Hon. Elissa F. Cadish is a justice of the Supreme Court of Nevada. She was elected to the seat in 2018.
Cadish received a B.A. in political science from the University of Pennsylvania in 1986. She went on to earn a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1989. While at law school, she was awarded the Order of the Coif and also served as a member of the Virginia Law Review.
Upon graduating with her law degree, Cadish began a clerkship with the Hon. Philip M. Pro of the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada.
After her clerkship, she entered into private practice. She first worked as a commercial litigation associate with Jolley, Urga, Wirth & Woodbury (1991 to 1995) before joining Hale, Lane, Peek, Dennison & Howard, where she would later be named a shareholder in 2000. Cadish continued in her commercial litigation practice and also handled employment law matters.
She was appointed to serve as a Lawyer Representative to the United States District Court in 2006. As such, Cadish acted as a liaison between the bench and bar, helped plan the District Court Conference, and represented the district at the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference.
Then, in 2007, she received an appointment from former Governor Jim Gibbons to serve as a judge for the Eighth Judicial District Court. At the time, Cadish filled the vacancy created by the retirement of Joseph Bonaventure (Ret.). While on the District Court bench, Cadish presided over a civil and criminal split calendar until her election to the State’s Supreme Court.
She received a nomination to the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada by President Barack Obama in 2012, though her nomination was returned without confirmation in 2013.
Cadish served as a past-president of the Southern Nevada Association of Women Attorneys (2004 to 2006) and was a master in the Howard D. McKibben Inn of Court. She also held memberships with the Federal Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and the Clark County Bar Association.
Also, in 2017, Cadish received an appointment to the Nevada Rules of Civil Procedure Committee to review civil rules and procedures for the Nevada Courts and implement rule revisions.
She is married and has two children. Some of her hobbies include reading mystery novels, working SuDoKu puzzles, and spending time with her family.