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Francis J. Slavin Phoenix is a boutique real estate litigation firm built by a former Fennemore Craig partner who spent his early career as a homebuilding executive.
A NOTE TO READERS. This profile was researched and written independently by Awesome Attorneys’ editorial team. Francis J. Slavin, P.C. did not pay for, request, or review this article prior to publication, and placement on Awesome Attorneys’ editorial pages cannot be purchased. Nothing in this article is legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney–client relationship. Past results do not guarantee, warrant, or predict the outcome of any future case.
At a Glance
| Firm | Francis J. Slavin, P.C. |
| Founder | Francis “Buzz” Slavin |
| Attorney | Joseph J. Moritz Jr. |
| Founded | 1990 (predecessor firm, 1983), Phoenix |
| Admitted (Slavin) | Ohio, 1968; Arizona, 1972 |
| Certification | State Bar of Arizona Board-Certified Specialist in Real Estate Law (Moritz), since 1999 |
| Focus | Real estate transactions and litigation, commercial litigation, property tax appeals, land use, condemnation, foreclosures, HOA law, and construction litigation |
| Office | Phoenix, AZ |
| Contact | fjslegal.com |
Sources: fjslegal.com, LawInfo, Lawyers.com, Justia, azbar.org Real Estate Law Certified Specialists roster. Compiled August 2026.
Origin
Francis J. Slavin Phoenix: From Homebuilding Executive to Real Estate Litigator
Francis “Buzz” Slavin earned both his undergraduate and J.D. degrees from the University of Cincinnati, was admitted to the Ohio Bar in 1968, and moved to Arizona in 1971 to become vice president and general counsel of a multi-discipline homebuilding, land development, and residential lending company — giving him an operator’s view of real estate development before he was admitted to the Arizona Bar in 1972. He joined Fennemore Craig in 1973, became a shareholder and director there, formed a predecessor firm in 1983, and founded Francis J. Slavin, P.C. in 1990. Joseph J. Moritz Jr., an attorney at the firm, was certified as a Real Estate Law Specialist by the State Bar of Arizona in 1999, a credential Awesome Attorneys confirmed directly against the Bar’s own public roster.
Practice
Real Estate Litigation as a Genuine Specialty, Not a Sideline
The firm’s practice concentrates on real estate transactions and litigation, property tax appeals, land use and zoning, condemnation, foreclosures and loan workouts, HOA law, and construction defect litigation, alongside a related commercial and business litigation practice. Slavin himself has testified as an expert witness in Maricopa County Superior Court in three jury trials involving legal malpractice and one bench trial involving rezoning and development feasibility, and served as an expert witness for the City of Santa Fe in New Mexico litigation over a proposed master-planned community.
Track Record
Awesome Attorneys did not identify an independent, itemized case-results table for the firm, which is typical for a litigation boutique of this size given confidentiality norms around settlements and case outcomes.
Past-Results Disclaimer: Every case is different, and no past result guarantees a similar outcome in any future matter.
Client Voice
The firm carries a small number of reviews on Lawyers.com and FindLaw describing the firm as helpful and accommodating with legal problems; Awesome Attorneys did not identify a large volume of independently sourced client reviews beyond this.
Community
Awesome Attorneys did not identify independently verifiable pro bono service, civic board membership, or policy work in the sources reviewed for this profile beyond Slavin’s professional expert-witness activity described above.
Recognition
Moritz’s Real Estate Law board certification (since 1999) was confirmed directly against the State Bar of Arizona’s own certified-specialist roster. Slavin has been AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell for more than 25 years, one of the longer-held AV ratings among attorneys profiled in this category. Awesome Attorneys did not identify a Best Lawyers or Super Lawyers selection for either attorney in the sources reviewed.
The Arizona Legal Backdrop
What follows is general legal information, not legal advice.
Arizona real property transactions, title matters, and landlord-tenant relationships are governed by Title 33 of the Arizona Revised Statutes. Property tax appeals, a named focus area, proceed through the Arizona Tax Court or the State Board of Equalization depending on the county and valuation amount. Construction defect litigation, another named area, is subject to Arizona’s Purchaser Dwelling Act, A.R.S. § 12-1361 et seq., which requires pre-litigation notice to a builder before certain claims may proceed.
The Awesome Attorneys Assessment
Francis J. Slavin Phoenix’s clearest differentiator is Slavin’s operator-side background in homebuilding and land development, which gives the firm’s real estate litigation work a practical, industry-informed perspective, paired with Moritz’s independently verified board certification and Slavin’s own decades-long AV rating.
The honest trade-off: this is a small boutique litigation practice without independent peer-review recognition beyond the AV rating (no Best Lawyers or Super Lawyers selection identified), and Awesome Attorneys found a comparatively thin public review record, typical for a firm this size focused on complex commercial litigation rather than consumer-facing transactions.
Methodology & Sourcing
This profile was researched in August 2026 from fjslegal.com, LawInfo, Lawyers.com, Justia, and the State Bar of Arizona’s Real Estate Law Certified Specialists roster (azbar.org). Awesome Attorneys did not identify a competing “Francis Slavin” or “Joseph Moritz” practicing real estate law elsewhere that could create identity confusion. Francis J. Slavin, P.C. 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.