Adam P. Laxalt

Adam Paul Laxalt is a partner at Cooper & Kirk which he joined in March 2019. Mr. Laxalt served as Nevada’s 33rd Attorney General from 2015-2019, entering office as the youngest Attorney General in the country at the time. Mr. Laxalt graduated Magna Cum Laude from Georgetown University and also graduated from Georgetown University Law Center. He is a former Navy and Iraq War veteran. Mr. Laxalt also served as an Assistant Professor of Law at the U.S. Naval Academy.

As Nevada’s Attorney General and top law-enforcement officer, Mr. Laxalt supervised all criminal and civil matters for Nevada’s largest law office. He provided strategic direction and supervision of almost 400 employees, thousands of legal matters, and nearly 50 trials. Mr. Laxalt served as chief legal counsel for the state of Nevada, as well as to Constitutional Officers, state agencies, boards, and commissions. He managed approximately $1.2 billion in potential civil liabilities for the state.

Here is a selection of Mr. Laxalt’s most noteworthy matters:

U.S. Supreme Court

• State of Nevada v. San Francisco, No. 14-1073, and Nevada Department of Wildlife v. Smith, No. 17-1348: led multistate efforts in multiple cases to overrule Nevada v. Hall, 440 U.S. 410 (1979), and restore state sovereign immunity from suit in the courts of another state.
• State of Nevada v. Torres, No. 15-5: successfully argued to vacate Nevada Supreme Court Fourth Amendment ruling and persuaded Nevada Supreme Court on remand to reverse its previous ruling (Torres v. State, No. 61946).
• Baker v. Elvik, No. 15-805: successfully argued to vacate Ninth Circuit habeas decision
• Trinity Lutheran v. Pauley: No. 15-577: led multistate effort at cert and merits stage filing amicus brief in support of Petitioner successfully urging Court to reject discriminatory interpretation of state Blaine Amendments.
• Murr v. State of Wisconsin, No. 15-214: led multistate effort at merits stage filing amicus brief in support of Petitioners and private property rights arguing against a state regulatory taking.
• Davila v. Davis: No. 16-6219: led multistate effort at merits stage filing amicus brief successfully arguing against expansion of procedural default doctrine in habeas cases.
• Coachella Valley v. Agua Caliente, No. 17-40, 17-42: led multistate effort at cert stage filing amicus brief arguing against federal preemption of state regulation of groundwater.
• Sierra Pacific Power v. State of Nevada, No. 15-25: successfully opposed grant of certiorari in dormant Commerce Clause case seeking refund of millions in taxes.