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A NOTE TO READERS. This profile was researched and written independently by Awesome Attorneys’ editorial team. Aspey, Watkins & Diesel, PLLC (AWD LAW) 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 | Aspey, Watkins & Diesel, PLLC (AWD LAW) |
| Attorney | Kathryn Grace Mahady, Partner |
| Office | 123 N. San Francisco St., Suite 300, Flagstaff, AZ 86001 |
| Firm founded | 1975, by Frederick Aspey, Harold Watkins, and Louis Diesel — now marking 50 years as Northern Arizona’s largest firm |
| Focus | Immigration law, including family petitions, green card renewals, naturalization, and U-visa relief for crime victims — one of several practice areas Ms. Mahady handles at this full-service firm |
| Education | B.A. magna cum laude (2000) and M.A. summa cum laude (2005), University of Arizona; J.D. cum laude, University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law (2011) |
Sources: awdlaw.com (firm site), Avvo, Martindale, Lexinter attorney directory. Compiled August 2026.
Origin
A 50-Year Firm, and an Attorney Who Practices Across Multiple Areas
AWD LAW traces to 1975, when three young attorneys — Frederick Aspey, Harold Watkins, and Louis Diesel — started the firm with a single client; it has since grown into, per its own description, the largest law firm in Northern Arizona, celebrating 50 years in 2025. Kathryn Grace Mahady, originally from Boston, relocated to Arizona in the late 1990s and earned three degrees from the University of Arizona, culminating in a cum laude J.D. in 2011. She has practiced at AWD LAW since roughly that time and has been recognized with Avvo’s Top Contributor and Client’s Choice badges. An honesty note on her practice scope: Ms. Mahady’s own bios describe her handling civil litigation, probate, real estate disputes, bankruptcy, and criminal defense in addition to immigration law — this is not a dedicated immigration-only practice, and readers should weigh that breadth against firms elsewhere in this series with a narrower immigration focus.
Practice
Immigration Work Within a Full-Service Firm
Within AWD LAW’s broader practice, Ms. Mahady is the firm’s named immigration attorney, handling green card applications and renewals, naturalization, and — per the firm’s own published materials — U nonimmigrant status petitions (Form I-918) for crime victims, a form of humanitarian immigration relief tied to cooperation with law enforcement investigations. The firm markets her specifically as its immigration point of contact on a dedicated practice-area page, distinguishing this from an attorney who handles immigration only incidentally.
Track Record
Immigration outcomes such as green card and naturalization approvals are not typically published as a comparable results table; no independent case-result compilation was located in the sources reviewed for this profile.
Past-Results Disclaimer: Every case is different, and no past result guarantees a similar outcome in any future matter.
Client Voice
Attributed client reviews on the firm’s own site describe Ms. Mahady as helping with permanent resident card renewals and a naturalization process, with one client writing they received “my brand new green card” within a month of a renewal request and describing the experience as “always a pleasure.” A separate Avvo review, from a bankruptcy matter, described her as “fabulous at identifying what was relevant and important.” No negative reviews were located in the sources reviewed for this profile; that reflects the public record available, not a claim of a flawless history.
Community
Per the firm’s own materials, Ms. Mahady makes herself available to provide immigration-relief information to law enforcement and healthcare providers who encounter crime victims potentially eligible for U-visa relief — a resource role connected to, but distinct from, her direct client caseload.
Recognition
Ms. Mahady holds Martindale-Hubbell peer-review recognition and Avvo’s Top Contributor and Client’s Choice badges. No Arizona Board of Legal Specialization certification was located for her in the practice areas covered by this profile (Arizona’s BLS program does not currently certify an immigration law specialty), so this profile does not use the word “specialist” to describe her.
The Arizona Legal Backdrop
What follows is general legal information, not legal advice.
Immigration law is exclusively federal, governed by the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. § 1101 et seq.) and administered by USCIS for benefits like green card renewals and naturalization. U nonimmigrant status, a humanitarian visa category for crime victims who assist law enforcement, is authorized under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(U) and requires law enforcement certification via Form I-918, Supplement B, as part of the petition.
The Awesome Attorneys Assessment
AWD LAW’s genuine differentiator for immigration matters is the backing of a 50-year, full-service Northern Arizona institution, giving immigration clients access to related practice areas (family law, criminal defense, bankruptcy) under one roof if a matter touches multiple areas of law. The honest caveat: because immigration is one of several practice areas Ms. Mahady handles rather than her exclusive focus, clients with highly complex removal-defense or asylum matters may want to weigh that breadth against firms in this series with attorneys practicing immigration law exclusively.
Methodology & Sourcing
This profile was researched in August 2026 from awdlaw.com (firm site, including its dedicated immigration practice-area page), Avvo’s attorney profile and client reviews, Martindale-Hubbell, and Lexinter’s attorney directory. Aspey, Watkins & Diesel, PLLC 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.