Wednesday, April 17, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- The outcome of the heated debate over whether Las Vegas would be better served by a private or public law school hinges largely on what the state Supreme Court decides.
Maddy Graves, chairman of the Board of Regents, and Chancellor Richard Jarvis of the University and Community College System of Nevada had sessions scheduled today with justices who will take up the issue Tuesday.
UNLV is studying the feasibility of starting a law school, but it has competition from a private, for-profit law school in California. Western State University College of Law is seeking changes in Nevada law that would create the necessary conditions to open a campus in Las Vegas.
Graduates from law schools not accredited by the American Bar Association are not permitted to take the examination to practice in Nevada. Western State, which has operated 30 years in California, is not accredited.
Western State is seeking to change the law to allow its first few classes of graduates to take the bar exam while it is undergoing accreditation procedures.
The court has received letters from 24 Las Vegas lawyers who oppose Western State. Only one letter in support has come in -- that from Las Vegas businessman Rodney Helm, who says competition will create excellence. Helm also said Western State would generate tax dollars while a UNLV school would "consume tax revenue."
Many of the lawyers, while opposing Western State, favored a law school at UNLV.
Marilyn Gubler, spokeswoman for Western State, said the issue should be decided on the facts, not subjective comments from local attorneys.
Graves, who ran on a platform to create a law school at UNLV, said he's not meeting with the Supreme Court to lobby against Western State. But he says he doesn't think the court should change its rules to allow the private school a foot in the door.
"I'm not against Western State," Graves said. But he added that he doesn't think the school provides "a first-class education."
Graves and Jarvis said they want to dispel some of the erroneous reports about UNLV starting a law school. They're particularly concerned with dispelling the opinion that a law school at UNLV "doesn't have a prayer" because the Legislature won't appropriate the money.
Graves said Rhode Island just opened a law school for $12 million and UNLV's would be about the same size. He said supporters can raise most of the money for the buildings and libraries, leaving the Legislature only to pick up part of the operating costs.
Three of the five justices have sided with Western State during preliminary discussions. They asked the State Bar and officials of Western State to work out a compromise to allow the students to take the examination.
In an opinion, the State Bar wrote: "The bar believes the Nevada campus of the school should be in substantial compliance with ABA standards before it admits students in Nevada.
"The bar is concerned that Western State's investors may be less amenable to investing large sums in a new Nevada venture, which is not yet providing financial returns, as opposed to its California schools, which are clearly profitable."
The bar also said that Western State should achieve ABA accreditation in five years, not the seven requested by the school.
Gubler has suggested there is room both for Western State and UNLV. She said UNLV will face the same dilemma -- that it won't be accredited by the time the first class graduates.
She also points out the uncertainty of the Legislature appropriating money for a law school when there are a myriad of other demands on the state budget.
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