Brent Thomas Adams

Brent Thomas Adams was born in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 1948. He earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy and English from Northern Arizona University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Arizona College of Law in 1974, where he edited the law review. Before entering the law, he worked as a reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, earning the Nevada Press Association's Charles E. Murray Award for Outstanding Reporter of the Year.

Adams began his legal career as a law clerk for Samuel Lionel at Lionel, Sawyer & Collins in Reno. He then served as an assistant federal public defender for five years before entering private practice in Reno, which he maintained for 17 years. In 1989 he became Governor Bob Miller's first judicial appointment, taking a seat on the Second Judicial District Court in Washoe County. Re-elected four times, he served as a district judge for 25 years, presided over hundreds of jury and non-jury trials, rose to Chief Judge, and sat by designation on the Nevada Supreme Court.

On the bench, Adams pioneered the creation of the Washoe County Drug Court and established the Early Case Resolution Program, the Bench-Bar Committee, the Pretrial Services Department, a courthouse security program, and the Criminal Justice Advisory Committee, which he chaired from 1992 to 2002. He became the founding presiding judge of the Washoe County Business Court in 2000, serving in that role for 14 years and advocating active, early case management to control the expense and duration of litigation. A faculty member of the National Judicial College for more than two decades, he taught evidence, legal ethics, and settlement techniques, served as editor-in-chief of the Nevada Civil Practice Manual, and was a steadfast champion of open court records.