Astutue law-school rookie quietly becomes Reno firm's leading litigator

Pat Lundvall, commercial litigation attorney and partner with the Reno law firm of McDonald Carano Wilson

LLP, started at the basics when she enrolled at McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento she had to look up definitions for "plaintiff" and "litigation" in a dictionary.

The dean of the school cited that anecdote during 1989 graduation ceremonies in which Lundvall was named valedictorian.

Lundvall was born and raised on a farm in Oakland, Neb., a town with a population of about 700. She's one of 13 children and falls in the middle of the hierarchy, with six brothers and six sisters either above or below her in age. The entire family thrived on athletic competition, and Lundvall still loves a good challenge.

"When it comes to trial work, it is nothing but intellectual competition," she says. "All trial work is a form of persuasion.

"I like the problem-solving component," she adds. "I am hugely flattered when people call me and they have a problem and they need help. It continues to be the most flattering and humbling thing in my life."

McDonald Carano Managing Partner John Frankovich says nobody in the firm or the field puts in more effort to win a case than does Lundvall.

"There is no doubt in my mind she works harder than anyone I've seen in the practice of law," Frankovich says. "She will outwork anybody on a case. She also has a really good ability to evaluate a case. She can evaluate the strengths and weakness, and she has the ability to turn perceived weaknesses into strengths.

She's very good at dealing with juries and clients and has a great ability to communicate effectively about the major issues in a case."

Growing up in a huge family lent itself to conflict resolution Lundvall's an ace leg-wrestler and jokes that on more than once occasion she's offered to go to the mat to resolve a dispute.

"Humor is one of best tools that one can apply in life," she says. "Just about the time things get tense and stressful, the best way to diffuse that is with some humor, especially if it is directed at yourself."

Lundvall earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in exercise physiology from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, and she attended law school on a whim. She rented a room in Sacramento and traveled home to her husband, Jerry Bussell, on weekends.

"Some people get lucky and find themselves, and I did," she says. "I loved law school, and I love the practice of law. I can't imagine any more fun in life than what I do. Some people get lucky in that respect, and I feel lucky."

Adds Frankovich: "She is our leading litigator. She handles major trials for the firm and has since she joined the firm with an extraordinary amount of success. She is a very competent, qualified and tough litigator."

Bussell, the first homeland security director for state of Nevada, is a former executive officer for the Army

National Guard. For a time the couple was stationed in Carson City and Las Vegas, and after tours of duty in Kansas and Pennsylvania, the two settled permanently in northern Nevada.

Lundvall loves the Silver State and its residents. "Here in Nevada I have found folks to be more tolerant than any other place I've lived. They don't care where you practice or what your clients are as long as you do a good job, work hard and do it honorably," she says.

One of the cases she takes the most pride in was representing Jensen Precast of Sparks against the national arm of the carpenter's union a case she ultimately won. "It was definitely David versus Goliath," she says. "I enjoyed great success out of that. No matter how small you are or how big the opponent, they can topple."

Lundvall never had children, and spending time with her many nieces and nephews is one of her greatest joys. For the past 10 years Lundvall has flown a horde of nieces and nephews to a dude ranch near Bridgeport, Calif., for a week of horseback riding, square dancing and soaking up the Old West lifestyle with no cell phones, televisions, computers or email.

"I live for that week," she says. "That annual trip is carved in stone. From my standpoint I tell my staff and my clients I am out of here."