Patricia Lee
Gov. Steve Sisolak appointed attorney Patricia Lee on Nov. 21 to fill a vacancy on the Nevada Supreme Court.
Born in South Korea to an Black military father and a Korean mother, Lee becomes the first Black woman and first Asian American on the court.
She fills the seat vacated by Abbi Silver, who resigned in September.
Lee was selected from a list of three candidates nominated by the Nevada Commission on Judicial Selection. She will serve until the expiration of Silver’s term in January 2025. She will have to seek election if she wishes to remain on the court.
Lee is a partner in the law firm of Hutchinson and Steffen. As a partner, she runs the firm’s summer internship program, heads the pro bono program providing legal representation to those who can’t afford a lawyer and manages and trains associates.
In a press release from the governor’s office, Sisolak stated, “The breadth and depth of her skill set and her personal and professional experience make her an incredible addition to the State’s highest court.”
Lee is a partner at the Hutchison & Steffen law firm, where she has worked since 2002, according to the statement. She practices complex commercial litigation, trademark law, family law, appellate law and collections cases.
She graduated from George Washington University Law School in 2002 and was admitted to the Nevada bar that year, according to the statement. In 2019, Attorney General Aaron Ford named her a member of a sexual harassment policy task force created by Sisolak.