Burch & Cracchiolo — Phoenix, AZ

Inside Burch & Cracchiolo, the 54-year-old Phoenix institution where a dedicated plaintiff’s injury team — several of them former insurance-side litigators — operates alongside estate planning, family law, real estate, and business litigation departments under one roof.

Burch & Cracchiolo — At a Glance

Origin: A Police Officer’s Son and a Detroit-Born Trial Lawyer

Frank Haze Burch was five years old in 1925 when his father, also named Haze Burch, was killed in the line of duty — the first active-duty Phoenix police officer to die that way, according to the firm’s own account. A Phoenix native and University of Arizona law graduate, Burch built a career in real estate, zoning, and planning law after serving as a Maricopa County deputy attorney, eventually arguing matters before Arizona and federal courts, including the United States Supreme Court.

Daniel Francis Cracchiolo was born in Detroit and raised in Arizona from infancy. Also a University of Arizona law graduate — earning his degree and Arizona bar admission in 1952, and admission to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1957 — Cracchiolo served as a first lieutenant in the Air Force between two stints as a Maricopa County deputy attorney before entering private practice as a commercial litigator and trial lawyer.

The two men founded Burch & Cracchiolo in 1970. Both founders have since died: Frank Haze Burch on September 25, 2005, and Dan Cracchiolo at home on June 1, 2022, at age 93. Both were later inducted into the Maricopa County Bar Association’s Hall of Fame, Burch in its “Pioneers” category.

The Institution: From Two Founders to a Full-Service Firm

More than five decades on, the firm has grown into one of the larger full-service practices in the Southwest, now led by Susanne E. Ingold — the first woman to lead Burch & Cracchiolo in its history, succeeding Andrew Abraham (president since 2017), who succeeded Edwin “Ed” Bull. Today the firm practices across business and corporate law, commercial litigation, construction law, bankruptcy, employment law, estate planning, family law, real estate, tax controversy, liquor licensing, criminal defense, and personal injury.

The Injury Law Team: Built by Attorneys Who Used to Sit Across the Table

Burch & Cracchiolo’s own materials date its injury practice to 1979. The team’s self-description leads with an unusual credibility claim: several of its attorneys have “significant background representing defendants in negligence and personal injury cases,” giving them, in the firm’s words, “a unique and realistic perspective when claims are being evaluated, negotiated and litigated.”

The team’s current attorneys include Todd A. Julian, named in The Best Lawyers in America 2026 specifically for Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs; Gregory Rosenthal, an AV Preeminent-rated attorney who joined after 18 years in partnership with his father; Bryan F. Murphy, with 30+ years arguing before the Arizona Court of Appeals, Arizona Supreme Court, and Ninth Circuit; Freddy Saavedra, a 2013 ASU law graduate and Super Lawyers Rising Star (2019–2023); and B. “Bucky” Slomski, focused solely on serious personal injury, medical malpractice, and wrongful death.

The Bankruptcy & Reorganization Team: Business-Side Creditor Litigation

Separate from the injury team above, Burch & Cracchiolo maintains a genuinely established bankruptcy and reorganization practice group with named litigators including Ryan W. Anderson, Casey S. Blais, Steven J. Lippman, Shawn A. McCabe, and Alan A. Meda. The firm’s own materials frame this work distinctly from consumer debt-relief practice: it represents secured and unsecured lenders, landlords, trade creditors, bondholders, banks, and insurance companies — the creditor side of bankruptcy proceedings and out-of-court workouts — and regularly handles complex bankruptcy litigation at the trial and appellate court level, including confirming plans of reorganization on behalf of both debtors-in-possession and creditor plan proponents. The firm is a member of Primerus, an international alliance of independently-vetted law firms, a membership this platform treats as independently corroborating the firm’s institutional standing beyond its own self-description.

The Real Estate Practice: Three Certified Specialists on One Team

Separately from the injury and bankruptcy teams above, Burch & Cracchiolo houses a genuinely credentialed real estate practice group. Awesome Attorneys checked the firm’s real estate attorneys directly against the State Bar of Arizona’s own Real Estate Law Certified Specialists roster and confirmed three: Andrew Abraham (certified since 1990, at the firm since 1983, and the firm’s former president), Edwin C. Bull (certified since 2000, a past firm president), and M. Brennan Ray (certified since 2016). Three independently verified Board-Certified Real Estate Specialists at a single firm is an unusually deep concentration — Arizona has roughly two dozen certified real estate specialists statewide, per the Bar’s own public roster, meaning this one firm’s real estate group accounts for a meaningful share of them. Abraham’s practice spans real estate litigation, commercial lease negotiation for landlords and tenants, loan transactions, and title claims, and he has been named a Best Lawyers “Lawyer of the Year” for Real Estate Litigation in Phoenix across multiple editions.

Track Record

Past-Results Disclaimer: Every case is different, and results depend on each matter’s specific facts. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome in any future matter.

Client Voice

One family, signing as “Sean and Jenny P.,” thanked the team by name for “all the hard work” on what they call “Finley’s case.” Another reviewer, Marolee C., thanked the team for support during a difficult period, adding she wished the firm practiced in Cincinnati.

Community

Dan Cracchiolo served for decades as chairman of The Steele Foundation, which has awarded more than $50 million in grants to over 300 Arizona nonprofits. Frank Haze Burch was among the first supporters of the 100 Club of Arizona, which assists families of public-safety officers injured or killed on duty.

Recognition

At least a dozen attorneys appear in the 2026 Best Lawyers edition, with Todd A. Julian specifically recognized for Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs. In April 2026, the firm reported 26 attorneys selected to Southwest Super Lawyers. The firm is also listed in Chambers USA and holds membership in Primerus. Separately, three of the firm’s real estate attorneys hold genuine, independently-confirmed State Bar of Arizona Real Estate Law board certifications, detailed above.

The Arizona Legal Backdrop

What follows is general legal information, not legal advice.

Arizona gives most personal-injury and wrongful-death plaintiffs two years from the date of injury to file suit (A.R.S. § 12-542). Claims against a government entity require a notice of claim within 180 days (A.R.S. § 12-821.01) and suit within one year (A.R.S. § 12-821). Arizona follows pure comparative negligence (A.R.S. § 12-2505). Arizona’s Adult Protective Services Act (A.R.S. § 46-451 et seq.) supplies a specific civil cause of action for abuse or neglect of a vulnerable adult (A.R.S. § 46-455). On the real estate side, Arizona property transactions and title issues run through Title 33 of the Arizona Revised Statutes, and commercial landlord-tenant disputes, part of Abraham’s practice, are governed by A.R.S. § 33-301 et seq.

The Awesome Attorneys Assessment

Burch & Cracchiolo pairs a 54-year-old, full-service institution with a plaintiff’s injury team whose signature claim is defense-side insight, plus a real estate group with a genuinely unusual concentration of three independently verified board-certified specialists. That combination cuts both ways: clients get a major firm’s resources and cross-practice bench — but personal injury, or real estate, is one practice group among many here, not the firm’s sole reason for existing, so clients should confirm which specific department and attorney will handle their matter.

Methodology & Sourcing

This profile was researched in July–August 2026 from Burch & Cracchiolo’s own website (bcattorneys.com), Primerus, Best Lawyers, AZ Big Media, Super Lawyers, Attorney at Law Magazine, and the State Bar of Arizona’s Real Estate Law Certified Specialists roster (azbar.org). Burch & Cracchiolo did not commission, review, or pay for this profile.

Publisher Disclosure & Independence Notice

This profile is an independent editorial article published by Awesome Attorneys. Awesome Attorneys does not endorse, recommend, or warrant any lawyer or law firm profiled on this site, and inclusion in this series is not paid placement.

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