Kenneth J. McKenna

Mr. McKenna earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Nevada and his Juris Doctor from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. He was admitted to the Nevada State Bar in September 1980.

He has since practiced across the full range of Nevada’s state and federal courts: the Nevada District Courts across both urban and rural jurisdictions, the Nevada Supreme Court, the United States District Court for the District of Nevada, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit — including an argued appearance before the full eleven-judge en banc Ninth Circuit in Jespersen v. Harrah’s.

His career includes lead trial counsel in the nationally covered 1990 Judas Priest subliminal messages trial, appellate representation before the Nevada Supreme Court in capital murder proceedings under the full Eighth Amendment framework, and a First Amendment victory for Nevada Highway Patrol troopers in Moonin v. Tice now cited in the Ninth Circuit’s model jury instructions.

The practice has always been selective. Mr. McKenna accepts a limited number of matters at a flat fee, paid in full at engagement. He does not accept hourly-billing retainers. He does not handle DUI matters, misdemeanors, or routine criminal cases. He takes on matters where the stakes — liberty, assets, reputation, livelihood — justify the full commitment of a trial-ready practice.

Over four decades, Mr. McKenna has maintained an active Nevada practice and appears in the State Bar’s directory as Attorney Exempt Active, Bar No. 1676.

Mr. McKenna’s approach to litigation is summed up in his own words: “It is the ability to go to trial that creates settlement opportunities.” The flat-fee structure is not a discount — it is a discipline. It ensures that from the moment of retention, every motion that should be filed is filed; every witness who should be deposed is deposed; every investigatory lead is pursued. Preparation is never traded against billing.