William R. Morse

William Reed Morse was one of Las Vegas' most respected civil attorneys, practicing law in Clark County for 54 years. Born November 21, 1922, in Silver Creek, Nebraska, he came to Las Vegas with his family in 1932 and graduated from Las Vegas High School. During World War II he served as a Navy pilot, flying 165 combat missions in both the Atlantic and Pacific campaigns. He graduated from the University of California in 1947 and received his law degree from Hastings College of Law in 1950.

After passing the Nevada Bar in 1950, Morse joined the firm founded by his father, noted Las Vegas attorney Harold M. Morse - Morse & Graves, Clark County's oldest law firm - and eventually became a partner in Morse, Graves, Parraguirre & Rose. He built a formidable reputation as a trial lawyer, twice defeating the celebrated 'King of Torts' Melvin Belli in local cases, including a 1953 matter representing Southern Nevada Power Co. that Nevada Power attorneys still cite as precedent. On January 18, 1970, he was appointed to the District Court bench by Governor Paul Laxalt to replace retiring Judge Alvin Wartman, but declined to seek election that year and returned to private practice.

In 1971 Morse formed a partnership with Joseph Foley and represented reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes. After Hughes' death, Morse successfully defended the estate against the 'Mormon will' of Melvin Dummar, the case that inspired the film 'Melvin and Howard.' In 1984 he entered a partnership with John Mowbray, and the firm of Morse & Mowbray carried on his name. Governor Richard Bryan appointed him to the Nevada Ethics Commission in 1985, a post he held into the mid-1990s. A founding member of the Spanish Trail Country Club, Morse was working on cases until the end of his life.