Phillip S. Aurbach

I have been a lawyer for over 45 years. Most of my practice has been litigating contract, real estate, and business disputes including non-compete agreements and partnership/corporate breakups. During the last 15 years about 20% of my time is spent arbitrating and mediating disputes privately and for the American Arbitration Association (AAA). I also spent 17 years as a Nevada Supreme Court Settlement Judge. I try to negotiate or mediate a resolution for my clients, but when the other side will not settle, I use my litigation skills to resolve the dispute.

In addition to practicing law, I try to help young attorneys become better lawyers by writing articles and by lecturing for the Nevada Bar Association, the Clark County Bar and various national legal education companies on various topics such as trial strategy, evictions, mortgage and trust deed foreclosures. I also authored two chapters of the Nevada Civil Practice Manual relating to prejudgment and postjudgment remedies.

I have lived in Vegas most of my life. My dad was a pit boss at the Desert Inn when it opened in the 1950's. He sent for my mom, my sister and me from Florida when I was two. Except for college, I've been in Vegas ever since.

I was a paper boy at age 14 delivering newspapers at 3:30 am every morning on my bicycle. In high school, I wasn't a gifted athlete, so I worked after school and on weekends practicing tennis. I couldn't afford to pay for tennis instructions, so I strung tennis rackets and washed tennis courts in exchange for lessons. I managed to get a scholarship to play college tennis. I paid my own way through college with a tennis scholarship and a work-study program. In 1973, I earned a degree in Business Administration with a Finance emphasis. I worked for a year at a bank and decided to go to law school, but Nevada didn't have a law school at that time.

I went to the University of San Diego School of Law where I served as Research Editor of the San Diego Law Review, worked odd jobs and took out student loans to pay for law school.

After graduating in 1977, I came back to Vegas and got my first job as Deputy District Attorney in the Clark County District Attorney's Office. I then entered private practice and learned how to practice law from some of the best lawyers in town. There were less than 1,500 attorneys in Las Vegas at that time and most attorneys were happy to share their experience.