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Rosa Solis-Rainey and Michael Higdon, who graduate today as members of Boyd Law School's charter class, walk among the stacks at the school's library on Wednesday. Photo by Amy Beth Bennett. LAW LESSONS Twenty UNLV Law School graduates from the school's first class have landed clerking jobs with state and federal judges. In the past, the positions have been filled with clerks who graduated from out-of-state law schools. The graduates and the judges under whom they will work include: 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals: Judge Procter Hug Jr., clerk Michael Higdon; Judge Melvin Brunetti, clerk Brian Irvine; Judge Barry Silverman, clerk Patrick Lampe; and Judge Johnnie Rawlinson, clerks Billie Marie El-Sargie and Ogonna Atamoh. U.S. District Court: Judge Howard McKibben, clerks Christopher Hicks and Matt Griffin; Judge Philip Pro, clerks Rosa Solis-Rainey and Christopher McCullock; Judge Kent J. Dawson, clerk Robert Beyer; and Judge Robert Broomfield (Arizona District Court), clerk William Stoddard. U.S. Magistrate Judge: Judge Cooke, clerk Elda Luna. U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Judge Clive Jones, clerk Andi Chang. Nevada Supreme Court: Justice Myron Leavitt, clerks Rosa Solis-Rainey and Jason Frierson; Justice Nancy Becker, clerk Heidi Nagel; and Justice Robert Rose, clerk Gia McGillivray. Nevada district courts: Judge Kathy Hardcastle (8th District), clerk Joseph Bonaventure, whose father is District Judge Joseph Bonaventure of the 8th District in Clark County; Judge Jack Lehman (8th District), clerk Glen O'Brien; Judge James Mahan (8th District), clerk Adrian Mendoza; Judge Michael Griffith (1st District), clerk Kathryn Miles; and Judge Archie Blake (3rd District), clerk Brandi Lehman. -- REVIEW-JOURNAL

Friday, May 11, 2001
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Coveted clerkships next for graduates

Boyd Law School's charter class graduates today

UNLV's Boyd Law School graduates its first class today, and most members of the charter class already have landed jobs or sought-after clerk positions.

"I mean this with no disrespect to the fine law schools I was at before coming here, but this is by far and away the most successful record for clerkships in my experience as a dean," said Richard Morgan, who led Arizona State University's law school for eight years before helping to open the UNLV program in fall 1998. "It's a reflection of the energy and enthusiasm of our students."

Clerkships are coveted because they allow law school graduates to work closely with judges and get an inside understanding of how courtrooms work. Additionally, the experience looks good on a resume, and judges often turn into references for graduates who serve them well.

Arizona State University graduates about 130 law school students a year compared with the 89 full-time students in UNLV's charter class, Morgan said. Twenty of UNLV's law graduates plan to spend this year or next working alongside judges in Clark County's state and federal courts, at the Nevada Supreme Court and in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Morgan, who also led Wyoming's public law school for three years, said he has never had a single group of students land so many clerkships.

Five Boyd Law School graduates plan to clerk for judges on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a panel within the judicial layer that falls one step below the U.S. Supreme Court. Another four intend to work for Nevada Supreme Court justices, gaining a first-hand perspective of how the state's high court works and helping justices with the research and analysis behind legal opinions.

Morgan said 90 percent of the law school's first graduates have employment commitments even though they still must pass the state bar exam in July before practicing law in Nevada.

Next year, another 42 part-time students in UNLV's charter class are expected to graduate because that program takes four years to complete compared to three years for full-time students. There was close to a even split between men and women in the charter class of nearly 140. The average age was 32, and about seven members of the charter class dropped out for reasons ranging from health and financial problems to a distaste for law school.

"We didn't lose anyone to academic attrition," Morgan said.

Rather, Morgan said the school's first graduates stand out academically and should score well as a group on the Nevada bar exam.

Among those graduating today and clerking soon for a 9th Circuit judge is Michael Higdon, who came to Las Vegas from South Carolina six years ago as a graduate student in the communications program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Higdon applied to become one of the law school's first students after deciding that being an attorney would blend his interests and skills.

"The law seems to combine so many things I like -- writing, working with people, legal analysis," said Higdon, 28. "The law, as we see every day, affects us in so many ways. For me, the people component and professional component were a good combination."

Higdon said he is interested in immigration law but is looking forward to the variety of cases he expects to be exposed to while clerking for 9th Circuit Judge Procter Hug Jr., who works in Reno when the appeals court is not meeting in San Francisco, Seattle, Honolulu or Pasadena, Calif.

Hug will be the featured speaker at today's law school commencement, an event open to the public and set to begin at 10 a.m. in UNLV's Ham Hall. More than 30 judges are expected to attend today's ceremony.

Rosa Solis-Rainey, another member of Boyd Law School's charter class, has lined up two clerkships. She plans to clerk for Nevada Supreme Court Justice Myron Leavitt this year and U.S. District Court Judge Philip Pro next year. Like Higdon, Solis-Rainey said she looks forward to the variety of cases and lawyering styles she is likely to see in state and federal court.

Solis-Rainey has worked as a director in the internal audit and regulatory compliance departments of Boyd Gaming Corp., but the 36-year-old said she is not strictly interested in business law. "I am looking forward to being exposed to all areas of the law," she said. "That will be fascinating."

The mother of a 3-year-old and a 1-month-old, Solis-Rainey has been juggling law school, full-time work and family for the past three years. The clerkships soon will become her job and education combined, and she said she is looking forward to having the extra time to focus on the law in a courtroom setting.

Solis-Rainey, a graduate of Henderson's Basic High School, and Higdon said they feel pressure to perform well as law clerks so future Boyd Law School students may have the same access and opportunities in Nevada courts.

"They have taken a risk in accepting students from an unknown law school for these positions," Solis-Rainey said about state and federal judges who have hired clerks from Boyd Law School. "I think that says a lot about their commitment to the law school."

Both students singled out law professor Carl Tobias for helping them secure clerkships.

Tobias, a founding Boyd Law School professor, said the students deserve the credit for their successes.

"It's a testament to their hard work and abilities," Tobias said. "For the 9th Circuit clerkships, you usually have 500 to 1,000 applying for two or three spots. They are incredibly difficult to get and quite prestigious to have."