Robert J. Berens: The Phoenix Bankruptcy Attorney Who Specializes in Surety-Bond Cases

Anyone looking for a Phoenix bankruptcy attorney with a genuinely unusual specialty niche will find Robert J. Berens distinctive — one of the few attorneys in Arizona working the intersection of surety bonds and bankruptcy, with a dual Bar certification and a published record on the topic going back decades. This independent profile examines what that Phoenix bankruptcy attorney practice actually offers.

At a Glance

Origin and Founder History

Robert J. Berens earned his J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law and has practiced since 1988, admitted in Arizona, Nevada, and California. This platform independently confirmed his Certified Specialist in Bankruptcy Law designation directly against the State Bar of Arizona’s own published specialist roster, which lists his certification dating to 1991 — one of the longest-standing bankruptcy specialist certifications in the state, alongside a second, national-level certification in Business Bankruptcy Law from the American Board of Certification. He now serves as managing partner of SMTD Law LLP’s Phoenix office.

Practice Area Breakdown

Berens’s practice sits at a specific, genuinely uncommon intersection: surety and fidelity bond law, construction litigation, and bankruptcy. He has published extensively on this specific niche — including “Methods to Limit the Surety’s Exposure in Bankruptcy” (presented to the Surety Claims Institute, 2000), “Bankruptcy: Can a Surety Be Held Liable for the Prepetition Payments Made By Its Principal?” (Norton Annual Survey of Bankruptcy Law, 1995-96), and “The Surety on Attack in the Principal’s Bankruptcy” (American Bar Association’s Tort and Insurance Practice Section, 1992). This body of published legal scholarship on the surety-bankruptcy intersection specifically is a genuinely rare, independently-verifiable credential this platform did not find matched elsewhere in this batch.

Case Outcomes

Public sourcing did not surface an itemized case-results table with specific figures from the firm’s own materials. Past results do not guarantee similar outcomes in any future case; case results depend entirely on the specific facts of each matter.

Client Voice

Public sourcing for this profile did not surface named, attributed client reviews specific to Berens on independent platforms — consistent with a practice serving surety and construction-industry clients rather than individual consumers who typically leave public reviews. Consistent with this platform’s standard, no client testimonial is included in this profile.

Beyond the Courtroom

Berens is a member of the American Bar Association’s Tort and Insurance Practice Section (Forum Committee on the Construction Industry) and the American Bankruptcy Institute, and has presented to the Arizona Trustee’s Association — a level of professional-association involvement in his specific niche that goes beyond standard bar membership.

Recognition

Independently verified: AZ State Bar Board of Legal Specialization, Certified Specialist in Bankruptcy Law, since 1991, confirmed directly against the Bar’s published roster; Super Lawyers recognition in the Surety practice category, confirmed via Super Lawyers’ own published attorney directory.

Firm-stated: Certified Specialist in Business Bankruptcy Law from the American Board of Certification is presented per the firm’s own materials; this is a genuine national certifying body distinct from state bar specialization, though this platform did not independently pull ABC’s roster for this specific profile.

Arizona Legal Backdrop

Bankruptcy is federal law (11 U.S.C.), filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona. Surety bond disputes intersecting with a principal’s bankruptcy raise specific questions under bankruptcy’s automatic stay (11 U.S.C. § 362) and preference-recovery rules (11 U.S.C. § 547), which can affect whether a surety recovers payments made shortly before a bankruptcy filing — the exact intersection Berens has published on. This is general legal information, not legal advice specific to any individual’s circumstances.

Awesome Attorneys Assessment

Berens’s published scholarship on the surety-bankruptcy intersection, combined with his dual state and national bankruptcy certifications, are genuinely rare, independently-verifiable credentials in a specific niche this platform hasn’t seen elsewhere in this batch. The honest note: this is a specialized, business-to-business practice (sureties, construction disputes, commercial litigation) rather than a consumer debt-relief practice, and readers looking for personal Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 filing help should look to the consumer-focused firms elsewhere in this batch.

Methodology and Sourcing

This profile draws on Robert Berens’s professional profile via Mediation.com (publication list and professional memberships), Super Lawyers’ published attorney directory, and the State Bar of Arizona’s public Bankruptcy Law Certified Specialists roster. See our other Phoenix-metro Bankruptcy & Debt attorney profiles for comparison, including consumer-focused alternatives.

Publisher Disclosure and Independence Notice

This profile was independently researched and written by Awesome Attorneys. It is not a paid placement, and inclusion here was not influenced by any payment or business relationship with the firm. Any future sponsored placement on this platform will be clearly and separately labeled as such. This content is legal information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney–client relationship with this firm or with Awesome Attorneys.