Nevada magazine lists McGeorge grads among the elite

University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law graduates are proving again that they are among the legal profession elite.

The Nevada Business Magazine has named 13 McGeorge alumni to its annual Legal Elite list showcasing the state's top attorneys selected by their peers. Based on nearly 5,000 nominations from licensed attorneys, the list includes only the top 3 percent of attorneys in Nevada.

"This is a great indication that the rigorous and dynamic education at McGeorge continues to produce some of the finest lawyers anywhere," said Michael Colatrella Jr., McGeorge's interim dean and law professor. "Those results come from our distinguished faculty, excellent staff, high quality students and committed alumni. It's proof we are training students for leadership positions in the global economy."

The 13 McGeorge alumni on the list range in experience from five years practicing law in Nevada to 47 years.

"It's not easy for an attorney to make it on to the final list," according to the magazine. "Each nominee went through several levels of verification and scrutiny before being approved to appear on this list."

Ballots were reviewed for eligibility and voting attorneys were verified with the State Bar of Nevada. Nominees received one point for each vote coming from within their own law firm and three points for votes from attorneys at other firms. The votes were again verified before the 2019 Legal Elite list was finalized. This is the 12th annual listing.

Here are the 13 McGeorge alumni on the list:

• Jeffrey L. Burr '79 specializes in estate planning and asset protection.
• J. Douglas Clark '79 specializes in trust and estates, probate and trust litigation and mediation.
• Dana Dwiggins '99 specializes in probate and trust litigation and fiduciary.
• Dale Hayes Jr. '88 specializes in civil litigation and criminal defense.
• William C. Jeanney '82 specializes in personal injury, business law and litigation.
• Gene Leverty '70 specializes in insurance coverage and personal injury.
• Megan Lucey '09 specializes in family law.
• Ann Morgan '79 specializes employment and labor relations, business litigation and trusts and estates.
• George Ogilvie '88 specializes in construction law and litigation, commercial and complex litigation, and energy, environment and natural resources.
• Michaelle D. Rafferty '93 specializes in trusts and estates, taxation and nonprofits and tax-exempt organizations.
• Catherine Reichenberg '07 specializes in commercial and business litigation, real estate and contracts.
• Charles Spann '82 specializes in product liability, complex civil litigation and trucking law.
• John Steffen '91 specializes in administrative and regulatory law, business law and commercial litigation, and health care professionals advocacy.

These individual honors for alumni come on the heels of several impressive national rankings for the law school. U.S. News and World Report's 2019 Best Graduate Schools Guide ranked McGeorge the No. 7 law school in the nation for trial advocacy and No. 42 for part-time law school. The law school was also ranked No. 7 in The Princeton Review's 2019 Greatest Resources for Minority Students list. And McGeorge was listed among preLaw Magazine's 2019 Most Diverse Law schools.

Learn more about the law school by visiting its website at McGeorge.edu.