Arizona Attorney - May 2017

District 6—
Maricopa County
Alexander Y. Benikov
The Law Office of
Alexander Y. Benikov, P.L.L.C.

I am interested in running because I want to be a voice for solo and young lawyers. I know the challenges facing many new lawyers as they struggle to find work and to launch their legal careers. The legal profession is changing at a very rapid pace and the State Bar of Arizona needs to help new and experienced lawyers prepare for the changes that are coming. The changing legal market for lawyers is a monumental issue facing all lawyers. Having run my own practice for the past eight years, I am well aware of this looming issue.

If elected I will address these issues in several ways: first, by developing education courses that not only deal with substantive law; second, help lawyers with the business and money making sides of their practices; and third, develop more programs for new lawyers.

I believe it is harder for lawyers
to succeed today than in any point
in recent history. The State Bar of
Arizona must do everything possi-
ble to help all lawyers succeed in a
rapidly changing legal market.

Tyler J. Carrell
Gallagher & Kennedy, P.A.

I seek the honor of continuing my
service to the bar, its members, and
the public because I believe my
experience in bar leadership and
understanding of the challenges fac-
ing the legal profession can provide
a unique perspective to the Board
of Governors. The State Bar of
Arizona must continue to evolve in
order to remain relevant to its mem-
bers. In my time on the Board of
Governors and as a current member
of the Maricopa County Bar Associ-
ation (MCBA) Board of Directors,
I have emphasized the need for
quality programming and services,
provided by using the most modern
and efficient methods. The legal
profession is facing new challenges
from many directions, and I believe
that the Bar must be proactive in
order to best serve its members and
the public. My objective is to help
ensure that the bar and the Arizona
legal profession is best prepared to
serve the public, and to make sure
that lawyers can provide quality work
despite growing concerns such as
succession planning, law school debt,
and work/life balance.

Richard D. Coffinger*
Attorney at Law

I have been honored to serve for 12 years as an elected attorney from Maricopa County on the 26 voting member BOG. I would appreciate your vote for re-election.

I supported continuing to provide members with printed membership directories. I opposed the dues increases for the past three years based on annual budget surpluses and the new Public Service Center (PSC), which would provide digital statewide referrals to prospective new clients from attorneys paying the SBA a fee. I opposed the PSC because of its estimated cost – $180K in 2017 budget – its impact on the Lawyer Referral Services now provided by the Maricopa and Pima County Bar Associations, and because participating attorneys are not required to have malpractice insurance.

I am most proud of my BOG work in the principle drafting— assisted by the late, great Steven A. Hirsch—of the SBA’s comment to the former Justice Rebecca White Berch-chaired Task Force on Bar Governance proposal. The BOG opposed removing as a voting member the YLD president—which office I held in 1979—and reducing from 19 to 11 the elected attorney voting members. The Supreme Court rejected most of the Task Force recommendations we opposed.

Thomas A. Connelly
Beus Gilbert, P.L.L.C.
The opportunity to serve my fellow
lawyers and society-at-large is the
driving impetus behind my decision
to run for election to the Board of
Governors. The Bar faces many im-
portant issues—including the inter-
section of technology and the law,
finding more efficient ways of deliv-
ering cost-effective legal services to
those in need and issues concerning
the regulation of the profession
brought on by increasing globaliza-
tion—for which my mix of profes-
sional and legal experience will pro-
The Board of Governors elections are conducted online. Does the State Bar have your email address of record? (Rule 32(c)( 3), ARIZ.R.S.CT.)
Elections will be held this year in the following Board Districts:
District 6 – Maricopa County – nine seats
District 8 – Pinal County – one seat
Recent amendments to Rule 32, ARIZ.R.S.CT.:
Effective January 1, 2017, Active out-of-state Members may vote in the District of their most recent Arizona residence or place of
business or, if none, in Bar District 6. (Rule 32(e)( 2)(D))

Effective 2019, all sitting Governors’ terms conclude and elections will be held in all eight Board Districts. In Districts with more than one Governor, and in certain Districts, the Governors’ terms will be staggered. Incumbents would be eligible to run for re-election. (Rule 32(e)( 2) and ( 4))

The candidates were asked to respond to the following questions:

Why are you interested in running for election to the Board of Governors? What do you believe are the significant issues facing the members today?
If elected, how would you hope to address these issues?