Pro Bono Volunteer of the Month – April 2017

Eric D. Walther of Kolesar & Leatham 

Eric Walther is an attorney at Kolesar & Leatham. He received his undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Nevada, Reno and his law degree from the William S. Boyd School of Law in Las Vegas, where he graduated magna cum laude. During law school he served as an extern to the Honorable Michael P. Villani of the Eighth Judicial District Court, was Editor-in-Chief of the UNLV Gaming Law Journal, and was a member of the Society of Advocates Moot Court Team.  Following law school, he served as a law clerk to Justice Mark Gibbons of the Nevada Supreme Court.  After his clerkship, he joined the Las Vegas law firm Kolesar & Leatham, where his practice consists primarily of commercial litigation and appeals.

Eric began volunteering with Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada in 2016 and has accepted 2 appeal pro bono cases. He took his first pro bono appeal case only a few months after finishing his clerkship. He was fortunate enough to be in a firm that strongly encourages pro bono counsel.

When we asked Eric why he volunteers, he said that taking pro bono cases allows him to serve some of the most vulnerable members of our community while gaining invaluable legal experience along the way. By taking a pro bono appeal case Eric got the opportunity to argue a case before the Nevada Court of Appeals in just his first year of practice—something that many attorneys never get to experience. More importantly, however, Eric is proud that he had the opportunity to truly help someone who after losing in the lower court had nearly lost hope on his case.

In regard to his first pro bono appeal case which he accepted through the Nevada Appellate Program, Eric says, “What I originally thought was a straightforward divorce case, actually turned out to be extremely complicated with a massive record and multiple issues that needed to be appealed.” He was able to secure reversals on many issues that were appealed. What made the case special for Eric was that the Nevada Court of Appeals selected the case to be argued at the William S. Boyd School of Law. Eric had the opportunity to argue his first appeal case at his former law school in front of dozens of law students and many of his former professors. This was a great experience for Eric and he highly encourages that other attorneys take pro bono appeal cases whenever possible.

For his commitment to representing clients, we honor Eric Walther as the April Pro Bono Attorney of the Month.