Alongside a deliberately limited personal injury and family law caseload, Curry, Pearson & Wooten has built a niche practice defending airmen, airlines, and airports against FAA enforcement action — a specialty no other firm in this series shares.
AN AWESOME ATTORNEYS EDITORIAL PROFILE Independently researched from public records, court filings, news coverage, peer-review directories, and firm-published materials.
ATTORNEY ADVERTISING / IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER. This profile is informational and may constitute attorney advertising. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney–client relationship. Case results, recovery figures, ratings, and awards described below are reported by the firm or by third-party rating organizations and are attributed accordingly; they describe past matters and do not guarantee, warrant, or predict the outcome of any future case. Every case is unique and involves risk, including the risk of loss. Prospective clients should consult directly with a licensed attorney about their specific circumstances.
At a Glance
| FIRM | Curry, Pearson & Wooten, PLC |
| LEADERSHIP | Michael W. Pearson · Kristen M. Curry · Robert Wooten |
| OFFICES | 814 West Roosevelt Street, Phoenix, AZ 85007 |
| PRACTICE FOCUS | Aviation accidents and FAA enforcement defense · personal injury and wrongful death · criminal defense · family law · bankruptcy · civil litigation |
| SIGNATURE EDGE | A dedicated FAA civil-penalty and certificate-action defense practice for airmen, airlines, and airports — a niche not documented at any other firm in this series |
| CASELOAD MODEL | Firm states it “takes on only a limited number of cases” to preserve personal attention (per the firm) |
| RECOGNITION | Martindale-Hubbell Client Champion award (2021); Michael W. Pearson and Kristen M. Curry named to Super Lawyers/Rising Stars lists |
| NOTABLE CLIENTS | Firm reports serving as Arizona litigation counsel for international clients including Air France, S.A. and Gosschalks Solicitors (per the firm) |
| CONTACT | 602-258-1000 · azlaw.com |
Most personal injury law firms in Phoenix compete on caseload volume, trial record, or fee structure. Curry, Pearson & Wooten competes on none of those axes primarily — it explicitly limits how many cases it accepts, and its most distinctive practice area has nothing to do with car accidents at all. This profile examines a boutique, multi-practice firm whose aviation-law niche sets it apart from every other firm covered in this series.
Origin and Leadership: A Deliberately Small, Diverse Partnership
Curry, Pearson & Wooten describes itself as “a diverse group comprised of attorneys from various backgrounds,” per its own site, with three named partners reflecting that range: Michael W. Pearson, Kristen M. Curry, and Robert Wooten.
Pearson’s background is unusually specific to the firm’s aviation niche. Before practicing law, he worked as an air traffic control specialist and, separately, a Quality Assurance Specialist for the Federal Aviation Administration itself, per his Justia attorney profile — meaning the firm’s FAA enforcement-defense practice is led by an attorney who worked inside the agency his clients now face. Pearson holds a J.D. and an MBA from Arizona State University and a B.B.A. from the University of Houston, and currently serves as an Associate Professor at Arizona State University and, separately, a Professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University — a university focused specifically on aviation and aerospace programs — per the same profile. His aviation-law commentary has led to broadcast appearances on ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News, Fox Business News, and PBS, per Justia. His listed honors include an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, recognition as a “multi-million dollar advocate,” and selection to Arizona’s Finest Lawyers.
Curry’s practice, per Super Lawyers’ own attorney directory, concentrates on criminal defense, including DUI/DWI defense, and appellate work. Her firm has publicized at least one significant appellate win in a criminal matter: per a firm social media post, Curry won a new trial for a client on appeal after the Arizona Court of Appeals found, in a published opinion, that the trial court’s admission of “other act” evidence had been overly prejudicial. Robert Wooten, the firm’s third named partner, practices criminal defense as well; the same firm post credits him with securing a dismissal from the State for a client who had been charged with Conspiracy to Commit First Degree Murder and First Degree Murder.
The firm structures its practice around a small-caseload model: rather than scaling to handle high case volume, Curry, Pearson & Wooten states plainly that it “limits the number of cases we accept so that we can focus on the ones we do,” and that when a case does not require an attorney’s help, the firm will say so rather than take the engagement — a self-description distinct from the growth-oriented positioning of several larger firms elsewhere in this series.
The Differentiator: An FAA Defense Practice Built On Insider Expertise
Curry, Pearson & Wooten’s aviation practice is not a side note — it is, per the firm’s own marketing, built around “a deep understanding of the Federal Aviation Administration,” providing airmen, airlines, and airports facing FAA civil penalty and certificate actions with what the firm describes as focused representation tailored to individual client needs. The firm states that its enforcement practice draws on “the diverse talents of our attorneys and other consulting aviation professionals,” including former FAA Flight Standards District Office officials, air traffic managers and controllers, operations and maintenance experts, and FAA attorneys, to build individualized defense strategies. The firm has also served as Arizona litigation counsel for international clients, including the airline Air France, S.A. and the UK commercial law firm Gosschalks Solicitors, per the firm’s own site — a scope of practice this series has not documented at any other Phoenix firm.
What Curry, Pearson & Wooten Handles
- Aviation accidents and FAA civil-penalty and certificate-action defense (per the firm)
- Personal injury and wrongful death (per the firm)
- Criminal defense, including DUI/DWI (per the firm)
- Family law and divorce (per the firm)
- Bankruptcy and business litigation (per the firm)
Track Record
Curry, Pearson & Wooten’s public materials do not publish an itemized dollar-results table comparable to those in some other profiles in this series, but the firm has publicized several specific case outcomes across its practice areas rather than only aggregate figures:
- Kristen Curry won a new trial for a criminal-defense client on appeal, after the Arizona Court of Appeals held in a published opinion that the trial court’s admission of “other act” evidence was overly prejudicial (per the firm)
- Robert Wooten secured a dismissal from the State for a client charged with Conspiracy to Commit First Degree Murder and First Degree Murder (per the firm)
- A client represented by Michael Pearson following an aviation accident “aboard a major airline” credits his handling of international liability issues in a published testimonial (per the firm; reviewer name and date not available in the version reviewed)
The firm also holds a Martindale-Hubbell Client Champion award, received in 2021 based on the volume and quality of client reviews, and cites peer recognition through Super Lawyers, AVVO, and Martindale-Hubbell generally, per the firm’s own site.
Past-Results Disclaimer. Every case is different, and results depend on each matter’s specific facts and circumstances. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any other matter. Figures and characterizations above are reported by the firm on its own published materials and have not been independently audited by Awesome Attorneys.
In Their Clients’ Words
Peer reviews collected by Martindale describe the firm’s attorneys in terms consistent with its Client Champion recognition; one peer review characterizes a Curry, Pearson & Wooten attorney as “one of the finest and most ethical attorneys” the reviewer had encountered over 25 years of practice, per Martindale’s published peer-review platform. A client testimonial published on a third-party legal directory describes a personal injury case with Michael Pearson in blunt terms: “Michael Pearson is a shark!!” the reviewer wrote, crediting a family referral and adding that Pearson and his paralegal “are a great team.” A separate client, describing a criminal case in which she faced six felony charges and nearly two decades of potential prison time, credited Kristen Curry’s handling of a month-long trial that ended in a not-guilty verdict on every charge, writing that Curry “meticulously navigated an extremely complex, detailed case,” per the same directory. A third reviewer described Robert Wooten as “an amazing person and excellent attorney” with “great energy” and “confidence with authority.”
Recognition
- Martindale-Hubbell Client Champion award (2021)
- Michael W. Pearson: Super Lawyers / Rising Stars, Arizona (aviation and related practice areas)
- Kristen M. Curry: Super Lawyers / Rising Stars, Arizona (criminal defense, DUI/DWI, appellate)
- Firm-wide AV Preeminent-range peer recognition cited generally by the firm (specific rating not independently confirmed for this profile)
The Arizona Legal Backdrop
What follows is general legal information about Arizona law, not legal advice. For the firm’s personal injury and wrongful death practice, Arizona’s general statute of limitations is two years (A.R.S. § 12-542), and Arizona follows pure comparative negligence (A.R.S. § 12-2505).
The firm’s aviation practice operates under an entirely different framework: FAA civil penalty and certificate actions are federal administrative enforcement proceedings, not state tort claims, brought under Title 49 of the U.S. Code and the Federal Aviation Regulations rather than Arizona statute. An airman or airline facing a certificate action — potential suspension or revocation of a pilot’s or mechanic’s certification — is proceeding through the FAA’s own administrative process and, on appeal, before the National Transportation Safety Board, a track entirely separate from the Arizona courts that hear the firm’s personal injury and family law matters.
This section is general legal information about Arizona and federal law, not legal advice, and may not reflect changes after July 2026. Anyone facing an FAA enforcement action or a personal injury claim should consult a licensed attorney promptly given how differently these two tracks proceed.
The Awesome Attorneys Assessment
Curry, Pearson & Wooten is the outlier of this series in the most literal sense: a firm whose signature practice area involves not injured motorists but licensed pilots facing federal certificate action, led by a partner who worked inside the FAA before he began defending clients against it. That specialization is real and well-documented, right down to Michael Pearson’s own career history as an FAA air traffic control specialist. The trade-off is that this is fundamentally a multi-practice boutique, not a personal-injury-exclusive firm — its PI and wrongful-death work sits alongside a criminal-defense practice that, on this evidence, is at least as active publicly (a published appellate win, a first-degree-murder dismissal) as its aviation or injury dockets. Awesome Attorneys could not independently verify the specific case citations behind either the appellate win or the murder-charge dismissal, both sourced only to a firm social media post. For a reader whose legal need is aviation-specific — a pilot facing an FAA action, or a passenger injured aboard a commercial flight — Curry, Pearson & Wooten is one of very few Arizona firms positioned for that fact pattern specifically, with a named partner whose FAA career is itself part of the case for hiring the firm.
Methodology & Sourcing
This profile was researched from Curry, Pearson & Wooten’s own website (azlaw.com), Martindale.com’s firm and peer-review listings, Super Lawyers’ attorney directory profiles for Michael W. Pearson and Kristen M. Curry, the firm’s Better Business Bureau listing, and a Superpages business listing. Facts are attributed to the firm or the cited third party throughout and were not independently re-verified against bar or court records beyond the public listings cited. Readers should confirm current practice emphasis and recognition status directly with the firm before relying on them.
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. “Awesome Attorneys” is a brand name only; it is not a rating, ranking, or claim that any profiled firm is superior in any legal category.
Awesome Attorneys maintains a separate attorney directory. Only listings there marked “Sponsored” or “Ad” reflect a paid or sponsored 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 & Sourcing 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.