Maret Vessella is the Chief Bar Counsel at the State Bar of Arizona. Ms. Vessella graduated from Duquesne University in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. She received her Juris Doctor in 1992 from Ohio Northern University College of Law. In November 1992, Ms. Vessella was admitted to practice law in Pennsylvania and began her practice in a small firm concentrating in the areas of criminal defense and domestic relations. In 1994, Ms. Vessella was hired as Disciplinary Counsel for the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania where she prosecuted cases involving violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct. In October 1998, Ms. Vessella was licensed in Arizona and took a position with the State Bar of Arizona as Bar Counsel where she represented the State Bar in various disciplinary matters. Ms. Vessella was named Deputy Chief Bar Counsel in September 2002 and became Chief Bar Counsel in August 2009. Chief Bar Counsel maintains the Lawyer Regulation Office at the State Bar. She is responsible for the coordination and supervision of investigations of lawyer misconduct and oversees all prosecutorial functions associated with the regulation of the practice of law in Arizona.

Ms. Vessella is a member of the American Bar Association, the ABA Center for Professional Responsibility, and the National Organization of Bar Counsel. Ms. Vessella regularly serves as faculty for continuing legal education and rehabilitative programs relating to professional responsibility, lawyer discipline and professionalism. Ms. Vessella was appointed to the Supreme Court of Arizona’s Attorney Regulation Advisory Committee and has served on various Supreme Court Committees as well as State Bar Committees. Ms. Vessella served on the ABA Standing Committee on Professional Discipline, the ABA Standing Committee on Professionalism and has served as a member of multiple ABA consultations teams that are invited by the State Supreme Court to evaluate their discipline systems. Ms. Vessella received the State Bar of Arizona President’s Award in 2011 for her efforts in implementing the new lawyer discipline system in Arizona.