Jeffrey Sobel

Jeffrey David Sobel, died Friday, June 9, 2006, after a brief battle with stomach cancer. He was born Oct. 23, 1943, in Chicago, to Irwin and Annette Sobel. Raised in the San Fernando Valley, Jeff graduated from San Fernando Valley State College, cum laude, in 1965. He completed law school at the University of California, Berkeley (Boalt Hall) where he was order of the coif and served on the Law Review. During senior year he was a Note and Comment editor of the Law Review in charge of Constitutional and Criminal Law. He graduated fifth in his class of 250 in 1968. In 1969, Jeff moved to Las Vegas. He worked as deputy public defender and chief deputy in the Clark County Public Defenders Office. From 1973 to 1990 Jeff worked in private practice concentrating on criminal defense, business and domestic litigation. In 1990, he was elected to the Eighth Judicial District Court and reelected in 1996. After 2002, Jeff worked as a private mediator and arbitrator. Admitted to both the Nevada and California bars, Jeff served on many associations including Clark County Criminal Defense Attorneys Association, charter co-chairman; Clark County Bar Association, Chairman Judicial Evaluation Committee; Nevada Bar Association, Board of Governors; Nevada Trial Lawyers Association, Board of Governors, secretary, vice president, president-elect and president; American Trial Lawyers Association, American Board of Criminal Lawyers, Fellow, Board of Governors and vice president; Nevada Attorneys for Criminal Justice, vice president. From 1982 to 1984, Jeff worked as a food critic for Las Vegas Magazine and in 1999 for Las Vegas Weekly. One of his great joys in life was food and wine. He was an unabashed "foodie" and loved reading about food, restaurants and chefs, Jeff was thrilled Las Vegas was becoming a restaurant capital. He would (and did) plan entire vacations around restaurants and meals. One of the highlights of this passion was the five week honeymoon Jeff and his wife Susan took, driving and eating their way from Rome to Paris. It was his dream trip. They made similar "eating" vacations to San Francisco, New Orleans, New York City and driving through the eastern part of Canada. Jeff and Susan also liked to plan and take golf trips where they combined their love of golfing with his love of eating. Additionally, Jeff loved Jazz, classical guitar and Van Morrison. He and Susan would travel the west coast going to Van Morrison concerts, meeting with other "Van fans", many of them becoming part of their family. Perhaps his greatest joy was reading a good book surrounded by his wife and beloved cats, (the BooBoos). Jeff was a great animal lover and would never turn away an animal in need. Jeff was generous to a fault (in so many ways), always defending the underdog and those less fortunate, he despised bullies in any form and those who would use their power and/or status to abuse or take advantage of others. He was known for his truly spectacular mind, his very singular sense of humor, his high personal code of ethics and his love and affection for his family and friends. Everyone who knew Jeff has a "Jeff story." Jeff is survived by his wife, of 15 years, Susan (Meinhold); his mother and father, Annette and Irwin; sister, Judith (Steve) Brooks; son, Steven; daughter, Jennifer; as well as his aunt and uncle, Robert and Sherma Shelley. He is also survived by his in-laws, Letty and Al Meinhold; sisters-in-law, cousins, nieces and his beloved cats. A non-sectarian memorial service will be at 4 p.m. Saturday, July 1, at the Church of Religious Science, 1420 E. Harmon, Las Vegas. In lieu of flowers the family asks that contributions be made to Heaven Can Wait Animal Sanctuary 702-227-5555 and/or Las Vegas Valley Humane Society 702-434-2009.