Advisory Board

The Honorable Ruth V. McGregor (Co-Chair)

Chief Justice Ruth V. McGregor (ret.) served on the Arizona Supreme Court from February 1998 until June 2009. She was the Court’s chief justice from 2005 until her retirement. She was also a member of the Arizona Court of Appeals from 1989 until 1998, where she served as chief judge from 1995 to 1997.

Before her appointment to the bench, Justice McGregor engaged in the private practice of law as a member of the Fennemore Craig law firm in Phoenix. She served as law clerk to Justice Sandra Day O’Connor during Justice O’Connor’s first term on the United States Supreme Court.

Justice McGregor has participated extensively in professional activities, particularly those involving legal education and the discipline of lawyers and judges, and in organizations dedicated to assuring a fair and impartial judiciary. Among other activities, she has served as an officer and a member of the board of trustees for the American Inns of Court Foundation, as an officer and board member for the National Association of Women Judges, as a board member of the Conference of Chief Justices, and on the Legal Council of the American Bar Association’s Section of Legal Education and Admission to the Bar, which is the accrediting body for American law schools.

Ambassador Barbara Barrett (Co-Chair)

Ambassador Barbara Barrett served President George W. Bush as the first female chairperson of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy and as senior advisor to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. In 2008 and 2009, Ambassador Barrett was U.S. Ambassador to Finland. Ambassador Barrett also chaired the State Department’s Women’s Economic Empowerment Working Group and, as a member of the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council, founded Project Artemis, a program to train and mentor Afghan businesswomen at the Thunderbird School of Global Management.

During the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations, Ambassador Barrett served as deputy administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration and vice chairperson of the U.S. Civil Aeronautics Board. She chaired the National Export Conference and the Arizona District Export Council. She was also a member of the President’s Advisory Committee on Trade Negotiations and the Administrative Conference of the United States.

In 2012, Ambassador Barrett served as interim president of the Thunderbird School of Global Management. Previously, she taught leadership as a fellow at Harvard University, and was CEO of the American Management Association. Ambassador Barrett is chairman of the Aerospace Corporation and a member of the boards of California Institute of Technology, Sally Ride Science, RAND Corporation, Smithsonian Institution, Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, and Lasker Foundation. She has been recognized with the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service.

Katherine L. Adams

Kate Adams is senior vice president and general counsel of Honeywell. She is responsible for managing all of the company’s legal affairs including Securities and Exchange Commission filings and disclosure, corporate governance, human resources and benefits, intellectual property rights, litigation, environmental compliance, and acquisitions and divestitures. In this role, Ms. Adams is also responsible for Honeywell’s Government Relations and Global Security organizations. Before joining Honeywell, Ms. Adams was a partner at Sidley Austin Brown & Wood LLP in New York City. Earlier in her career, she served in roles as law clerk for Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Supreme Court of the United States; trial attorney for the United States Department of Justice, Appellate Section, Environment and Natural Resources division; and law clerk for Stephen Breyer, then chief justice United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and now justice of the Supreme Court. Throughout her career, Ms. Adams has held academic positions as adjunct assistant professor of law for the New York University Law School and adjunct assistant professor of environmental law for Columbia University Law School in New York City.

The Honorable Scott Bales

Chief Justice Scott Bales joined the Arizona Supreme Court in 2005. He teaches at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University. Before his appointment to the court, Justice Bales practiced at Lewis and Roca LLP in Phoenix, concentrating on appellate and complex litigation. As Arizona’s solicitor general from 1999 to 2001, he handled major appeals in state and federal court, oversaw the enforcement of Arizona election laws, and supervised the preparation of legal opinions on issues concerning state government. Chief Justice Bales also was a deputy assistant Attorney General for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Policy Development, a federal prosecutor in the United States Attorney’s Office in Phoenix, and a Special Investigative Counsel for the Justice Department’s Inspector General. He clerked for Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge Joseph T. Sneed III on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Brian G. Cartwright

Brian G. Cartwright retired from his partnership at Latham & Watkins LLP in 2005. He returned to the firm and served for two years as a senior advisor in 2011 and 2012. Mr. Cartwright is now a senior advisor at Patomak Global Partners, a financial services consultancy located in New York and Washington, D.C. He is also a member of the board of directors of HCP Inc. a real estate investment trust that invests in real estate serving the healthcare industry. In addition, he serves as a trustee of the Pacific Legal Foundation, a nonprofit legal services organization. Mr. Cartwright served as general counsel of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from 2006 to 2009, following a 23-year career at Latham & Watkins. As SEC general counsel, he was responsible for counseling the commission on all matters brought before it, including all enforcement actions and all rule makings. Mr. Cartwright also supervised all cases litigated by the SEC in the United States Courts of Appeals and advised on all adjudications appealed to the commission. During his service at the SEC, Mr. Cartwright also served as a senior advisor to the chairman and other commissioners and helped shape the commission’s major policy and regulatory initiatives. Mr. Cartwright served as a law clerk to Judge Malcolm R. Wilkey of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and then as a law clerk to Justice Sandra Day O’Connor of the United States Supreme Court.

Adam Chodorow

Adam Chodorow is the Jack E. Brown Professor of Law. His research and teaching interests lie in tax, administrative and regulatory law. He teaches a variety of tax courses, as well as business organizations. His research focuses on religious taxation and a variety of contemporary tax issues, such as the taxability of virtual income.

Professor Chodorow is a past Chair of the Teaching Tax Committee of the ABA’s Tax Section and the AALS’s Section on Jewish Law. He is a fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel and a member of the Academic Advisory Board of the Tannenwald Writing Competition. He previously served as Faculty Editor of Jurimetrics: The Journal of Law, Science, and Technology, published by the College together with the ABA’s Section of Science & Technology Law.

Before joining the faculty in 2004, Professor Chodorow clerked for Judge Joseph H. Gale of the U.S. Tax Court. At New York University, he won the David H. Moses Memorial Prize for having the highest cumulative academic average and the Harry J. Rudick Memorial Award for distinction in the LL.M. Tax Program. Professor Chodorow was an attorney at Pacific Gas & Electric Company in San Francisco, where he worked on energy-related litigation and regulatory matters, and he also practiced commercial litigation for Shartsis, Friese & Ginsburg.

Zachary Kramer

Zachary Kramer is the Executive Associate Dean and Jonathan and Wendy Rose Professor of Law at ASU Law. He teaches and writes in the areas of property law and civil rights law. He is the author of Outsiders: Why Difference is the Future of Civil Rights (Oxford 2019).

Before joining the College of Law faculty in 2010, Professor Kramer taught at Penn State (2008-10) and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (2006-08). He began his teaching career as the inaugural Charles R. Williams Teaching Fellow at UCLA School of Law. A graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law, Kramer served as the editor-in-chief of the University of Illinois Law Review.

Minister Ana Palacio

The 2016 O’Connor Justice Prize was given to Ana Palacio, member of the Council of State of Spain and former senior vice president and general counsel of the World Bank Group. Ms. Palacio was also the first woman to serve as the Minister for Foreign Affairs for the Spanish Government from 2002 to 2004. Throughout her varied and impressive career, Ms. Palacio consistently earned a reputation as an ardent defender and protector of the rule of law, human rights, judicial independence, and press freedom. Ms. Palacio’s passion for the rule of law and human rights was evident when as a member of the European Commission’s panel established under Article 255 of the Lisbon Treaty, she was instrumental in ensuring the independence of the European Union judiciary, vetting judicial candidates for two levels of Courts of the European Union. In the early stages of the development of the EU as something more than a commercial relationship, Ms. Palacio’s influence was pivotal to the incorporation of human rights into the fabric of the EU. Additionally, with Ms. Palacio’s counsel at the World Bank, human rights and freedoms were elevated in financial analyses.

Michael R. Rooney

Mike Rooney practices business and corporate law and private post-secondary school law at Sacks Tierney P.A. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America. Mr. Rooney has a long tradition of generous commitments of time in the community, and his current service includes the Prescott College Board of Trustees, Rio Salado Foundation, Tempe Center for the Arts Foundation, the O’Connor Institute, and Arizona Family College Savings Plan Oversight Committee. Mr. Rooney is a past president of the Grand Canyon Council of the Boy Scouts of America; a James E. West Fellow; a recipient of the Silver Beaver award; the Silver Antelope award; and, primarily because of his work with the homeless community in Arizona, was awarded the Distinguished Eagle award. Mr. Rooney was appointed by an Arizona governor to a four-year term on what is currently the Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education. This board regulates the private trade and technical school industry in Arizona. For two years, Mr. Rooney was the board’s chairman.

Nicole Stanton

Ms. Stanton serves as the managing partner of the Phoenix office and associate general counsel of Quarles & Brady. Her client list encompasses diverse industries and needs. Ms. Stanton is also a standing senior member of the firm’s Professional Liability Team. Ms. Stanton has served as defense counsel for several local and national law firms, as well as Quarles & Brady, along with representing accounting firms, financial institutions, insurance brokers, and a variety of other clients. In addition to her work as a litigator, Ms. Stanton assists and counsels both startup and established franchisors on a wide range of franchise law matters. Ms. Stanton is also highly invested in the Phoenix community. She has spearheaded a statewide anti-bullying initiative called Stop Bullying AZ, teaches professional responsibility courses at Arizona State University, has served on many nonprofit boards, and has received several awards for her business and community service activities.

Sarah E. Suggs

Sarah Suggs is a third-generation Arizonan whose 25-year career has taken her to the east coast and west. She served as Senior Vice President of Marketing for Phoenix-based Pivotal Group, a private equity and real estate investment firm, and as Executive Director of The National Women’s Hall of Fame in New York, which recognizes and celebrates the achievements of extraordinary American women. A community volunteer since the age of 12, Ms. Suggs has held several leadership positions including Phoenix Heart Ball Chairman, Arizona Science Center Gala Chairman, Women’s Board of the Barrow Neurological Foundation, a Founder of Phoenix Children’s Hospital Leadership Circle, and Past President of Charter 100, whose purpose is to recognize outstanding women in the community and provide a forum for their interaction. Honorary members include former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and former Arizona Governors Rose Mofford, Jane Dee Hull, and Janet Napolitano.

Ambassador Clint Williamson

Ambassador Williamson is a Distinguished Professor of Practice at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University and Senior Director for Law and National Security at the McCain Institute for International Leadership. From October 2011 until August 2014, he served as lead prosecutor for the European Union Special Investigative Task Force. Immediately prior to that position, he was special expert to the Secretary-General of the United Nations at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia. The tribunal is charged with prosecuting senior leaders of the Khmer Rouge and those most responsible for mass crimes committed in Cambodia during the 1970s. From June 2006 until September 2009, Ambassador Williamson served as the United States Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues. From 2003 to early 2006, he served in a number of capacities at the National Security Council, including acting special assistant to President George W. Bush. During his tenure at the White House, he was instrumental in developing the proposal for the creation of a standing civilian U.S. government post-conflict response capacity. While with the NSC, Williamson also served in Baghdad in 2003 as the first senior adviser to the Iraqi Ministry of Justice. From 1994 to 2001, he worked as a trial attorney at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) at The Hague. While at the ICTY, he supervised investigations and field operations in the Balkans, compiled indictments, and prosecuted cases at trial. Prior to joining the ICTY, Ambassador Williamson served as a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice Organized Crime Section and as an assistant district attorney in New Orleans.