But Cadish is also a wife and mother trying to balance the requirements of her career, her future aspirations and the needs of her young family. It's a juggling act performed by hundreds of attorneys of both sexes across the valley, one she admits is often daunting. But Cadish is proof that women in Las Vegas can do it all, and without falling prey to the city's stereotypes.

Question: Please tell us about your job, what does your practice involve?

Answer: I've been a shareholder for Hale Lane for 11 years. I do commercial litigation and employment law representing mostly employers.

The great thing about what we do is that no two days are alike. When you come into the office in the morning and look through the things you want to get done that day, you realize pretty quickly that something else is always going to come in and interrupt whether it's phone calls or people coming in asking questions or a client has suddenly gotten sued and needs some help right away.

You have to learn to be flexible and respond to whatever comes up while getting back to the things that are already on your task list when you have the time to do it.

It's a lot of phone calls, a lot of letter writing or motion practice, and there may be depositions where you're questioning a witness in the course of discovery in a case. But it's all part of pursuing litigation.

Can you tell us about how Hale Lane is structured and if it is different than other law firms?

Hale Lane, like most law firms at this point, is actually a professional corporation. We call each other partners but we call each other shareholders in the context of the corporation. All shareholders at Hale Lane are equal shareholders. We all own an equal number of shares in the firm.

In terms of organization, everyone is a shareholder, but we can't have everyone making the decisions on every issue, so we have a board of directors. That includes five shareholders. The managing shareholder is based in Reno right now, but he comes down here to Las Vegas quite frequently. And there are two (board) representatives from Reno and two (board) representatives from Las Vegas that make up the five- member board. So they make the day-to-day management decisions. They meet every week, and then there are other committees within the firm that address other issues. For example, we have the marketing committee, which I sit on, as well as the compensation committee, which I also sit on. There's the recruiting and retention committees as well, so people may participate in other ways.

Elissa Cadish, a partner at Hale Lane Attorneys At Law, responds to a question during an interview at the law firm. Steve Marcus

In terms of how it compares to other firms in Vegas, I don't know so much about how other firms operate, but I know that a lot of firms seem to have a two-tier partnership system. There are some true equity partners like we have, but then there are others who are not an equity partner. Those people don't actually own shares in the corporation and so they may be called a partner and have some of the prestige and some increased compensation probably, but are not truly a shareholder in the corporation. And that just varies from firm to firm. Different firms call people different things when they don't want to make someone a shareholder but they don't want them to be just an associate. They may call them an "of counsel" or a senior attorney or there's other ways to characterize it.

At Hale Lane we have shareholders and associates and all the shareholders are equal. We all have an equal vote when it comes down to it. Obviously compensation isn't just based on what your vote is, it's also based on your contribution to the firm and that's the side of the firm I like.

What is the most interesting case you've had thus far?

I really like the employment area, the employment cases. I've done several of those and different kinds of cases, everything from discrimination to wrongful termination to noncompete issues. I've done a lot of noncompete issues. In fact I was just dealing with one (a few weeks ago). Those are kind of interesting, looking at the individual circumstances in a given case, figuring out if the agreement is enforceable in a given situation or not. And it's kind of exciting because of the short period of time these things tend to get resolved in. Most frequently those issues are addressed with someone seeking a TRO - a temporary restraining order - right at the beginning. Usually an employee leaves a company, they may have signed a noncompete agreement, they go work for another company. The company goes into court and files a complaint and seeks a TRO. That prevents the employee from working for that other company. I've had cases where I've been on either side of it, either the employer or the employee. But things tend to happen quickly. You have a quick hearing and then sometimes if you still have a dispute going on you're going to have discovery. So you have a few weeks where you get to take some depositions and get some answers and try to establish if there is really a competition that is hurting the first employer's business or not. Is it a legitimate noncompete or not?

I represent the employee sometimes and last (month) was the first time that I've actually gone in affirmatively for the employee, filing the case for the employee to say, "They think I'm subject to a noncompete, but I think I can take this new job and not be prohibited by it." So on our own, we filed a complaint. And we didn't exactly get an injunction in our favor, but the judge did end up saying that he didn't think there was a business reason to enforce the noncompete, so my client started a new job a few days later.

What has changed about practicing law in Las Vegas since you passed the bar?

Well, there certainly are a lot more lawyers in Nevada than when I first passed the bar. I took the bar in 1991 which was at the end of a two-year clerkship. I originally came here to clerk for Judge (Philip) Pro in the federal court and didn't know if I would be staying. So once I decided to stay I had to take the bar. Since 1991 there's a whole lot more lawyers. They assign bar numbers to all the lawyers - my bar number is 4,273 - and now they are over 10,000, just to give you an idea. So the number of attorneys has more than doubled since I passed the Bar.

There's also a lot of the firms from out of state coming in. It was much more of a localized practice when I started. It was just Nevada firms and the only question was, was it just a Las Vegas firm or was it in Vegas and Reno? That was the big distinction at the time. But now there are many more regional and national firms that have opened offices here.

I think a lot of that change had to do with the change in rules. There used to be a rule that prohibited having a firm name that included non-Nevada lawyers. If you have a national firm that's been established for over 100 years in other states they're generally not going to have Nevada lawyers' names in the name of the firm. So they couldn't take advantage of their national reputation here. When that changed about 10 years ago, that sort of opened up the doors to allow more people to come in from out of state. And that's made a difference.

On one level it's a good thing to have some competition and increase the quality of the practice. But it also has made for a lot of movement. I think the lawyers tended to be more stable and stayed with a firm longer. And the fact that there are more firms looking for the top people makes it harder to keep good people. Now there's more competition for the good people, which can be a good thing if you're attracting good people, but it can be hard to hold on and you want to maintain stability in a firm. You have to try to make your firm more attractive. I think that's more of an issue than it was 15 years ago.

What made you want to become an attorney?

I wanted to be a lawyer for a long time. I think since I was like 10 or 11 years old. And I think it had to do with learning about the Constitution, about rights, the Bill of Rights and other constitutional amendments that protected people. And I think we talked a little in the house about making sure trials were fair, making sure people were given their rights. Particularly in the criminal context, when you have someone charged with a crime. I can remember talking about, "Yeah, maybe they're guilty, but make sure they have a fair trial." And I remember enjoying learning about that.

And frankly, I like to argue. I've always been a pretty logical person in terms of getting from point A to point B and following the steps, so I think it's a logical step to go towards something that involved being an advocate and being able to argue and defend your position. I think it was just a skill that came naturally me. Between being interested in government and political science and having that skill, lawyer seemed like a natural fit.

Tell us what it took to get to this point in your career.

A lot of hard work, I guess. I'd like to think that from the beginning I was a pretty good lawyer. I think I did very well in law school, I had some of those skills, logical reasoning and writing skills and research skills and then had to work on developing the additional skills you really need to be a successful attorney.

You can be smart and know what the argument is but you need to be able to relate to the client, instill trust in them, to show them they should be confident in you and show that you know what you're doing. And you have to have that skill with the judges to be able to convince them. You need to project confidence in your position and go into court and represent them. So it's more than just being smart. You have to learn that social side of it and how you project yourself as well. So I've worked on that.

Now these last few years it's gotten easier, certainly, after 15 years of doing it. But it does take hard work. Particularly in the civil side of practice. You need to work long hours to get done the work that needs to be done and make sure you're prepared for each event. It's not a 9 to 5 job and it never will be. So you need to understand that and you try to understand that and put in the time that's necessary to complete the work and have the client know they can rely on you to get the work done in a timely way.

You were recently chosen as lawyer representative to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. What will your duties there be?

The process is you have to be selected by the local federal court as well as the State Bar.

So the local court narrows the applicants down to a field of candidates and submit that to the State Bar. And then the board of governors considers it and makes the final selection. When the court has openings they advertise in the local Bar journals. I applied, and I submitted a letter of interest and said that because we practice quite a bit in federal court and I practice in federal court and I'm interested in issues facing the court, and to make sure procedures go smoothly and give input on possible rules changes and passing on any complaints or concerns from the bar. So I indicated I was interested and was ultimately approved by the court and the State Bar and so now I was appointed as the lawyer representative. I go to regular meetings at the federal court. Just (a few weeks ago) I and the other lawyer representatives participated in a quarterly meeting with all the judges in our district and I went to the luncheon part of that meeting that the lawyer representatives were included in. And so we were talking about different issues. One thing we discussed was whether or not there ought to be a system in place to provide pro bono attorney assistance to a plaintiff in a civil case in federal court if it's found their case might have merit and they need the help of a lawyer. That's one of the issues we're talking about, if there's any way to have that service available, to have a panel of attorneys available who might be willing to do that. In addition as part of the 9th Circuit representative you go for three years of your term to the annual 9th Circuit conference, which is held every year somewhere in the 9th Circuit, which encompasses pretty much the entire West of the country. This year I have to say I got lucky because the conference this July is being held in Hawaii. But it's been in many other places. It's been held in California and in lots of different places.

It's like being a liaison between the attorneys and the judges, to be the people that the judges look to to give them input as to what is on the lawyers' minds, and relay their questions and concerns. ¦ And it's a nice opportunity to pass on the information and help the court and get to know the judges of the court and develop a better relationship with them. So it's a really nice opportunity and also an opportunity to serve the Bar by being relied on to pass on their information and input.

What are your professional goals in the next, say, five years?

Certainly within my practice I continue to work to represent my clients to the best of my ability and to continue to be in front of the court as much as I can and try more cases. ¦ In civil practice, many cases are resolved outside of court by settlement. In many cases they are resolved in motions. That's just the reality of the situation and in fact in most cases that's what's best for the client. But we're working on getting some more trial experience.

Another goal that I'm working towards in the next few years, is to ultimately be a judge. In fact, I just recently applied for an open position. There were two openings in the District Court because Judge (Nancy) Saitta and Judge (Michael) Cherry were elected to the Nevada Supreme Court and that left openings. So I applied for one of those District Court positions. It was the first time I applied for the state openings. I did not get either of the positions, but I intend to continue to apply in the future.

We do know that there's at least one more opening because Judge (Joseph) Bonaventure, in the middle of the last application process, announced that he's retiring effective March 1. So there will be another application process seeking the best candidates for that position as well. So I will move forward with that application and we'll see. There are a lot of good people that apply but I'd like to think that I'm one of the best candidates and will ultimately turn out to be the best one.

Did you face any challenges, particularly as a woman, in getting this far in your career?

Of course there are definitely challenges. I think the biggest challenge was balancing the home and work, because I am married and I have two children who are now 13 and 10. And maintaining the family life actually takes a lot of time and energy and this job takes a lot of time and energy. So it's tough sometimes to balance and do those two things well. If my children have religious school, I need to make sure they get to religious school. If they've got a soccer game or a football game or whatever, I'm going to want to be there for them. But I also need to be mindful of the demands of my clients to make sure that the work gets done and the cases are being properly addressed. You're sometimes torn between the two but you have to do your best to keep them both in balance and keep all the balls in the air.

Some people in the business community have said that Las Vegas can be a trying place for ambitious women, that there is a double standard by which women must be attractive as well as intelligent if they want to get ahead. What do you think of this perception?

There are some challenges as a woman. There are some people who will not look at you the same because you are a woman.

I remember when I was a young lawyer I was in the gift shop on the first floor of the building I was working in. Boss's Day was coming up and people would approach me, thinking I was a secretary, and ask me about buying a gift for the boss. And there was a vendor at the firm who asked me if I worked for one of the attorneys at the firm and I had to say I am one of the attorneys.

But I don't know that it's that big a difference. I think it is hard in a sense. You have to learn how you're going to respond to people. I don't think I communicate in the same way men do. I think men tend to be more aggressive in their communication style and I'm not as aggressive in the way I communicate. But I think by continuing to act professionally and waiting my turn to make the point but making the point well has worked for me. I'm not going to be the same way men are in the same position, but using the skills I have, I can have a quiet confidence and professionalism that I think is oftentimes appreciated in court.

And I did mention the challenge of balancing home and career, but that's a challenge faced by any involved parent. I know there are men even in our firm who are involved along with many other men I know. And so they have that challenge as well. Generally, it's a challenge that falls mostly on women.

I don't think it's all about being attractive, especially in the particular business we're in. I know we have some stereotyping of women in the community with the billboards that you see and the advertisements on the backs of taxi cabs and such, but I don't think anybody expects professionals to come across that way. At least I hope not. Not that I've dealt with.

Are there any challenges to being a female litigator?

I think men tend to be a little more aggressive and I think frankly that they tend to jump out there with an answer before they really know if that's the right answer or not. And I tend to be a little more thoughtful before I give an answer. I think sometimes there's pressure to feel like you have to go in there and be tough. But I think you just have to be yourself and ultimately being prepared and having the knowledge of applicable facts better than the other guy ultimately pays off. You just have to put up with people sometimes who are a little more aggressive.

Do you think there are different expectations of you, either by colleagues or family, because you're a woman?

I think the kids wish I could volunteer in their classes. There's a lot of moms that do that and I generally don't. I'll try at some point during the course of the school year to help out with one party or read with the class or help out with some special project. And the kids want me to do that from time to time. Of course now that my daughter is 13 she wants to see as little of me as possible (laughing). So I get some guilt from them about, "Why can't you come help like the other moms." I take them to birthday parties and the other moms know who they are because they've been in class but I have no idea who many of them are.

So that can be a challenge, but I think everyone in the office knows I have children and that there are some times they need the attention. But you still have to meet the job requirements, so I often work from home, I've fallen victim to the BlackBerry addiction like so many people. It helps you stay in touch wherever you are - and on the downside, it keeps you in touch wherever you are.

When I'm with the kids I try not to be constantly working on the BlackBerry. But I will look at it once in a while, even on vacation, because I'd rather read the e-mail and send a reply than have a mountain of e-mail when I get back. I've had it a little over a year now and it comes in handy. But you have to control it or it will control you. I purposefully turned off the vibrate function for the e-mail so that I don't get that every time an e-mail comes in. It was driving me crazy when I first started using it. I do try to have some true family time, but in a way the BlackBerry makes it easier because I can leave in the afternoon and still see what's going on.

You are the immediate past president of the Southern Nevada Association of Women Attorneys (SNAWA). Tell me about the organization and its wider role in the Nevada legal community.

I was president for two one-year terms from June of 2004 to June 2006. The organization is designed to help women lawyers build a network and be able to support each other and get to know other women attorneys and share experiences. We have monthly luncheons with speakers who discuss a timely topic or give networking tips you can use. We also have a charity luncheon in December when we have three charitable organizations come talk about what they do and invite people to contribute as they wish. We've had the Girl Scouts, Shade Tree Shelter, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, the Salvation Army and other organizations like that.

We also have a separate organization, the SNAWA Foundation, that raises scholarship money to help women law students at the Boyd School of Law and we have a Continuing Legal Education seminar and get as many participants as we can and the presenters waive the fee and all the proceeds help to fund the scholarships. We just had that seminar and I was one of the presenters. I try to support the group and make options available to the students over at Boyd Law School.

We also have some social events from time to time. Last fall we had a champagne and chocolate social on a weekend at Justice Saitta's house. She was kind enough to welcome us into her home and we raised some money through that event. We also have a judicial social every year when we invite all the judges to come and meet with our members.

We're trying to create an opportunity for the women to get to know each other and support each other and share how we became successful and what tips we have to offer.

Las Vegas is famous for its permissibility and many lawyers have fallen into bad habits that have led to ethical violations. But many long-term locals find that off the Strip, life is much more in line with mainstream America. What do you think of life in Las Vegas and how have you managed the need to network and socialize with the desire to stay grounded?

The networking and socializing I do tends to be among professionals: Bar lunches or SNAWA lunches or go out with people in the firm, taking a client out to dinner. There certainly is an active lifestyle in Las Vegas, I gather, from all the clubs that have opened at all these resorts, but I have to say I have not been to any of them. I don't really know what they have. I'm pretty sure I'm not young or cool enough to go to any of them.

But when you live in Vegas and you work here it's where you live, not where you go on vacation. I just don't think of going out to bars to go drinking or to one of those clubs. We just have a pretty normal family life like in any other suburb. If we go out to dinner it's usually in our neighborhood. And you can't be much of a gambler if you're going to live in Vegas because the temptations are certainly all around.

But that hasn't been an issue for me, thankfully, but I understand it can be an issue if you are someone inclined to drink or gamble. But I think you have to live as if you are somewhere else and not concern yourself with that.

Do you have any advice or guidance for female law students or young attorneys? Is staying in Las Vegas a good bet?

Well, they should definitely consider staying in Nevada, first of all.

The best advice I can give is to do what they really want to do. If they really want to practice at a civil firm like ours, great. They're certainly welcome. But if they want to do criminal law, that's what they should do. There's a lot to consider. You have different salaries and different expectations and a lot of times friends tend to let you know exactly what their expectations are. But ultimately being an attorney is hard work and it takes a lot of time and if you're not willing to put in the hours it's very, very difficult to continue to pursue that career. So you really need to find what you enjoy. For some people that's working in the district attorney's office, for myself, I enjoy the challenge of the complex legal issues we deal with and the research that we do.

The reason I stayed in Nevada was because I saw a lot of opportunity here as opposed to the larger cities that have offices with 100 or more attorneys. Here the largest offices have 50 attorneys, and so it's easier to stand out and be noticed for the quality of work you do and you can get to know the judges here. So I think that's a real benefit. Even though it's grown and even though there are more attorneys here than when I started, it's still a smaller community than New York or Los Angeles. You can get to know people here and I think that can be a great opportunity for someone willing to work hard.