Uber-lawyer Brown striking out on his own

There are lawyers, then there are lawyers, and then there’s Joe Brown.

You can look it up: Martindale-Hubbell lists him with an AV Preeminent Peer Review rating, the highest the lawyer-ranking service gives. He’s listed in “Best Lawyers in America.” Vegas Inc. identified him as one of the city’s top lawyers in 2013. He was recognized as a member of the “Legal Elite” by Nevada Business Magazine in 2015. He’s been in “Mountain States Super Lawyers of America” magazine multiple times (although never as the centerfold).

But Brown — who also works as a lobbyist in Carson City — has a high profile specifically because he doesn’t have a high profile. He’s mastered the lobbying game by being largely invisible in the process, wielding his influence outside the public eye like leprechaun magic.

And it looks as if he’s going to keep doing that, despite a big change in his professional life: After decades as the central fixture of one of the state’s most prominent law firms, Brown is striking out on his own. He’ll still be representing about a half-dozen of his longtime clients, but no longer keeping an office at Fennemore Craig.

Brown’s storied career started back in 1969, when he passed the Bar exam and accepted an offer to clerk for a District Court judge here in Las Vegas. But Brown’s legal career has always been tied inexorably to Republican politics, thanks to a friendship with ex-Nevada governor and former U.S. Sen. Paul Laxalt.

Brown eventually joined Laxalt’s firm, where the clients included an aviation pioneer and developer named Howard Hughes. That work introduced Brown to Hughes’ right-hand man Bob Maheu, with whom he used to lunch monthly. After Maheu died, Brown has continued the tradition, inviting friends, clients and others to the Las Vegas Country Club to hear guest speakers on a wide variety of topics. Getting invited is a sign you’ve arrived in Las Vegas legal and business circles, a peek behind the curtain of how the town really runs.

Although Brown has been around politics and politicians his entire life, he’s only dabbled once: In 1986, he ran for lieutenant governor against a Democratic district attorney named Bob Miller. Brown lost that race 53.6 percent to 44.8 percent, and Miller went on to serve two terms as governor. (In one of Nevada’s ironic twists, however, Miller would later join Brown’s firm, notwithstanding the fact that it was considered the “Republican” firm in town.)

Although Brown is an accomplished lawyer, he’s far from a stiff. Once, at a cowboy poetry gathering in Lamoille, Brown’s law partner Tony Sanchez spotted rock star Steve Miller, and pointed the artist out to Brown, who told Sanchez that the singer bore no resemblance to a former Las Vegas councilman who had the same name. “Joe, that’s the space cowboy, the ganster of love,” Sanchez protested. So Brown promptly introduced himself to singer-not-councilman Miller, saying “I’m the space cowboy and gangster of love.”

“Well, Joe, there must be two of us,” Miller gamely replied.

Although the name changed over the years, Brown remained with Laxalt’s old firm, until it became known as Jones Vargas and he became its president. The firm saw a significant downturn when the great recession hit in 2008, and many clients went out of business. Jones Vargas was ultimately absorbed by Fennemore Craig. (The same time period also saw the end of rival firms such as Lionel, Sawyer &Collins, some of whose lawyers ended up at Fennemore Craig as well.)

But Brown soon found the new corporate life was not for him, hence the change. He says he and his old partners may still team up for complex cases, but day-to-day, it will just be Joe Brown, country lawyer. Oh, and also space cowboy and gangster of love.

Steve Sebelius is a Review-Journal political columnist and co-host of the show “PoliticsNOW,” airing at 5:30 p.m. Sundays on 8NewsNow. Follow him on Twitter (@SteveSebelius) or reach him at 702-387-5276 or SSebelius@reviewjournal.com.