Magistrate Judge Elayna Youchah was a private civil litigator for approximately 25 years after completing a clerkship with the Honorable Lawrence R. Leavitt (Ret.) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada. Immediately prior to joining the bench, Judge Youchah was an equity partner with Jackson Lewis, where her practice focused on labor and employment law.
During and before Judge Youchah’ s many years in the civil practice of law, she has been a dedicated advocate for children through Guardian ad Litem, Court Appointed Special Advocates Office, and the Children’s Aid Program sponsored by the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada. Judge Youchah is also involved in animal rescue when time allows.
Judge Youchah graduated Order of the Coif from the University of Southern California School of Law in 1993. She graduated with distinction with a A.B from the University of Michigan in 1980 and received a master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Washington in 1983. Among the positions Judge Youchah held as a social worker were Director of the Wake County Juvenile Delinquency Project in Raleigh, North Carolina, Foster Home Coordinator for Casey Family Foundation in Seattle, Washington, and the social worker for one of King County’s (Seattle, Washington) public defender offices, creating and coordinating alternative sentencing options for adjudicated juvenile offenders.