J. Mitchell Cobeaga

J. Mitchell "Mitch" Cobeaga was a longtime Las Vegas attorney who argued civil and commercial cases in Nevada for decades, with a particular emphasis on aviation law. A graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, he served as a pilot and Vietnam War veteran before building a distinguished legal career in Southern Nevada. He was admitted to the Nevada bar on September 16, 1974.

Over his long career, Cobeaga contributed to some of Nevada's largest cases, including litigation centered on the 1988 perchlorate explosion at the Pacific Engineering & Production Co. of Nevada plant in Henderson that killed two people. He served as president of the Clark County Bar Association in 1986, and colleagues remembered him as a formidable presence in the courtroom who fought hard for his clients. In the final years of his career he devoted much of his energy to mentoring younger lawyers, many of whom he influenced at various points in their careers.

Cobeaga was also a founding volunteer member of the Veteran's Ask a Lawyer program at the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada, a free legal program to help veterans in need. He died on April 24, 2017, at the age of 75.