Associate Dean Gary Birnbaum

     Gary Birnbaum, an Associate Dean at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, is among the best lawyers in the Southwest, according to a recent publication.
     Birnbaum, managing director at Mariscal Weeks McIntyre & Friedlander, P.A. in Phoenix and Associate Dean for Program Development and Graduate Studies, is on the list of Top 50 Arizona attorneys in the 2007 edition of "Southwest Super Lawyers 2007," a magazine distributed by the publishers of "Law & Politics" and recently distributed as a special advertising supplement to the New York Times . Joining Birnbaum are five College of Law alumni: Monica L. Goebel, Steptoe & Johnson; Ed Hendricks, Meyer Hendricks; David L. Lansky, also of Mariscal Weeks; Susan K. Smith, Olsen-Smith; and Lesa J. Storey, Greenberg Traurig.
     The list includes lawyers in Arizona who received the highest point totals in the balloting, research and blue ribbon review process conducted by Minneapolis-based "Law & Politics." More than 130 other attorneys with ties to the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law were listed on the "Southwest Super Lawyers 2007 List," including adjunct faculty, alumni and members of the Council of 100, a development arm of the law school.
     While such peer recognition is welcome, Birnbaum said, the more significant gratification comes from the number of colleagues from the College of Law who were also honored.
     "As an Associate Dean at the College of Law, I am particularly pleased by the number of leading attorneys who are associated with the law school," he said. "In particular, this publication demonstrates the extraordinary quality and reach of our adjunct faculty programs."
     Patricia White, Dean of the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, said the list is a clear indication of the mutually beneficial relationship enjoyed by the practicing legal community and the College.
     "We benefit immeasurably from the legal talent which the leaders of our legal community contribute to us as teachers and mentors to our students," White said. "And Arizona, as a whole, has benefited enormously from the talented lawyers we have trained."
     Twenty-three attorneys on the Southwest Super Lawyers 2007 list, including Birnbaum, are adjunct faculty members at the College. They are:  James Belanger (Lewis and Roca); John Becker (Becker & House); and U.S. Attorney John Tuchi, all alumni; and David Bodney (Steptoe & Johnson); Howard Ross Cabot (Perkins Coie Brown & Bain); Larry Hammond (Osborn Maledon), and Michael Berman (Perkins Coie Brown &Bain), all Council of 100 members.
     Other adjunct faculty members listed are Beth Schermer (Coppersmith Gordon Schermer & Brockelman); Bruce Meyerson (Miller LaSota & Peters); Charles Blanchard (Perkins Coie Brown & Bain); David Paige (Quarles & Brady); David Tierney (Sacks Tierney); Ed Novak (Quarles & Brady); Frank Long (Stinson Morrison Hecker); Geoff Sturr (Osborn Maledon); Grady Gammage Jr. (Gammage & Burnham); Jones Osborn II (Osborn Maledon); Mark Harrison (Osborn Maledon); Mike Holden (Holden Brodman); Paul Burns (Gallagher & Kennedy); Roger Morris (Quarles & Brady); and Stephen Case (Titus Brueckner & Gerry).
     These alumni, also Council of 100 members, were listed:  Barry MacBan (MacBan Law Offices); Gerald Gaffaney (Mariscal Weeks McIntyre & Friedlander); James Harrison (O'Steen & Harrison); Jonathan James (Perkins Coie Brown & Bain); Lee Stein (Perkins Coie Brown & Bain); Marty Harper (Shughart Thomson & Kilroy); Michael Gallagher (Gallagher & Kennedy); and Sheila Carmody (Snell & Wilmer).
     Other listed alumni are:  Robert Milligan (Gallagher & Kennedy); Andrew Abraham (Burch & Cracchiolo); Annette Burns; Barry Becker; Bette Adelman (Adelman Law Office); Brian Kaven (Burch & Cracchiolo); Bridget O. Swartz (Law Offices of Bridget O. Swartz); C. Alan Bowman (Bowman & Smith); C. Timothy White (Meritage Homes Corp.); Cathy L. Reece (Fennemore Craig); Chad Schexnayder (Jennings Haug & Cunningham); Cynthia Ricketts (DLA Piper U.S.); Dalva Moellenberg (Gallagher & Kennedy) ; David Case (Ryley Carlock & Applewhite); David Durfee (Gallagher & Kennedy); David Kreutzberg (Squire Sanders & Dempsey); David Lansky (Mariscal Weeks McIntyre & Friedlander); David Rose (Rose Law Firm); David Wenner (Snyder & Wenner); Debra Runbeck (Jerome Gibson Stewart Friedman Stevenson Engle & Runback); Donald Isaacson (Isaacson & Duffy); Douglas Christian (Harper Christian Dichter & Graif); Edwin Bull (Burch & Cracchiolo); Elliot Wolfe (Palumbo Wolfe Sahlman & Palumbo).
     Also, Francis Fanning; Gary Gotto (Keller Rohrback); Howard Sobelman (Snell & Wilmer); J. Scott Rhodes (Jennings Strouss & Salmon); James Braselton (Mariscal Weeks McIntyre Friedlander); James Broening (Broening Oberg Woods &Wilson); James Brophy III (Ryley Carlock & Applewhite); James Logan (Maricopa County Legal Advocate); Jennifer Nore (Snell & Wilmer); Jody Pokorski (Snell & Wilmer); John Cunningham (Jennings Haug & Cunningham); John E. Herrick (Law Offices of John E. Herrick); John Hink (Ryley Carlock & Applewhite); John Oberg (Broening Oberg Woods & Wilson); John Sinodis (Jennings Haug & Cunningham); JoJene Mills (Law Office of JoJene Mills); Jolyon Grant (Jolyon Grant); Jon Pettibone (Quarles & Brady); Joyce Wright (Snell & Wilmer); Julie Doherty (Doherty &Venezia); Julie Pace (Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll); Kent Turley (Turley Swan Childers Righi & Torrens); Kevin Koelbel (Counters & Koelbel); Kevin O'Malley (Gallagher & Kennedy); Lisa Counters (Counters & Koelbel); Lisa Duran (Quarles & Brady); Louis Diesel (Aspey Watkins & Diesel); Lynne Lagarde (Earl Curley & Lagarde); Mark McGinnis (Salmon Lewis & Weldon); Michael Denious (Stoops Denious Wilson & Murray); Michael Herzog (Herzog & O'Connor); Michael Murphy (Murphy Lutey Schmitt & Fuchs); Michael J. Petitti Jr. (Gomez & Petitti); Michelle Perkins (Owens & Perkins); Monica Goebel (Steptoe & Johnson); Nancy-Jo Merritt (Fennemore Craig); Neil Alden (Bowman & Brooke) Philip Mitchell (Jennings Haug & Cunningham); R. Todd Lundmark (Klein Lundmark Barberich & LaMont); Randy Nussbaum (Jaburg & Wilk); Richard Coffinger; Richard Gerry (Hebert Schenk); Richard Lorenzen (Perkins Coie Brown & Bain); Richard Mahrle (Gammage & Burnham) Richard Oney (Tiffany & Bosco); Richard Onsager (Onsager Werner & Oberg); Richard Plattner (Plattner Verderame); Richard Taylor (Taylor & Associates); Robert Boatman (Gallagher & Kennedy); Robert Schmitt (Murphy Lutey Schmitt & Fuchs); Sandra Fromm (Fromm Smith & Gadow); Scott Houston (Jardine Baker Hickman & Houston); Scott Ruby (Gust Rosenfeld); Shawn Aiken (Hebert Schenk); Steven Cohen (Levenbaum & Cohen); Steven Dawson (Dawson & Rosenthal); Steven Reed (O'Steen & Harrison); Steven Wolfson (Mariscal Weeks McIntyre & Friedlander); Susan Navran (Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona); Susan Smith (Olsen-Smith); Susan Swick (Ryan Rapp & Underwood); Susan Wissink (Fennemore Craig); Terrence Kurth (Jones Skelton & Hochuli); Terrence Woods (Broening Oberg Woods & Wilson); Thomas Arendt (Arendt Law Group); Thomas Irvine (Shughart Thomson & Kilroy); Tod Schleier (Schleier Law Offices); W. Patrick Traynor (Waterfall Economidis Caldwell Hanshaw & Villamana); Wayne Arnett (Arnett & Arnett); William Fairbourn (Bonnett Fairbourn Friedman & Balint); William Sandweg III (Sandweg & Ager).
     These members of the College's Council of 100 also made the list:  Bill Maledon (Osborn Maledon); Carolyn Johnsen (Jennings Strouss & Salmon); Dan Cracchiolo (Burch & Cracciolo); Don Bivens (Snell & Wilmer); Jeffrey Verbin (Greenberg Traurig); Jerry Gaffaney (Mariscal Weeks McIntyre & Friedlander); Jim Harrison (O'Steen & Harrison); John Bouma Sr. (Snell & Wilmer); Leo Beus (Beus Gilbert); Pat McGroder (); Patricia Refo (Snell & Wilmer); Paul Eckstein (Perkins Coie Brown & Bain); and Paul Gilbert (Beus Gilbert).
     The selection of the listed attorneys involved considerable polling and evaluation by their peers in the legal community. More than 18,000 ballots were sent to lawyers in Arizona and New Mexico, asking them to nominate the best practitioners observed in action. The candidates then were evaluated, using 12 indicators reflecting peer recognition and professional achievement, including verdicts and settlements, honors and awards, special licenses and certifications, position within their law firms, pro bono and community service and scholarly lectures and writings.
     Finally, the candidates with the highest point totals were evaluated in their respective practice areas and were divided according to the size of their firms, to ensure representation from small, medium and large firms.
     The objective of the "Super Lawyers" publications, first published in 1991, is to create a list useful to consumers of legal services, whether they are in-house lawyers looking to retain local counsel in distant jurisdictions or first-time clients searching for help with legal needs. The resulting lists include lawyers with small firms in small towns, as well as those with large firms in major cities throughout the United States.