The JSH Reporter Fall 2014 | Page 12

JSHFIRMANNOUNCEMENTS 012 JSH FIRM ANNOUNCEMENTS 14 JSH Lawyers Selected as Best Lawyers In America 2015 Congratulations to the fourteen lawyers from JSH that were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© 2015. Robert R. Berk Product Liability Litigation - Defendants Stephen A. Bullington Medical Malpractice Law - Defendants Gregory L. Folger Workers’ Compensation Law - Employers Eileen Dennis GilBride Appellate Practice Edward G. Hochuli Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants William D. Holm Insurance Law William R. Jones, Jr. Medical Malpractice Law - Defendants Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants Gordon Lewis Education Law Employment Law - Management Litigation - Labor and Employment Michael A. Ludwig Construction Law John T. Masterson Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants A. Melvin McDonald Criminal Defense: Non-White-Collar Donald L. Myles, Jr. Insurance Law J. Russell Skelton Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers Georgia A. Staton Employment Law – Management JSH Listed as One of the Top 10 Largest Law Firms in Arizona and Interviews Highest Ranking Woman, Georgia Staton (As originally published by AZCentral) Founded in 1983, Jones, Skelton & Hochuli has quickly grown to be one of the largest law firms in Arizona. With 73 attorneys and 189 employees, Jones Skelton & Hochuli was listed as the seventh largest law firm in Arizona by AZCentral. As the highestranking woman at Jones, Skelton & Hochuli, Georgia Staton was chosen to give an interview for “Who’s Who in Business” where she discussed why she chose to practice law in Arizona, as well as what being an attorney means to her. Over the years, many things have lured people to Arizona: sunshine, dry heat, natural beauty. But for Georgia A. Staton, the state offered a different appeal. “Back in the early 1970s, Arizona was a hotbed of land fraud,” says Staton, who began practicing law in 1974 as a criminal prosecutor with the Wichita, Kan., district attorney’s office. “I came out here because there was widespread fraud that was being vigorously addressed by a new attorney general. I thought this would be a great place to be a prosecutor if you were interested in prosecuting fraud.” Shortly after Staton moved to Arizona, Attorney General Bruce Babbitt hired her as part of a special prosecutions division. There, she handled many types of cases, including land fraud and fraud against seniors. Now a trial lawyer and partner with Jones, Skelton & Hochuli, Staton has been involved in many high-profile cases, including the notorious murder of The Arizona Republic journalist Don Bolles. “A few years after Bolles was murdered, I ended up defending the City of Phoenix in a lawsuit brought by (suspect) Max Dunlop against the police department,” Staton explains. “I represented the city and its officers in that civil lawsuit.” In 1984, Staton joined her current law firm, where she specializes in defending governmental entities in Arizona. One case might see her defending a police department on an excessive force case or a school district on a wrongful termination case. “I handle employment cases, discrimination cases, civil rights cases, conditions of confinement in jail cases,” Staton says. “It’s a huge range in terms of the claims that are made against governmental entities. I handle them all.” Even though Staton has been a practicing attorney for four decades, she has not lost sight of what it means to be a lawyer. “I would like for people to understand that being an attorney is a great honor,” she says. “It’s a privilege to represent others. I have their livelihoods in my hands. Sometimes I have all of their finances in my hands. “The amount of trust people place in me as a lawyer is great. Being an attorney is a special profession. I know there are lawyer jokes out there and that’s fine—until you need a lawyer. When you need a lawyer and your lawyer is representing you, that relationship is close and it’s personal. I think most people don’t understand that.”