If you’re wondering what it takes to be one of the Top 100 Lawyers in Arizona, experts say you might want to start subscribing to the “it takes a village” philosophy.
“Find and develop mentors and those who will serve as your champions,” says Leonardo Loo, Phoenix office managing partner for Quarles & Brady and a member of the firm’s Business Law, Finance and International Services Law practice groups. “Rarely is success achieved without the assistance and influence of others.”
Loo is among this year’s Top 100 Lawyers in Arizona. The prestigious group is chosen by Az Business magazine’s editorial team in collaboration with industry experts. The attorneys were selected from a pool of more than 2,000 of the state’s most talented and successful attorneys. Selections are based on each lawyer’s professional success and ratings, impact on his or her law firm, impact on the communities she/he serves and impact on the legal profession.
Do you know an attorney who should be considered for the 2020 list? Email Editor in Chief Michael Gossie at michael.gossie@azbigmedia.com.
Top 100 Lawyers in Arizona for 2019
Andrew Abraham
President and shareholder, Burch & Cracchiolo
Practice areas: Real estate law, real estate litigation, commercial litigation
Business advice: “Stick to the basics-listen to what your customers want, be timely and responsive. Business relationships are built on trust. Once you establish that relationship, nurture it. Be proactive. Put your clients interests ahead of all else, including your own.”
Lynne C. Adams
Partner, Osborn Maledon
Practice areas: Education law, representing charter schools, school districts, community colleges and universities
Shawn K. Aiken
Shareholder, Aiken Schenk Hawkins & Ricciardi
Practice areas: Commercial litigation, mediation, arbitration
Cindy C. Albracht-Crogan
Partner, Cohen Dowd Quigley
Practice areas: Business litigation
Thomas C. Arendt
Member, Jennings Strouss
Practice areas: Acquisition and development, leasing, and real estate workouts and foreclosures
Charles L. “Chick” Arnold
Senior partner, Frazer Ryan Goldberg & Arnold
Practice areas: Mental health law, elder law, estate planning
Mark E. Barker
Partner, Jennings Haug Cunningham
Practice areas: Business law, banking and finance, construction law, surety and fidelity law, commercial litigation
Hilary L. Barnes
Member, Allen Barnes & Jones
Practice areas: Corporate and consumer bankruptcy
Steven N. Berger
Shareholder, Engelman Berger
Practice areas: Bankruptcy and reorganization, creditor’s rights, loan workouts, business restructurings, business and real estate disputes, mediation
Keith A. Berkshire
Shareholder, Berkshire Law Office
Practice areas: Family law, appellate law
Leo Beus
Co-founder, Beus Gilbert
Practice areas: Accountant and lawyer liability, intellectual property, litigation, officer and director liability, securities and investment fraud
Maureen Beyers
Partner, Beyers Farrell
Practice areas: Business litigation and arbitration
Fay W. Bidlack
Member, Jennings Strouss
Practice areas: Business and real estate transactions, restructuring and bankruptcy, creditor’s rights, commercial litigation
Brian H. Blaney
Chair and shareholder, Phoenix Corporate Practice, Greenberg Traurig
Practice areas: Capital markets mergers and acquisitions, private equity and corporate
Nik Boca
Managing attorney, Cantor Law Group
Practice areas: Family and juvenile law
Garland A. Brown, Jr.
Co-founder, Weiss Brown
Practice areas: Technology law, intellectual property
Robin E. Burgess
Shareholder, Sanders & Parks
Practice areas: Healthcare, medical malpractice, product liability, professional liability, municipal liability
Rebecca Lynne Burnham
Of counsel, Real Estate Practice, Greenberg Traurig
Practice areas: Real estate, land development, land use, infrastructure finance, sports facilities and entertainment venues
Business advice: “Excellence in execution is a given at the top levels of this profession. In addition to serving the needs of the client today, leading practitioners also keep a close watch on the horizon, anticipating change and making the adjustments necessary to be prepared to address it when it comes.”
Anne Chapman
Attorney, Mitchell | Stein | Carey | Chapman
Practice area: White-collar criminal defense
Robert M. Charles, Jr.
Partner, Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie
Practice areas: Business bankruptcy, commercial lawsuits, business transactions
John J. Checkett
Founder, The Checkett Law Firm
Practice areas: Complex civil litigation and health care
George C. Chen
Partner and board member, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner
Practice areas: Intellectual property, including patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets
Joseph T. Clees
Shareholder, Ogletree Deakins
Practice areas: Labor and employment counseling, labor relations, employment law, litigation, trade secrets, unfair competition
Business advice: “Be humble and caring and challenge the status quo. Listen very carefully to your clients, colleagues and competitors. Recognize your limitations and compensate by surrounding yourself with the best and most diverse talent — then get out of their way.”
John R. Clemency
Shareholder, Polsinelli
Practice areas: Bankruptcy and financial restructuring, bankruptcy litigation, loan enforcement and creditor’s rights
John L. Condrey
Partner, Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani
Practice areas: Construction, insurance, environmental/toxic tort, tort and product liability, employment law, professional liability defense, commercial litigation
Jennifer Cranston
Shareholder and member of the board of directors, Gallagher & Kennedy
Practice areas: Condemnation and valuation, insurance, public utilities
Vaughn A. Crawford
Partner, Snell & Wilmer
Practice areas: Class action litigation, personal injury, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, product liability litigation, professional liability litigation
Barbara J. Dawson
Partner, Snell & Wilmer
Practice areas: Class action litigation, commercial litigation, financial services litigation, internal investigations and regulatory compliance, SEC reporting and corporate governance
William M. Demlong
Senior member, The Cavanagh Law Firm
Practice areas: Litigation, insurance coverage, bad faith litigation, products liability, personal injury
John E. DeWulf
Partner, Coppersmith Brockelman
Practice areas: Commercial litigation, securities litigation, bet-the-company litigation
John Alan Doran
Member, Sherman & Howard
Practice areas: Labor and employment, litigation, trials, appeals
Daniel G. Dowd
Partner and president, Cohen Dowd Quigley
Practice areas: Commercial litigation, administrative disputes, internal investigations
Susan M. Freeman
Partner, Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie
Practice areas: Civil appeals and business bankruptcy
Leah S. Freed
Office managing shareholder, Ogletree Deakins
Practice areas: Management-side labor and employment law
Jonathan Frutkin
Principal, Radix Law
Practice areas: Business law and commercial litigation
Business advice: “Don’t be afraid to try something new or take the lead. As a lawyer, your clients are looking to you as the assertive voice of reason. Do your research, work hard and exceed their expectations. You’ll be rewarded in the end.”
Garrick L. Gallagher
Owner and director, Sanders & Parks
Practice areas: Personal injury, mass torts, insurance litigation and coverage
Michael L. Gallagher
Co-founding partner, shareholder and member of the board of directors, Gallagher & Kennedy
Practice areas: Sports law, products liability, litigation
Grady Gammage, Jr.
Founding member, Gammage & Burnham
Practice areas: Government relations and administrative law, land use, real estate, public-private partnerships
Lauren L. Garner
Partner, Jaburg Wilk
Practice areas: Probate and trust litigation and mediation
Karen S. Gaylord
Partner, Jennings Haug Cunningham
Practice areas: Environmental law and litigation, energy and energy regulatory law, water law
John T. Gilbert
Partner, Radix Law
Practice areas: Commercial litigation, business and real estate law and business acquisitions
Paul E. Gilbert
Co-founder, Beus Gilbert
Practice areas: Transactions and litigation involving real estate development, zoning and land use law
Amy J. Gittler
Principal, Jackson Lewis
Practice areas: Employment law and labor counseling and litigation, wage and hour, non-competes and unfair competition
Business advice: “Don’t allow other people to set limits on what you can do. With hard work, you can accomplish whatever you set as your goal.”
Yale F. Goldberg
Senior partner, Frazer Ryan Goldberg & Arnold
Practice areas: Federal and state tax controversy, civil and criminal tax litigation
James Goodnow
President and managing partner, Fennemore Craig
Practice areas: Business litigation, commercial contingency litigation, litigation
Susan D. Goodwin
Member, Gust Rosenfeld
Practice areas: Public and municipal law, land use, election law, construction law
Stacey F. Gottlieb
Of counsel, Cohen Dowd Quigley
Practice areas: Complex commercial litigation, white-collar criminal defense
Timothy R. Hyland
Senior member, The Cavanagh Law Firm
Practice areas: Insurance bad faith, insurance coverage, tort and civil litigation defense
Carolyn J. Johnsen
Member, Dickinson Wright
Practice areas: Commercial bankruptcy, restructuring
Joe Kanefield
Partner, Ballard Spahr
Practice areas: Government relations, regulatory affairs and contracting, political and election law, media and entertainment law
Michael K. Kennedy
Co-founding partner, shareholder and member of the board of directors, Gallagher & Kennedy
Practice areas: Business litigation, professional liability, sports law
Geoffrey S. Kercsmar
Managing member, Kercsmar & Feltus
Practice areas: Commercial litigation, intellectual property litigation
William G. Klain
Partner, Lang & Klain
Practice areas: Business litigation and appeals
John F. Lomax, Jr.
Partner, Snell & Wilmer
Practice areas: Labor and employment, Native American affairs, energy and utilities
Business advice: “Practicing law is a long and steep learning curve. Be patient and curious.”
Leonardo Loo
Phoenix office managing partner , Quarles & Brady
Practice areas: Mergers and acquisitions, commercial financing, international transactions, securities, general corporate law
Patrick MacQueen
Founder and partner, MacQueen & Gottlieb
Practice areas: Real estate transactional law and real estate litigation
Gerald Maltz
Shareholder and president, Miller Pitt Feldman & McAnally
Practice areas: Business litigation
Michael C. Manning
Partner, Stinson Leonard Street
Practice areas: Business litigation, antitrust, governance, risk and compliance, real estate litigation
Nicole Maroulakos Goodwin
Phoenix office managing shareholder, Greenberg Traurig
Practice areas: Business litigation, financial services litigation, real estate litigation
Michelle Ray Matheson
Partner, Matheson & Matheson
Practice areas: Labor and employment, including wrongful termination, harassment, discrimination, retaliation, severance agreements, non-compete agreements and unpaid wage claims
Karen C. McConnell
Partner, Ballard Spahr
Practice areas: Mergers and acquisitions, private equity, securities and capital markets
Paul J. McGoldrick
Partner, Shorall McGoldrick Brinkmann
Practice areas: Mediation, arbitration, civil litigation, personal injury, professional liability
Tracy A. Miller
Shareholder, Ogletree Deakins
Practice areas: Represents management in all facets of labor and employment law and civil rights
Pedro J. Miranda
Office managing partner, Squire Patton Boggs
Practice areas: Public and infrastructure finance
Jason Barclay Morris
Partner, Withey Morris
Practice areas: Land use and zoning, real estate transactions, government affairs, liquor law, professional and business licensing
Business advice: “The most important advice I would offer is, the significance of relationships. Phoenix is a small town from a real estate prospective so your relationships and good reputation can help you advance, or will be the quickest path to your decline.”
Douglas C. Northup
Director, chair of Business Litigation Practice Group, Fennemore Craig
Practice areas: Business litigation, commercial contingent fee litigation, insurance coverage for policyholders, business and personal injury tort litigation
Christina M. Noyes
Member, Gust Rosenfeld
Practice areas: Business law, entity formation and structure, mergers and acquisitions, franchisor and franchisee transactional representation, trademark and copyright
Edward F. Novak
Shareholder, Polsinelli
Practice areas: Government investigations, commercial litigation, healthcare litigation, attorney discipline, white-collar criminal defense
Randy Nussbaum
Attorney, Sacks Tierney
Practice areas: Bankruptcy, debtor and creditor rights, trustee representation, commercial litigation, real estate law, construction litigation
Shawn Oller
Office managing shareholder, Littler
Practice areas: Represents management and companies in all aspects of employment litigation arbitration and mediation
Pamela Overton Risoleo
Shareholder, Litigation, Greenberg Traurig
Practice areas: Class action litigation, products liability and mass tort, litigation, trial practice
Scott I. Palumbo
Founding partner, Palumbo Wolfe & Palumbo
Practice areas: Personal injury and wrongful death
Steven D. Pidgeon
Co-managing partner, DLA Piper
Practice areas: Mergers and acquisitions, capital markets and general corporate
Steven Plitt
Senior member, The Cavanagh Law Firm
Practice areas: Insurance law and insurance benefits, insurance litigation
Jody K. Pokorski
Partner, Snell & Wilmer
Practice areas: Real estate acquisitions, development and dispositions, leasing, master-planned communities and subdivisions, project finance
Stephanie Quincy
Partner, Quarles & Brady
Practice areas: Labor and employment, trade secrets and unfair competition, financial institutions litigation, trade secrets
Business advice: “Be a sponge – soak in everything about the partners you work with (and the partners you don’t), the firm’s clients, current events and both the legal and business communities locally, regionally and even nationally that you can. And, get a mentor, or even a few.”
Joseph P. Richardson
Member, Gammage & Burnham
Practice areas: Business organizations and commercial transactions
Cynthia A. Ricketts
Co-founding partner, Sacks Ricketts & Case
Practice areas: Complex contract and commercial litigation, consumer class action defense
Thomas J. Salerno
Partner, Stinson Leonard Street
Practice areas: Bankruptcy and restructuring
Darin Sender
Founding partner and attorney, Sender
Practice areas: Zoning and land use law
Nonnie L. Shivers
Shareholder, Ogletree Deakins
Practice areas: Employment law, management litigation, labor and employment
Bradley Shwer
Founding partner, Thorpe Shwer
Practice areas: Business and commercial litigation, personal injury defense, franchise litigation, products liability
Leon Silver
Managing partner, Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani
Practice areas: Commercial litigation, retail and hospitality, privacy, data and cybersecurity, securities litigation, employment litigation
Business advice: “Whether you are putting on a case or trying to grow an office, you have to stick to the principles that you believe most important. You may fail, but you will find that failing on your own terms, teaches, while just doing what someone tells you to do holds little value.”
K. Thomas Slack
Partner, Beale Micheaels Slack & Shughart
Practice areas: Represents plaintiffs in catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases including trucking, automobile, railroad crossing and workplace accidents
Wendi A. Sorensen
Shareholder, Burch & Cracchiolo
Practice areas: Personal injury and wrongful death Litigation, mediation and arbitration
Sheryl A. Sweeney
Shareholder, Ryley Carlock & Applewhite
Practice areas: Energy, water, environmental, electric utility and special taxing districts law
Christopher D. Thomas
Partner, Perkins Coie
Practice areas: Environmental and natural resource permitting and related federal, state and administrative litigation
Debora Verdier
Partner, Manning & Kass, Ellrod, Ramirez, Trester
Practice areas: Employment law-defense
E. Jeffrey Walsh
Shareholder, commercial litigation, Greenberg Traurig
Practice areas: Commercial litigation, construction law, real estate litigation, trial practice, arbitration and mediation
Kathleen L. Wieneke
Partner, Wieneke Law Group
Practice areas: Governmental liability defense, employment law
Paul M. Weiser
Managing shareholder, Arizona office, Buchalter
Practice areas: Commercial real estate
Scott K. Weiss
Attorney, Weiss Brown
Practice areas: Corporate and securities, financing, mergers and acquisitions
Christine Whalin
Partner and certified criminal law specialist, DM Cantor
Practice areas: Criminal defense
Nancy L. White
Partner, Steptoe
Practice areas: Corporate, mergers and acquisitions, finance, insolvency and restructuring
Dennis Wilenchik
Member and manager, Wilenchik & Bartness
Practice areas: Complex civil litigation, business and real estate law, contract and business disputes, criminal law, civil and criminal appeals
Lawrence E. Wilk
Shareholder, Jaburg Wilk
Practice areas: Bankruptcy litigation, creditor’s rights, workouts, financial fraud, Ponzi schemes, real estate and foreclosure
Susan M. Wissink
Director, management committee member, chair of Fennemore Craig Foundation, Fennemore Craig
Practice areas: Corporate and mergers and acquisitions
Business advice: “The best lawyers are not only smart and driven, but understand their client’s businesses and try to help their clients accomplish their goals. Also, the difference between a good lawyer and a great lawyer, in my opinion, is the great lawyer volunteers in the community to help those in need.”
Mark G. Worischeck
Managing shareholder, Sanders & Parks
Practice areas: Insurance coverage, aviation, personal injury
Joyce K. Wright
Partner, Snell & Wilmer
Practice areas: Commercial real estate, corporate and finance transactions, zoning and land use, master-planned communities and subdivisions, renewable energy
Cathleen Yu
Chair of Phoenix Business Law Practice Group and national Investor Services Team, Quarles & Brady
Practice areas: Business law, investor services, mergers and acquisitions, tax-exempt organizations, corporate governance and compliance, commercial contracting
Kurt M. Zitzer
Partner, Meagher & Geer
Practice areas: Insurance coverage, commercial litigation, professional liability
