• Kierst was a trial lawyer in New Mexico for 30 years. In his last case he served as one of the Lead Counsel for the plaintiffs in the New Mexico same-sex marriage litigation, which resulted in the New Mexico Supreme Court holding that the Constitution required marriage equality. 
• He also litigated many other constitutional cases in his career, primarily when a shareholder in the firm of Eaves, Bardacke, Baugh, Kierst and Kiernan.
• Kierst was an adjunct professor of Evidence and Trial Practice at the UNM Law School for 14 years.
• He has been awarded the highest possible professional rating (AV), the State Bar's Zenith Award for professionalism education, and the ACLU’s Guardian of Liberty award.
• Kierst has received numerous recognitions from UNM student organizations for his teaching, and was three times nominated for the UNM Lecturer of the Year award.
• He serves as the department's Undergraduate Advisor, and works closely with majors and minors in completing their degree programs.
• Kierst earned his BA (Theatre Arts, ‘77), MA (Political Science, ’80) and JD (’84) all from The University of New Mexico.

Additional areas of interest
Kierst’s other interests include the American Constitution, Constitutional Law: Powers, Constitutional Law: Rights and Constitutional Law: Liberties, and Constitutional topics.