Inside the bankruptcy practice of Randy Nussbaum, the Phoenix attorney who holds both of the field’s major certifications — Arizona’s own Board Certification and the national Certified Business Bankruptcy Specialist designation — after 45 years representing both sides of the table.
Randy Nussbaum — At a Glance
| ABOGADO | Randy Nussbaum |
| BUFETE | The Cavanagh Law Firm (Senior Member) |
| ADMITTED | Arizona, 1980 |
| EDUCACIÓN | Arizona State University (B.A., cum laude, 1977); Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, ASU (J.D., 1980) |
| CERTIFICATIONS | State Bar of Arizona Board-Certified Bankruptcy Specialist; Certified Business Bankruptcy Specialist, American Board of Certification |
| ENFOQUE | Complex bankruptcy (Chapter 7, 11, and 13), creditors’ and debtors’ representation, bankruptcy litigation, real estate and construction law |
| OFICINA | Phoenix, AZ |
| CONTACTO | cavanaghlaw.com |
Origin: Forty-Five Years in Scottsdale and Phoenix
Randy Nussbaum grew up in Scottsdale, earned a B.A. cum laude from Arizona State University in 1977, and his J.D. from ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law in 1980, the year he was admitted to the Arizona Bar. He built his bankruptcy practice over more than four decades, most recently at Sacks Tierney P.A. before moving to The Cavanagh Law Firm, where he now serves as a Senior Member.
Áreas de práctica
Nussbaum represents secured and unsecured creditors, surety companies, creditor committees, lessors, and trustees, as well as individual and business debtors, in Chapter 7, 11, and 13 proceedings, including adversary actions (bankruptcy litigation). His caseload has spanned real estate, construction, manufacturing, trucking, asset-based lending, divorce-related bankruptcy, and high-value complex individual bankruptcies. He is also active in the State Bar of Arizona’s Real Estate and Construction Law sections, reflecting a practice that regularly crosses into those adjacent fields.
Historial
Individual bankruptcy filings and most creditor-side matters resolve through the bankruptcy court process rather than generating the kind of published opinion a civil appeal would, so there isn’t a citable case-result table here. Nussbaum’s public professional record instead runs through more than four decades of continuous practice, national certification, and sustained peer recognition.
Note: Past results, where applicable, do not guarantee a similar outcome in any future matter.
La voz del cliente
Awesome Attorneys did not locate individually attributable, quotable client reviews for Nussbaum on major platforms as of the research date; his public reputation is documented primarily through professional and peer recognition rather than a large public review footprint.
Comunidad
Nussbaum is a 1990 graduate of Scottsdale Leadership and has volunteered with the organization for more than 30 years, serving on its Advisory Board. He also serves on the advisory boards of the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, the Scottsdale Historical Society, and Scottsdale Community College, and was inducted into the Scottsdale History Hall of Fame in 2018. He received the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce’s Volunteer of the Year Award in 2017 and the Scottsdale Bar Association’s award of excellence in 2011.
Reconocimientos
Nussbaum holds two distinct, genuine bankruptcy certifications: State Bar of Arizona Board-Certified Bankruptcy Specialist (Board of Legal Specialization) and Certified Business Bankruptcy Specialist through the American Board of Certification, a national credentialing body. He is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell, has been named to Super Lawyers’ “Top 50 Arizona” list multiple times, and has been selected three times as a Best Lawyers “Lawyer of the Year.”
El contexto legal de Arizona
Lo que sigue es información legal general, no asesoría legal.
Bankruptcy itself is federal law (11 U.S.C.), but Arizona is an “opt-out” exemption state: debtors filing bankruptcy in Arizona must use Arizona’s own property exemptions rather than the federal exemption schedule, under A.R.S. § 33-1133. Chief among those is Arizona’s homestead exemption, A.R.S. § 33-1101, which currently protects up to $400,000 of home equity from creditors and adjusts annually for inflation. Arizona also has its own personal property exemptions under A.R.S. § 33-1121 et seq., covering household goods, a vehicle, and tools of the trade, among other categories.
La evaluación de Awesome Attorneys
Nussbaum’s genuine strength is the rare pairing of two distinct bankruptcy certifications — one state, one national — backed by 45 years of practice spanning both the creditor and debtor sides of complex cases. That range is a real asset for business bankruptcy and adversary litigation specifically.
The honest caveat: this is a complex-case, business-oriented bankruptcy practice at a full-service firm, not a high-volume consumer Chapter 7 shop — individuals with a straightforward personal bankruptcy may find better cost-fit with a practice built around volume consumer filings.
Methodology & Sourcing
This profile was researched in August 2026 from cavanaghlaw.com (firm site, current attorney bio), Super Lawyers, Avvo, LinkedIn, and Scottsdale Community College’s alumni profile of Nussbaum. The Cavanagh Law Firm did not commission, review, or pay for this profile.
Publisher Disclosure & Independence Notice
Este perfil es un artículo editorial independiente publicado por Awesome Attorneys. Awesome Attorneys no respalda, recomienda ni garantiza a ningún abogado o firma de abogados perfilado en este sitio, y la inclusión en esta serie no es una colocación pagada.