Attorney Andy Gaona

Andy Gaona Leads Coppersmith Brockelman’s Political & Election Practice as Roopali Desai Exits for Ninth Circuit Judgeship

With Roopali Desai leaving to serve on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Coppersmith Brockelman not only congratulates her on the appointment, but also announces that Andy Gaona will take up the mantle of the firm’s nationally recognized elections, political, and public law practice she helped build and ensure its important work continues and expands throughout Arizona. In her 15 years at Coppersmith Brockelman, Desai focused on defending election challenges, ensuring compliance with campaign finance laws and representing a variety of initiative and candidate campaigns. Most recently, she prevailed in 11 lawsuits related to Arizona’s 2020 General Election and successfully represented two statewide initiative campaigns. Additionally, she helped the firm's business clients resolve a variety of disputes. “President Biden and the U.S. Senate...

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4 New Attorneys Strengthen Coppersmith Brockelman’s Health Care, Corporate and Commercial Litigation Practices

Recognized nationally for outstanding work in health care law and commercial litigation, Coppersmith Brockelman further bolsters our expertise in these areas by hiring David Bixby, Michael Aguirre, Nathan Kunz and Ben Yeager. Well-known to the Arizona legal community (and beyond), David Bixby joins us after nearly 25 years as Chief Legal Officer of Banner Health.  David oversaw Banner’s corporate, regulatory, transactional, and other legal affairs as it grew to a $12 billion multi-state integrated healthcare system. He provides strategic advice to health care organizations, including management of mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and affiliations, other major transactions, corporate governance, conflicts of interest and director independence issues, physician and network arrangements, and Stark and anti-kickback matters. Michael Aguirre comes to the firm after three years as Assistant General...

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Jill Chasson Addresses Disclosing Pronoun Preferences in Email Signatures for HR Daily Advisor

With gender identity, gender fluidity and transgender rights gaining more public attention in recent years, Jill Chasson wrote an article for BLR’s HR Daily Advisor and Employment Law Letter (West) highlighting factors employers should consider around specifying pronouns in email signatures. Jill addressed the benefits of requiring all employees to add pronouns to their email signatures , including attracting new workers and preventing employees with more ambiguous names from being mistaken for the wrong gender. She also covered why companies might choose to leave it to employees to accommodate nonbinary employees who are reluctant to specify as well as those who have faith-based objections, and shared business reasons why some companies prohibit the practice. Regardless of whether a company opts to require or prohibit pronoun inclusion,...

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PHOENIX Magazine Recognizes 6 Coppersmith Brockelman Attorneys as Top Lawyers

Polling State Bar of Arizona members for their recommendations on the Valley’s most outstanding attorneys, PHOENIX Magazine selected Keith Beauchamp, Kent Brockelman, Jill Chasson, Andy Gordon, Kristen Rosati, and Melissa Soliz for its inaugural Top Lawyers list. Keith handles complex commercial litigation matters in Arizona and around the country. He has extensive experience defending legal malpractice claims and class actions and represents plaintiffs and defendants in all manner of business disputes. He has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America© since 2008 in the areas of Commercial Litigation, Legal Malpractice, and Securities Litigation.  He has been included in Southwest Super Lawyers in the categories of Business Litigation and Securities Litigation for more than 15 years and was recognized as one of “Arizona’s Top 50 Lawyers” in 2011...

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Sam Coppersmith’s National Business Institute Webinar Helps Nonprofit Boards Manage Risk and Ensure Compliance

To help nonprofit boards avoid liability, clarify oversight, and manage conflict, Sam Coppersmith is presenting at a National Business Institute (NBI) webinar on Sept. 27.  He will join two other nonprofit law thought leaders in providing attorneys, accountants, board officers, and paralegals with legal knowledge and tools needed for board governance. During their seven-hour “Nonprofit Board Governance: Everything You Need to Know” presentation, Sam, Michelle Huhnke of Sugar Felsenthal Grais & Hammer in Chicago, and Jennifer Urban of Legal for Good in suburban Minneapolis, who have taught NBI nonprofit law seminars for more than a decade, will cover: Clarifying board member duties and their daily practice implications Ensuring nonprofit compliance with state and federal laws and IRS rules Reviewing key bylaws to determine when and how...

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Attorney Andy Gaona

40 Under 40 Honoree Andy Gaona Shares Top Personal & Professional Insights with Phoenix Business Journal

After earning a spot on Phoenix Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 list highlighting the Valley’s most outstanding young executives, Andy Gaona sat down with the paper to discuss his career goals, personal interests and pro bono efforts. In his profile, Andy shared that his most important career goal is to know he made a difference in Arizona. His service with Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest helps him do exactly that. A longtime board member and immediate Past President, he worked to expand the organization’s donor base, enabling better advocacy for vulnerable populations. His other pro bono efforts range from helping refugee farmers recover damages for destroyed crops to helping uncover the mismanagement of child abuse and neglect cases. Asked how he avoids burnout, Andy...

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