Jones, Skelton & Hochuli, PLC announces the addition of six new attorneys – one Of Counsel, two lateral associates, and three recent law school graduates – expanding the firm to 88 lawyers. JSH is pleased to welcome Christopher Stuart, Tyler Kirshner, Alexander Lindvall, Nicolas Martino, Brendan Martino and Alexis Wood to the firm. 

As Of Counsel at JSH, Christopher Stuart focuses his practice on complex commercial and mass tort litigation. Chris has more than 20 years of litigation experience in cases involving bank collapses, industrial fires, floods, groundwater contamination, air contamination, and a host of other, mostly, manmade mishaps. His clients include governmental entities, financial institutions and asset management companies, and a variety of manufacturers. Chris also recently served as an editor of the MCBA’s Litigation Practice Manual. Before joining JSH, Chris consulted with the firm, and maintained his own successful private practice. Born and raised in North West England, Chris has lived and practiced law in Arizona since 1988. He earned his J.D. from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, and his A.B. in Anthropology from the University of California in Irvine.

Tyler Kirshner focuses his practice in the areas of transportation, auto, products and general liability defense. While in law school, Tyler earned a CALI Award for Constitutional Law and Patent Clinic, was a William H. Pedrick Scholar, and a College of Law Scholarship recipient. Before joining JSH as an associate, he gained valuable experience working as a student attorney in the Lisa Foundation Patent Law Clinic, as a legal extern with Arizona Technology Enterprises, as a legal intern in the firm of Luis P. Guerra, LLC, and as a summer intern with BeyondTrust. Tyler earned his J.D., cum laude, from Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, and his A.B., with College Honors, in Biology from the Washington University in St. Louis.

Alexander Lindvall focuses his practice in the areas of automobile and commercial trucking defense, products liability, wrongful death and personal injury, and general liability defense. Before joining JSH as an associate, Alex worked as a law clerk for three Valley law firms and as a legal extern for the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest. While pursuing his law degree at the Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Alex served as an articles editor of the Sports & Entertainment Law Journal, and as a research assistant for Professor Weinstein, where he contributed to the article, Free Speech and Domain Allocation. He earned his B.A., magna cum laude, in Political Science from Iowa State University, where he gained legal experience first as a teaching assistant for the Chair of the Pre-Legal Education Committee, then as Chief Justice for the ISU Supreme Court. He also received the annual Ross Talbot “Outstanding Graduating Senior Award,” and was an active member of both the Pi Sigma Alpha Honor Society and Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society.

Nicolas Martino is an associate in the firm’s Transportation, Auto, Products and General Liability Trial Group, focusing his practice in the areas of trucking and transportation, and wrongful death and personal injury defense. During law school at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Nic served as an Associate Editor of Jurimetrics: The Journal of Law, Science, and Technology. He was a participant in Moot Court competitions and worked as a research assistant for ASU’s College of Law and Energy Policy Innovation Council. Nic worked as a 2017 summer associate at JSH, and as a 2016 summer law clerk for a Phoenix commercial litigation law firm. While pursuing his B.S. in Environmental and Water Resource Economics from the University of Arizona, Nic was active in his fraternity, Kappa Sigma, and served as the President and Vice-President. He is also a Baird Scholar and Wildcat Excellence Scholar.

Brendan Melander is an associate in the firm’s General Liability and Auto Trial Group, and focuses his practice on automobile liability defense, general civil litigation, premises liability, and products liability. While earning his law degree at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, Brendan worked as a teaching assistant for a Legal Method and Writing course, and was an editor of the Sports & Entertainment Law Journal. He also earned the Daniel Cracchiolo Scholarship, and is a two-time William H. Pedrick Scholar. Before joining JSH, Brendan gained valuable experience working as a 2017 summer associate at the firm, as a judicial extern for the Honorable Kent E. Cattani, and as a legal intern for a Fortune 500 company based in Phoenix. He earned his B.S., magna cum laude, in Marketing from ASU.

Alexis Wood is an associate in the firm’s Bad Faith and Extra-Contractual Liability Trial Group where she focuses on defending insurance company clients in bad faith litigation, providing insurance coverage advice, and defending general personal injury and wrongful death actions. Before joining JSH, Lexi worked as a 2017 summer law clerk at the firm.

While attending law school at the Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Lexi participated in the Client Counseling Moot Court Competition and the Oral Argument Moot Court Competition. In her final semester of law school, she volunteered for ASU Law School’s Mediation Clinic where she served as a Justice Court mediator for more than 15 civil disputes. Lexi earned her B.A., summa cum laude, in Psychology, with a minor in Spanish, from Auburn University.

McCarthy Building Companies promotes Matt Lyons

McCarthy Building Companies Inc. (www.mccarthy.com) recently promoted Matt Lyons to vice president of preconstruction.

Previously, Lyons served as preconstruction director and has more than a decade of experience in construction with an emphasis on commercial and industrial projects. In his new role, he will provide management oversight over preconstruction processes, estimating and design management functions required during the design phase portion of our projects. His continued focus on enhancing the collaborative experience between contractor, owner and designer will remain a large part of his new role.

“Matt’s technical ability and leadership skills have contributed significantly to his leadership role on some of our most challenging projects,” said Barry Kutz, senior vice president of preconstruction services. “His commitment to the construction industry and ensuring the quality of the design phase services is regularly demonstrated in addition to his ability to provide strong leadership on many of McCarthy’s most complex high-profile projects in Arizona.”

Lyons received his bachelor’s degree in Construction Management from Northern Arizona University and accepted a position with McCarthy as an estimator upon graduation in 2007. He continues to stay involved at NAU as an active member of their Industry Advisory Board.