Renee M. Finch is a Partner in Messner Reeves’ Las Vegas Litigation Practice Group. Ms. Finch’s career began as a manager overseeing claims professionals at a major insurance company. While excelling in that position, Ms. Finch also graduated in the top 20% of her class from The William S. Boyd School of Law, then put her career experience to work in the Las Vegas litigation arena. Ms. Finch’s practice is devoted largely to defending corporations, insurers and their insureds, in high-exposure cases in which claimed medical expenses and other alleged damages total in the millions. To date, she has tried 15 such cases to verdict, obtaining in each of them either complete defense verdicts or verdicts lower than the plaintiffs’ lowest settlement demand. Her practice also includes prosecuting civil actions involving insurance fraud and conspiracy among litigants and care providers. Representative clients include Massage Envy, J&B Trucking, State Farm, Allstate and Liberty Mutual. Ms. Finch also specializes in representing new and small business owners in structuring their businesses and ensuring compliance with local and state laws and risk management standards.

John C. Courtney, Esq. is an A-V Rated® Attorney, recognized locally by Nevada Business Magazine® (Legal Elite 2014, 2016) and Super Lawyers® (Mountain States Rising Star 2015-2018). As a Barrister, John recently served as the March 2016 Presentation Chairman for the Howard D. McKibben American Inn of Court. John has a proven track record of founding successful enterprises in Nevada. When John was the founding president of the Kappa Alpha Chapter (UNLV) of Kappa Sigma Fraternity, it became the largest fraternity on UNLV’s campus. John was also the founding president of the Weiner Chapter of the Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, International (P.A.D.). Under John’s leadership, the William S. Boyd School of Law (UNLV) chapter of P.A.D. became the largest private student organization in the history of the law school. While committing a considerable amount of time to organizations aimed to advance service, fellowship, leadership, and scholarship, John has continuously dedicated his time to attain the most from his formal and informal educational endeavors, and he could have never made it all happen without the support of his wife and best friend, Angela Vanzant Courtney, whom he first met nearly 30 years ago when John was an aspiring roofer.

Emily opened a solo law practice in Las Vegas in 2003 with the primary focus of family law. Since that time Emily has worked diligently to establish a reputation as a knowledgeable and aggressive attorney, gaining the respect of both her peers as well as Judges. Emily has grown her practice over the years and in 2010 gained the credential of Certified Family Law Specialist by the State Bar of Nevada. This is the top Family Law credential an attorney can obtain in Nevada. Emily is a fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and Vice President of the Nevada Chapter, fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers and an AV Preeminent Rated Attorney by Martindale Hubbell. Emily is a certified parenting coordinator and mediator, although her primary focus is litigating complex and/or contested divorce and child custody matters in southern Nevada and Nevada family law appeals. She is particularly knowledgeable in handling family law appeals, complex property division and financial issues, international child custody issues, parental kidnapping, and high conflict child custody cases. Prior to becoming an attorney, Emily worked for three years at the Tobacco Control Resource Center and Tobacco Products Liability Project in Boston, Massachusetts doing research projects on legal issues relating to tobacco. Emily has worked for the New Hampshire Department of Justice Consumer Protection Division and three law firms in Massachusetts in the areas of family law, tobacco and other toxic tort litigation, real estate, business transactions and estate planning. Emily writes children’s books for children going through family law issues and operates a publishing company for children’s books. While her practice is focused in southern Nevada, Emily is also licensed to practice in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, United States Supreme Court, United States District Court – District of Nevada, as well as all state courts in Arizona and California.

Anthony P. Sgro is a partner and founding member of Sgro & Roger, LLC. After attending the University of San Diego for both his undergraduate education and law school, Mr. Sgro returned to Las Vegas and began practicing primarily in the area of criminal defense. In short order, he became a “death qualified” attorney and focused on defending those charged with capital murder offenses. ​ After trying numerous cases, Mr. Sgro used his unique trial experience to branch out into other areas of law, including personal injury, entertainment, and business law. Remarkably, he found his trial skill set transferred to those areas as well. Since the beginning of his career, Mr. Sgro has tried over 125 jury trials in both the civil and criminal arena. Most notably, as trial counsel, Mr. Sgro secured numerous acquittals in criminal cases including acquittals in extortion cases, drug cases, sexual assault cases and murder cases. He has been awarded millions of dollars by way of jury verdicts in medical malpractice cases and in personal injury cases. He also secured the largest slip and fall personal injury verdict to be awarded against Walgreens corporation, as well as a real estate trial verdict in excess of $55 million. Notably, that same trial experience allowed him to resolve the largest settlement for a single plaintiff personal injury case in Nevada history, which exceeded $30 million. ​ Several years ago, Mr. Sgro once again expanded his practice and business interests. He had the privilege of representing, and routing Prince’s 2013 West Coast tour, which spanned 13 U.S. cities. Most recently, his legal experience has allowed him to participate in the gaming arena, including both local and overseas gaming operations. ​ Years ago, Mr. Sgro teamed up with long time friend David Roger to create the firm that exists today. Mr. Roger is the former District Attorney for all of Clark County, Nevada, and he served in that capacity for approximately 25 years.

Michael was born in Atlanta, Georgia to Roy and Karen Nixon, a geologist and a nurse practitioner, respectively. As a child, Michael enjoyed playing soccer and excelled on the field, playing for the top-level teams in Georgia, winning regional tournaments, and competing in international tournaments as well. Michael also played high school football, finishing as State Runner Up in Class AAAAA his senior season. In addition to soccer and football, Michael also ran track for his local high school, Brookwood, and held team records in the 4×100 relay before graduating in 2003 and attending Georgia Southern University. Michael knew he wanted to be a lawyer since he was 12 years old, and focused his curriculum on that pursuit, joining debate and mock trial clubs in high school, and even winning a debate tournament before focusing on varsity football and stepping away from the podium. His senior year of high school, he served as the mock trial club captain, and led his team to regionals their very first year in existence. Michael continued his pursuit of reaching law school while at GSU, majoring in Justice Studies and minoring in Philosophy. Michael served as President of the Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity and held various positions in other social and academic organizations as well. Between college and law school, Michael sold construction and industrial supplies in north Georgia, getting a feel for the blue collar world that continues to assist him in connecting with his clients today. Eventually, Michael chose Mercer University, the Walter F. George School of Law, to obtain his Juris Doctorate degree. There, he received real-world experience and practical education, also serving on the school’s national moot court teams, winning awards for best oralist his final year of law school. Michael also served on the Mercer Law Review and assisted with the law school’s mock trial teams. From Mercer, Michael was recruited by a well-established and successful insurance defense firm in Las Vegas, which is how he ended up out west after graduation. Michael’s talent and work ethic was visible to the founding partner, and he immediately entrusted Michael with high-level cases and trial experience in his very first year as a licensed attorney. Michael worked for the insurance companies for 7 years. Now, Michael works for the people. Michael’s current focus is on personal injury, bad faith, premises liability, auto accidents, slip/trip and falls, commercial claims, wrongful death, nursing home litigation and trucking/bus accidents. In his free time, Michael enjoys snowboarding, bodybuilding, standup comedy, and concerts. Michael is equally comfortable on the beach as he is in the mountains, and he truly enjoys the access to nature that Las Vegas provides. Since making the switch to represent injured plaintiffs, Michael has been recognized by the National Trial Lawyer Association as a Top 40 under 40 and a Top 100 trial attorney. As an attorney with Ladah Law Firm, Michael is proud to serve his clients and seek justice for our community.

Matthew began working in the field of Estate Planning immediately out of law school because he knew that this field was going to allow him help people in a way that would positively impact the remainder of their lives. As his practice in Estate Planning grew, so did his love for the area of law and his expertise in the field. He has now assisted countless individuals and families of all financial backgrounds protect their hard-earned assets through estate planning techniques. After a few years of practice, Matthew discovered his passion for the field of Personal Injury. Matthew realized that practicing Personal Injury combined his passion for helping individuals and for client advocacy. When individuals and corporations will not do what it right, Matthew steps in to protect the rights of individuals who stand to lose everything. He is a zealous advocate for his clients in court and has completed numerous successful jury trials. Matthew is a graduate from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and Whittier Law School. Matt is a member in good standing with the State Bar of Nevada and the California State Bar Association. Matt is admitted to practice before all District Courts in the State of Nevada, the U.S. Federal District Court for the District of Nevada, the District Courts in the State of California, the U.S. Federal District Court for the District of California, and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Attorney, Peter Mazzeo, of Mazzeo Law, LLC earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut and obtained his Juris Doctorate from Brooklyn Law School in Brooklyn, New York. Peter is a licensed personal injury trial attorney in both Nevada and New York and is the founding partner of Mazzeo Law, LLC in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is a good standing member of the State Bar of Nevada and the New York State Bar. Throughout his career, Peter has gained extensive experience in the areas of personal injury litigation, medical malpractice, insurance defense, criminal defense, bad faith claims, and contract disputes. He has litigated numerous personal injury claims arising from dangerous products, premises liability, auto injuries, and vicious animal attacks. Peter is one of Nevada’s leading trial attorneys and has been recognized as a top-tier attorney by Nevada Business Magazine[1] and top 100 attorneys in My Vegas Magazine.[2] As a Legal Elite award-winner, Peter ranks among the top three percent of attorneys in Nevada. Peter has also favorably argued complex multiple issue appeals to the Nevada Supreme Court in Carson City, Nevada and has obtained multi-million dollar settlements, for clients even without a trial.

Keen Ellsworth is practicing lawyer in the state of Nevada.

Zachary focused his law school experience on criminal law, externing with a local public defender’s office, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada, and multiple criminal defense firms. Zachary also served in the law school’s criminal defense appellate clinic, where his brief on behalf of an indigent client earned the law school’s award for excellence. After law school, Zachary relocated to Tampa, Florida where he began his career with the Hillsborough County Public Defender’s Office before moving to a highly regarded criminal defense firm in the Tampa area. He has defended individuals accused of a broad range of offenses, including DUI, battery, drug and weapons possession, sex crimes, and homicide. Zachary returned to Las Vegas in 2020. Prior to joining Sgro and Roger, he served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Ellie Roohani in the Eighth Judicial District Court, managing a split docket of criminal and civil cases. Outside of the office, Zachary enjoys traveling, playing poker, and providing long-distance support for his University of Connecticut basketball teams.

Paul W. Vanderwerken is a practicing lawyer in the state of Nevada handling Car Accident cases.