Robert E. Wolf

Robert E. "Bob" Wolf was a lifelong Las Vegan, born September 5, 1943, in Las Vegas. A one-time Las Vegas Sun paper boy, he graduated from Fremont Junior High and Las Vegas High before earning his law degree from UCLA in 1972. He was a recipient of the Criminal Courts Bar Association of Los Angeles Scholarship for Excellence in the Art of Advocacy.

Wolf began his legal career the year after law school, hired as a deputy district attorney, and in 1975 he established his own private practice. Over many years as a private attorney, he built a reputation for defending clients who otherwise had little hope in the judicial system. "I've always had a certain empathy for the underdog," he said in a 1979 interview. In 1990 he was elected justice of the peace, serving on the bench until 1992. District Attorney Stewart Bell remembered him as "a very capable lawyer whose skills were underrated," adding that "as a judge he tried to do his best to see that justice was done."

Well-liked and respected by local attorneys, Wolf was recalled by longtime friend and defense attorney Frank Cremen as "a delightful person to be around," and by attorney Michael Amador as "a good guy who would do anything for anybody." He died in Las Vegas on December 1, 1996, at the age of 53. He was survived by his mother, Marion Wolf, his daughter, Rachel, and his sister, Susan Wolf.