The William S. Boyd School of Law, which commenced classes in August 1998, is the first state-supported law school in Nevada history, and the only law school in the state. The school offers three juris doctor degree programs: a part-time evening program, a part-time day program, and a full-time, day program and three dual degree programs: a J.D./M.B.A., J.D./M.S.W. and J.D./Ph.D. in Education. These programs are designed to train ethical and effective lawyers and leaders for Nevada and for the legal profession. The curriculum is designed to stress professionalism, community service, and dispute avoidance/dispute resolution through a combination of skills training and traditional pedagogy and exposure to different public policy players and sources of law. More information is available on the Boyd School of Law website: http://www.law.unlv.edu.
Nancy B. Rapoport, Interim Dean and Gordon Silver Professor of Law
(2007) B.A., Rice University; J.D., Stanford University.
Associate Deans
Pindell, Ngai L., Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
(2000) A.B., Duke University; J.D., Harvard University Law School.
Smith, Christine, Associate Dean for Administration and External Relations
(1998) B.S., Arizona State University; M.Ed., Northern Arizona University.
Tovino, Stacey, Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Research
(2010) Tulane University; J.D., University of Houston; Ph.D., University of Texas.
Associate Dean and Graduate Coordinator
Durand, Frank, Associate Dean for Student Affairs
(1998) B.A., University of New Mexico; J.D., Stanford University.
Faculty
Anderson, Rachel J.
(2007), Associate Professor; M.A., Stanford University; J.D., University of California, Berkeley.
Bartrum, Ian C.
(2011) Associate Professor; B.A., Hamilton College; J.D., Vermont Law School; LL.M., Yale Law School.
Bayer, Peter Brandon
(2001) Lawyering Process Professor; B.A., Hamilton College; J.D., New York University School of Law; M.A., New York University; LL.M., Harvard University. Berger, Linda
Berger, Linda
(2011) Family Foundation Professor; B.S., University of Colorado-Boulder; J.D., Case Western Reserve University.
Berkheiser, Mary E.
(1998) Professor and Director of Clinical Programs; B.A., University of Arizona; J.D., James E. Rogers College of Law, University of Arizona.
Birdsong, Bret C.
(2000) Professor; B.A., Princeton University; J.D., University of California, Hastings College of the Law.
Blakesley, Christopher L.
(2002) The Cobeaga Law Firm Professor; B.A., University of Utah; M.A., The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University; J.D., University of Utah; LL.M., J.S.D., Columbia University.
Brown, Richard
(1998) Professor Emeritus; B.A., University of California, Los Angeles; J.D., Indiana University School of Law; M.L.L. , University of Washington.
Cammett, Ann
(2008) Associate Professor; B.F.A., School of Visual Arts; J.D., City University of New York School of Law; LL.M., Georgetown University Law Center.
Carr, Jennifer
(2009) Director of Academic Success Program; B.A., University of Nevada, Reno; J.D., University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Correales, Robert I.
(1998) Professor; B.A., University of North Texas; J.D., University of Kansas School of Law; LL.M., Georgetown University Law Center.
Edwards, Linda
(2009) E. L. Cord Foundation Professor; B.A., Florida State University; J.D., University of Tennessee College of Law.
Garcia, Ruben J.
(2011) Professor; A.B., Stanford University; J.D., University of California, Los Angeles; LL.M., University of Wisconsin Law School.
Gordon, Sara G.
(2007) Lawyering Process Professor; B.A., Pitzer College; J.D., James E. Rogers College of Law, University of Arizona.
Grant, Douglas L.
(1999) Professor Emeritus; B.A., University of Iowa; J.D., University of Colorado School of Law.
Griffin, Leslie
(2012) William S. Boyd Professor; B.A., University of Notre Dame; M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D., Yale University; J.D., Stanford Law School.
Henderson, Lynne
(2000) Professor Emerita; B.A., J.D., Stanford University.
Johnson, Lori D.
(2010) Lawyering Process Professor; B.A., University of Notre Dame; J.D., Northwestern University School of Law.
Kagan, Michael
(2011) Associate Professor; B.A., Northwestern University; J.D., University of Michigan.
Kindred, Kay
(1999) Ralph Denton Professor; A.B., Duke University; J.D., Columbia University School of Law.
LaFrance, Mary
(1999) IGT Professor; A.B., Bryn Mawr College; M.A., J.D., Duke University.
Lazos, Sylvia
(2003) Justice Myron Leavitt Professor; B.A., St. Mary’s University; M.A., St. Mary’s University; J.D., University of Michigan Law School.
Lipman, Francine J.
(2012) Professor; B.A., University of California, Santa Barbara; M.B.A., San Diego State University; J.D., University of California, Davis; L.L.M., New York University.
MacDowell, Elizabeth L.
(2010) Associate Professor; B.A., California State University, Hayward; J.D., University of California, Berkeley.
Main, Thomas
(2012) William S. Boyd Professor; B.A. Grinell College; J.D., Northeastern University School of Law.
Marouf, Fatma
(2010) Associate Professor; B.A., Yale University; J.D., Harvard Law School.
McAffee, Thomas B.
(1998) William S. Boyd Professor; B.S., University of Utah; J.D., University of Utah College of Law.
McGinley, Ann C.
(1999) William S. Boyd Professor; B.A., Rosemont College; M.A., University of Delaware; J.D., University of Pennsylvania.
Morgan, Richard J.
(1997) Dean Emeritus; B.A., University of California, Berkeley; J.D., University of California, Los Angeles.
Nathanson, Rebecca
(2003) James E. Rogers Professor of Education and Law, Associate Professor, Joint Appointment with Department of Educational Psychology; B.A., University of California, Los Angeles; M.A., University of California, Santa Barbara; Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara.
Patterson, Raymond W.
(2005) Associate Director of the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution; B.S., State University of New York, Stony Brook; M.A., Adelphi University; J.D., Yeshiva University, Benjamin Cardozo School of Law.
Pollman, Terrill
(1998) Professor and Director of the Lawyering Process Program; B.A., J.D., University of Arizona.
Price, Jeanne
(2008), Associate Professor and Director of the Wiener-Rogers Law Library; B.A., Yale University; J.D., University of Texas; M.L.S., University of Maryland.
Rolnick, Addie C.
(2011) Associate Professor; B.A., Oberlin College; J.D., M.A., University of California, Los Angeles.
Rowley, Keith A.
(2001) William S. Boyd Professor; B.A., Baylor University; M.P.P, Harvard University; J.D., University of Texas Law School.
Scharf, Rebecca
(2004) Lawyering Process Professor; B.A., Brandeis University; J.D. Harvard Law School.
Shoben, Elaine
(2005) Judge Jack and Lulu Lehman Professor, A.B., Barnard College; J.D., University of California Hastings College of the Law.
Stempel, Jeffrey W.
(1999) Doris S. and Theodore B. Lee Professor; B.A., University of Minnesota; J.D., Yale Law School.
Sternlight, Jean R.
(2003) Michael and Sonya Saltman Professor and Director of the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution; B.A., Swarthmore College; J.D., Harvard University Law School.
Tanenhaus, David
(2002) James E. Rogers Professor of History and Law, Joint Appointment with Department of History; B.A., Grinell College; M.A. and Ph.D., University of Chicago.
Traum, Anne
(2009) Associate Professor; A.B., Brown University; J.D., University of California, Hastings College of Law.
Trimble, Marketa
(2010) Associate Professor; Mgr., Law School of Charles University; JUDr., Ph.D., Law School of Charles University; J.S.M., Stanford Law School; J.S.D, Stanford Law School.
Whitney, Jean M.
(1999) Lawyering Process Professor, Interim Externship Director and Associate Director of the Lawyering Process Program; B.A. and M.Ed., University of Minnesota; J.D., William Mitchell College of Law.
The mission of the William S. Boyd School of Law is to prepare students for the competent and ethical practice of law. At the same time, the Boyd School of Law recognizes that the skills and knowledge acquired in the juris doctor program may be transferred easily to other fields of endeavor and that many students seek legal training for the value it may have in pursuits other than the practice of law. The Boyd School of Law is dedicated to preserving, transmitting, and advancing the current state of legal knowledge, to developing programs which meet the changing needs of society, and to encouraging its graduates to apply the knowledge they gain for their own personal development and for the good of society. The curriculum responds to the needs of the students as well as the needs of the profession. In the early stages of legal education, the curriculum stresses professionalism, community service, and the roles and importance of lawyers in our society, all in an effort to acquaint students with the nature and nobility of the legal profession and with the opportunity that lawyers have to improve the society in which they live. Throughout the curriculum, emphasis is placed on writing, professionalism and community service. In our clinical and externship programs, the law school provides students with the opportunity of a substantial lawyering experience under close supervision.
Admission Requirements and Selecting Applicants
The Boyd School of Law seeks to enroll an accomplished and diverse group of women and men who will contribute to the enrichment of the school’s educational program and to the community and the profession after graduation. We seek students who have demonstrated significant accomplishments in their lives, for example by achieving distinguished academic records as undergraduate or graduate students, by engaging successfully in important and demanding careers, by providing significant service to their communities or by meeting challenges associated with the applicant’s race, ethnicity, gender, economic status, or disability. The faculty believe that the law school can and should have a student body that is both academically well-qualified and diverse. The presence in the school of students who have diverse backgrounds, attitudes, and interests contributes to the breadth and quality of the classroom and non-classroom dialogue that is a critical element to legal education.
In assessing applicants, the Admissions Committee looks to:
- Academic Capability. To assess an applicant’s undergraduate academic capability, the committee considers such factors as the applicant’s undergraduate GPA, the trend of college grades, the difficulty of the applicant’s course of undergraduate study, the quality and grading pattern of the undergraduate institution, the extent of work or other activities undertaken while in college, the date of the undergraduate degree, graduate studies, and performance on the Law School Admissions Test.
- Nonacademic Accomplishments. The committee will consider evidence of significant accomplishments in extracurricular activities, employment, military service, and community service.
- Individual Background. The committee will consider the applicant’s state of residency, cultural, ethnic, racial and socioeconomic background, and evidence of significant handicaps overcome by the applicant. The committee will also consider any history of criminality or academic misconduct.
Applicants must:
- have earned an undergraduate degree from an accredited four-year college or university;
- have taken the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT);
- register for and maintain an up-to-date file with the Law School Admission Council Credential Assembly Service (CAS). It is the responsibility of applicants to ensure that an official transcript from each institution they have attended is sent by that institution to CAS.
For additional information regarding admissions and law school programs, please see the law school website at www.law.unlv.edu or call the Dean for Student Affairs at (702) 895-1240 t or Director of Admissions at (702) 895-4107.
Juris Doctor Dual Programs
The William S. Boyd School of Law and UNLV’s Lee School of Business, College of Education, and Greenspun College of Urban Affairs offer the following Juris Doctor dual degree programs allowing students to be admitted to both programs to purse the two degrees concurrently:
Business Administration & Juris Doctor Dual M.B.A./J.D.
Doctor of Philosophy in Education & Juris Doctor Dual Ph.D./J.D.
Social Work & Juris Doctor Dual M.S.W./J.D.