PHOENIX Magazine has selected 17 G&K attorneys for its fifth annual "Top Lawyers" list. The 2026 PHOENIX Magazine "Top Lawyers" include:
Guillaume J. Aimé - Civil Law Transactional, Securities Law
Guillaume advises companies of all sizes across diverse industries and geographic markets in securities and business transactions, including public and private offerings, SEC reporting, and mergers and acquisitions. G also advises companies and venture capital firms in VC funding and helps companies with their corporate governance, entity formation, and commercial contracts.
Clients range from investors and startups to multi-million-dollar companies.
Karin S. Aldama - Insurance Coverage Bad Faith
Karin handles complex commercial and business litigation and insurance coverage matters for mid-size to Fortune 500 companies in hospitality, finance, utilities, aerospace, and semiconductors. She helps corporate clients and governmental entities find insurance programs that meet their needs and obtain the coverage to which their policies entitle them.
She has also developed a niche practice at the intersection of AI and insurance.
Melissa F. Benson - Family Law
Leading the firm’s Family Law Practice, Melissa represents families and individuals in all types of domestic relations and disputes, including divorce, custody, property division, alimony, modification of orders, and more serious issues, such as orders of protection. She is a dedicated advocate, providing compassionate and concierge-style service to resolve her clients’ most personal disputes.
Melissa was previously selected for the 2023 and 2025 editions of Top Lawyers.
Matthew R. Boatman - Personal Injury
Matt is a distinguished legal practitioner specializing in complex and catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases. With a dedicated focus on cases arising from motor vehicle accidents, medical malpractice and negligence, defective products, unsafe premises, and insurance coverage disputes, Matt brings a wealth of expertise and advocacy to his clients’ needs.
Stephen R. Boatwright – Securities Law
Steve handles public and private business mergers and acquisitions for buyers and sellers of businesses of all kinds and advises companies in raising private equity and public financing. Whether seeking initial funding, expanding the business through follow on funding or acquisition, or pursuing an exit strategy through an asset/stock sale or public offering, Steve’s clients rely on his practical judgment and seasoned know-how gained over three decades to realize even their most lofty goals in all phases of financing, growth, and sale.
Steve was previously selected for the 2023, 2024, and 2025 editions of Top Lawyers.
Shannon L. Clark – Personal Injury
Shannon is an advocate for victims of negligent and wrongful conduct in Arizona and beyond. With fortitude, experience, and “fire in the belly,” he resolves serious injury cases involving motor vehicle crashes, aviation disasters, commercial trucking wrecks, professional negligence, product liability, and consumer safety issues. Shannon is a champion for his victims and ultra-sensitive to the human element of each case he handles.
Shannon was previously selected for the 2023, 2024, and 2025 editions of Top Lawyers.
James B. Connor - Real Estate
Jim practices in the areas of corporate finance and real estate law, representing local and national real estate developers, lenders, and investors with commercial real estate matters including apartments, industrial, office, and retail projects, master-planned communities, and shopping centers. He negotiates leases with national retail tenants, assists borrower clients with securitized loans and synthetic leases, drafts joint venture agreements, and handles closed and enforced secured loans.
With more than 43 years of experience, Jim is well-versed in all corporate finance and real estate matters, having dealt extensively with a wide variety of legal issues.
Janey Henze Cook - Criminal Defense
Janey handles white collar and non-white collar criminal cases arising out of felony and misdemeanor crimes, including fraudulent schemes and artifices, homicide, public corruption, drug offenses, gambling, forfeiture, and offenses against public order. She represents media enterprises with respect to First Amendment constitutional issues, as well as elected officials in matters involving disclosure obligations and election laws.
She also has experience defending homicide cases with the “guilty but insane” defense and an assisted suicide defense.
Jennifer A. Cranston - Insurance Coverage Bad Faith
Jennifer's unique practice includes real estate litigation, insurance coverage, and utility regulation. For the past 25 years, she has counseled private property owners and acquiring agencies in condemnation actions and valuation issues. In her insurance practice, Jennifer advocates for business owners and individuals in coverage and bad faith disputes. On the regulatory side, she represents public utilities in rate cases and other important policy matters before the Arizona Corporation Commission.
Jennifer was previously selected for the 2022 edition of Top Lawyers.
Kevin D. Neal - Aviation
Kevin practices in the area of civil litigation, with an emphasis on high-profile and complex cases involving business contracts, consumer fraud, aviation crashes, medical malpractice, product liability, and wrongful death and personal injury. Kevin has handled cases for clients in some of the largest lawsuits litigated in Arizona. He represents clients in claims and suits arising out of a variety of issues.
Kevin was previously selected for the 2022, 2023, and 2024 editions of Top Lawyers.
Kevin E. O'Malley - Civil Law Litigation
Over his 46 year career, Kevin has managed many high profile, complex commercial litigation matters, including securities, environmental, governmental liability, construction, professional liability and insurance coverage cases. He has significant class action and appellate experience and heads the firm’s litigation and public bidding and procurement practice. Kevin represents public and private companies and individual clients, and is widely known for his depth and breadth of experience, consistent track record of success, and ability to aggressively litigate when necessary or pursue settlement when deemed the optimal course for his clients.
Kevin was previously selected for the 2024 edition of Top Lawyers.
Kortney Otten - Cannabis Law
Kortney leads the firm’s cannabis and hemp practice, advising plant-touching and ancillary cannabusiness owners/operators, start-ups, and those expanding to this market through the myriad of state and federal regulations particular to the industry.
A long-time entrepreneur, Kortney has 20+ years of hands-on experience as an owner/operator of franchised restaurants, companies involved in manufacturing nutraceuticals, and real estate and investment interests. She also handles commercial bankruptcy and business law.
Hannah H. Porter - Civil Law Litigation
Hannah represents clients in a wide variety of civil disputes, including breach of contract, fraud, trade secrets, business ownership disputes, class actions, and bid protests for government contracts. She has handled matters at all stages of litigation, including through trial and appeal, in both state and federal courts.
Hannah is also chair of the firm's Professional Women's Group, leading several educational, professional, and social activities throughout the year, including philanthropy efforts.
Josefa A. Rodriguez - Family Law
Josefa brings a compassionate approach to helping families resolve domestic disputes involving legal separations, divorce proceedings, spousal maintenance, child custody and support, parental rights, and domestic violence. She is adept at achieving favorable resolutions through strategic advocacy and effective case management, with particular emphasis on settlement negotiations for early resolution and pre/post-nuptial agreements.
Michael R. Ross - Commercial Litigation, Sports Law
A formidable trial lawyer with 30 years of experience, Mike has represented individuals and companies of all sizes with integrity, common sense, and consistent success. He has pursued and defended a broad spectrum of disputes, from small to complex, multi-million dollar claims, in both federal and state courts and private arbitrations, earning the trust and loyalty of his clients and the respect of his peers.
Mike was previously selected for the 2022, 2023, and 2024 editions of Top Lawyers.
Dominick San Angelo - Civil Law Transactional, Securities Law
Dom practices in the areas of business law and transactions, focusing primarily on mergers & acquisitions, securities, and corporate governance matters for clients across a broad spectrum of industries. He routinely serves as outside general counsel to his business clients, assisting them with matters ranging from entity structuring and commercial transactions to resolving disputes.
Dom was previously selected for the 2024 edition of Top Lawyers.
Woodrow C. Thompson - Criminal Defense
Woody is a criminal defense attorney who advises a myriad of clients on all types of felony and misdemeanor offenses and government investigations. For nearly two decades, he has concentrated his practice in criminal law, representing individuals faced with a wide range of criminal offenses ranging from misdemeanor DUI to homicide, sex offenses, and Federal Investigations.
Woody was previously selected for the 2024 edition of Top Lawyers.
About Phoenix Magazine
PHOENIX Magazine generates its Top Lawyers list via an online survey of practicing attorneys in the Greater Phoenix area. Partnering with Colorado Springs-based information research firm Data Joe, PHOENIX disseminates emails to each of the roughly 16,000 active attorneys licensed with the State Bar of Arizona, directing them to an online portal managed by Data Joe. The survey, which takes place over six weeks, asks respondents to provide the names of up to three attorneys they deem the best in 39 legal specialties. To spread the votes democratically, respondents are asked to nominate at least one attorney in each category who works in a firm other than their own.
At the conclusion of the voting, Data Joe tallies the votes digitally and verifies that recipients are in good standing with the State Bar. PHOENIX editors then set the vote thresholds in a manner that ensures the top 10 to 20 percent of vote-getters in each category make the Top Lawyers list. PHOENIX fact-checkers then call each attorney on the final list to confirm their affiliation with a Valley-based firm and obtain accurate contact information.
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