Elwin C. Leavitt

Elwin Colby Leavitt was a native Nevadan and a longtime Las Vegas lawyer whose career spanned nearly five decades. Born December 29, 1922, in Bunkerville, he was a son of the pioneering Leavitt family that helped settle Bunkerville and Mesquite. He graduated from Las Vegas High School, where he served as president of his senior class, and went on to earn his degree from the University of Utah. A World War II Army veteran, he was admitted to the Nevada bar on December 31, 1948.

Leavitt began his legal practice at the firm of Morse & Graves before establishing his own practice. For many years he operated Leavitt & Leavitt with his son, Brent, and he also practiced with his brother, District Court Judge Myron Leavitt. During the mid-1950s he served as North Las Vegas city attorney through the community's turbulent formative years, holding the post before, during, and after the tenure of Dorothy Porter, Nevada's first woman mayor.

Throughout his career Leavitt was active in the profession as a member of the Clark County Bar Association, the State Bar of Nevada, and the American Bar Association. He remained engaged in civic life as well, serving as the youngest commander of American Legion Post 8 during the 1950s. He died in Las Vegas on September 13, 1996, at the age of 73.