The majority of us who live here in Lyon County are the types of people that just wouldn’t do well in a major metropolitan city like Las Vegas. There is a profound difference between the types of folks who like to live in big cities, as opposed to us who more appreciate the sprawling rural landscapes that Yerington and the surrounding areas have to offer. While the joy of not having to be stuck in traffic just to get home every day is nice, living in Lyon County can have its draw backs when it comes to needing specialized professional services.
The drawbacks of living in such a rural area really becomes apparent when we end up needing a specialist of some kind and we have to travel to get the help we need. These issues don’t just arise when we need a doctor either. Whenever there is a legal need, there are only a limited number of choices when it comes to a Lyon County Lawyer. If you are just trying to get a will drawn up, or need an uncontested divorce paperwork done, really any lawyer would likely do the trick. But if you need the services of a specialized attorney, can you count on the few Lyon County lawyers that are practicing here?
If you are in the midst of a very important case, you can’t help but wonder if hiring a major law from out of Reno or Vegas might be a better idea than relying on a local lawyer. In order to really investigate this, we need to look at all of the schooling a lawyer need to go through before they can be licensed to practice law in Lyon County.
Nevada Lawyer Licensing Protocol
Not just anyone can become a Lyon County lawyer. Nevada has some very strict qualifications for admittance into the State Bar of Nevada. The first qualification of course is you have to be at least 18 years old, just in case some genius kid manages to qualify somehow. Next you must be present and available in Nevada and remain so during the entire licensing procedure.
Before even applying for your license to practice law, you need to have received a degree of Bachelor of Laws, or equivalent law bachelor’s degree from a law school. All American Bar Association law schools usually take at least 3 years of full-time study to complete. However, there are some law schools that offer part-time programs that generally take 4 to 5 years to complete.
There are a number of ethical qualifications that need to be followed and met as well. Someone cannot have been refused admission to practice law in any other state or governmental agency or have been disbarred. You cannot abuse drugs or alcohol or have exhibited any behavior that calls into question their ability to practice law and cannot owe any alimony or child support.
If all of this criterion has been met, the potential lawyer can then take the Nevada state bar examination. If they pass the test, they will become licensed to practice law in Nevada.
The Difference Between a Las Vegas and Lyon County Lawyer
The qualifications to become a lawyer in Nevada is statewide. So, a Las Vegas Lawyer and a Lyon County Attorney have to have the same amount of schooling and have passed the same bar exam. So, having been granted a license to practice law in Nevada, what it will really boil down to is the experience of the lawyer you are dealing with.
In regard to experience, one lawyer can have a tremendous amount of experience in personal injury law cases, while another can have the same amount of experience in family law, and not so much in personal injury. Of course, a lawyer fresh out of law school isn’t going to have much experience in either.
There are some small differences in the nature of how each area of law is practiced in big metropolitan areas, as opposed to smaller jurisdictions. However, those differences have little impact on the experience that the lawyers get during those cases.
In a nutshell, there is little difference between a Las Vegas attorney and a Lyon County lawyer. If you live in Vegas then you will want a local lawyer, just so that it is easy to meet with them, and so you don’t have to pay travel expenses for court. The same holds true here in Lyon County. A local attorney here will be able to represent you just as well as a Vegas attorney.
Here at Justice Law Center, we have an office in Yerington as well as Las Vegas. We consider each and every one of our cases to be of the upmost importance, regardless of where in Nevada they live.
Josh Nay is a writer and paralegal with over 10 years of experience in personal injury cases, family law and criminal defense.
