Reno lawyer named federal magistrate

Cooke's appointment was announced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Howard McKibben.

Cooke, 45, a third-generation Nevada lawyer, was chosen by federal district judges after they interviewed several candidates for the job.

Atkins is retiring in Oct. 31 after 20 years on the bench.

Cooke is a partner in the Reno law firm of McDonald, Carano, Wilson, McCune, Bergin, Frankovich and Hicks.

Cooke's late father, Tom Cooke, was a lawyer in Reno for many years and her grandfather, the late H.R. Cooke, was a mining attorney in Reno and a former president of the State Bar of Nevada.

"My father was sort of the light of my life in terms of a role model and was the kind of lawyer that anyone would aspire to be," Cooke said.

"He just had incredible integrity and decency. I hope I can follow that sort of role model that he provided for me."

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