VEGAS INC Magazine - Latest Las Vegas business news, features and commentaries about gaming, tourism, real estate and more
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/35634
SPOTLIGHT JOHN VALERY WHITE LAWYER, SCHOLAR Getting past the unbelievable fact that UNLV houses the only law school in Nevada, its dean is one cool character (with an astonishing résumé). Just how did this unlikely Louisiana native land at our doorstep? by Erin Dostal | photography by Christopher DeVargas F 22 ifteen years ago, Las Vegas didn’t have a law school. Nevada didn’t have a law school. All legal talent was imported from other states. In 1998, UNLV opened its William S. Boyd School of Law. In a self-proclaimed libertarian city where just two in every ten people have earned a college degree, UNLV Law School Dean John Valery White is an obvious stand-out—and he hopes to make many of his students stand-out citizens, too. After graduating from Southern University and Yale Law School, White worked at Human Rights Watch in New York City and at Louisiana State University as a professor before taking the top job at UNLV’s School of Law in 2007. His expertise? Civil rights, human rights, discrimination cases and racial law. White says he’s a great fit for Las Vegas, and in particular, for the students at UNLV. The dean sat down with VEGAS INC to discuss what UNLV’s law school means to our business community, and his goals for his still-fledgling law school. What’s the benefit of having a law school at UNLV? It gives an opportunity to Nevadans to stay in-state to get an excellent legal education. Our students are very, very active. From the very earliest days, our students are getting to know the legal community here. Even if you have a student who may go off and practice patent law or corporate law, they still have a sense of what the community here is like. They have to know the problems that are out there. What percentage of UNLV law students work in Nevada after graduation? About 90 percent of our students take the Nevada Bar when they come out, which would mean they have some intent of staying. Probably 80 percent of them practice here for some period of time. UNLV is the only law school in the state. It seems like Las Vegas would have to import most of its lawyers. The legal community here was growing very rapidly even before we were open. People were coming to Nevada from other places and, naturally, Nevadans who had gone away for law school, were coming back and setting up practices. The difference is that we stopped as many people from leaving the state as possible. But then also, we place those students here, where, as I mentioned before, they’re getting involved in the community. We’re substantial. No school has as many students taking the Nevada Bar each year, but our students are still less than half of the law graduates taking the Nevada Bar in any given year. How do you think the high volume of imported talent imapcts our legal climate? It raises the question about their knowledge and their commitment to the community. But an attorney can move here from somewhere else and be as committed as anyone else. The more important thing is the value of our institution to our students. What do you think UNLV saw in you? I’m not really sure (laughing). I think they saw somebody who’s enthusiastic and committed to the values that were built into the school from the beginning. And they wanted someone who was familiar with the complexities of a public school. At least, that’s what I told them I could bring. Your background seems unique for someone in Las Vegas’ legal community. I wouldn’t say so. Legal education is its own universe. Most law professors are hired from a national market, and most deans are hired when they’re professors. It’s not unusual for someone to move clear across the country. If you’re in the market to be a dean, it’s important that you find a school that matches your values as an educator. How did UNLV match your values? What I’ve done from the beginning is emphasize skills a young lawyer will need: Professionalism along with traditional, rigorous, analytic training. I wanted to do so in a place that also emphasized legal scholarship heavily. For me, it was that combination. It was also important to me to be at a school that cared about the community it was in. In that sense, my background in human rights and civil rights is consistent with my current job. Our students are | 4 JULY 2011 |