Judge William Cobb was appointed a United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Nevada on September 4, 2011. Prior to his appointment to the federal bench, he was managing and senior partner of the civil litigation law firm of Erickson, Thorpe & Swainston, Ltd., where he practiced law for 33 years. Judge Cobb was formerly a deputy district attorney in the Washoe County District Attorney’s office. A native of Nevada, he attended the University of Nevada, Reno, and the Lewis & Clark Law School. He served in the US Army Reserves (Captain, Air Defense Artillery). While engaged in the practice of law, Judge Cobb was a Nevada lawyer delegate to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference (Chair, 1991). He is a former president of the Thompson Inn of Court and was honored as a Master Emeritus of the Inn, and is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates. He served as a Nevada Supreme Court Settlement Judge for 14 years and was also a Judge Pro Tempore of Nevada’s “Short Trial” program. Judge Cobb was a member of the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education. He and his wife Cathy, who is a CPA with Kafoury Armstrong & Co. (a firm her father founded in 1941), have four children and three grandchildren. Judge Cobb maintains his chambers in Reno.