Tammy Peterson, a shareholder at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, has a diverse practice with a focus on complex commercial litigation. She has represented clients before all courts in Nevada, mostly large corporations navigating business disputes. She began her career in 1996 as a member of the Special Victims Unit, prosecuting cases of child abuse, child homicide, and sexual assault.
How do you prepare for a case?
I thoroughly analyze everything about the client’s dispute, including every legal argument, and every detail of the client’s industry. In my experience, context is fundamental to making a successful case.
What’s the most important part of your job?
Sometimes the most important part of my job is telling clients what they do not want to hear, which often means their case isn’t as good as they were hoping. I believe a good attorney should set realistic expectations.
What makes a good trial lawyer?
There are obvious skills that a good trial lawyer typically will possess, including credibility, an ability to persuade, and the skill to take complex facts and issues and distill them into an easy narrative. But none of those skills takes the place of experience and painstaking attention to detail; a good trial lawyer does trials, and continues to learn from them in order to make every presentation more compelling than the last. I have relived, re-enacted and redone every single moment of every single case I have ever tried, including every question I have asked, and every argument I ever made, well after the verdict came in. That is especially true for the cases I won.
Tell us about the most memorable cases you’ve worked on and why they stand out.
Many cases come to mind, including a case I prosecuted where the defendant attacked a colleague in open court during cross-examination; one where a police officer didn’t recognize the defendant he’d arrested while he was sitting in front of him at trial; a site visit of a waste transfer station and a landfill that I did in preparation for a case and how I had to throw out my clothes afterward from the stench; and one case where I agreed to meet a client at a trade show, which happened to be an adult entertainment expo.
What advice would you give up-and-coming lawyers?
I strongly recommend that any young lawyer or law student consider a judicial clerkship. There is no better advantage early on in your career than working for a judge; you are able to see, up close, the decision-making process and the impact that skilled practitioners, through their writing and advocacy, have on that process. I was fortunate to clerk for former U.S. District Court Judge Philip Pro right out of law school. That experience shaped me; in addition to being able to work for an incredible mentor, I was able to see the upper echelon of litigators and trial attorneys appear before him every day, and I learned what worked and a lot about what didn’t.
What makes Las Vegas unique in the legal world?
I’m pretty sure our jury pool is one of the few places where business owners, teachers, and health care workers mix with professional gamblers, exotic dancers, and prostitutes. But that’s perfectly normal here, and as a litigator, my job is to prepare for all challenges, whether or not they are location-related.
What is Las Vegas’ legal community like?
The legal profession is extremely collegial here in Las Vegas. I’ve had the opportunity to work with lawyers from all over the nation and even from other countries, and almost all express envy over the camaraderie and collegiality among the bar members here.
What obstacles has your business overcome?
Every business needs to adjust and update in order to flourish through the decades, and a law firm is no different. Brownstein has invested in strategic practice areas and geographic locations, and put a great deal of effort into recruiting, retaining and developing talented practitioners as we approach the firm’s 50th anniversary.
How can Nevada improve its business climate?
It is all about education. We should invest in education at all levels — elementary, secondary and higher education. Nevada’s school system consistently ranks low in a variety of measures, and that creates an exponential deficit in the workforce and the economy, and also is reflected in the growth and innovation of business.
What have you learned from the recession?
As the economy here begins to recover, I am seeing a number of developers, commercial entities and individuals with a vision for business in Southern Nevada leap on opportunities that, for one reason or another, were left to stagnate during difficult times. I think this is a good example of how economic fluctuation can stimulate business, and a good reminder that Nevada needs innovative and progressive leaders to help continue to reinvigorate the economy.