Ruth Miller '01

Tell me about your decision to attend Boyd School of Law.

I am a native Las Vegan. I graduated from UNLV in 1994 with a degree in health care administration. I wanted to attend law school, but there were no law schools in Nevada at that time. Nor could I leave the state because my mother had become very ill. The UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law opened the same year as my mother’s passing. I enrolled in the part-time program, and worked my way through school. That program enabled me to obtain a job while in law school at the Nevada Attorney General’s office, working for the Nevada Department of Transportation (“NDOT”).

What is it you like about being a government lawyer in civil practice?

A civil service position is what you make of it. It becomes a calling when you devote yourself to serving the public by being helpful and fair. First, working with NDOT, and now working with Metro, I have been able to work with my clients, gain their trust, and promote changes that make sense to the agency and result in better service to the community. I have found that my governmental clients are often willing to alter long-standing practices (granted, sometimes only after lots of meetings and memos) when it becomes clear that those practices are inefficient or fail to further the public interest.

What advice would you give a new lawyer?

If you have an opportunity to participate in a jury trial, go for it! From conducting a jury voir dire through talking to the jury after the conclusion of the case, you learn about the public’s attitudes toward your client and the justice system. Once the case is finally decided in court, there is a finality to the process. And, as a new lawyer, the experience will help you evaluate and negotiate future cases.