State AG Pulse Season 2 available now
Menu

Spotlight: Nevada AG Aaron Ford

Professional Background:
Elected in 2019 as 34TH Nevada Attorney General.

First legal job: federal clerkship with Judge Denise Page Hood, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, in Detroit, he subsequently clerked for Judge Johnnie B. Rawlinson on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Private practice history:

  • Bracewell & Patterson – TX
  • Weil Gotshal & Manges – associate, complex commercial litigation – TX
  • Snell & Wilmer – litigator, promoted to partner – NV
  • Eglet Prince – partner – focuses on consumer protection – NV.

Elected to Nevada State Senate in 2012; in 2015 elected to serve as the State Senate’s Minority Leader for that legislative session. After leading the effort to reclaim control of the State Senate during the 2016 elections, Ford became Majority Leader. As the Majority Leader, Ford focused on legislation aimed at:

  • combating elder abuse
  • increasing transparency for big pharmaceutical companies
  • reducing recidivism and criminal-justice costs through improved educational, mental-health and substance-abuse programs, and
  • increasing penalties for criminals who target first responders.

Additionally, Ford passed a “fiduciary duty” bill which removed exemptions for broker-dealers and financial advisors from rules that applied to financial planners and held them accountable for meeting a fiduciary duty to their clients.

Education: Ford earned his B.A from Texas A&M University in Interdisciplinary Studies in 1994. He was the first in his family to graduate from college. He earned his M.A. in International Education from George Washington University while teaching at a local high school. He also earned an M.A. in Educational Administration, his law degree and Ph.D. in Educational Administration from The Ohio State University.

Personal: Originally from Dallas, TX, Ford married his college sweetheart, Berna Rhodes-Ford, who is also an attorney and serves as general counsel for Nevada State College. They have three sons, Avery, Aaron II, and Alexander, and also raise their nephew, Devin.