Justin Carley

Criminal law. Tax law. Environmental law. Immigration law. Dispute resolution.

There are so many unique and varied specialties in the legal industry that it’s not uncommon for students to arrive at law school undecided on which fork in the career road to take.

Justin Carley, however, was one of the exceptions. When he got to the William S. Boyd School of Law at UNLV in 2003, Carley thought he knew what he was going to do with his juris doctor: not practice law.

“I went to law school thinking I wanted to be in the FBI or possibly become a sports agent, and I thought a JD would provide flexibility toward those or other options,” Carley says.

A year into law school, Carley was still holding firm to that plan, even as he agreed to work as a summer clerk at the Las Vegas-based law offices of Snell & Wilmer.

“I did it just to see what it was like,” he says. “I was expecting not to like it and confirm that the FBI or sports agent routes were the way to go. But I was proven wrong. Not only did I enjoy it, but I ended up working at that firm for 13 more years.”

The first of those years were spent litigating cases for a variety of clients in a variety of settings. Eventually, though, Carley settled into Snell & Wilmer’s commercial litigation division, handling everything from construction contracts and real property sales and leases to business and investment disputes.

Then after making partner, Carley went to work broadening his skill set beyond litigation. In so doing, he began to consider switching career gears — going from handling multiple clients for a large law firm to serving one “client” as in-house counsel for a sole corporation.

Ultimately, Carley did just that when he accepted a position with The Howard Hughes Corp. And that’s where his legal skills began to intersect with his love of sports.

Not only is The Howard Hughes Corp. responsible for developing the master-planned community of Summerlin in northwest Las Vegas, but up until late this past summer, it owned the Las Vegas Aviators’ Triple-A baseball team and Las Vegas Ballpark, which opened in 2019 and is the facility that the Aviators call home.

“When I was in law school, or even as a young lawyer afterwards, the Las Vegas market didn’t offer many career opportunities in sports law,” Carley says. “So when I was at Snell & Wilmer, I took what little sports work came my way.”

Then came the Las Vegas professional sports boom, which started with the arrival of the Vegas Golden Knights, a new NHL franchise that debuted in 2017 as the city’s first major professional team. Three years later, a second such franchise arrived when the NFL’s Raiders relocated from Oakland.

Following the team’s second season in Las Vegas in 2021, the Raiders’ front office underwent an overhaul. Included was the historic hiring of Boyd Law School alumna Sandra Douglass Morgan as team president in July 2022 (Morgan became  the first black female team president in NFL history).

Although their time at Boyd didn’t overlap, Morgan and Carley were professional acquaintances. So when the general counsel position with the Raiders opened, Morgan offered Carley a chance to apply. He did, got the job, and has been overseeing the Raiders’ legal department as senior vice president and general counsel since October 2022.

Such a high-pressure role of course comes with great responsibilities, all of which Carley takes seriously. One of those responsibilities? Grooming the next generation of professional lawyers interested in pursuing sports law. Which is why select Boyd Law School students now have the opportunity to intern with Carley and his team.

That’s just one example of how Carley has maintained a connection to his alma mater throughout his professional career. Other examples: He has been a guest speaker in classes, served as a student mentor, conducted mock interviews, allowed Boyd students to shadow him, and arranged for the Raiders to host students from the school’s Sports and Entertainment Law Association for a headquarters tour.

In addition to volunteering his time, Carley has contributed generously to the law school’s scholarship fund-raising efforts.

These magnanimous gestures toward the Boyd School of Law — along with other community service efforts such as chairing the Nevada Bar Association’s clothing drive and championing women’s sports initiatives — simply reflect Carley’s pay-it-forward philosophy.

“Anything that I’ve done [for others] was once done for me,” says Carley, who received the Dean’s Award for outstanding academics and commitment to community service when he graduated. “I firmly believe that to be successful at anything in life you have to give more than you take.”

When did attending law school become part of the plan, and why did you choose Boyd?

I started thinking about law school during my last year of undergraduate studies at Rhode Island College, when I wasn’t sure what was next after graduation. Even then, law school was just an option I was considering, not a real plan.

When the time came to select a law school, I was in Hawai’i and planned to go to the University of Hawai’i. But UNLV was a second option that went above and beyond in recruiting, so I came to Boyd.

What course at Boyd did you lean on most to set you up for early-career success?

Trial practice. It changed everything, because I thought I wanted to be a transactional attorney. But this class made me realize I could be comfortable and confident as a litigator. I have to thank professor and attorney Bruce Alverson for that. 

What are the biggest challenges of being general counsel for an NFL franchise, and what are the greatest rewards?

The greatest challenge is keeping up with the wide variety of outside interests that must be considered while handling the inside business areas that need sound legal advice — and need it quickly — all within the context of a wildly popular sport, league, and team that are constantly evolving.

The greatest rewards come when the team wins on the field and the organization wins in the community through the efforts of our community relations group, youth football development program, and the Raiders Foundation.

What does Las Vegas’ growth as a professional sports town mean for the legal community in general and Boyd Law as an institution?

More options — and they’re already here. When I was at Boyd, there were no major league pro sports teams in Las Vegas, just minor league baseball and minor league hockey. So if a student really wanted to get into pro sports, it was likely they would have to leave town. That’s no longer the case.

Dating back to your days as a law student and throughout your professional career, you’ve been dedicated to community service. This includes taking on no-fee legal cases. What’s your message to Boyd Law students about the importance of doing pro bono work?

There will be lots of chances to represent clients that pay, but in the end, it isn’t always about making money. In fact, the most rewarding case I ever litigated was a pro bono case.

You likely benefited from some important advice when you were a student and/or early in your career. But what’s the worst piece of professional advice you received?

I was once told I needed to reconsider whether being a lawyer was right for me, simply because I wasn’t doing it the way that person thought was the only way. I did reconsider, but concluded that person was wrong. So I committed even more.

A recent Boyd graduate who is hoping to enjoy a long, successful legal career asks you for one “must do” and one “must don’t”. What’s your response?

Must do: Give yourself as many options as possible.

Must don’t: Do not let anyone or anything ruin your reputation.