Melvin S. Lipman

Melvin S. Lipman was born in Brooklyn, New York, on October 28, 1936, and became a longtime resident of Las Vegas, where he lived for some forty-five years. Before entering the practice of law, he served as a supervising examiner for the Federal Reserve Board. He was admitted to the State Bar of Nevada in 1987 and established a law practice in Las Vegas, where he built a career grounded in civil liberties and public service.

Beyond his practice, Lipman was a dedicated educator, teaching constitutional law, U.S. history, and business law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada State College, and the University of Phoenix. He gave generously of his professional skills to his community, serving as a volunteer mediator and arbitrator for Clark County, Nevada, and as a licensed marriage officiant who performed hundreds of weddings over the course of some thirty years.

Lipman was widely known for his leadership in civil liberties and humanist causes. He served as president of the American Humanist Association from 2003 to 2008, as president of the Humanist Association of Las Vegas, and as a board member of the Nevada Civil Liberties Union, among numerous other civic and organizational roles. In 2016 he received the Humanist Heritage Award from the Humanist Foundation in recognition of his lifetime of service. Melvin S. Lipman died on March 23, 2019.