Dr. Brittnie Watkins is a partner at Claggett & Sykes practicing mass torts litigation.

Dr. Watkins’s litigation practice is informed by her extensive educational background, among other pursuits. She earned two bachelor’s degrees from Michigan State University, with high honor in psychology and with honor in criminal justice. She also holds a Master’s in Criminal Justice, Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Psychology, Juris Doctor, and Master of Laws in Gaming Law and Regulation from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). Her academic honors include selection to the Nevada Law Journal, a top 30% law school ranking, Dean’s List honors, the Barbara Buckley Community Service Award, and the Roosevelt Fitzgerald Award for Outstanding Scholarship and Leadership. Adding to her academic accolades, Dr. Watkins’s trailblazing doctoral dissertation on witness testimony was bestowed the Dissertation of the Year Award.

After earning her J.D. and Ph.D. simultaneously, Dr. Watkins went to work for the Supreme Court of Nevada, where she served as a judicial law clerk to Justice Michael Douglas (Ret.) and helped the court make precedential legal determinations. After clerking, she joined Pisanelli Bice to practice complex commercial litigation at the trial and appellate levels. As a litigator involved in several high-profile cases, she was recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America, among other recognitions as a top legal advocate.

As an avid community advocate, Dr. Watkins has contributed hundreds of hours to pro bono representation and served on boards for public and private entities. She was elected to two, consecutive terms on the board of the Las Vegas Chapter of the National Bar Association, was appointed as an editor for the Clark County Bar Association, and, in 2020, became the first Black woman elected to the State Bar of Nevada Board of Governors in the state bar’s nearly 100-year history.

Dr. Watkins was appointed to the Nevada Gaming Control Board in May 2021 by former Governor Steve Sisolak and was later appointed to serve as chair and executive director. As part of the three-member board for the world’s most experienced gaming regulatory body, Dr. Watkins played a vital role in overseeing gaming regulation in Nevada, from suitability investigations to auditing and enforcement actions that ensure the stability and growth of the industry. She completed her four-year term on the board in January 2025.

Dr. Watkins’s professional experiences as a preeminent gaming regulator, high stakes business litigator, and Supreme Court of Nevada law clerk brought her opportunities to deliberate among some of the best legal minds in a variety of fields. Moreover, her educational background, which includes the study of human cognition and perception, provides a unique perspective for understanding the behavior and mental processes that play out in the courtroom. The insights and skills forged by these experiences amount to unparalleled advocacy on behalf of her clients.

Born and raised in Battle Creek, Michigan as a diehard student-athlete, educated and trained in Las Vegas, Nevada as an academic and attorney, Dr. Watkins credits the work ethic she honed growing up on the courts and fields of her hometown with the success she replicates in her career. She embraces the popular basketball idiom “leave it on the court” because it captures precisely the dogma needed to triumph in any matter, on or off the court. Dr. Watkins was recently inducted into the Battle Creek Central Hall of Fame for excellence in athletics, academics, and the arts in recognition of the example of all-around excellence she has left in her trail. She continues to blaze a trail of excellence championing her clients’ causes as a member of the mass torts team at Claggett & Sykes.