AWESOME ATTORNEYS
INDEPENDENT EDITORIAL · FIRM PROFILE · PHOENIX, ARIZONA

ATTORNEY ADVERTISING NOTICE. This profile was researched and written independently by Awesome Attorneys’ editorial team. It was not paid for, commissioned, or reviewed prior to publication by the firm profiled. All credentials and recognitions described below are attributed to their sources. This article is for general information only and is not legal advice; reading it does not create an attorney–client relationship.

Three Board-Certified Estate & Trust Specialists, a Chambers-Ranked Litigation Practice, and an IP Group Inside a Century-Old Phoenix Firm

Fennemore’s Camelback Road office carries not one but three attorneys individually certified by the State Bar of Arizona in estate and trust law — Terry James Lee, Hope E. Leibsohn, and Debra J. Polly — a concentration of state-tested specialty credential rare even among Phoenix’s larger firms, alongside a separately Chambers USA-ranked general commercial litigation practice and a dedicated intellectual property group.

BY THE AWESOME ATTORNEYS EDITORIAL TEAM · PHOENIX, ARIZONA · AUGUST 2026

FENNEMORE — AT A GLANCE

Sources: fennemore.com (firm website), Lawyer Legion (Maricopa County Board of Legal Specialization directory), State Bar of Arizona, Chambers USA. Compiled August 2026.

ORIGIN

An Old Firm Name, Refreshed Credentials

Fennemore is among Arizona’s longest-established law firms, and its estate and trust group is anchored by three attorneys who hold the state’s most rigorous available credential in the field: individual Board of Legal Specialization certification, not a firm-wide marketing claim. Terry James Lee has been licensed for 30 years; Hope E. Leibsohn for 40; Debra J. Polly for 21 — a spread of tenure that gives the group both institutional memory and newer practice experience under one roof. Separately, Chambers USA independently ranks the firm’s general commercial litigation practice in its Band 2 tier for Arizona, and the firm maintains a dedicated intellectual property practice group.

Certification in estate and trust law is not automatic with seniority. It requires the State Bar’s Board of Legal Specialization to confirm at least five years of practice, substantial documented involvement in wills, trusts, and estate or trust litigation over at least four of the preceding six years, five professional references, and a passed written examination — renewed every five years. Three attorneys clearing that bar inside one practice group is one of the specific, verifiable facts this profile is built around.

PRACTICE AREAS

Wills, Trusts, Commercial Disputes, and IP Strategy

The certification standard itself defines the scope of the estate practice: estate and gift tax planning, drafting of wills and trusts, business succession planning, probate administration and asset transfer, trust termination, guardianship and conservatorship proceedings, and contested estate and trust litigation when disputes arise. Separately, Fennemore’s general commercial litigation group handles business disputes independent of the estate practice, a group Chambers USA has ranked among Arizona’s Band 2 commercial litigation firms. On the IP side, the firm’s own materials describe a first-step approach of helping clients identify their intellectual property — whether a business name, sales materials, software code, or a key product or method — before designing a protection and leverage strategy tailored to the client’s specific commercial objectives; the practice is supported by attorneys across the firm’s Phoenix, Oakland, and Washington, D.C. offices. A firm the size of Fennemore also brings tax, business, and litigation colleagues in-house for matters that cross practice areas — a common advantage of a full-service firm over a solo or boutique practice.

TRACK RECORD

Estate planning and probate work is advisory and administrative by nature rather than adversarial, so there is no settlement or verdict table to report for that group, and this profile does not construct one from firm marketing claims. Awesome Attorneys similarly did not identify an independent, itemized case-results table for the commercial litigation or IP practices beyond the Chambers ranking itself. The verifiable record in the estate field is the certification and tenure data above; in litigation, it is the independent Chambers ranking. Past results in any legal matter, where they exist, do not guarantee a similar outcome in a future matter.

CLIENT VOICE

Awesome Attorneys did not locate independently verifiable, individually attributed public client reviews specific to Fennemore’s estate and trust, commercial litigation, or IP practice groups — these serve clients (estate planning families, business litigants, IP-holding companies) who publish public reviews far less often than plaintiff-side consumer litigation clients do. This profile will not manufacture composite quotes to fill that gap; readers should ask the firm directly for references relevant to their specific matter.

COMMUNITY

As one of Arizona’s oldest and largest firms, Fennemore’s attorneys are broadly active in Phoenix bar leadership, CLE instruction, and nonprofit board service. This profile focuses specifically on the estate and trust, commercial litigation, and IP groups rather than firm-wide civic activity.

RECOGNITION

• Peer-reviewed state certification (the highest tier available in Arizona): three separate Board of Legal Specialization certifications in estate and trust law, each independently examined and renewed through the State Bar of Arizona.
• Independent legal-market research: Chambers USA’s Band 2 ranking of the firm’s Arizona general commercial litigation practice, based on client and peer interviews rather than paid placement. Arizona does not offer a state specialty certification in business litigation or intellectual property law, unlike estate and trust law.
• Marketing-program recognitions, where they exist for individual Fennemore attorneys (such as Super Lawyers or Best Lawyers listings), are distinct from both state certification and the Chambers ranking, and are not the basis of any claim in this profile.

ARIZONA LEGAL BACKDROP

Arizona’s probate code, A.R.S. Title 14, governs wills, trusts, and estate administration in the state. A.R.S. § 14-3108 sets an ultimate outer time limit on most probate and appointment proceedings. A.R.S. § 14-3801 and § 14-3804 govern how and when a creditor must present a claim against a decedent’s estate. Separately, general commercial litigation in Arizona proceeds under the Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure in state court or the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in federal court. On the IP side, patents, federal trademarks, and copyrights are governed almost entirely by federal law rather than Arizona statute; Arizona separately protects trade secrets through the Arizona Uniform Trade Secrets Act, A.R.S. § 44-401 et seq. None of this is legal advice; deadlines and procedures should be confirmed with counsel for any specific matter.

AWESOME ATTORNEYS ASSESSMENT

The specific, checkable differentiator here is depth across three distinct practice areas: three independently earned state certifications concentrated in one estate and trust practice group, a separately, independently Chambers-ranked commercial litigation practice, and a dedicated IP strategy group spanning three offices — not a common combination even among Phoenix’s larger firms. The honest trade-off is the one that comes with any full-service firm of Fennemore’s size: pricing and process are generally built for more complex matters, not the simplest, most budget-conscious engagement, which a smaller boutique or solo practitioner may handle more economically. This is a strong fit for families or businesses with real complexity — multiple entities, blended families, significant or illiquid assets, an anticipated estate dispute, a substantial commercial matter, or an IP portfolio needing coordinated multi-office strategy — and a less natural fit for the simplest needs.

METHODOLOGY & SOURCING

This profile was compiled from the firm’s own website (fennemore.com), including its intellectual property practice page, the Lawyer Legion directory of State Bar of Arizona Board of Legal Specialization certified attorneys, the State Bar of Arizona’s own certified-specialist records, and Chambers USA’s published Arizona litigation rankings. Certification years, licensure tenure, and rankings are as reported by these sources as of August 2026 and are subject to change; readers should confirm current status directly with the State Bar of Arizona or the firm.

PUBLISHER DISCLOSURE & INDEPENDENCE NOTICE

Awesome Attorneys is an independent legal directory and editorial publication. This profile was not paid for, commissioned, or reviewed prior to publication by Fennemore. Only listings marked “Sponsored” or “Ad” reflect a paid relationship with Awesome Attorneys; this editorial profile is not such a listing. Facts, figures, and claims in this profile were independently researched from public sources as described in the Methodology section and are current only as of the research date; they are subject to change without notice, and readers should confirm any detail directly with the firm before relying on it. This notice supplements, and does not replace, the Attorney Advertising Notice at the top of this profile.

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