Total Credits: 4.25 CLE, 4.25 Ethics
Registration has reached capacity. To be placed on the waiting list, please contact Sulema Bucio at Sulema.Bucio@staff.azbar.org
This course explores professionalism principles and analyzes a series of professionalism hypotheticals pertinent to a lawyer's relationship with clients, judges, and other attorneys. The bulk of the seminar is presented in interactive breakout groups. New admittees to the State Bar of Arizona must complete this course within one year of being admitted to the Bar. Space is limited for each session.
In a profession that was designed to be adversarial in nature, it's only natural that conflicts with our colleagues, the judiciary and our clients may arise. How we resolve these conflicts reflects upon the profession as a whole. This course is designed to help restore civility and elevate the standards by which we treat all those with whom we come in contact.
The mandatory course, for all newly admitted Arizona members, satisfies the requirement under Rule 34(n), Ariz. R. Sup. Ct.
Important: Please make sure the email address we have on file for you is current. You will be emailed information about this course as we get closer to the course date. If you have not received information by November 8th, please check your spam folder or contact member services at Registrations@staff.azbar.org or 602-340-7231.
Carlos Daniel Carrion is an attorney supervisor with the Maricopa County Public Defender's Office. He began as a trial attorney then he was chosen to create and supervise a trial group specializing in vehicular litigation, Vehicular Group. After that, he was chosen to create and manage a new division, Early Representation Unit. As Attorney Manager, he worked with Maricopa County stakeholders in developing Mental Health Court and Veterans Court. He served as President of the Arizona Association of Drug Court Professionals and co-chaired a planning committee that developed a statewide conference for those involved in treatment courts. Carlos has been on the State Bar of Arizona Criminal Jury Instructions Committee since 1996.
Honorable Terri L Clarke was a prosecutor with the Maricopa County Attorney's Office for over 17 years. Ms. Clarke has tried over 85 felony cases to Arizona Superior Court juries and has lectured at national, state, and local seminars to law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and community groups about criminal justice topics. She also taught as adjunct faculty at Glendale Community College and taught courses in the "Detective School" program to police officers. Since 2010, she has served as a Commissioner/Judge Pro Tempore with Maricopa County Superior Court.
Dina Dieglio, Law Offices of Charnesky & Dieglio. Since her admission to the Arizona Bar in 1998, Dina Dieglio has devoted her practice to criminal defense. During her years with the Pima County Public Defender's Office (1998-2003) Ms. Dieglio earned a reputation as a zealous advocate for her clients. Along with James Charnesky, she is currently a partner in the firm of Law Offices of Charnesky & Dieglio which they started in 2003. Her practice is 100% criminal defense with a focus on DUI related crimes. A Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Rated attorney, Ms. Dieglio has handled thousands of cases from misdemeanors to serious felony offenses. Dina has given dozens of CLE presentations on various DUI topics over the last twenty years. She co-chairs the Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice annual DUI seminar along with Lawrence Koplow and has been the chair of the State Bar DUI Law Update Seminar. Currently, Dina is the Vice Chair of the Tucson City Magistrate Merit Selection Commission. Dina was also appointed to the Criminal Justice ACT (CJA) Panel Lawyer Screening Selection Committee in 2018 and is currently serving her second term.
In 2016, the Law Offices of Charnesky & Dieglio received the the Robert J. Hooker Award. This award is given by the Arizona Public Defenders’ Association to one private law firm in the State of Arizona “In recognition and appreciation of their exceptional commitment of time, effort and expertise to Arizona Public Defenders and their clients.” In addition to several other awards and recognitions, Ms. Dieglio was recently presented the AACJ’s Presidential Commendation Award (2023) and AACJ’s Larry Hammond Leadership Award (2024).
Alfred “Ray” English attended Wentworth Military Junior College and was recognized as a Distinguished Military Graduate, receiving a commission in the U.S. Army Reserve. Ray received his Bachelor of Science from The Ohio State University and Juris Doctor from Howard University School of Law, where he graduated cum laude. Ray has over 30 years of leadership training and legal experience. He has a longstanding commitment to improving Diversity Equity and Inclusion in the legal profession. He currently serves on the Arizona Judicial Council's Commission on Diversity, Equality and Justice in the Judiciary, and speaks nationwide, conducting training on issues such as implicit bias, anti-racism, and inclusion.
Amy Hernandez received her law degree in 2003 from Drake University (with Honors). After law school she served as a law clerk at the Arizona Court of Appeals. Ms. Hernandez has served on the Civil Practice & Procedure Committee for the State Bar of Arizona and as the Chair of the State Bar Trial Practice Section. She is a former member of the Morris K. Udall Inn of Court and a former board member for the Arizona Association of Justice. Ms. Hernandez served in the United States Army from 1996 - 2000 as a military intelligence analyst. Ms. Hernandez owns Hernandez Linton Law, PLLC where she focuses her practice on plaintiff’s medical malpractice, legal malpractice, and general personal injury.
Judge (retired) Paul A. Katz is a graduate of Chicago Kent College of Law in 1976. He served 7 years as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Arizona, engaged in private practice performing commercial and environmental litigation as well as white collar criminal defense. He served as a Maricopa County Superior Court Judge from August 1989 until December 31, 2010. He then worked for 14 months as a deputy Maricopa County Public Defender and was then hired by the Arizona Attorney General’s office in its Natural Resources Section. He retired a second time from the Arizona Attorney General’s office on February 28, 2023 and is now working part time as a Maricopa County pro tem Justice of the Peace. He is also currently serving as a member of the Arizona State Bar’s Civil Practice and Procedure Committee and is on the board of directors of the University of Michigan Letterwinners M Club.
Karen Nygaard is a retired judicial officer who served on the Pima County Superior Court bench for over 15 years. She currently serves as a judge pro tempore in that court. Prior to being appointed to the bench, she was a shareholder in the law firm DeConcini McDonald Yetwin & Lacy where she primarily practiced in the area of civil litigation. Before working at the DeConcini firm, she was a trial deputy with the Pima County Attorney’s Office; and associate with the Phoenix firm of O’Connor Cavanaugh Westover Killingsworth and Beshears; and a judicial law clerk for the Arizona Court of Appeals Division II. She has tried approximately 80 jury trials in a variety of cases, both civil and criminal. Prior to law school, she was a mathematics teacher and guidance counsellor for Tucson Unified School District. Her professional activities have included serving as President of the Pima County Bar Association, Chair of the Trial Practice Section of the State Bar of Arizona, President of the Southern Arizona Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates, member of the Advisory Board of the Volunteer Lawyers Program, founding member of the Board of Directors of Step Up to Justice, member of the Morris K. Udall Inn of the Court, and editor of The Writ. Since retiring from the bench, she regularly volunteers to assist and represent indigent clients of SU2J in their court cases. Karen obtained a B.S. in Mathematics from The University of Arizona in 1972, an M.Ed. from the University of Arizona in 1976 and a J.D. from the James E. Rogers College of Law in 1982. She is a member of the State Bars of Arizona and Colorado, the U.S. District Court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Vidula Patki is an accomplished attorney whose practice focuses on education, employment, and general corporate matters. With nearly twelve years of combined law firm and in-house experience, she has established herself as a trusted business partner who provides practical and creative solutions to complex problems. Her clients have included Fortune 500 companies, small business owners, nonprofits, state, federal and tribal entities, and everything in between. Prior to joining Osborn Maledon, Vidula served as the Assistant General Counsel for the world’s largest Goodwill and Head of Legal at an educational technology startup. She otherwise maintains an active pro bono practice, focusing on immigration issues.
Denise M. Quinterri focuses her practice on legal ethics and professional responsibility. She formerly served as Bar Counsel for the State Bar of Arizona. She now represents lawyers in State Bar proceedings ("Bar complaints") and applicants in the Character and Fitness process. She also provides expert opinion letters. Ms. Quinterri enjoys presenting at the occasional CLE seminar or conference and is an active member of the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers. She has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America© for Ethics and Professional Responsibility and is rated AV® Preeminent™ by Martindale-Hubbell. Ms. Quinterri is highly experienced in lawyer discipline, having personally handled over 500 bar charges. She has represented over 250 applicants to the State Bar in the Character and Fitness process. She understands various aspects of the practice, having worked at a large law firm, a small to mid-size law firm, as a solo attorney, and for a non-profit, quasi-governmental organization.
Isaac Rothschild is a shareholder who practices in the Bankruptcy Section of Mesch Clark Rothschild. Since joining MCR in 2009, Isaac has been active in the firm’s bankruptcy section, co-counsel in some of the largest reorganization cases in Arizona, as well as representing Trustees, secured insurance companies, and local banks in Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases as well as collection actions. His practice also focuses on probate litigation and partnership disputes. Additionally, Isaac is active in several non-profits including past Chair of the Tucson Jewish Community Center, a member of the Governance Committee for Literacy Connects and was one of four founders of the Tucson Jazz Festival.
Honorable Kristin Schriner is a Commissioner/ Judge Pro Tempore on the Pima County Superior Court, Juvenile Court.
Commissioner Schriner was previously Senior Litigation Counsel for the Arizona Attorney General’s Office in their Consumer Fraud Unit.
Before joining the Attorney General’s office in 2021, Commissioner Schriner had been a complex litigation attorney with Goldberg & Osborne since 2008, where she participated in numerous jury and bench trial cases, drafted and argued appellate briefs, and handled formal settlement conferences as well as private mediations. Her practice included complex, high-profile litigation, including cases involving medical malpractice, sexual assault, and products liability.
Judge Sklar was born in Los Angeles and moved to Tucson during grade school. He graduated from Salpointe Catholic High School, the University of Arizona, and the University of Southern California Gould School of Law. At the UA, he was editor in chief of the Arizona Daily Wildcat, and at USC, he was executive notes editor of the Southern California Law Review. 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 yet again in 2010, this time to work at the Tucson office of the Lewis & Roca law firm. He became a partner in 2015. He remained at the firm 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. In that capacity, he also began serving on the statewide Family Court Improvement Committee. He remained as presiding family judge until December 2022, when Gov. Ducey appointed him to the Arizona Court of Appeals.
Judge Sklar lives in Tucson with his wife and three children.
Meredith L. Vivona is the Ethics Counsel for the State Bar of Arizona, where she advises lawyers through the Ethics Hotline, presents ethics related CLE programs, acts as legal advisor to the Fee Arbitration Program, serves on the Ethics Advisory Group and acts as liaison to the Arizona Supreme Court’s Attorney Ethics Advisory Committee. Prior to becoming Ethics Counsel, Meredith served as Practice Management Attorney for Practice 2.0 and the Trust Account Helpline, the State Bar’s confidential practice management and trust account advice program. Before joining the State Bar of Arizona, Meredith served as Independent Bar Counsel, investigating and prosecuting misconduct allegations brought against attorneys, when the Lawyer Regulation Office had a conflict. Part of Meredith’s responsibilities included serving as Acting Disciplinary Counsel for the Commission on Judicial Conduct where she investigated and resolved judicial misconduct complaints. Before serving as IBC, Meredith enjoyed a varied career in private practice, with experience in civil litigation matters throughout the state. Meredith is admitted to practice in Arizona and the U.S. District Court for the State of Arizona. Meredith received her Juris Doctor from Wake Forest Law School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Emily Ward is an equity director/partner at Fennemore focusing on business litigation and appeals in Phoenix. She joined Fennemore in Phoenix in 2014 as an associate until 2021 when she was elected director. After graduating from the University of Arizona College of Law, Emily clerked for the Arizona Supreme Court before completing a federal district court clerkship in San Antonio, Texas. Today, Emily litigates high-stakes cases for governmental and business clients on a wide variety of practice areas including constitutional issues, contract disputes, and commercial real estate issues. She is recognized in Phoenix Business Journal 40 Under 40, Super Lawyers® in Business Litigation, Chambers USA, Best Lawyers® Ones to Watch, and was also featured in the PHOENIX Magazine as a Top Lawyer in Business Litigation.
David Wood started his litigation practice with ten years as a prosecutor, first with the Arizona Attorney General and later with the Maricopa County Attorney. He worked on appeals, and later homicides, gang, and cartel cases as a trial attorney. David left for private practice, with a broad practice of business, property, contracts, civil rights, and fraud litigation. David loves teaching this course as he believes that acting professionally is critical to the wellbeing of all attorneys working in this stressful industry.