From the Dean's Desk

The Boyd School of Law is proud to be Nevada’s Law School. As you read through the pages of our magazine, you will see the exciting ways our law school is impacting our great State of Nevada. 

We begin with revisiting our 25th Anniversary celebration. It’s still incredible to me that Boyd Law has been transforming Nevada and beyond for 25 years - we opened our doors at the Paradise Elementary School in August 1998. At our anniversary gala, we celebrated our past and history with a terrific panel, led by Judge Philip Pro, one of our long-time champions. 

Next, we check in with some of our alumni, who are doing great things all around the state. We spotlight work being done in our rural communities, including those at the Churchill County District Attorney’s Office and the 4th Judicial District Court in Elko County. 

One of our newer programs, the Indian Nations Gaming and Governance Program (established through a generous grant from the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians) is continuing to have an impact around the state. Current 3L Makai Zuniga, a Northern Paiute citizen of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, details the impact the INGG Program has had on his legal career and the future he sees for Boyd Law. Additionally, INGG held a well-attended symposium that we report about on page 15. 

We then spotlight some of the great experiential work that our current students are doing in rural Nevada and in Clark County through internships, as well as our Samuel S. Lionel Externship Program. 

In addition, other experiential education opportunities like those in the Thomas & Mack Legal Clinic, students receive hands-on training and work with clients in our surrounding communities covering a variety of legal areas including immigration law, poverty law and policy, domestic violence, transactional law, among others. We provide updates on these clinics on pages 32-35. 

We also impact the broader Nevada community through our pipeline programming, such as the Justice Douglas Pre-Law Fellowship Program, reading to elementary school children during Nevada Reading Week, and connecting with future law students and leaders through high school visits to our campus. 

As Nevada’s only law school, our commitment is, and will continue to be, serving our great State of Nevada. We are Battle Born!

Leah Chan Grinvald

Boyd Law School Dean