Inside the practice of Susan M. Freeman, the Phoenix bankruptcy attorney who has argued before the U.S. Supreme Court and is one of only two lawyers nationally to hold membership in both the American College of Bankruptcy and the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers.
Susan M. Freeman — At a Glance
| ABOGADO | Susan M. Freeman |
| BUFETE | Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP (formerly Lewis Roca), Partner |
| ADMITTED | Arizona and Colorado; also 2nd, 5th, 9th, and 10th Circuits, and the U.S. Supreme Court |
| EDUCACIÓN | Mount Holyoke College (B.A., 1972, Sarah Williston Scholar); New York University School of Law (J.D., 1975, Root-Tilden John Ben Snow Scholar) |
| CERTIFICACIÓN | State Bar of Arizona Certified Specialist in Bankruptcy Law, 1987–2023 |
| ENFOQUE | Business bankruptcy (debtors, secured/unsecured creditors, committees, trustees) and appeals of all kinds |
| OFICINA | 201 E. Washington St., Suite 1200, Phoenix, AZ 85004 |
Origin: A Scholarship Kid Who Became a National Name in Two Fields
Susan Freeman attended Mount Holyoke College on a Sarah Williston Scholarship, graduating in 1972, then NYU School of Law as a Root-Tilden John Ben Snow Scholar, graduating in 1975. She built parallel national reputations in two distinct fields — business bankruptcy and civil appeals — becoming the first lawyer, and now one of only two nationally, invited to membership in both the American College of Bankruptcy and the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, where she currently serves on the Board of Directors.
Áreas de práctica
Freeman represents debtors, secured and unsecured creditors and committees, trustees, and asset purchasers in business bankruptcy cases, and separately handles civil appeals of all kinds, including amicus briefs and assisting other firms’ lawyers with their appellate work. She has briefed more than 300 appeals over her career and has briefed and argued before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Historial
Freeman’s client list reads like a roster of major national bankruptcy matters: she represented the acquirer of a telecommunications and logistics business in the Global Capacity Chapter 11 case, James Balsillie and PSE Sports & Entertainment as the proposed buyer of the Phoenix Coyotes NHL franchise in its Chapter 11 proceeding, Wells Fargo Bank as indenture trustee for $450 million in senior industrial revenue bonds in the Las Vegas Monorail Chapter 11 case, and 14 aircraft financiers in the America West Airlines Chapter 11 case, where she led appeals of Code section 1110 rulings specifically.
Past-Results Disclaimer: These are matters of public bankruptcy court record. Every case is different, and no past result guarantees a similar outcome in any future matter.
La voz del cliente
Awesome Attorneys did not locate individually attributable, quotable client reviews for Freeman on major platforms as of the research date; her public reputation is documented almost entirely through case record, professional honors, and institutional recognition rather than a consumer-review footprint, consistent with a career built around sophisticated corporate and institutional clients.
Comunidad
Freeman received the John Frank Advocate for Justice Award for her commitment to pro bono service, was inducted into the Maricopa County Bar Association Hall of Fame in 2015, and received the Barbara Barrett Arizona Women’s Education and Employment Icon Award in 2019 and Mount Holyoke College’s Alumnae Achievement Award in 2017. She also serves as a mediator in complex bankruptcy disputes and as an expert witness in Chapter 11 cases involving professionals’ conduct and qualifications.
Reconocimientos
Freeman was a State Bar of Arizona Certified Specialist in Bankruptcy Law from 1987 to 2023 — a genuine, examination-based credential her own firm biography documents by that specific date range. She is AV/Preeminent rated by Martindale-Hubbell, was named to Lawdragon’s Top 500 Bankruptcy and Restructuring Lawyers list in 2020, and has been selected to Super Lawyers from 2007 through 2025.
El contexto legal de Arizona
Lo que sigue es información legal general, no asesoría legal.
Business bankruptcy runs primarily through federal law — Chapters 7 and 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code — but Arizona’s “opt-out” exemption status under A.R.S. § 33-1133 still matters for individual debtors and guarantors connected to business cases, requiring Arizona’s own exemption schedule rather than the federal one. Appeals from Arizona federal bankruptcy court proceedings generally run through the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, one of the circuits where Freeman is admitted.
La evaluación de Awesome Attorneys
Freeman’s genuine differentiator is a rare dual national reputation — bankruptcy and appellate practice together — validated by membership in two elite, invitation-only professional bodies simultaneously, plus a client roster spanning some of the largest bankruptcy matters to touch Arizona and the broader Southwest.
The honest caveat: this is large-scale, complex business bankruptcy and appellate work at a national firm — individuals or small businesses with a straightforward Chapter 7 or 13 filing will need a different, more consumer-focused practice.
Methodology & Sourcing
This profile was researched in August 2026 from womblebonddickinson.com and lewisroca.com (firm bios), the National Bankruptcy Conference’s member page, Super Lawyers, and Avvo. Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP 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.