In the 1962 California gubernatorial election, Nixon lost to incumbent Democrat Edmund G. “Pat” Brown, the father of Jerry Brown. Nixon bitterly told the press after the loss: “You won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore, because, gentleman, this is my last press conference.”

Nixon practiced law in New York at the law firm of Nixon, Mudge, Rose, Guthrie, and Alexander from 1963 to 1968. The firm dissolved in 1995. During his time with the firm, he argued Time v. Hill (1967), an invasion of privacy case against the press, before the U.S. Supreme Court.