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Updated: November 18th, 2022 | Reno | Lawyer List S | Kent Law | Insurance Defense, Insurance Law, Real Estate, Securities Law,
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Address: 201 West Liberty Street, Suite 320, reno, NV, 89501
Law Firm: Kent Law
Phone: 775-525-8742
Fax: 775-324-9803
Email:
Website: http://www.skentlaw.com
Title | Principal |
First Year of Call | |
Areas of Practice | Insurance Defense, Insurance Law, Real Estate, Securities Law |
Description | Stephen Smiley Kent is a member of pioneer Nevada families, growing up in Fallon, Nevada, working in the family grocery, lumber, hardware, real estate and ranching businesses. Steve’s Great, Great Grand Father I.H. Kent came to Nevada in 1867. After selling horses he brought to Virginia City, Nevada from Canada he started a ranch in Stillwater, Nevada. In 1897 the family opened a grocery store in Fallon, Nevada. Steve’s maternal side of the family are pioneer ranchers who have operated the Smiley Ranch in Star Valley, Nevada for over 100 years. Growing up Steve worked in the family grocery store Kent’s Supermarket as a bag boy, stocker, checker, produce manager and truck driver. The family also had a retail lumber yard, hardware and construction business where Steve got experience in these businesses. Steve’s family were Nevada outdoors and history buffs so typical family outings were traveling to Nevada ghost towns or duck, pheasant, chucker or deer hunting throughout Nevada. He graduated from the University of Nevada Reno where he was an honors student and Legislative Intern to Assemblyman Jack Schofield then a Congressional intern to U.S. Senator Howard Cannon. During Steve’s congressional internship he lived in Washington, D.C. This was during the time of Watergate, Spiro Agnew had resigned and Senator Cannon was Chairman of The Senate Rules Committee who vetted Nelson Rockefeller who had been appointed Vice President. Steve then attended University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, graduating in 1980 where he took constitutional law from Anthony Kennedy who later became U.S. Supreme Court Justice. While at McGeorge Steve was awarded Second Place in the McGeorge Moot Court Competition and worked as an intern for the Sacramento District Attorney. He was then a law clerk for State District Court Judge William N. Forman.During his clerkship with Judge Forman Steve met and worked with Judges and staff of the Second Judicial District Court learning the inaccuracies of court operation. In 1981, he began his practice in insurance defense, working with several of Nevada’s most well-known defense lawyers James Logan and George Vargas handling auto defense and general liability matters. He left Vargas and Bartlett in 1984 with Governor Robert List to go to Beckley, Singleton, DeLanoy, Jemison and List where he became a partner, then managing partner of the Reno office. While at Beckley, Singleton he worked with Governors Robert List, Governor Robert Miller and Drake DeLanoy. In 1997 Steve became a partner in Woodburn and Wedge where he continued his law practice until 2010 when he started his own boutique defense trial practice, Kent Law, located in downtown Reno, two blocks from the State and Federal Courts. In his 33 years of experience in 3 of Nevada’s largest law firms and now his own firm, Steve has handled a very wide variety of matters in not only Reno and Las Vegas but also throughout rural Nevada. The types of matters Steve has handled over this 33 year period include personal injury defense and plaintiff personal injury claims, auto truck and bus injury claims, aviation crash and accident litigation, premises liability, corporate control/shareholder disputes, receivers, injunctions/TRO’s, debt collection, construction defect claims, real estate disputes, licensing, administrative and regulatory law disputes, realtor/broker liability, professional engineer liability, and real estate sales and financing transactions. Steve has also been appointed arbitrator in 43 cases in the Nevada Arbitration Program.During his time at Vargas and Bartlett and Beckley Singleton Steve began working on Aviation litigation. Over the years Steve developed an expertise handling aviation cases and is one of the top aviation defense attorneys in Nevada. Steve has also handled over fifteen appeals to the Nevada Supreme Court and Ninth Circuit Court, click on the Appellate Law tab to see a list of reported decisions.Steve has been asked to teach seminars to other lawyers and has authored several articles including Exclusionary Clauses in Aviation Insurance Policies, DRI Covered Events, April, 2004, Insurance Coverage Law in Nevada, NBI 1998, Limiting Damages in Nevada, NBI 1990, Nevada Uninsured Motorist Law, State Bar of Nevada, 1995, The Legal Issues of Problem Collections in Nevada, NBI 1989 Washoe County Bar Assoc. 2013, and Nevada Discovery, Pretrial and Trial Procedures, PESI, 1988, click on the Articles tab to see these.With 33 years as a trial lawyer Steve has tried many cases obtaining many defense verdicts for his defense clients as well as a million dollar verdict for his client. Please click on the Verdicts to see some of Steve’s successes. One of Steve’s most challenging cases was defending an employee of the Papoose Palace in 66 civil suits wherein it was alleged Steve’s client sexually abused over 70 children at a day care school. Mr. Kent has been involved in several other civil sexual abuse cases, including the Montessori case where he was involved in insurance coverage for those claims. Steve was also selected as local counsel to defend the Reno Air Racing Association as a result of the crash of an aircraft the resulted in 10 spectators deaths.Steve is a Certified Civil Trial Advocate with the National Board of Trial Attorneys; Certified in Civil Pretrial Practice Advocacy with the National Board of Civil Pretrial Practice Advocacy, Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America, Super Lawyer from 2007 through 2012, a member of the Washoe County Bar Association; American Bar Association (Litigation Section, Tort and Insurance Practice Sections; Committees on Trial Techniques, Insurance Coverage and Business Torts); State Bar of Nevada (Member, Disciplinary Committee; Former Young Lawyers Section Board Member; Former Insurance Committee Member; Former Fee Dispute Committee Member); Northern California-Nevada Association of Defense Counsel; Defense Research Institute; International Association of Defense Counsel (Member, Committees on: Aviation; Life, Health and Accident Insurance; Casualty Insurance; Medical Malpractice); member of Reno Rotary; and the Reno Rodeo Association.Steve has been married to Mayla for 36 years and they have 3 adult children. Steve’s hobbies are boating on Lake Tahoe, driving sports cars, and snow skiing. |
After practicing as a partner in some of Nevada’s largest firms for 29 years Stephen S. Kent established Kent Law in January 2010, continuing his litigation, aviation, and defense law practice for national and local clients.Kent Law is a firm specializing in practical, efficient, goal oriented solutions to legal problems. Kent Law is owned and operated by Stephen S. Kent a veteran Nevada trial lawyer with 33 years experience resolving law…
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