AWESOME ATTORNEYS
INDEPENDENT EDITORIAL · FIRM PROFILES · 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 attorney profiled. All case results, recoveries, and recognitions described below are attributed to their sources. Past results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future matter. This article is for general information only and is not legal advice; reading it does not create an attorney–client relationship.
A Certified Specialist With a Disclosed 2010 Bar Discipline
Nicholas Vakula has practiced Arizona personal injury law exclusively since 1984 and has held a State Bar of Arizona specialist certification since 1999 — a record this profile reports alongside a documented fact prospective clients should know: Arizona’s public bar records show Vakula was disciplined by the State Bar in 2010.
BY THE AWESOME ATTORNEYS EDITORIAL TEAM · PHOENIX, ARIZONA · JULY 2026
THE VAKULA LAW FIRM, PLC — AT A GLANCE
| FOUNDED BY | Nicholas E. Vakula, J.D. with Distinction, University of Arizona College of Law (1984) |
| FOCUS | Plaintiff-side personal injury exclusively — 100% of practice, per the firm, “limited to exclusive representation of individuals harmed and injured by the wrongful acts of others” |
| OFFICE | 11240 N. Tatum Blvd., Ste. 120, Phoenix, Arizona, serving Maricopa and Yavapai counties |
| CERTIFICATION | State Bar of Arizona Certified Specialist in Personal Injury and Wrongful Death, since 1999 — 26 years |
| DISCIPLINARY RECORD | Publicly listed by Avvo as “disciplined by a state licensing authority in 2010”; specifics of the matter were not available in the sources Awesome Attorneys reviewed |
| RECOGNITION | Member, Million Dollar Advocates Forum; recognized in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers of America; lifetime member, Arizona Association for Justice |
Sources: vakulalaw.com (firm website), National Trial Lawyers, Avvo, Lawyer.com. Compiled July 2026.
ORIGIN
Four Decades of an Exclusively Plaintiff-Side Practice
Nicholas Vakula earned his B.S. cum laude in Psychology from Arizona State University in 1980 and his J.D. with Distinction from the University of Arizona College of Law in 1984, the same year he was admitted to the State Bar of Arizona and the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. He founded the firm now known as The Vakula Law Firm, PLC and describes his practice as “limited to exclusive representation of individuals” who have been “100% Harmed & Injured by Wrongful Acts of Others,” with 100% of his practice devoted to litigation, per his own published professional summary. The State Bar of Arizona’s Board of Legal Specialization certified him as a Personal Injury and Wrongful Death specialist in 1999.
In 1999, Vakula also published “A Plaintiff Viewpoint: Excluding Testimony of the Defense Biomechanist at Trial” through Lawyers & Judges Publishing Company — a technical, practitioner-focused publication on a specific evidentiary tactic in injury litigation, reflecting subject-matter engagement beyond routine practice.
PRACTICE
An Exclusively Individual-Client, Litigation-Focused Practice
Vakula’s own materials are unusually explicit about the scope of his practice: 100% personal injury, entirely devoted to representing individual claimants rather than businesses or insurers, and entirely devoted to litigation rather than a broader civil practice. The firm serves clients across Maricopa County and Yavapai County, including Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, Glendale, Peoria, Sun City West, Surprise, Avondale, Casa Grande, Apache Junction, Litchfield Park, Prescott, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley, and Kingman.
TRACK RECORD
The Results Board
Vakula’s public materials cite three specific reported Arizona appellate decisions associated with his practice, though the firm does not publish an itemized settlement or verdict table with dollar figures.
| MATTER | CITATION |
|---|---|
| Allstate Insurance Co. v. Johnston | 194 Ariz. 402, 984 P.2d (Arizona Supreme Court, 1999) |
| Pritchard v. [matter as cited by the firm] | 174 Ariz., 741 P.2d 307 (Arizona Court of Appeals, 1987) |
| Arizona Property and Cas. Ins. Guar. Fund v. Ueki | 150 Ariz. 451, 724 P.2d 70 (Arizona Court of Appeals, 1986) |
Source: The National Trial Lawyers attorney profile, citing Vakula’s own published case history. Past results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future matter; every case is unique. Awesome Attorneys did not independently verify the current precedential status of these decisions.
CLIENT VOICE
What Clients Report
One reviewer, describing a repeat client relationship, praised Vakula’s “knowledge, trustworthiness and professionalism,” calling him “a lawyer for life.” Another reviewer specifically highlighted that Vakula is “very helpful to Vietnamese community,” describing him as “clear about case” status and responsive in coordinating with other insurers on a claim. A third reviewer described being rear-ended and totaling their vehicle, crediting Vakula with directing them to appropriate medical care and staying involved over a 28-month case resolution. Awesome Attorneys did not locate negative or critical client reviews of Vakula in its research.
COMMUNITY
Beyond the Courtroom
Vakula’s lifetime membership in the Arizona Association for Justice reflects sustained, long-term engagement with the state’s plaintiffs’ bar. The specific client account describing his accessibility to Tucson’s — more precisely, Phoenix’s — Vietnamese-speaking community suggests a practical, on-the-ground form of community service beyond formal charitable programming, though Awesome Attorneys did not find a dedicated, organized outreach program documented beyond that individual account.
RECOGNITION — AND A DISCLOSED DISCIPLINARY RECORD
Peer Standing
Vakula’s 1999 State Bar of Arizona Personal Injury and Wrongful Death certification, held for 26 years, is a genuine, individually earned credential. His Million Dollar Advocates Forum membership and Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers recognition add further, if membership-based, standing. Awesome Attorneys did not find a Super Lawyers or Best Lawyers listing, or an AV Preeminent Martindale rating, for Vakula specifically.
Consistent with this publication’s policy of disclosing genuine adverse findings rather than omitting them, Awesome Attorneys notes that Vakula’s public Avvo licensing record states he was “disciplined by a state licensing authority in 2010.” Awesome Attorneys was unable to determine the nature, severity, or resolution of that discipline from the public sources reviewed for this profile. Readers who want that detail should consult the State Bar of Arizona’s own attorney-discipline records directly rather than rely on secondhand summaries, including this one.
THE LAW
The Arizona Backdrop, in Plain English
Readers considering a personal injury claim in Arizona should understand a few ground rules. What follows is general information, not legal advice.
The two-year clock. Arizona’s statute of limitations for personal injury claims is generally two years from the date of injury (A.R.S. § 12-542).
Suing the government is faster and stricter. Claims against Arizona public entities require a formal notice of claim within 180 days (A.R.S. § 12-821.01) and a lawsuit within one year (A.R.S. § 12-821).
Fault is shared, not all-or-nothing. Arizona follows pure comparative negligence (A.R.S. § 12-2505): an injured person’s recovery is reduced by their percentage of fault, but not eliminated even if they were mostly at fault.
Minors get more time. The limitations clock is generally paused for minors and people of unsound mind until the disability ends (A.R.S. § 12-502).
ASSESSMENT
The Awesome Attorneys View
Vakula’s 26-year State Bar specialist certification and explicitly 100%-plaintiff, 100%-litigation practice mandate are genuine, checkable credentials, and the client account of his accessibility to Phoenix’s Vietnamese-speaking community adds a specific, credible dimension to his practice beyond generic marketing claims. His cited appellate case history, while lacking full citations for one matter, points to real, decades-long engagement with Arizona insurance and injury law at the appellate level.
The honest and necessary disclosure here is the 2010 State Bar discipline reflected in his public licensing record. Awesome Attorneys could not determine what that discipline was for, how serious it was, or how it was resolved from the sources available, and is not in a position to characterize it further. This publication’s policy is to disclose genuine adverse findings rather than omit them, consistent with how it has handled other attorneys’ documented bar discipline elsewhere in this series; prospective clients who want the specifics should check directly with the State Bar of Arizona’s public attorney-discipline lookup before retaining any attorney, including this one.
METHODOLOGY & INDEPENDENCE
This profile was researched and written independently by Awesome Attorneys’ editorial team in July 2026. Primary source: the firm’s own published website, vakulalaw.com, and Vakula’s National Trial Lawyers attorney profile. Secondary sources: Avvo and Lawyer.com. Nicholas Vakula and The Vakula Law Firm, PLC did not commission, pay for, or pre-approve this article. All claims are attributed to their sources, including the disclosed 2010 disciplinary record; past results do not guarantee or predict future outcomes. This article is general information, not legal advice.
© 2026 Awesome Attorneys. Independent editorial. Sponsored placements on Awesome Attorneys are always clearly labeled; this is not one.
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Facts, figures, and claims in this profile were independently researched from public sources as described in the Methodology & Independence 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 attorney before relying on it. This notice supplements, and does not replace, the Attorney Advertising Notice at the top of this profile.