Austin Yost Receives Arizona State Law Journal’s John D. Lancy Distinguished Alumni Award

The Arizona State Law Journal honored Austin Yost with the 2025 John D. Lancy Distinguished Alumni Award. The award is presented to ASLJ alumni who have demonstrated a standard of selfless integrity, humility, and charity in Arizona’s legal community. A 2017 graduate of ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Austin has exhibited a passion for political law and criminal justice issues throughout his legal career. In the 2024 election cycle, Austin represented Arizona for Abortion Access, the committee that sponsored Proposition 139, which established a fundamental right to abortion in the Arizona Constitution. In the criminal justice space, Austin has actively sought opportunities to donate his time and expertise through pro bono work, allowing him to advocate for the rights of individuals within the criminal justice...

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Mel Soliz Featured in ASU Alumni News Article Highlighting Arizona Society of Healthcare Attorneys Partnership with Law School

The Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University (ASU) included Partner Mel Soliz in a recent article about the relationship between the law school and the Arizona Society of Healthcare Attorneys (AzSHA). As President of AzSHA and an ASU Law alumna, Mel shared insights into how the organization supports the next generation of health care attorneys. In the article, Mel detailed AzSHA’s efforts to bridge the gap between legal education and practice. Through initiatives like free memberships for ASU Law students and the Scholars Program, students can gain valuable access to educational programming, mentorship, and networking opportunities to ensure they are well-equipped to navigate the complexities of health care law. “The future of health law depends on well-trained, passionate legal professionals and it’s our...

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Austin Yost Featured in ASU Alumni News Article for Advocacy on Abortion Access Ballot Initiative

The Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University (ASU) featured Austin Yost in a recent article about alumni paving the way for democracy during the 2024 election season. Austin, who earned a J.D. from ASU in 2017, represented Arizona for Abortion Access (AAA), the political action committee that sponsored Proposition 139, the statewide ballot initiative that established a fundamental right to abortion in Arizona’s Constitution. To secure Prop 139’s placement on the ballot, Austin helped draft the initiative, navigated ballot access complexities, and litigated cases for AAA involving Prop 139’s publicity pamphlet language and petition sheet description. Throughout his career, Austin has exhibited a passion for political law. He advises candidates, political action committees, nonprofit organizations, and others on issues involving ballot access, campaign...

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Attorney Jill Chasson

Jill Chasson Presents at Arizona State Bar Webinar on Domestic Violence Law & Issues

October is Domestic Violence Awareness month. In recognition of this important topic, the State Bar of Arizona hosted a continuing education program for its members to take a deeper look at domestic violence law across multiple practice areas in Arizona. As one of the panelists for the program, Coppersmith Brockelman’s Jill Chasson shared her expertise with respect to ways in which domestic violence can raise legal issues in the workplace.  Jill’s presentation helped educate seminar attendees on injunctions against workplace harassment, employers’ obligations to provide a safe workplace, state and federal laws that can provide leave rights to domestic violence victims, and the impact that domestic violence can have on eligibility for unemployment benefits. Other panelists reviewed rules and procedures regarding protective order hearings and firearms...

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Mel Soliz joins SHARES Advisory Board as Group Awarded National Institute of Health Grant

Mel Soliz has joined the Substance use HeAlth REcord Sharing (SHARES) Advisory Board as it kicks off its $3.2 million, five-year National Institute of Health (NIH) grant. Formed under ASU’s College of Health Solutions, SHARES uses feedback from patients and providers on substance use disorder (SUD) data sharing and health care to inform policies on data privacy and confidentiality. The board also analyzes the implementation and impact of automated SUD data segmentation to improve data sharing and interoperability between healthcare institutions and service delivery. Mel ― who is also recognized by Chambers USA©️, Best Lawyers©, and Southwest Super Lawyers: Rising Stars© ― practices regulatory health law, focusing on compliance with health data privacy, access and interoperability laws (such as the Information Blocking Rule and CMS interoperability mandates,...

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Attorney Michael Aguirre

Three-time Graduate Michael Aguirre Elected to the ASU Foundation’s Board of Directors

A prominent member of the legal community and active participant in several leadership organizations, Coppersmith Brockelman’s Michael Aguirre has been elected to the ASU Foundation’s board of directors. In this role, he will work to unite people, increase philanthropic support, and boost investment in advancing the Foundation’s mission of building an environment focused on inclusion, student success, and development. Known for his extensive work in corporate and business law — and leader of the firm’s Cannabis Law practice — Michael is a three-time ASU alumnus who earned a Bachelor of Arts in History with Honors from Barrett, The Honors College (2000), a Master of Education in Higher and Postsecondary Education (2002), and a Juris Doctor (2005). He has been actively involved with the university and currently...

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