Patricia A. Sallen – Bio
Patricia A. Sallen is a lawyer in private practice focusing on professional responsibility. She represents lawyers in discipline and admission matters, provides ethics advice to lawyers, serves as an expert witness on professional-responsibility issues, and consults on a myriad of other ethics-related topics. She regularly presents at CLE seminars and publishes articles about professional responsibility and writes the Eye on Ethics column for Arizona Attorney. She also taught professional responsibility as an adjunct professor at the Arizona State University Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law for more than a decade. In addition to practicing in private law firms, she spent more than 15 years working for the State Bar of Arizona as both a bar counsel and ethics counsel and supervised programs such as the Fee Arbitration Program and Client Protection Fund. She served as expert consultant to the Arizona Supreme Court's 2014-15 comprehensive ethical rules review effort and to the Court’s 2019-20 Task Force on the Delivery of Legal Services, which resulted in the groundbreaking rule changes allowing non-lawyer firm ownership and legal paraprofessionals and also served the Supreme Court’s Task Force on Ethics Rules Governing the State Attorney General, County Attorneys, and Other Public Lawyers. She currently serves on the State Bar’s Ethics Advisory Group and the city of Phoenix Ethics Commission, which oversees the investigation and enforcement of the gift policy and conflicts of interest related to elected Phoenix officials and board and commission members.


Joe Estes – Bio
Joe Estes is a Partner at Pierce Coleman PLLC, with over 20 years of litigation and municipal legal experience. Joe primarily represents municipalities and other public entities in matters that include administrative law, election law, code enforcement and compliance, public records, procurement law, open meeting law, real estate, land use and zoning, development, conflict of interest, 1983 actions and civil litigation. He serves as the primary city/town attorney to various Arizona municipalities. His experience includes having served as the Assistant City Attorney for the City of Yuma, the City Attorney for the City of Page, an Assistant Attorney General for the Arizona Attorney General’s Office and a judge Pro-Tem for the Pinal County Justice Courts and Maricopa County Superior Court.

Joe was licensed to practice law in Nevada in 2003 and shortly thereafter was admitted in Arizona in 2005. Joe is admitted to the U.S. District Court for the Districts of Arizona, Nevada and Colorado and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Joe has handled hundreds of civil and criminal cases from trial to appeal in everything from city and justice courts to state and federal courts, including the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Districts of Arizona and Nevada and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Joe also served on the City of Maricopa’s first Planning and Zoning Commission and then was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Maricopa City Council, for which he won re-election the following year, serving from 2005 to 2010. Joe’s service on the City Council has provided him with unique insights and experience that allows him to bring practical and innovative solutions to his municipal clients that most other municipal attorneys do not have.

Joe comes from a hardworking blue-collar family and lived in diverse places growing up that include Alaska, the Philippines, Brazil and California. Hard work has been a part of Joe’s life from a young age, from his first job picking cucumbers in the fields of central California to being the first in his family to go to college. Joe earned a B.S., cum laude, from Wesley College in 1997, and did so while working full-time in the U.S. Air Force, where he was trained as an Arabic linguist and then as an Air Transportation Specialist and held a top-secret SCI security clearance. Joe then put himself through law school and earned his J.D. from the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law in 2003, again while working full-time, this time as a commercial hazardous materials tanker driver. Joe still maintains his commercial driver’s license, which supports his main hobby of buying and fixing military equipment and vehicles from government auctions.

Joe is dedicated to providing his clients with the best services possible

Chris Payne – Bio
Chris Payne Chris is the Town Attorney and Risk Manager for the Town of Gilbert. Chris brings a diverse background to his role, including an undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering from Arizona State University.  While he enjoyed his time at the University of Arizona College of Law, he is a Sun Devil through and through. He provides counsel and representation to the Town Council, its departments, and officials on a wide range of municipal legal issues and has a background in water and environmental law.  Chris is an Arizona native, born in Tucson and raised in Higley.





Matt Lehrman – Bio
Matt Lehrman is a civic facilitator, leadership coach, and keynote speaker who helps local governments, nonprofit organizations, and community leaders navigate complexity, foster collaboration, and build lasting consensus.

With a dynamic and engaging style, Matt guides leaders through the tough stuff—conflict, uncertainty, pressure—turning disagreement into dialogue and helping groups move forward with clarity and shared purpose. He’s especially skilled at creating spaces where diverse voices feel heard and respected, and where leadership is measured not just by decisions made, but by how inclusively and effectively those decisions are reached.

Matt brings decades of experience in strategic facilitation, civic engagement, and leadership development. As founder and executive director of Alliance for Audience & ShowUp.com, he led a statewide initiative to unite Arizona’s arts and cultural sector. Later, as Interim Managing Director of Arizona Theatre Company, he helped restore stability and trust during a critical moment of institutional crisis.

Today, Matt facilitates strategic planning and public dialogue for councils, boards, and leadership teams nationwide—bridging perspectives, building trust, and aligning communities around bold, achievable goals.

He also hosts the Community Catalysts podcast, spotlighting real-world stories of local leadership and the human side of governing in challenging times.

At the heart of Matt’s work is a belief that strong communities begin with courageous conversations—and that principled, participatory leadership is the key to turning complexity into opportunity.

Kole Lyons – Bio
Kole Lyons is an Assistant Town Attorney for the Town of Gilbert, having joined the team in October 2023 after completing an internship with the Town during law school. He graduated from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, where he focused on alternative dispute resolution and developed a strong interest in collaborative problem-solving within the public sector. Since his arrival, Kole has concentrated on general municipal law, supporting issues related to governance, land use, procurement, public works, and local ordinances.

Originally from rural Utah, Kole was inspired to pursue public service by a desire to make a direct impact in the communities where people live and work. Outside of his professional duties, he enjoys spending quality time with his family and experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen.

Kelly Schwab – Bio
Kelly Schwab has served as the City Attorney and Risk Manager for the City of Chandler since November 2016. Ms. Schwab oversees the Law Department which consists of 33 people and 3 sections: civil, prosecution, and risk management.

Prior to her tenure in Chandler, Ms. Schwab worked in Mesa for one year as an Assistant City Attorney and was in private practice representing several municipalities throughout the State of Arizona including Gilbert, Wickenburg, Oro Valley, Quartzsite, Youngtown, Litchfield Park, Clifton, and others. Her litigation experience includes insurance defense, civil litigation, and criminal prosecution. She has served as lead counsel in defending public entities on employment, civil rights, personal injury, & construction cases.

Ms. Schwab obtained her Bachelor of Science from Arizona State University and her Juris Doctor from the University of Arizona. She is admitted to practice law in the State of Arizona and is also admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. District Court in the District of Arizona. She is actively involved in community and legal organizations. She currently serves as the Arizona representative of the International Municipal Lawyers Association and is a member of the Planning Committee for the conferences. She has served as president of the Arizona City Attorneys Association and the Public Law Section of the State Bar of Arizona. Ms. Schwab was awarded the 2000-2001 Arizona State Bar Outstanding Young Lawyer Award for exceptional service to the State Bar and the community. The Arizona City Attorneys Association recognized Schwab with its Distinguished Municipal Attorney Award in 2022.

Jeffery A. Kramer – Bio
Jeffery A. Kramer is a 39-year veteran of the design and construction industry, having served as a public sector executive, consulting design engineer, owner’s representative, and educator. Currently he is a Faculty Associate for the Del E. Webb School of Construction at Arizona State University where he teaches graduate level classes in Project Delivery Methods and Public Works Construction. For his day job Jeff is a Partner in Consultant Engineering, Inc, where he is a VP, Principal, and Program and Project Management Division Director. In this role he oversees delivery of PM/CM (3rd Party Owner’s Representation) services for public and private clients on civil infrastructure and building facility projects, as well as overseeing CEI’s full-service Right-of-Way Division. Additionally, through his private consultancy, Jeff provides speaking, individual and organizational coaching, and training on topics including design and construction procurement, project delivery, leadership, and productivity. During his career Jeff has been instrumental in promoting and educating about design and construction procurement done right. He has successfully facilitated or participated in more than 150 design and construction procurement processes, and has overseen delivery of well over 200 projects using all four legally authorized delivery methods in Arizona with an aggregate value of over $2 billion in place. He is currently serving on the steering committee for the statewide APDM Stakeholders committee, which works to reach consensus solutions to industrywide concerns about design and construction procurement and delivery.

Jeff holds a BS degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Arizona and is a Registered Professional Engineer in Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico. He also holds several industry credentials, including Certified Construction Manager Certified Job Order Contracting Professional, as well as credentials from the American Traffic Safety Services Association, FEMA, OSHA, the National Certified Public Manager Consortium, and multiple coaching and training organizations including Maxwell Leadership, Igniting Souls, Personality Insights, The Table Group, and Empowered Living.

In 2024 Jeff was named one of the Top Ten Public Works Leaders in North America by the American Public Works Association in recognition of his lifetime contributions to the industry. A life member of APWA, he currently serves as a member of its national Leadership and Management Committee. In 2021 Jeff was the inaugural recipient of the Harry H. Mellon Distinguished Service Award from the Center for Job Order Contracting Excellence. This recognition follows Kramer receiving the Henning Award as Public Manager of the Year from the American Academy of Certified Public Managers in 2012.

Erich Knoor – Bio
Erich Knoor is a Partner at Van Dermyden Makus Law Corporation.  For nearly a decade, Erich’s practice has been focused on conducting workplace investigations in the public and private sectors.  He frequently investigates allegations of harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and misconduct for local government agencies.  In 2023, Erich spearheaded the opening of a Van Dermyden Makus office in Tempe.  He is committed to advancing the field of workplace investigations and is a frequent speaker on workplace investigations best practices. 




Eli Makus – Bio
Eli Makus is the Managing Partner of Van Dermyden Makus Law Corporation, a preeminent investigations Firm with attorneys across California and Arizona. Van Dermyden Makus is devoted to promoting fair workplaces and safe campuses through industry-leading neutral fact-finding services. Drawing upon his extensive employment law background, Eli conducts complex and sensitive investigations involving a variety of workplace complaints for public and private employers throughout California. Eli regularly trains on employment law topics, including training internal and external investigators on how to conduct impartial workplace investigations. Eli is the Immediate Past President for the Association of Workplace Investigators (AWI) Board of Directors and regularly serves as Faculty for AWI’s ANAB (formerly ANSI)-accredited Training Institute.

Frank Cassidy – Bio
Frank Cassidy has a part-time solo Arizona law practice representing local governments. He has handled a wide range of land use, eminent domain, and public works construction matters since his 1982 graduation from the University of Arizona College of Law. Frank has practiced law in large and small private firms and three local governments. He retired from the full-time practice of law in October 2020 after serving as Marana Town Attorney for 17 years. He taught Land Use Law for 21 years as an adjunct lecturer at the University of Arizona and was a co-author of the 6th, 7th, and 8th editions of the State Bar of Arizona’s handbook on Arizona Land Use Law. His wife Renée is a retired speech pathologist and real estate agent. Frank & Renée are blessed with three children and seven grandchildren.



Andrew McGuire – Bio
Andrew McGuire is in his 30th year of representing municipal governments, during which time he has served as city or town attorney for seven Arizona Municipalities. Andrew is head of the Public Law practice group at Gust Rosenfeld P.L.C., with 18 attorneys dedicated to serving Arizona’s local governments. In addition to serving as town attorney, he provides land-use and development expertise to municipalities throughout the state, as well as bond counsel services for multiple Arizona municipalities and special taxing districts.

Jojo Tann,, Esq. – Bio
Joseph "JoJo" Tann is a nationally respected attorney with extensive experience representing Arizona cities, towns, and state agencies in complex, high-stakes litigation. He has served in key roles in several of the largest multidistrict litigations (MDLs) in U.S. history, helping his governmental entity clients recover hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements and relief.

JoJo holds a Juris Doctor (JD) and a Master of Business Administration (MBA), both from Arizona State University, as well as a Master of Accountancy (MAcc). During the COVID-19 pandemic, he furthered his professional education by completing Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation and Harvard Business School’s Negotiation Mastery course. He also earned the Mass Tort MDL Certificate from Duke Law School’s Bolch Judicial Institute.

JoJo was a principal architect of the One Arizona Distribution of Opioid Settlement Funds Agreement, which achieved full participation from eligible Arizona entities. The agreement governs the allocation of more than $1 billion in opioid settlement proceeds to the State of Arizona and its local governments for treatment, prevention, and enforcement efforts.

Philip Cossich – Bio
Philip F. Cossich, Jr. is the founding partner of Cossich, Sumich, Parsiola & Taylor, L.L.C. He earned a bachelor of arts degree, magna cum laude, from Tulane University in 1980 and a Juris Doctor degree, cum laude, from Tulane School of Law in 1983.

His law practice focuses in the areas of admiralty, mass tort litigation, class action, and multidistrict litigation. Phil has extensive experience litigating cases arising out of contamination caused by Trichloroethylene (TCE) and Perfluorinated Chemicals (PFCs). He served on the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee for the BP Multidistrict Litigation and as class counsel for all plaintiffs in the economic and property class settlement.

Phil is currently in a leadership position in the AFFF multidistrict litigation (MDL) in U.S. District Court in South Carolina.

Mike Rankin – Bio
Mike Rankin Mike Rankin is the City Attorney for the City of Tucson. Mike began his career at the City of Tucson as a law clerk in the City Prosecutor’s Office in 1992. In 2000 Mike moved into the Civil Division of the Office and was appointed as the Tucson City Attorney in 2004. Mike earned his B.A. from Colgate University and his J.D. from the University of Arizona. Mike was recognized by the Public Lawyers Section of the State Bar as a Distinguished Public Lawyer in 2016; and by the ACAA as a Distinguished Municipal Attorney in 2023 (which means he is old and will retire soon).

Lauren Lowe – Bio
Current:
Assistant City Attorney, City of Mesa Past positions:
Assistant Attorney General, Arizona Attorney General's Office
General Counsel, Arizona Department of Child Safety

Zach Sakas – Bio
Zach Sakas Zach focuses his practice on providing bond counsel services to all types of Arizona political subdivisions, guiding them through the issuance and sale of bonds to pay for infrastructure and improvements. In addition to representing Arizona political subdivisions, Zach advises investment banks that underwrite municipal bonds and banks that acquire governmental obligations for their own portfolios.

Zach has represented issuers, underwriters, and other transaction participants in a comprehensive variety of municipal and finance transactions.



Jon Paladini – Bio
Jon is a Partner at Pierce Coleman PLLC. He has been practicing law since 1993 and has practiced municipal law since 1996. Jon joined Pierce Coleman in August 2021 as part of the firm’s municipal law team.

Jon has broad and deep experience and expertise in all facets of municipal law, including public records, open meetings and conflicts of interest, land use and zoning, economic development, civil litigation, water law, City Clerk matters, personnel and employment law, elections law, utilities law, complex transactions and agreements, intergovernmental relations, ordinance drafting, legislative affairs and regulatory matters. Jon’s outstanding communication skills and ability to evaluate all relevant circumstances form the foundation of his ability to create a solid rapport and relationship with decision makers. He believes that a quintessential function of a municipal attorney is to understand the operations and operational needs of the various departments and functions of the organization in order to provide timely, useful and useable legal advice.

Jon has worked directly with mayors and city councils, boards and commissions, municipal management, department heads and human resources on all of the municipal law issues that face cities and towns. He has a reputation of providing consistent, reliable, well-reasoned, useable advice and offers comprehensive evaluation of situations from a policy, business and legal standpoint to provide innovative means and a unique “getting-to-yes” problem solving style that assists policy and decision makers accomplish their goals and objectives.

Prior to joining Pierce Coleman, Jon was the City of Prescott City Attorney since January, 2013. While at the City of Prescott, Jon’s legal acumen and problem-solving abilities were put to the test on numerous occasions. After the loss of the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots in 2013, Jon took the lead role in benefits claims litigation as well as public appearances and outreach to obtain fair coverage in the media to explain the City’s position. During his tenure in Prescott, the City was faced with several other major challenges and opportunities, including a substantial sober-living group home presence, several federal civil rights lawsuits, a charter city challenge to state law limitations on local elections, a revision of the city sign code and many other important local law matters. The sober living group home zoning and regulatory ordinances that he crafted not only withstood two HUD/DOJ investigations, but also had a huge impact on the industry in Prescott. Group home numbers decreased from around 200 homes in 2013 to fewer than 20 at Jon's departure from Prescott.

In 2013, Jon was first chair on a state takings and challenge to City authority lawsuit where the City achieved a dismissal. Jon also defended the City in the subsequent appeal that upheld the trial court’s decision. In 2016, Jon was second chair on a two-week federal civil rights and first amendment trial where the City obtained a defense verdict. Jon’s proactive approach to problem solving and providing preventative legal advice has helped Prescott avoid significant claims in the areas of employment law, public records, open meetings and police use of force. In 2014 and 2020, Jon was the lead attorney on charter city protection cases and has provided election law advice to the City Clerk over the course of four municipal election cycles.

In addition to litigation and claims experience, Jon has extensive experience with economic development, land use and zoning and general development law. He has led the City negotiating teams a large hotel project on City-owned land, large scale annexations, and a development deal that will provide the City with nearly 500 acres of recreational open space and 400 acres of municipal airport expansion area.

Jon’s other municipal law experience includes positions as Chief Deputy and City Attorney for the City of Glendale for over seven years. In that role Jon played a significant part in large sports stadium deals and other rapid growth and development.

Jon was also the Assistant City Attorney for the City of Sedona for five years where he performed all aspects of a municipal attorney, including substantial land development issues, the successful handling of over 15 eminent domain cases.

In private practice, Jon’s practice focused on municipal law, land use and zoning, development and elections law. He was involved in land use, rezoning and elections law cases in Paradise Valley, Phoenix, Goodyear and Sedona, including representing three municipalities in litigation against Maricopa County on a conflict regarding enforcement of Luke Air Force Base surrounding land use regulations, and the Tohono O’odham Indian Nation regarding a municipal law opinion that was submitted to the U.S. Secretary of the Interior for successful inclusion of land into the reservation system.

Jon received his B.S. in Journalism from the University of Oregon in 1985, his J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Miami in 1993 and his M.P.A. with honors from the Arkansas State University in 2018. Jon is admitted to practice law in Arizona, the Federal District Court of Arizona, the 9th Circuit and the United States Supreme Court.

Jon was elected by his fellow city attorneys as President of the Arizona City Attorney Association in 2017-2018.

Jon is retired from the U.S. military after 22 years of service as part of the Arizona Army National Guard, during which time he served four combat deployments to the Middle East and Afghanistan as well as numerous domestic operations deployments since 2001.

Prior to arriving in Prescott in 2013, he deployed to Afghanistan where he had the privilege of leading over 100 Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine service members, as well as DoD and State Department civilians at the Afghan National Terrorism Court. His team performed every facet of the Court’s operations, including operating a forensics lab, training Afghan partners, and conducting camp security and physical plant operations. During his tenure, the court out-worked and out-performed all prior court operations in both quantity and quality, and reached an all-time high in the number of cases handled as well as the conviction rate.

During his tenure with Prescott, Jon deployed to the Middle East where he oversaw a team of 12 senior officers and NCOs that dealt with US Embassies and the highest military and civilian leaders in numerous Arab countries. His leadership was a critical factor in the success of our operations and the safe return of all of team members.

Chris Payne – Bio
Chris Payne Chris is the Town Attorney and Risk Manager for the Town of Gilbert. Chris brings a diverse background to his role, including an undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering from Arizona State University.  While he enjoyed his time at the University of Arizona College of Law, he is a Sun Devil through and through. He provides counsel and representation to the Town Council, its departments, and officials on a wide range of municipal legal issues and has a background in water and environmental law.  Chris is an Arizona native, born in Tucson and raised in Higley.