New city attorney appointed

Boyd Law School grad a 'normal' guy who 'loves his work'

AMANDA LLEWELLYN/VIEWNewly appointed North Las Vegas city attorney Nicholas Vaskov sits in his office on Aug. 26. Vaskov was promoted after former city attorney Carie Torrence resigned. Advertisement

Newly appointed North Las Vegas city attorney Nicholas Vaskov is a lot like that shy guy in your high school biology class senior year.

You know, the brainy one with all the answers who wore nothing but pressed slacks, tucked-in dress shirts and bifocals.

The guy who seemed to be so bright, straight-laced and normal that you could clearly picture the incessantly flashing neon sign above his head proclaiming "winner."

It's a comparison Vaskov said he weathers with pride.

"I'm pretty normal," he said. "That's the one word I think I could use to describe myself. I love my work. I love my family. Not too many outrageously interesting things about me."

Vaskov grew up in Missouri and New Mexico, the son of an engineer and an intensive care nurse.

After graduating from high school, he lived with a friend's family in South Africa for more than a year, an experience he describes as one of the greatest adventures of his life.

Vaskov moved to Las Vegas in the mid-1990s to attend UNLV, where he met his wife of nine years, Tiffany.

Vaskov graduated with a degree in biology in 1998 and went on to attend the Boyd School of Law, from which he graduated in 2002.

Vaskov said that it was never a childhood dream to attend law school, but when he graduated with a bachelor's degree, he wasn't really sure what he wanted to do.

"It was an exciting thing because the law school on campus had just opened, so I decided to apply on a whim," he said. "Then, I was accepted."

Vaskov said that he enjoyed law school, and after just a few weeks of classes, knew that he'd found his calling.

Vaskov eventually went to work for a private firm, where he specialized in land use and development litigation.

"I enjoyed private practice and spent three years there," he said. "But when I saw a city position had come open, I wanted to make the move."

Vaskov has worked for the city for nearly five years and was promoted last month from assistant city attorney to city attorney after Carie Torrence resigned to move to the East Coast.

"I am proud of the team that Nick and I have built," Torrence said during her last City Council meeting. "I know that I am leaving the city in more than capable hands."

Vaskov said that as city attorney, he is responsible for providing legal advice and comment on the risks associated with policy directives of city council members.

"I'm very excited," he said. "But I think that my responsibilities now will just be an extension of what I'm already doing."

Tiffany Vaskov said that despite her husband's decidedly mild-mannered façade, the father of three does possess some quirky personality traits.

"He's just cute," she said. "He ties his shoes funny. He's obsessed with organizing our garage. He actually mops the floor. We get comments from neighbors about just how clean our garage is."

Vaskov, who said that the best part of his life is his young family, said that in five years he hopes to still be doing what he is doing.

"I'd say that I am really happy with where I am in my life," he said. "And I hope that five years from now, nothing has changed."

Contact North Las Vegas and Downtown View reporter Amanda Llewellyn at allewellyn@viewnews.com or 380-4535.