CLASS ACTIONS

FOUNDING DEAN FRANK DURAND ON KELLY DOVE

“A person of quiet commitment and diligence. Someone who could be counted on to deliver on her commitments and promises. She’s a very outstanding professional.”

Reputation is Key

Commercial litigation attorney Kelly Dove leads by example

So many of my professors gave advice and helped me make the most of my education and opportunities.” KELLY DOVE

BY ZONEIL MAHARAJ

If Kelly Dove has any advice for law students, it’s to start building your reputation early.

“I remember frequently being told during law school that Las Vegas is a small legal community,” the William S. Boyd School of Law at UNLV alumna says. “Having practiced here for 15 years, I can absolutely vouch for that statement. No one is more than a degree or two of separation. … Be the person you want to be, and be seen as, starting in law school.”

Now a partner at Snell & Wilmer, one of the largest law firms in the western United States, Dove is a living testament to that statement.

Originally from the Philadelphia area, Dove always had an interest in law, though the only lawyers she knew were on TV. Even before landing at UNLV in 2004, she built a reputation as a dedicated, hard-working student. She earned two undergraduate degrees in philosophy and English literature, with a minor in mathematics, from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in Virginia. A master’s in philosophy from Rice University in Texas followed.

With such a diverse, well-rounded education, Dove’s career could have gone a number of different directions. But law was always lingering at the back of her mind. “I came back to my interest in law because I enjoyed analysis and writing. It turned out to be a very good fit,” she says.

When she arrived at law school, Dove didn’t even know what a clerkship was, yet she still managed to excel, earning a number of honors and serving as editor-in-chief of the Nevada Law Journal. She credits the faculty for her success. “So many of my professors gave advice and helped me make the most of my education and opportunities,” Dove says.

She recalls competing in, and winning, the moot court competition at the end of her first year. “It was confidencebuilding and gave me a taste of what an appellate oral argument was really like—something I do now,” she says.

After graduating from UNLV, Dove clerked for Judge Philip M. Pro of the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada and Judge Jay S. Bybee of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, before joining Snell & Wilmer in 2009.

As a partner at Snell & Wilmer, Dove focuses on commercial litigation and appellate law, counseling companies and individuals on matters ranging from fraud and breach of contracts to wrongful foreclosures and consumer protection. She also counseled plaintiffs in Sevcik v. Sandoval, Nevada’s marriage equality case that would result in the Ninth Circuit declaring marriage bans unconstitutional in 2014.

Dove’s reputation as one of the top attorneys in the state is solidified, and it’s going to stay that way.

“I am very happy with what I am doing as an appellate and litigation partner at my firm,” she says. “If I ever left this role, it would probably be to try to become a judge, but I am not quite ready for any changes yet.”

DURAND ON JASON FRIERSON:

“I could tell he was going to have a significant impact on our state. I thought, ‘That guy’s going to be the governor of Nevada.’ I’d be delighted if he did.”

First but Not the Last

From being part of Boyd School of Law’s charter class to becoming the first Black U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada, Jason Frierson blazes many trails

BY ZONEIL MAHARAJ

Jason Frierson was one of the first students to agree to attend the William S. Boyd School of Law at UNLV. A member of the charter class in 1998, he had just moved from Reno to Las Vegas by way of Compton, California, and was excited to see where he’d be studying.

He drove by the school a week before class would begin. At the time, the Boyd School of Law was housed at the shuttered Paradise Elementary School and was still under renovation.

“There was playground equipment outside the week before school started. It gave me pause,” says Frierson, who played football and did his undergraduate study at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Once school began, he realized that he shouldn’t judge a law school by its jungle gyms.

“There were a lot of folks willing to take a risk and be a part of something big,” he says. “We were all in it together.”

The experiences and lessons learned at Boyd Law laid the foundation for Frierson, who would go on to become Speaker of the Nevada Assembly and, now, the first Black U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada.

It was during his early days at the Boyd School of Law that he participated in his first juvenile justice clinic and made his first argument in court.

“I remember I opened my mouth and things came out of my mouth that we had not rehearsed, that we had not prepared for. I was so shocked at myself,” he says. “It was the moment I knew oral advocacy was where my heart was, what my nature was, and where my career would go.”

Frierson’s decorated career would include working in civil law, serving as a law clerk under Justice Myron E. Leavitt, and working in the state attorney general’s office under future governor Brian Sandoval. His greatest honor is his current position as U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada. Being the first Black person in this role isn’t something he takes lightly.

“It’s important that offices that handle the delivery of government services, particularly justice to the community, reflect the community. For decades, I don’t know that that was the case,” Frierson says.

Although he’s the first in this position, he wants to make sure that he isn’t the last. A founding member of the Minority Law Student Association at the law school, he does outreach to similar groups to ensure everyone is considered. “I don’t recall being exposed to the U.S. District Attorney’s office as a student,” Frierson says.

Where Frierson’s career takes him next, he isn’t sure.

“This is the first time in my adult life that I have one job and I can focus on that one job and make sure Nevada gets a return on its investment. This is also the first time where I don’t know what I’m going to do next,” Frierson says. “I can say that I’m happy with the legacy that I have thus far. I’m at peace with making sure I do a good job while I’m here.” It’s important that offices that handle the delivery of government services, particularly justice to the community, reflect the community.”

JASON FRIERSON