Best Practices for Civil Appeals in Division Two and an Overview of the Proposed Amendments to the Special Action Rules

Garye L Vasquez Related Seminars and Products

Chief Judge Vásquez was appointed to the Court of Appeals in 2005 and took his seat on the court
February 1, 2006. He became Chief Judge of Division Two on July 1, 2019 and completed his five-year
term on June 30, 2024. Prior to his appointment, Judge Vásquez was in private practice in Casa Grande
for twenty-one years. He has an A.G.S. from Central Arizona College, a B.S. in Justice Studies from
Arizona State University, and a law degree from the University of Arizona. Judge Vásquez currently
serves on the Arizona Supreme Court’s Commission on Judicial Performance Review. He served on the
Arizona Judicial Council (2019-2024), the Task Force on the Rules of Procedure for Special Actions,
the Commission on Technology, the Executive Council of the Arizona Bar Association’s Appellate
Practice Section, and the Supreme Court Special Code of Judicial Conduct Workgroup. He is a former
member of the Morris K. Udall Inn of Court (2014-2019).

Christopher Staring Related Seminars and Products

Judge

Arizona Court of Appeals, Div. 2

Chief Judge Christopher Staring attended the University of California at Davis, receiving his B.A. in 1983. He received his J.D. from Tulane University Law School in 1986, graduating cum laude, and Order of the Coif. Judge Staring was in private civil practice for more than 23 years before being appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Arizona for Pima County in 2010. He was appointed to the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division Two in 2015.

Judge Staring serves as Chair of the Arizona Commission on Judicial Conduct. He also serves as Chair of the Arizona Supreme Court’s Ethics Advisory Committee and was a member of the Task Force on Ethics Rules Governing the State Attorney General, County Attorneys, and Other Public Lawyers. Additionally, Judge Staring serves on the Arizona Supreme Court Committee on Juvenile Courts and the Arizona Judicial Council Steering Committee on Mental Health and the Justice System.

Judge Staring previously served on the Arizona Commission on Judicial Performance Review and the Arizona Supreme Court Committee on Mental Health and the Justice System. He is a frequent speaker on judicial ethics, mental health law, and other mental health related topics.

Michael F Kelly Related Seminars and Products

Judge Kelly was appointed to the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division Two, in 2022. Before his appointment, Judge Kelly was a partner at the Hollingsworth Kelly Law Firm from 2010 to 2022, where his practice focused on civil litigation and trial work. Prior to that, Judge Kelly served as a prosecuting attorney at the Pima County Attorney’s Office where he handled homicide and violent crime cases from 2004 to 2009. During his career as an attorney, Judge Kelly tried more than 100 civil and criminal jury trials. A native Tucsonan, he graduated magna cum laude from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance in 2001, and then received his law degree from the University of Arizona in 2004. Judge Kelly was a longtime volunteer attorney with Step Up to Justice, and served on the Board of Directors for both Southern Arizona Legal Aid and the Tucson Village Farm before his appointment to the bench. He currently serves on the Arizona Supreme Court Commission on Technology.

David Hayes McCallum Related Seminars and Products

Chief Staff Attorney

Arizona Court of Appeals - Division Two

Mac McCallum is the Chief Staff Attorney at Division Two of the State of Arizona Court of Appeals. He graduated from the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law in 2005 and served as a law clerk for Judge J. William Brammer, Jr., before joining the staff attorney team in 2010. Mr. McCallum taught legal writing at the University of Arizona College of Law from 2011 to 2024.

Jeffrey Louis Sklar Related Seminars and Products

Hon. Jeffrey L. Sklar graduated from the University of Arizona and the University of Southern
California Gould School of Law. After graduating law school in 2007, he returned to Arizona to clerk
for Justice Scott Bales of the Arizona Supreme Court. He then began work as an associate at the Los
Angeles law firm of Irell & Manella.
Judge Sklar returned to Arizona in 2010 to work at the Tucson office of what was then known as Lewis
& Roca, where he remained until 2021, when Gov. Doug Ducey appointed him to the Arizona Superior
Court in Pima County. On the Superior Court, Judge Sklar served rotations on both the civil bench and
family bench. In July 2022, he was appointed as presiding judge of the family bench. He remained as
presiding family judge until December 2022, when Governor Ducey appointed him to the Arizona Court
of Appeals.
Judge Sklar lives in Tucson with his wife and three children.

Crystal Nicole Brown-Ward Related Seminars and Products

Crystal Brown-Ward is a staff attorney at the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division II. She previously clerked for Judge Garye Vásquez at Division II and Judge Howard Hantman at the Pima County Superior Court. Crystal graduated from the University of Arizona, James E. Rogers College of Law, in May 2010 and served as managing editor of the Arizona Journal of International and Comparative Law. She also graduated from the University of Arizona in May 2006 with a bachelor of arts in political science and journalism. In her free time, Crystal enjoys spending time with her husband, their two young daughters, and their two Goldendoodles.

Lauren Christine Rosen Related Seminars and Products

Lauren Rosen became a staff attorney at Division Two in December 2023. Before that, she spent a combined five years as a law clerk to Judge Espinosa and Chief Judge Vásquez. She graduated summa cum laude and with honors in 2015 from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Studies. In 2018, she earned her law degree from the University of Arizona, summa cum laude and as a member of the Order of the Coif. She also served as the Senior Managing Editor of the Arizona Law Review. When not attending Wildcats sporting events, Lauren enjoys refereeing youth basketball and watching her three-year-old daughter chase the dogs around the backyard.