Jane Susskind

Contact

Direct: 775.326.4336 Office: 775.788.2000

Reno Office

jsusskind@mcdonaldcarano.com

Practice Areas

Professional Background

Jane Susskind is a member of the Commercial & Complex Litigation Practice and Appellate Practice. She is Co-Chair of McDonald Carano’s AI Task Force. She represents clients in a broad range of industries, including financial services, technology, gaming, insurance, healthcare, and government services.

Jane’s litigation experience includes developing litigation strategies, briefing, managing discovery, and taking and defending depositions. She is a highly skilled legal writer and has won many dispositive motions based on briefing alone. She has also successfully argued a variety of motions, including dispositive ones, before state and federal courts.

As a member of numerous trial teams, Jane has gained experience in all aspects of trial preparation. She has second chaired trials in Nevada state court, federal court, and private arbitration proceedings, conducting direct and cross examinations in each. Jane’s extensive appellate experience makes her an invaluable resource at trial because she provides unique and strategic guidance in anticipation of appeal.

Jane’s appellate experience is rooted in her experience as a judicial law clerk for Nevada Supreme Court Justices Ron Parraguirre, Elissa Cadish, and Mark Gibbons. In her two-plus years as a law clerk, she worked on cases in a variety of legal areas while gaining institutional knowledge about appellate practice and procedure. This enables her to draft briefs and present arguments tailored to the justices and their law clerks. She leverages this knowledge and experience to successfully represent clients before Nevada’s appellate courts and the Ninth Circuit.

Jane also dedicates her practice to serving the community through frequent pro bono work, including representing a prisoner in a jury trial through the District of Nevada’s Federal Pro Bono Program. She also significantly assisted in a civil forfeiture matter through the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada’s Pro Bono Appellate Program that included full briefing on two writ petitions for which she supported and attended oral argument before an en banc Nevada Supreme Court.

Jane earned her J.D. cum laude from the University of San Diego School of Law. She published the comment “Decrypting Democracy: Incentivizing Blockchain Voting Technology for an Improved Election System” in the San Diego Law Review and later served on its editorial board as a comment editor. While in law school, she was also a national team member of the Appellate Moot Court, a judicial extern to U.S. District Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel and U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen S. Crawford, and a legal intern at the Advancement Project in Washington, D.C.

Before law school, Jane was a senior policy consultant and media director for a non-partisan political consulting firm in California. There, she managed campaigns, including California Senate and State Assembly races. She also helped draft and pass legislation reforming San Diego elections and led award-winning public affairs campaigns.

Education and Certifications

J.D., cum laude, University of San Diego School of Law, 2018
B.A., cum laude, Provost Honors, Political Science, minor in Religious Studies, University of California, San Diego, 2011
Certification, Generative AI for the Legal Profession, Berkeley Law Executive Education, 2026

Bar Admissions

Nevada
California

Awards and Recognition

The Best Lawyers in America – “Ones to Watch” in Appellate Practice and Commercial Litigation (2023-2027)
Nevada Business Magazine – “Top Rank Attorneys” (2023-2026) and “Best Up & Coming Attorneys” (2022-2026)
Mountain States Super Lawyers – “Rising Stars” (2023-2026)
Nevada Women’s Fund – Salute to Women of Achievement Honoree (2025)

Publications

Author, “Discoverability of AI Data: Lessons From the OpenAI Litigation,” Communique’, Clark County Bar Association, September 2026
Author, “AI-Generated Deficiencies in Filings: Sanctions and How to Avoid Them,” Communique’, Clark County Bar Association, June/July 2025
Author, “Navigating Multi-Party Appeals,” The Writ, Washoe County Bar Association, May/June 2023
Author, “Understanding the Grounds of Relief from Final Judgment in Nevada,” McDonald Carano Legal Update, September 14, 2022
Researcher, “A Wynn for the Nevada Gaming Commission,” The Writ, Washoe County Bar Association, September/October 2022
Author, “Judgments” Chapter 29 of the Nevada Civil Practice Manual, 2021 updates.
Author, Decrypting Democracy: Incentivizing Blockchain Voting Technology for an Improved Election System, 54 SAN DIEGO L. REV. 785 (2017)

Presentations

Presenter, “AI 2.0 – A Deeper Dive in AI for Brokers,” Sierra Nevada REALTORS, September 29, 2026
Presenter, “Your AI Chats Can be Used Against You – What Every Realtor Needs to Know,” Sierra Nevada REALTORS, July 7, 2026
Presenter, “Business and Commercial Litigation Update for In-House Counsel,” Association of Corporate Counsel, April 15, 2026, April 17, 2025, May 22, 2024
Presenter, “Five Things to Know when Contemplating a Writ Petition,” CLE, Clark County Bar Association, January 29, 2025
“Sexual Harassment Awareness and Prevention,” seminar hosted by Associated General Contractors Nevada Chapter, February 9, 2023 and October 14, 2021

Professional Affiliations

Member, Washoe County Bar Association
Member, Northern Nevada Women Lawyers Association
McDonald Carano Representative, Meritas Emerging Leaders Program
Member, Bruce R. Thompson American Inns of Court
Member, Clark County Bar Association

Community Involvement

Pro Bono, Lawyer in the Library Program, Washoe County Law Library
Pro Bono, U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, Federal Pro Bono Program