Clark Hill Names Paola Armeni as Member in Charge of Las Vegas Office

Las Vegas, NV, June 2, 2020 – Clark Hill announced today that the firm has appointed Paola Armeni as the Member-in-Charge of the firm’s Las Vegas office. Armeni succeeds Donald Ridge, who has led the office since its opening in July 2017 as a result of Clark Hill’s combination with Morris Polich & Purdy LLP.

“It is a great honor to be named the Member-in Charge of Clark Hill’s Las Vegas office as part of this growing international law firm,” Armeni said. “Clark Hill’s leadership has been tremendously supportive, and I’m proud to be part of the leadership team. I look forward to working with the firm in continuing to enhance and strengthen our presence in Las Vegas across practices and as a strong community partner.”

Armeni joined Clark Hill in September 2019 as a Member in Clark Hill's Litigation practice group when her former firm, Las Vegas litigation boutique Gentile Cristalli Miller Armeni Savarese (GCMAS) combined with Clark Hill. The former Managing Partner at GCMAS, Armeni is a trial attorney, representing clients in criminal defense and civil rights cases in Nevada state and federal courts. In May 2020, Armeni was reelected to the State Bar of Nevada Board of Governors for her fifth term. Since 2012, she has been actively involved on the Board, and before that, she served as Chair in the Young Lawyers Section of the State Bar in 2011.

Clark Hill’s Chief Executive Officer John Hern commented, “Following Clark Hill’s combination with GCMAS in late 2019, it was clear that Paola’s proven leadership capabilities made her the natural successor to Don as the Member-in-Charge of the Las Vegas office. Hern continued, “We are grateful to Don for his leadership of the office over the past several years. He’s been instrumental in identifying opportunities that were of strategic importance to the market.”

Armeni served as a law clerk to the Honorable Joseph T. Bonaventure of the Eighth Judicial District Court in Las Vegas, Nevada. She has participated in the only impeachment hearing of a Nevada public official and assisted in several high profile criminal cases tried in both the United States District Court and Eighth Judicial District Court. She has also been successful in civil rights actions against the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, receiving a jury award of approximately $2.1 million.

An active participant in community affairs, Armeni is a recipient of the Myrna Williams Children’s Pro Bono Award from the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada, which recognizes an attorney who has done an extraordinary job in giving a voice to the community’s most vulnerable victims. She has been recognized multiple times as a member of the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada “50 Hours Club” and "100 Hours Club" for her pro bono service.

Armeni is the recipient of numerous professional awards, including:

• The only lawyer in Nevada to receive the Best Lawyers® recognition in the area of Civil Rights Law, and the state’s only female attorney awarded in the areas of Criminal Defense: General Practice and Criminal Defense: White Collar. In 2020, she received the Lawyer of the Year distinction from Best Lawyers® in the Criminal Defense: White Collar category;
• Recipient of the Legal Excellence Award from Vegas Legal Magazine in 2018;
• Selection by her peers as one of the top attorneys in Nevada and recognized in the Nevada Business Magazine as a Legal Elite, among only 1% of Nevada attorneys to be named in 2012 – 2013;
• Selection as one of Nevada Business Magazine’s Top 50 Up & Coming Attorneys for 2012 and as a VEGAS INC. Top Lawyer;
• Selected to the Mountain States Super Lawyers list from 2014 – 2019, and to the Rising Stars list from 2009 – 2013, among only 2.5% of the state’s total attorneys to be named.
• Recipient of the “40 Under 40” Award from the Las Vegas Business Press;
• Recipient of the inaugural Young Lawyer of the Year Award from the State Bar of Nevada in 2011; and
• Recipient of the inaugural William S. Boyd School of Law 2008 College Alumni of the Year award.

About Clark Hill PLC

Clark Hill is an international law firm with multidisciplinary practices that draw on the industry and policy knowledge of its attorneys and professionals, including lobbyists and practice leaders, on deeply held shared values, and on a global network of premier firms and advisors to provide innovative legal solutions and client service excellence worldwide.

As one of the largest law firms in the United States with more than 650 attorneys and professionals in 23 offices across the nation, as well as offices in Dublin and Mexico City, Clark Hill is everywhere its clients require high quality legal representation. Please visit the firm’s website at http://www.clarkhill.com or follow the firm on Twitter @ClarkHillLaw.