Meet Our Chairperson, Board of Governors

Douglass Mitchell
Partner, Boies Schiller

Douglass A. Mitchell specializes in commercial litigation and federal criminal litigation.

Doug was appointed to the position of mentor by the Nevada Federal District Court Judges in 1995 where he trains and prepares defense attorneys to practice criminal law in the Federal District Court for the District of Nevada.

He has served as Chairman of the Attorney Advisory Committee on Implementation of CM/ECF electronic case filing system for the Nevada Federal District Court. Doug is also a member of the Local Working Group on Electronic Technology in the Criminal Justice System for the Federal District Court.

Reason you became a lawyer: 
It just seemed the natural thing for me to do.
 
Most interesting case:
A real estate partnership dissolution case between Engelbert Humperdink and a man named Dennis Roberts, who used to design eye and sun glasses for people like Elvis Presley, Elton John, and, of course, Engelbert Humperdink. 

The litigation lasted more than 10 years, was tried during pieces and parts of four separate years, and had the kind of characters and circumstances I doubt I'll ever see again. 
 
Where will we be with e-discovery in five years? 
Perhaps not in five years, but certainly within ten, I see e-discovery tools and practices becoming as familiar and easy as the bankers box and the photocopier were five years ago. 

Currently, we are in a state of transition - moving from a paper-based world to a digital one.  It always takes a few years for lawyers to catch up to transitions by developing new tools, new practices, and new skill sets, but we eventually do. 
 
How do you see The OLP impacting the legal field: 
Any significant transition, such as the current transition to e-discovery, needs an authoritative and credible leader to define standards of performance and develop a way of identifying competency within those standards.  Both consumers and vendors benefit greatly when such leadership is present.  

Effective and efficient markets demand it.  The transition time is shorter, the path is clearer, and the end result of the effort to transition is more satisfying.  The OLP will be that leader.

How do you survive summers in Las Vegas? 
After living here for a few years, one's blood thins and you barely notice it's summer . . . until the temperature reaches about 115° F.  Of course, it helped to drive around Las Vegas with the windows down and without air conditioning for a summer or two - after that, nothing was hot anymore! 
  
What you do on a lazy Saturday afternoon: 
Hang out with my children . . . at least as many of them as are in town at that time.

Advice for the youngin's coming up in the field: 
Work hard.  Pay your dues and learn from the bottom up.  Never think any task is beneath you, even if you think it "should" be.  Don't underestimate your adversary or overestimate yourself.  And, most importantly, always try your best to do the right thing, at the right time, for the right reasons.