Barbara E. Buckley, Esq.,
Executive Director, Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada
Barbara Buckley is the executive director of Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada, a nonprofit 501(c) (3) corporation, providing free legal advice, representation and advocacy for individuals who cannot afford a lawyer. Barbara spent her entire legal career with Legal Aid Center, beginning as a staff attorney in 1989. After handling individual cases and major class actions, Barbara became executive director of Legal Aid Center in 1996. Since that time, Barbara has created many new programs including a partnership with William S. Boyd School of Law, where all first year law students are trained to teach legal classes to the public, a Family Justice Project and a Children’s Attorneys Project. Legal Aid Center also runs the Civil Law Self-Help Center and the Family Law Self-Help Center where every year, tens of thousands of litigants have access to legal information and forms so they can properly represent themselves in court. Barbara also served as the Speaker of the Nevada State Assembly from 2007 through 2010, the first woman in the state’s history to hold this position. From 2001 to 2007, she served as Majority Leader of the Nevada State Assembly. Barbara began her legislative service upon her election in 1994, after testifying before the Legislature on behalf of legal aid clients. She received many awards and honors, including the Most Effective Legislator in the Assembly in 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2009, the 2010 Transparent Courthouse Award from the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System, the 2012 Best Public Servant Award, the 2013 Emerge Nevada Woman of the Year and UNLV College of Liberal Arts Alumni of the Year, the 2013 Child Advocate of the Year, the 2014 Jurisprudence Award from the Anti-Defamation League of Las Vegas, the 2016 Pro se Committee’s Distinguished Pro Bono Service Award and the 2017 Clark County Democratic Lawyers Caucus 3rd Annual Susan Scann Award for Outstanding Service in Politics and Law. Barbara received her J.D. degree summa cum laude from the University of Arizona School of Law and her B.A. from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.