheduled for October 18-20 at UNLV. “Junior scholars of color are our future,” Garcia says. “We have to try to encourage and support them as much as possible.”

In the midst of his planning and promoting, Garcia will continue teaching Boyd students about labor law and constitutional law during the fall semester, and employment law in the spring.

If it sounds like he does a lot, that’s because he does. “I drink a lot of coffee,” Garcia says.

Just like a boss.

FACULTY FOCUS

Man on a Mission WHEN IT COMES TO PUBLIC INTEREST LAW, NEW BOYD PROFESSOR STEWART CHANG FINDS SUPERHERO-LIKE STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

BY CAMILLE CANNON If there’s a lesson to be learned from The Avengers franchise (besides the fact that superhero movies rake in big bucks), it’s that superheroes working together can overcome bigger and badder villains more effectively than any one hero on their own. It’s that mentality that led Professor Stewart Chang to leave a decade of public interest law for teaching, and ultimately, what led him to the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law. “In public interest law, you save the world one client at a time. But it’s a tsunami of clients who need help,” Chang says. “I felt that I could only do so much as one person. But if I’m able to train up other attorneys to go into the field and be out there in the community, that would be a lot more effective.”

Chang earned his undergraduate degree

in English from UCLA before heading east to study law at Georgetown University. He then returned to Los Angeles to work as an attorney at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center in Los Angeles (where he was hired for a bilingual position specifically to help monolingual clients).

While at the Legal Center, Chang handled myriad cases dealing with such immigration issues as domestic violence-based petitions, visas, and asylum, as well as family law matters such as domestic-violence restraining orders, child custody, and child support. Each of those issues has been close to Chang’s heart since childhood. “[I was] helping clients who were just like my mom: those who were limited Englishlanguage proficient [and] those who didn’t have resources to find legal help,” he says.

“That was pretty much my primary reason

I entered the field.”

After 10 years at the Legal Center—now known as Asian Americans Advancing Justice—Chang decided to switch to teaching. He taught most recently at Whitter College and Whittier Law School, where he was not only an Associate Professor of Law and English— he earned a master’s in English from Stanford and Ph.D. in English from UC Irvine—but also the Director of the Center for International and Comparative Law, an area which he continues to explore in his scholarship.

Now that his superhero headquarters are at Boyd, Chang says he’s excited to train UNLV Law’s diverse student population.

“It’s a student population that I can relate to, and that I have a strong desire to mentor.”

Did you hear that? It’s the sound of more public-interest superheroes landing on the ground.

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WHAT HAPPENS AT BOYD ... IN PICTURES

THE GALLERY

COMMENCEMENT

On May 11, 2018, the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law held its commencement to honor 149 graduates, including Charles Adjovu (JD) and Jesse Ruzicka (JD), right. Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, above, delivered the keynote address after announcing he would form Boyd’s Law & Leadership Program at the end of his second term in office.

For more on Sandoval’s life in Nevada politics and his new role at UNLV Law, see Page 20.

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THE GALLERY

DEAN’S DISTINGUISHED SPEAKER SERIES

Throughout the academic year, UNLV Law welcomed thought-provoking speakers as part of the Dean’s Distinguished Speaker Series. On October 23, 2017, Preet Bharara (left)—former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York—spoke on the importance of the rule of law, while Judge Ken Starr (above) presented “Investigating the President” on March 22, 2018. Both shared stories about their years of service and their thoughts on today’s political climate given their respective experiences. They also answered questions from the audience.

2018 | UNLV Law

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THE GALLERY

20TH-ANNUAL CLARK COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION MOOT COURT COMPETITION

The Society of Advocates, together with the Clark County Bar Association (CCBA), hosted the final round of the UNLV Law/CCBA Moot Court Competition on the evening of April 23, 2018. Four Boyd students had their arguments judged by California Supreme Court Justice Goodwin Liu, who earlier that day delivered the annual Judge Lloyd D. George Lecture on the Judicial Process; Nevada Supreme Court Justice Kristina Pickering; and Judge Andrew P. Gordon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada.

PHILIP PRO LECTURE IN LEGAL HISTORY

On February 12, 2018, historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Professor Eric Foner presented “The Second Founding: How the Civil War and Reconstruction Changed the Constitution” as part of the Philip Pro Lecture in Legal History.

Foner’s lecture on the Civil War Amendments expanded upon the work in his award-winning book, Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution, and The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for History.

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THE GALLERY

SPRING FLING

Students, alumni, faculty, family, and friends came together on April 14, 2018, at the UNLV Eller Media Softball Stadium for the Ninth-Annual Spring Fling.

Attendees enjoyed a day of softball, barbecue, and family-friendly activities.

A CONVERSATION WITH JANE HARMAN

Dean Daniel W. Hamilton and the Honorable Jane Harman, President and CEO of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and nine-term member of Congress (1993-99, 2001-11), welcomed students, alumni, and the university community on March 7, 2018, for her public talk titled “Foreign Policy and National Security: A Conversation with Jane Harman.” Among the many topics addressed were the investigation in Russian election interference, trade policies with China, and the War on Terror.

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KEEPING UP WITH BOYD ALUMNI

CLASS ACTIONS

2001 Terry Moore of Marquis Aurbach Coffing in Las Vegas was honored with the Associate Member of the Year award from Building Owners and Managers Association.

Leon R. Symanski is an attorney with Craig P. Kenny & Associates.

Aikaterine Vervilos works for Aetna as health law counsel supporting Medicaid and Medicare plans. She lives in Phoenix.

2003 Adriana Fralick was appointed the Deputy City Manager for Carson City. Prior to this she was the Chief Deputy District Attorney. Adriana also is the chair of the newly established Boyd School of Law Regional Chapter for Northern Nevada.

Sandra Douglass Morgan was named to the Nevada Gaming Commission this spring. She also joined the board of directors of the Nevada Jobs for Nevada’s Graduates.

2004 Sonya Parrish Boun is “of counsel” at Jackson Lewis.

Jeanne Williams Lambertsen of Las Vegas is a family law associate attorney with Webster and Associates.

ALUMNI REUNION

Shane Jasmine Young is the founder of the Young Law Group in Las Vegas.

On September 23, 2017, alumni of the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law gathered at the Las Vegas Country Club for the annual class reunion and alumni dinner.

This year featured special recognition of classes from 2002, 2007, and 2012, as well as a reception for all alumni and an all-Boyd dinner and awards program.

2006 Laura Etter, the Chief of Staff for Supervisor Bill Gates of Maricopa County, has volunteered to chair the Phoenix-area Boyd Law Regional Chapter.

Evangelin “Evie” Lee joined the Aerospace Corporation in April. She focuses on government contracts, real estate, and construction law.

Previously, Evie was deputy general counsel at an international humanitarian organization.

Montgomery Paek, an attorney in the Las Vegas office of Littler Mendelson—the world’s largest employment and labor law firm representing management—has been elevated to shareholder. He represents and advises employers and management on a wide variety of employment matters, including class actions, minimum wage and overtime, trade secrets and non-competes, discrimination and harassment, and executive contract disputes.

Karl Rutledge was appointed by the American Bar Association Business 56

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Top, from left: Robert W. Potter ’02 and Becky Pintar ’01 (Alumni Volunteer Leadership Awards); Nevada Speaker of the Assembly Jason Frierson ’01 (Distinguished Service Alumni Award); M. Daron Dorsey ’01 (Alumnus of the Year); and UNLV Law Dean Daniel W. Hamilton. Not pictured: Matt Morris ’13 (Young Alumni Award).

Above, Congresswoman Dina Titus delivers welcome remarks.

CLASS ACTIONS

They’re on the Case CLERKSHIPS WITH THE U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT GIVE BOYD STUDENTS INVALUABLE EXPERIENCE

2007 Audrey J. Beeson graduated in May from the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University School of Law with an LL.M. in alternative dispute resolution with a focus in mediation. She has been selected as a mediator for the statewide juvenile dependency mediation program. Previously, she was a mediator—outsource provider as well as a parenting coordinator—for Nevada’s Eighth Judicial District Court.

BY LISSA TOWNSEND RODGERS The UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law offers students many opportunities to develop their legal aptitude in real-world scenarios, from tax and family justice clinics to Congressional externships. But one of the most coveted is a postgraduate clerkship with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the country’s largest appellate court that hears cases from 11 states and territories, making decisions that reverberate across the nation.

“The breadth of issues that you’re able to explore is pretty incredible,” says Aarin Elyse Kevorkian, a 2017 Boyd graduate who recently concluded her clerkship, which followed a summer stint working as a student law clerk for Ninth Circuit Judge Johnnie B. Rawlinson. “We had immigration cases, civil rights cases, criminal cases, civil cases, social security cases, habeas cases, jurisdictional cases. I think just about every issue one can imagine came up in one way or another, whether it was the main issue or tangentially related.”

Despite being in existence for just 20 years, UNLV Law ranks among the leading public law schools in placing students and graduates in post-graduate judicial clerkship positions. Most of those are with various state courts, but occasionally Boyd students get the call to work at the federal level.

And clerking with the Ninth Circuit is as good as it gets.

Just ask Gil Kahn, who like Kevorkian recently completed his Ninth Circuit clerkship, observing cases on everything from Second

Law Section to a three-year term as chairman of the Section’s Gaming Law Committee. Karl is an attorney at Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP in Las Vegas.

Aarin Elyse Kevorkian

Gil Kahn

Amendment challenges and attorney-fee awards to a rare federal death-penalty verdict.

“Each of these cases posed a complex combination of facts and applicable law, and a few novel questions,” says Kahn, who earned his J.D. in 2016, after which he had a U.S. District Court clerkship before heading to the Ninth Circuit.

“It was a privilege to witness firsthand how a panel of three federal judges works through such problems—not only to reach the best decision, but to provide the clearest possible reasoning as guidance to the lower courts.”

Following in the Ninth Circuit footsteps of Kevorkian and Kahn is recent Boyd graduate Annie Avery. First, though, Avery will spend a year working for Judges Andrew Gordon and Jennifer Dorsey at the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada before moving on to clerk for Judge Jay Bybee at the Ninth Circuit.

In fact, Avery will arrive at Judge Bybee’s chambers with some Ninth Circuit experience under her belt. That’s because earlier this year, as part of her work with UNLV Law’s Appellate Clinic, she argued a case in front of the court.

“It was really one of the most valuable experiences of my lawschool career, because it helped me understand what goes into representing somebody at the appellate level,” she says. “It’s so different

Annie Avery than everything else. Representing a client in district court, at trial-level court—it’s a different thing, and it’s infinitely more complicated.”

While arguing in court was a thrill, Avery points out that the most important things she learned were behind the scenes: “When you get a record for class and it’s 30-40 pages, everything is important. But when you sit down with a record that’s 1,000 pages, you really have to be sure that you’re looking at everything. It requires a really keen eye, and it has helped me understand what it takes to create something out of really nothing.”

Kahn found his Ninth Circuit clerkship extremely valuable not only because it taught him more about the practicalities of law, but the philosophies behind it—and how to handle the adversities that all trial lawyers inevitably encounter.

“When the law or facts are unfavorable to your position, the most effective approach, the judge would tell us, is to acknowledge the challenge before you and to confront it head on,” Kahn says.

“The piles of briefs I read and the many hours of oral arguments I observed demonstrated this lesson to me time and again. I feel even more prepared to enter practice as an effective and ethical advocate.”

Adds Kevorkian: “I can’t emphasize enough just how incredible an experience this has been.”

Lauren Calvert joined the law firm Bighorn Law in 2014. She heads the firm’s complex litigation division and was promoted to general counsel for software company Filevine.

Xenophon Peters of Peters & Associates in Las Vegas was awarded

by VEGAS INC as an honoree of the “40 Under 40” award this spring.

2008 Bret Meich has been promoted to counsel at Downey Brand in early 2018. From his base in Downey Brand’s Reno office, he works in both Nevada and California, using his business and government background to offer strategies and tactics that effectively resolve complex commercial and intellectual property disputes, and assists clients with governmental and regulatory matters.

James Robertson of Sacramento is a partner with the firm of Downey Brand, with a practice focusing on mergers and acquisitions, securities and financing transactions, corporate governance, and gaming-law matters.

2009 Joshua Gilmore of Bailey Kennedy LLP in Las Vegas was recognized for complex commercial litigation by Benchmark Litigation.

M. Magali Mercera of the firm Pisanelli Bice, PLLC was named as one of the 2018 “Women to Watch” honorees.

Colleen Varela is associated with Ballard Spahr LLP in Phoenix.

2010 Gabrielle Angle has a new job as a compliance analyst with Scientific Games. Gabrielle is currently in her second year as president of the Boyd School of Law Alumni Chapter Board.

2018 | UNLV Law

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CLASS ACTIONS

Joanna Myers moved to Holley, Driggs, Walch, Fine, Wray, Puzey & Thompson this spring. Joanna was an adjunct for a summer LP3 class at Boyd.

Matthew Orme of Durham Jones & Pinegar and Ryan Pahnke’05 JD with Ray Quinney & Nebeker have volunteered to organize Boyd Law alumni events as the Regional Co-Chairs of the Salt Lake City metro area.

John Piro recently celebrated his sixth year as a public defender, now serving as Chief Deputy Public Defender for Clark County.

This summer he will graduate in the Leadership Las Vegas class of 2018.

2011 Jessica Green was selected as a 2018 Mountain State Super Lawyer and is an attorney at Lipson, Neilson, Cole, Seltzer & Garin. PC, in Las Vegas.

David Klink is an attorney who is opening a second office location in Glendale, Arizona, focusing on plaintiff’s personal injury law and health care licensing board representation for doctors and nurses.

Aaron MacDonald is a lawyer at Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada.

2012 P. Owen Benito is an intellectual property attorney who is a California candidate for the U.S. Senate.

Colin Seale is the founder and CEO of thinkLaw, a company that teaches critical-thinking skills to students using legal cases. Fairy tales and nursery rhymes are used to teach students in kindergarten through second grades because there are many shades in children’s literature. The company operates in 11 states, including Nevada, and has impacted more than 200,000 students since launching in 2015.

Chandeni Sendall works for the Reno City Attorney’s Office.

2013 Marisa Rodriguez was chosen as president-elect of the 2018 Latino Bar Association (LBA). She is the deputy regional XIV president of the Hispanic National Bar Association and is listed in Super Lawyers magazine and Nevada Business Magazine for her work in personal injury defense. Prior to joining WWHGD, she served as a judicial law clerk for the late Clark County District Judge Susan Scann.

58 UNLV Law | 2018

The Difference Maker BOYD ALUM MILES DICKSON TRAVELS A NONLEGAL PATH TO WHAT HAS BEEN A FULFILLING CAREER IN PHILANTHROPY

BY STEVE BORNFELD Life’s twists and turns can be measured in degrees. Even law degrees.

“I think about the degree a lot— especially every month when I write a check to pay my tuition,” says law school graduate-turnedphilanthropy dynamo Miles Dickson with an ironic chuckle.

“I’m really glad I went to law school; I wouldn’t trade it. That was the life raft, but I kind of floated away from it, [because] I felt I could go out on a really untraditional path.”

At 33, the third-generation Las Vegan and 2011 graduate of the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law has taken that path to impressive heights in his non-legal career. Even among philanthropy professionals with much longer résumés, Dickson’s shimmers sulting firm JABarrett Company. with accomplishments.

“What you learn in law school As a consultant and strategist to is equal parts practical informaadvance social progress, influence tion about the law and a way to public policy, and approach probhelp both corpo- “In so many different lem-solving [by] rate entities and ways, law school is testing assumpnonprofits maxitions, looking mize their chari- about being able to share at an issue or a table resources, facts and get people’s challenge or an Dickson has lent perspectives across in opportunity, and his community- ways that will move them saying, ‘What minded talents and reach a conclusion.” went into this?’” to such organiDickson says Miles Dickson zations as Three Boyd alum (Class of 2011) about the vital Square food skills he took bank, the City of from Boyd. “In so Las Vegas, and the forthcoming many different ways, law school is Nevada Museum of Art in downabout being able to share facts and town Las Vegas. Over the last five get people’s perspectives across years, he has plied his humanitarin ways that will move them and ian magic for management conreach a conclusion.”

Citing his gratifying lobbying work representing the Nevada Community Foundation in advocacy and policy efforts to increase Nevada’s federal grant awards, Dickson credits an externship he got to do— thanks to Boyd— for catapulting him into the career he cherishes.

“I took an entire semester working in Carson City for a really great law firm [Snell & Wilmer], and I got to learn what it was like to be a lobbyist and work with lawyers every day,” he says. “Seven years later, I still lobby most legislative sessions, doing a lot of government and multi-jurisdictional work. I literally got credits to learn this in law school, then turned around and used that experience every day in my work.”

Though he never envisioned himself toiling in a courtroom as many law school graduates do, Dickson looks back on his Boyd experience as a major building block in his laudable career.

“If I had gone to some regional law school in California or Colorado, I may have gotten the same opportunity to work in the Colorado Legislature,” he notes. “But seven years later I work with the same people I met in law school. I got the jobs I got out of law school because of the people I met while I was there. I am incredibly grateful that I had the opportunity at Boyd.”

That is no small degree of praise.

CLASS ACTIONS

The Seasoned Pro FROM ONE PROFESSIONAL VENTURE TO THE NEXT, BOYD ALUM SANDRA DOUGLASS MORGAN REMAINS COMMITTED TO SERVING OTHERS

BY PATRICK EVERSON Without question, the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law has produced numerous distinguished graduates in its relatively short 20 years of existence. But you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone with a wider array of experience than Sandra Douglass Morgan, who earned her J.D. in 2003 as part of the school’s third graduating class.

In a nutshell: Morgan clerked for two years at Parker Nelson and Associates; moved on to MGM Resorts to advise on corporate-risk matters as a litigation attorney; joined the City of North Las Vegas in 2008, initially dealing in the legal side of land use, planning, and zoning, before ultimately rising to deputy city attorney, then city attorney; then she returned to the private sector to work as director of external services for AT&T, her current post.

If you ask Morgan the secret to her success, she’ll point all the way back to her time in law school.

“I think the options of courses Boyd had available, and the lawschool experience as a whole, with each class you were learning how to think critically in a way that traditional schooling doesn’t teach you,” Morgan says. “By the end, the law school prepares you to put it all in perspective. It challenged me, and it gave me the desire to continue challenging myself.”

And she’s not just talking about her full-time positions over the past 15 years. The avid boxing/ mixed martial arts fan spent much of the past year on the Nevada Athletic Commission, leaving that post

in April only because Governor Brian Sandoval appointed her to the Nevada Gaming Commission.

Morgan says serving in those roles is just a natural extension of her longtime commitment to community service—fueled in large part

by Boyd’s long-standing community service component.

“You can easily take for granted the legal and analytical skills that you obtain in law school, because at the time you’re in school, you are so focused on final exams, graduating, and finding employment,” Morgan says. “You later realize the value in what the school taught you when you can apply your skills and help somebody— ‘Wow, I’m able to help people with everyday issues because of what the law school has taught me.’”

It’s those lightbulb moments that Morgan finds particularly gratifying.

“It’s a feeling that, regardless of how much experience you have, or how many sophisticated corporate clients you have, everyone has a responsibility to serve those who didn’t have the opportunity to access a legal education,” she says.

Today, Morgan’s community service contributions include working with Jobs for Nevada’s Graduates, a program designed to get those with highschool diplomas on the appropriate track—be it directly into the workforce or on to college or other post-secondary training.

In all, it’s been a fulfilling career, but she’s particularly fond of her time at the City of North Las Vegas.

“I was really proud of the work I did with the city,” Morgan says.

“It tied back to the law school’s mandatory community service component. I always wanted to serve the community in some way.

To drive by an area and know I had an impact, with a park or community center, it’s something I can always be proud of.

“And with AT&T, I’m very proud knowing we’re dedicated to the way technology is used in society. We’re conscious of social issues, and it’s important that we put our corporate dollars toward those issues, such as education and innovation. Technology should be used for good.”

Brandon Sendall is with the Sparks City Attorney’s Office in northern Nevada.

2014 Melissa Polsenberg Chytry is an associate attorney at Hurtik Law & Associates.

Melissa Corral began working as an immigration attorney at Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada in April.

Michael S. Gobaud started Gobaud Law, a personal-injury law firm, in 2017.

Adam Tully is serving on the Nevada Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission of the State Bar of Nevada Young Lawyers Section.

Brittany Birnbaum Young is an attorney with Craig P. Kenny & Associates in Las Vegas.

2015 Lee H. Gorlin began working last year as an associate attorney for the law firm of McCormick, Barstow, Shepard, Wayte & Carruth.

Crislove Igeleke joined the Las Vegas firm of Murchison & Cumming, LLP. Michael Reed works for Watton Law Group, a consumer bankruptcy firm, as debtor’s counsel.

Amanda Stevens recently started Battle Born Capital, which specializes in private lending secured by real estate, also known as trust deed investing. Stevens currently serves as a voting member of the Boyd School of Law Alumni Chapter Board.

2016 Becky Harris, LL.M., was appointed to serve as the first female Chair of the Nevada Gaming Control Board in January 2018.

Thomas W. Stewart is an associate at the Las Vegas law firm of Marquis Aurbach Coffing.

2017 Timothy E. Revero, LL.M., is an attorney at the Richard Harris Law Firm specializing in personal injury, medical malpractice, premises liability, motor vehicle accidents, and slip-and-fall cases.

2018 Kristopher Kalkowski of Las Vegas will start his two-year post-grad judicial clerkship with Chief Judge Gloria Navarro, U. S. District Court for the District of Nevada.

2018 | UNLV Law

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RECOGNIZING BOYD’S SUPPORTERS

*indicates Alumni Leadership Circle Member DONORS

The law school is grateful to the following donors for their support in Fiscal Year 2018 (July 1, 2017June 30, 2018).

$1,000,000 +

• William S. Boyd & The Boyd Foundation

$100,000$999,999

• Barrick Gold of North America

$50,000$99,999

• The E. L. Cord Foundation • Edward Bernstein and Claudia Bernstein and Edward M. Bernstein & Associates • Samuel Lionel and Lexy Lionel & The Lionel Trust • Russell Rosenblum and Anne Mazzola and the Rosenblum Family Foundation

$25,000$49,999

• Eglet Prince • Garman Turner Gordon, LLP • Dean Daniel Hamilton & MaryAnn Winkelmes • NextGen Climate America, Inc. • State Bar of Nevada • Thomas A. Plein Foundation Ltd.

$10,000$24,999

• Brookings Institution • Jay Brown & Sharyn Brown • Lynnda Brown ‘04 • Harris and Eliza Kempner Fund • Lori Kalani • John O’Reilly • Linda Potter • Michael Saltman & Sonja Saltman • Society of Independent Show Organizers • Southern Nevada Association of Women Attorneys

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UNLV Law | 2018

$5,000-$9,999

• Association of Corporate Counsel, Nevada Chapter • *Sean Claggett ‘03 & Louella Claggett • Dickinson Wright, PLLC • Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund • Thomas Gallagher & Mary Gallagher • *Elden “Keith” Hansen ‘09 & Mandy Hansen • James Jenkins & Anita Jenkins • Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie, LLP • Bernard Nash & Phyllis Nash • Ana Orellana • Edward Quirk & Maria Quirk • The Honorable Miriam Shearing • Kim Sinatra • The Torrance Potter Family Trust

$2,500-$4,999

• Christine Beecroft • *Miles Dickson ‘11 • Fennemore Craig • Howard & Howard Attorneys, PLLC • Ellis Landau & Yvette Landau • MGM Resorts International • John Mowbray • The Honorable Philip Pro & Dori Pro • Professor Nancy Rapoport & Jeffrey Van Niel • SGFusion Living LLC • Snell & Wilmer, LLP • *Rosa Solis-Rainey ‘01 & Dayne Rainey • Youth Charities of Southern Nevada

$1,000-$2,499 • *Paola Armeni Androvandi ‘03 & Joe Androvandi • Bailey Kennedy, LLP • Professor Mary Beth Beazley • *Ogonna Brown ‘01 • Barbara Buckley • *Adam Bult ‘04 • *E. Joe Cain ‘01 & Christina Cain • *Justin Carley ‘06 & Anna Carley • *Holly Cheong ‘10 & Angelo Cheong

• *Zachary Conine ‘13 & Assistant Dean Layke Martin • Professor Robert Correales & Julia Correales • Senator Catherine Cortez Masto • Carlos Davison & Sylvia Davison • De Castroverde Law Group • *Aleem Dhalla ‘16 & Alicia Dhalla • *Daron Dorsey ‘01 & The Honorable Jennifer Dorsey • *Kelly Dove ‘07 & Ian Dove • Joshua Dressler • Irving Epstein & Diane Epstein • FC Management, LLC • Friends For Harry Reid • The Honorable Lloyd George & LaPrele George • Byron Georgiou • Ben Graham & Elana Graham • Professor Leslie Griffin • Kimball Hakes ‘04 • Edward Hamilton • Hartwell Thalacker, Ltd. • *Marjorie Hauf ‘02 & Rory Hauf • The JABarrett Company • *Jean-Paul Hendricks ‘06 & Kara Hendricks ‘01 • Interactive Global Solutions • Kenny Guinn Center for Policy Priorities • Joe Kiani • Jenny Lee ‘12 & Evan Roark • The Honorable Peggy Leen • Tom Letizia & Marla Letizia • *Kfir Levy ‘03 & Anne Marie Doucette ‘01 • Dean Emeritus Richard Morgan & Christina Morgan • *James Murphy ‘03 & Jessica Murphy ‘03 • *Michael Paretti ‘15 • *Casey Perkins ‘10 & Robin Perkins • Vice Provost Ngai Pindell • *Robert Potter ‘02 • Melody Rissell ‘18 • Law Office of M. Nelson Segel • Ivan Sher • *Quinton Singleton ‘07 • Associate Dean Christine Smith • Doreen Spears Hartwell • Professor Jeffrey Stempel and Professor Ann McGinley • Susan Sutherland • *Leon Symanski ‘01 & Lisa Symanski

• Robert Telles ‘14 • *Ann Ward ‘02 • Dana White • Ashleigh Wise ‘16 • Cayla Witty ‘12 & Nolan Jones • Zuffa, LLC

$500-$999

• Richard Andrews ‘13 • *Christian Augustin ‘15 • Ballard Spahr, LLP • The Honorable Shelley Berkley & Larry Lehrner • *Brian Blaylock ‘12 & Anne Blaylock • Barry Boss • Candace Carlyon • William Conine & Judy Conine • Francis De Blasi • Zachary Erdwurm • Professor Ruben Garcia & Victoria Carreon • Mark Garrity • Nedda Ghandi ‘08 • *Charles Gianelloni ‘12 & Jae Gianelloni • Caleb Green ‘19 • Christopher Guy ‘19 • Patrick Harrington • David Harvan • Gregory Heinrich & Barbara Heinrich • Michael Hill & Breann Hill • Edward Hoffman • *Kirk Homeyer ‘11 • Amanda Klump • *Matthew Knepper ‘12 • Professor Francine Lipman • Emily Lundahl • Professor Thomas Main & Paula Main • Juan Martinez • Douglas Parker • *Becky Pintar ‘01 • Professor Jeanne Frazier Price • Karen Rashmir • Republic Services • Freddy Saavedra • The Schwab Fund For Charitable Giving • Bryan Scott • Raymond Smith ‘03 • Professor Marketa Trimble Landova & Gary Trimble Landova • Alexander Velto ‘18 • Andrea Vieira • Dan Waite & Andrea Waite

• *Trevor Waite ‘14 & Tara Waite • Valerie Wiener • Greg Woods • *Ryan Works ‘04 • *Kendelee Works ‘05

$250-$499

• Rachael Adair & Luther Adair • AMCE Film and Management Co, LLC • Arthur Murray Dance Studio • Bank of America Charitable Foundation • Professor Bret Birdsong & Professor Anne Traum • Elizabeth Brickfield • Jessica Buchmiller ‘04 • Kevin Buckley & Sylvia Buckley • Commissioner Bonnie Bulla • Jeffrey Burr, Ltd. • Michael Coggeshall ‘17 • John Coleman • Patrice Crawford • Krisanne Cunningham • Joseph Dagher ‘19 • Dentons US LLP • Nav Dhillon • Assistant Dean Angela Doran • Associate Dean Frank D. Durand & Veronica Durand • The Honorable Cynthia DustinCruz ‘03 • Professor Benjamin Edwards • Jerry Engel • William Evans & Stefani Evans • The Honorable Harmony Letizia & Conor Flynn • Adriana Fralick ‘03 & David Fralick • Tami Gadd-Willardson ‘09 • Talitha Gray Kozlowski • Wayne Jeffries • Raymond Jereza ‘09 • Professor Lori Johnson • Richard S. Johnson Ltd. • Professor Michael Kagan • Peter Krueger • Cliff W. Marcek P.C. • Professor Lydia Nussbaum • Panish, Shea & Boyle, LLP • Professor Keith Rowley & Katherine Rowley • Donna A. Ruthe • Alden Schacher • Megan Scheib • Schulman Family Foundation • Samantha Scofield ‘19

DONORS

• Senator Richard “Tick” Segerblom & Sharon Segerblom • Cristina Silva • Law Office of Daniel S. Simon • Kurt Smith ‘07 & Stephanie Smith • Professor Jean Sternlight & Professor Sylvia Lazos • Cassie Stratford ‘08 • Howard Stutz & Valorie Stutz • John Swendseid & Despina Hatton • Marissa Temple ‘04 & Jefferson Temple • David Thomas & The Honorable Nancy Allf • Uplift Foundation of Nevada Charities • Valtus Capital Group • Professor John White & Jocelyn Cortez

$100-$249

• Maier Gutierrez & Associates • Michelle Alanis ‘06 • Jacqueline Alvarez • Sarig Armenian ‘09 & Razmik Libarian • Jeanette Barrick ‘13 & Travis Barrick • Ernest Barsamian • Professor Ian Bartrum • Professor Linda Berger • Maria-Nicolle Beringer ‘04 & Scott Beringer • Jeff Blum • Christine Brady ‘08 • Bubba’s Consulting, LLC • Linda Bufano • James Butman ‘02 & Elizabeth Butman • CAM 1, LLC • Diane Canade • Edward Cecchi • Sean Connery & Kelly Connery • Venicia Considine ‘08 • Clara Cruden • Leda De La Roca • Christal Dixon ‘02 & Patrick Dixon • Randi Doroshow • Professor Linda Edwards & Dan Edwards • Athena Eliades ‘19 • C. Scott Emerson • Booker Evans • James Fisher • John Flanagan ‘20

• Cara Freeman • Assemblyman Ozzie Fumo & Ellen Fumo • Sally Galati ‘05 & Craig Galati • Suzanne Gollin • Ross Goodman & Emily Goodman • Kimberly Goodnight ‘06 & Joseph Goodnight • Siria Gutierrez ‘10 • Ann Hamilton • Professor Eve Hanan • Derek Hatch • Robin Holseth ‘01 & Michael Holseth • Lacy Horne • Kristina Howard • Joan Howarth • Chelsee Jensen ‘17 • Justin Jones • Zaniah Jordan • Rafael Juarez & Olga Juarez • Krysta Juris • Shweta Kadam • Bailey Karas ‘20 • Steven Kish • Noah Kohn & Erin Bilbray-Kohn • Jill Koloske ‘12 • Kelly Kroeger ‘08 & Matt Kroeger • Marc Kustner ‘19 • Las Vegas Defense Lawyers Inc. • Lawclerk.Legal Corporation • Susan Lee ‘19 • Victor Lucero & Rosa Lucero • Ronald Lurie • Professor Elizabeth MacDowell • Sam Maher • Joel Mann ‘02 & Sari Mann ‘03 • Ellin Mardirosian ‘16 • Professor Thomas McAffee • Sherry McElmurry • Christine Miller • Kali Miller ‘09 • Tyler Moran • Loretta Moses • Tyler Mowbray ‘17 • Joanna Myers ‘10 • Dean Navalta ‘20 • Linda Norcross ‘04 & Matthew Norcross • Edward Orasi • Professor David Orentlicher • Veronica Ortiz • Kami Orton ‘20 • Matthew Otten • Kristi Overgaard • Kaila Patrick • Shaina Plaksin ‘15 & Benjamin Plaksin

• Chandler Pohl ‘14 • Professor Terrill Pollman • Puoy Premsrirut • David Reinhold • Robyn Repetti • Right Lawyers • Mariteresa Rivera-Rogers ‘03 • Marisa Rodriguez ‘13 • Jeff Roth • Rowe Law Group, Ltd. • Scott Sabraw • The Honorable Nancy Saitta • Mark Sakurada • Nathaniel Saxe ‘16 • Sepideh Sayedna ‘10 • Donna Schultz • Jennifer Schwartz ‘02 & Darren Schwartz • Ralph Scoccimaro & Susan Scoccimaro • Anne Shoup • Howard Siegel Andrew Smith & Dena Smith • The Honorable Frank Sullivan • Gina Sully ‘05 • Hannalene Thalgott • Tanya Toby • Janet Tuohy • Adrian Viesca ‘17 • Dana Wagner • *Melissa Waite ‘07 & Kendall Thacker • Senator Elizabeth Warren & Bruce Mann • Garrett Weir ‘10 & Katie Turek • Angelique Williams • Women’s Democractic Club of Clark County • Wooldridge Law Ltd.

$1-$99

• Jason Adams • Lisa Amsler • Professor Rachel Anderson • Sarah Apfel • Madeline Arcellana ‘15 • Reza Ayazi • Professor Chelsea Baldwin • Ernest Barlow & Harriet Barlow • Howard Baron • Nadege Barthelmy ‘17 • Professor Peter Bayer • Nadina Beach ‘13 & Reeves Pollack • Ina Kristine Bergstrom • Brenda Bevels • Samantha Bilbao ‘15 • Linda Birkemeyer

• Olivia Bivens ‘13 • Christopher Blakesley & Susan Blakesley • Debra Bookout • Roman Borisov ‘12 • Marcy Brown • Emily Buchwald ‘14 • Heather Caliguire ‘17 • Veronica Canton • Carolina Chacon • Sabrina Clymer ‘18 • Marco Coelho • Hayley Cummings ‘12 • Adam Dayton • Myrra Dvorak ‘20 • Steven Ellis • Kanani Espinoza • Kenneth Evans • Jack Fleeman ‘07 & Christine Fleeman • Richard Foster ‘20 & Lynda Foster • Kyle Gambrel • Andrea Gandara ‘11 • Amy Gardner & Robert Gardner • Carmen Gilbert ‘19 • Karen Gold • Homero Gonzalez ‘19 • William Grigsby ‘17 • Jaclyn Guedry ‘18 • Michael Guy • Andrew Hall ‘12 • Edward Halstead & Eun Halstead • Steve Haws • Marckia Hayes ‘17 • Ivy Hensel ‘14 • Ramir Hernandez ‘13 • Debi Hiatt • Michael Horne • Patricia Horne McGee • Mary Huggins ‘20 • Crislove Igeleke ‘15 • Rose Johnson • Darcy Johnson ‘02 • Laura Kagan • Frederick Krauss ‘12 & Charlie Krauss • Esther Langston • Amanda Laub ‘18 • Kimber Laux ‘15 • Brad Lewis • Landon Littlefield ‘19 • Sophia Long ‘03 • Gil Lopez ‘15 • Nelly Martinez • Monica Martinez ‘17 • Briana Martinez ‘18 • Andrea Mass ‘20

• Deborah Mata • Professor Joanna Medrano • Yu Meng ‘17 • Carlos Morales ‘14 & Lindsey Morales ‘09 • Jonathan Moss ‘19 • Associate Dean Rebecca Nathanson • John Niman ‘13 • Autumn Nourse & David Nourse • Mary Jo Nyitrai ‘18 • Megan Ortiz ‘20 • Gabriel Ortiz • Eric Pepperman ‘09 • Vincent Perez • Carla Perez • William Perry ‘05 • Kent Peterson & Diana Peterson • Karlee Phelps ‘11 • Brian Reeve ‘06 • Timothy Revero ‘16 • Corey Roberts ‘11 • Rock Rocheleau ‘20 & Stacy Rocheleau • Sandra Rodriguez • Christopher Rose • Racheal Ross ‘18 • Joseph Saitta • Connor Saphire ‘19 • Omar Saucedo ‘13 • Professor Rebecca Scharf & Matthew Schneider • Scott Sellers • Atif Sheikh ‘10 • Meg Shih & Jeffrey Shih • Martina Shindelus ‘02 • Erica Smit ‘15 • Frederick Smith & Susana Smith • Amanda Stevens ‘15 & Hiram Henriquez • Thomas Stewart ‘16 • Erica Taft • Reginald Thomas ‘16 • Janet Traut ‘01 • Elijah Tredup ‘16 • Brittany Walker ‘17 • Brian Wall • Eric Walther ‘14 • Laura Waltrup • Sonya Watson ‘13 & Michael Watson • *Brenda Weksler ‘02 • Michael Wendlberger ‘07 • Joshua Woodbury ‘08 • Nicolas Wooldridge ‘03 • Shane Young ‘04 & Charles Young • Shannon Zahm 2018 | UNLV Law

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RECOGNIZING BOYD’S SUPPORTERS

DONORS

A Firm Commitment UNLV LAW AMONG MANY BENEFICIARIES OF EGLET PRINCE’S GENEROUS COMMUNITY-BASED PHILANTHROPY

BY GAEL HEES Robert Eglet knew he wanted to be an attorney at the age of 13 when he stumbled into a courthouse and started watching a jury trial for a civil case. Today, he’s a senior partner at Eglet Prince, a personal-injury firm with 14 lawyers dedicated to supporting the community that has helped make the firm successful.

“At Eglet Prince we try to keep our charitable contributions local,” Eglet says. “For example, we give to the law school and the local chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Those things are important to us; it’s part of who we are and part of our obligation to give back to the community that supports us.”

One unique way the firm gives back is

Legal Support GIVING BACK IS AT THE CORE OF THE MISSION AT SNELL & WILMER

BY GAEL HEES For the law firm of Snell & Wilmer, just making a verbal commitment to supporting the community through philanthropic efforts wasn’t enough. No, the 80-year-old firm actually put it in writing, as part of its credo: “For our community, we will continue our long tradition of service and leadership.”

The firm’s partners doubled down on that mission several years ago by establishing a unique—and quite generous—program: In 2014, as a way to encourage partners and associates to support their respective alma maters, the firm agreed to match every individual donation up to $500 per year, per person.

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UNLV Law | 2018

by awarding an annual scholarship to a third-year student from the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law. Not only does the scholarship cover full tuition (including books), but the winner also receives a one-year paid internship.

Each intern spends about 20 hours a week shadowing attorneys and partners in court, depositions, and various proceedings. When not Eglet job shadowing, Eglet says Boyd’s interns are handed some writing assignments—actually, a lot of writing assignments, for which the students are welltrained thanks to UNLV Law’s renowned Legal Writing program, which earlier this year was ranked No. 1 in the nation.

“The school’s writing program is excel-

lent,” says Eglet, whose wife, Tracy, is a partner in the firm while his daughter, Jordan, is a second-year student at Boyd. “We find that the research and writing that comes from Boyd students is second to none.”

Eglet Prince’s commitment to Boyd doesn’t end with the annual scholarship winner. The law firm also grants students access to its state-of-the-art mock courtroom facility in downtown Las Vegas.

There, students can practice and host mock trials in a high-tech courtroom setting.

Speaking of courtroom settings, in addition to donating money to worthy causes and providing UNLV Law students invaluable hands-on experiences, Eglet notes that the firm often serves the community through the positive results of its casework.

“The reason we do a lot of product-liability law, among other things, is that when we take a case to verdict, the result often changes behavior in companies or people for the better,” he says. “We have tried a number of cases where we’ve made a significant impact to make things safer.”

Since the program was launched, Snell & Wilmer has matched more than $100,000 in donations across its 11 offices, which employ more than 400 attorneys. And since a dozen alums of the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law work in Snell & Wilmer’s Las Vegas office, Nevada’s only law school has received a sizable chunk of that largesse.

“Our firm has a tradition of giving back in our communities—financially and otherwise—for as long as it has existed,” says Snell & Wilmer partner Justin Carley, a 2006 Boyd alum. “The donation-match program is just another way of proving that.”

Carley notes that in Las Vegas alone, Snell & Wilmer has experienced a year-over-year increase in the total amount of employee donations from 2014-2017. He adds that Boyd has received 37 matching donations since the program began, helping the Las Vegas office—one of the firm’s smaller locales— rank second to only Phoenix.

A portion of those donations support UNLV Law’s Alumni Leadership Circle, which features a group of dedicated alumni who agree to pledge at least $1,000 annually over five years to support the school. More

than half of Snell & Wilmer’s attorneys who graduated from Boyd are in the Alumni Leadership Circle—more than any other law firm.

“The Alumni Leadership Circle is a pivotal fundraising arm at Boyd, and we’re grateful to all of our graduates who are part of it, as well as those who have agreed to give back to their alma mater in other ways,” says Layke Martin, UNLV Law’s Assistant Dean for External Relations. “We are especially appreciative of our alums at Snell & Wilmer who have taken advantage of the firm’s extremely generous donation-match program.”

Of course, Snell & Wilmer’s support of UNLV Law goes beyond financial. Many of the firm’s attorneys also have contributed their time, whether serving on Boyd’s Alumni Board, sponsoring and participating in the annual golf tournament, or mentoring students as part of the Dinner With a Rebel program. The firm also hosts networking receptions and lunches that enable Boyd students to learn more about the practice of law.

“Basically, we do anything the law school asks us,” Carley says. “We’re willing to help.”

Needless to say, it’s help that’s very much appreciated.

DEAN’S COUNCIL Michael Bonner, Greenberg Traurig Judge Richard Boulware, U.S. District Court William S. Boyd, Boyd Gaming Joseph Brown, Kolesar & Leatham Ogonna Brown ’01, Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie Sen. Richard Bryan, Fennemore Craig Barbara Buckley, Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada Jennifer Carleton, Howard & Howard Miles Dickson ’11, JABarrett Company Timothy Donovan, Caesars Entertainment Corporation

M. Daron Dorsey ’01, Ainsworth Game Technology Robert Eglet, Eglet Prince Jason Frierson ’01, Clark County District Attorney’s Office Alex Fugazzi, Snell & Wilmer Thomas Gallagher, Thomas and Mary Gallagher Foundation Gerald Gordon, Garman Turner Gordon Brian Irvine ’01, Dickinson Wright Philip Kohn, Clark County Public Defender Samuel Lionel, Fennemore Craig Chief Judge Gloria Navarro, U.S. District

Court Michael Saltman, The Vista Group Ellen Schulhofer, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck Jeff Silvestri, McDonald Carano Tom Thomas, Thomas & Mack Company Dan Waite, Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie Melissa Waite ’07, Dickinson Wright Brenda Weksler ’02, Federal Public Defender’s Office Steven Wolfson, Clark County District Attorney’s Office Kendelee Works ’05, Christiansen Law

ALUMNI LEADERSHIP CIRCLE The Alumni Leadership Circle is a group of dedicated alumni who have pledged a minimum of $5,000 in support of the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law.

Paola Armeni ’03, Gentile, Cristalli, Miller, Armeni, Savarese Christian Augustin ’15, Claggett & Sykes Brian L. Blaylock ’12, Snell & Wilmer Alison Brasier ’07, Hicks & Brasier Ogonna Brown ’01, Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie Adam Bult ’04, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck E. Joe Cain ’01, Fifth Street Gaming Justin L. Carley ’06, Snell & Wilmer

Holly E. Cheong ’10, Snell & Wilm Sean K. Claggett ’03, Claggett & Sykes Zachary B. Conine ’13, Joseph Beare & Co. Aleem A. Dhalla ’16, Snell & Wilmer Miles Dickson ’11, JABarrett Company M. Daron Dorsey ’01, Ainsworth Game Technology Kelly Dove ’07, Snell & Wilmer Charles Gianelloni ’12, Snell & Wilmer Keith Hansen ’09, Allegiant Air Marjorie Hauf ’02, Ganz & Hauf Kara B. Hendricks ’01, Greenberg Traurig, LLP Jean-Paul Hendricks ’06, Morris Law Group

Kirk Homeyer ’11, Fertitta Enterprises Brian Irvine ’01, Dickinson Wright Matthew I. Knepper ’12, Knepper & Clark LLC Michael B. Lee ’06, Michael B. Lee, PC Kfir Levy ’03, Mayer Brown Terry A. Moore ’01, Marquis Aurbach Coffing James E. Murphy ’03, Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith Jessica W. Murphy ’03, Clark County Public Defender’s Office Michael Paretti ’15, Snell & Wilmer Casey G. Perkins ’10, Foran Glennon Palandech Ponzi & Rudloff

Becky Pintar ’01, Pintar Albiston Robert Potter ’02, Affordable Concepts Quinton R. Singleton ’07, NYX Gaming Group Rosa Solis-Rainey ’01, Morris Law Group Leon Symanski ’01, Craig P. Kenny & Associates Melissa L. Waite ’07, Dickinson Wright Trevor Waite ’14, Alverson Taylor Mortensen & Sanders Ann Ward ’02, Retired Brenda Weksler ’02, Federal Public Defender’s Office Kendelee L. Works ’05, Christiansen Law Ryan Works ’04, McDonald Carano

Francesca M. Resch, ’12 Shannon Richards, ’05 Quinton R. Singleton, ’07 Amanda Stevens, ’15 Marissa Temple, ’04 Brenda Weksler, ’02 Daniel W. Hamilton, Dean and Richard J. Morgan Professor of Law

Nakia Jackson-Hale, Executive Director of Alumni Relations and Special Events Lori Johnson, Faculty Liaison Carolyn Barnes, Director of Alumni Relations Taylor Buono, Student Liaison Nathaniel Saxe, Student Liaison

BOYD ALUMNI CHAPTER BOARD OF DIRECTORS Gabrielle H. Angle, ’10 Christian Augustin, ’15 Alison Brasier, ’07 Lauren Calvert, 07 Andrew Coates, ’15 Kelly Dove, ’07 Jack Fleeman, ’07

Erin Gettel, ’15 Maggie Lambrose, ’09 Brittany M. Llewellyn, ’14 Amber Lunn, ’16 Christopher J. Macchi, ’14 Stacy Newman, ’16 Jessica Perlick, ’13 Chandler Pohl, ’14; LLM ’18

2018 | UNLV Law

63

Searching for Light Amid the Darkness

BY MATT JACOB

V

ibrant. Enthusiastic. Exciting.

Festive.

No, these aren’t adjectives frequently used to describe the law school experience. They are, however, frequently used to describe the Las Vegas experience. And no doubt country music fans who packed the Las Vegas Village across from Mandalay Bay for the Route 91 Harvest Festival on the night of October 1, 2017, were experiencing all of those joyful emotions … that is until shortly after 10 p.m., when all feelings of excitement, enthusiasm, and festiveness turned to shock, horror, and sheer panic when a crazed gunman perched on the 32nd floor of Mandalay Bay fired more than 1,000 bullets down on the festival grounds.

When the nightmare ended, 58 people were dead, 851 were wounded, and an entire community—forever scarred by the worst mass shooting in U.S. history—was left in a state of disbelief.

As the sun crept over the horizon on Monday, October 2, the prevailing emotion had shifted to grief and worry. Nowhere was this more true than at the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law, where students, faculty, and staff began arriving on campus, hoping—praying—that everyone with ties to the Boyd community was safe.

“First, we kept learning about more and more people—students and alums—who had been at the concert, so there was a fair amount of trying to find out exactly who 64

UNLV Law | 2018

experienced what,” recalls UNLV Law Dean Daniel W. Hamilton. “We heard that a law student had been shot, but it turned out it wasn’t a Boyd student. But that was just how we spent a lot of the day—making sure everyone was accounted for.”

Thankfully, as the day went along, it became clear the law school had been spared any casualties. But that doesn’t mean the tragedy was any less difficult to emotionally comprehend.

The one positive was that Boyd has long been a tight-knit community—it’s been part of the school’s DNA since opening 20 years ago. And on October 2, that sense of community was needed like never before.

“We had people who were at the concert at 8 p.m. who had fled the scene and who were in class at 9 o’clock the next morning. So their fear and their hurt was very palpable,” Hamilton says. “Frank Durand [Boyd’s Associate Dean for Student Affairs] and I went into virtually every class that day to talk to the students and see how they were doing. And I was impressed mostly by how they were taking care of each other.”

Hamilton recalls speaking with one particular student right at the moment— some 12 hours after the shooting—that she finally made contact with her mother to let her know she was safe. “It was just unbelievably powerful—they were both crying.”

It then became clear that UNLV Law, which has taken the lead in so many community-minded efforts during its two decades of existence, would do so once more.

“At that point, I became convinced that

the law school needed to be a place where we could keep talking about what the community experienced and how we wanted to move forward as a city and state when it comes to gun policy,” Hamilton says.

With that thought in mind, the law school this year launched the lecture series “Finding Common Ground on Gun Reform,” which aims to facilitate a thoughtful and informed discussion about gun policy through several community gatherings hosted by the law school and its partners. The first lecture in the ongoing series took place in March at the Thomas & Mack Moot Courtroom and involved community leaders from various sectors, as well as a dialogue with Xavier Becerra, Attorney General of California.

As expected, the debate was spirited, with passionate exchanges between both the panel and the audience. Yes, those exchanges were at times uncomfortable, but that’s OK. Because if there’s one thing we’ve learned in the wake of the 1 October nightmare, it’s this: The time has come to have substantive, if difficult, conversations about reforming gun laws. And the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law is ready and willing to take the lead.

“We plan to continue to promote the discussion of this vital issue, hearing from multiple perspectives and mostly providing a space for the community to come together, to keep talking,” Hamilton says. “We want to be very clear that this is very much open to all perspectives, but the law school really does see itself as the ideal place where this issue can and should be discussed.”

PHOTO: AARON MAYES

IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE 1 OCTOBER TRAGEDY, UNLV LAW STANDS COMMITTED TO SPEARHEADING MEANINGFUL—ALBEIT DIFFICULT—GUN-POLICY CONVERSATIONS

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