Ex-Montana solicitor general taking same post in Nevada

LAS VEGAS — Attorney General-elect Adam Laxalt has selected the former solicitor general of Montana to serve in the same role in Nevada.

Laxalt announced Wednesday that he’d appointed Lawrence VanDyke to the post, which involves defending the state in cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

VanDyke previously served as assistant solicitor general in Texas, and as a constitutional and appellate lawyer in the firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, which is headquartered in Los Angeles.

He graduated from Harvard Law School in 2005 and has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering.

VanDyke lost an expensive Montana Supreme Court race in November against incumbent Mike Wheat. Outside spending in the nonpartisan race totaled around $1.4 million. VanDyke was largely backed by the Washington, D.C.-based Republican State Leadership Committee, which also supported Laxalt.