Jose A. Cardenas Elected as Director of Southwest Gas Corporation

LAS VEGAS, Aug. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:  SWX) announced that Jose A. Cardenas was elected as a member of the Board of Directors of the Company on August 2, 2011.  Mr. Cardenas, 58, will serve on the Audit and Pension Plan Investment Committees of the Board.

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Mr. Cardenas was named Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Arizona State University effective January 2009.  In addition to serving as chief legal officer of the University, he is responsible for management of ASU Audit and Advisory Services and serves as a University representative on and to the boards of directors of ASU affiliated and related entities such as the ASU Foundation.  Mr. Cardenas is a native of Las Vegas, Nevada.  He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1974 and a law degree from Stanford University Law School in 1977.  He joined the Phoenix based law firm of Lewis and Roca in 1978, following a one-year federal district court clerkship.  After becoming a partner in the firm in 1982, Mr. Cardenas served in numerous management roles, including as the firm's managing partner from 1999 to 2003.  During this time, Lewis and Roca opened its Las Vegas office.  In 2003, Mr. Cardenas was named the firm's first chairman and continued in this position through 2008.

Mr. Cardenas has been admitted to practice law in Arizona, California, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court and is a member of various bar associations including the Hispanic National Bar Association.  Mr. Cardenas' many community activities include his service as chairman of the Translational Genomics Research Institute, chairman of the O'Connor House, and as a Trustee of the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust.

SOURCE Southwest Gas Corporation