ADMISSIONS: State Bar of Arizona – 1991, United States District Court for the District of Arizona – 1991, Arizona Court of Appeals – 1993, Arizona Supreme Court-1997; United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit – 1999.
EXPERIENCE:
ADAMS & ASSOCIATES, PLC, Phoenix, AZ, President and CEO, August 2009-present.
Practices in the areas of white collar criminal defense, health care fraud, qui tam litigation, governmental investigations, quasi-governmental investigations, administrative securities matters, corporate internal investigations, and complex civil litigation. Also handles DUI and HOA related cases.
- Tried over 10 complex jury trials in federal court as a solo practitioner
- Tried over 10 jury trials in state and municipal courts
- Handled complex qui tam investigations in both state and federal court
- Handled SEC, FTC, and Arizona Corporation Commission Securities Fraud investigations and Telemarketing Civil Cases
- Represented Coach in NCAA Investigation
- Member of Criminal Justice Act Panel-United States District Court, District of Arizona
- Represented various hospitals, hospices, and nursing homes in health care fraud investigations
- Handled hundreds of motion hearings in state and federal court.
RYAN RAPP & UNDERWOOD, Phoenix, AZ, Partner, July 2007-August of 2009.
Practiced in the areas of white collar criminal defense, governmental investigations, quasi-governmental investigations (BOMEX and nursing board), administrative securities matters, corporate internal investigations, and complex civil litigation. Obtained a large verdict following a jury trial in a discrimination case which arose out of the clients’ dispute with their Home Owner’s Association.
THE PHOENIX LAW GROUP OF FELDMAN, BROWN, WALA, HALL & AGENA, Phoenix, AZ. Member, February 2005 to present
Practice in the areas of white collar criminal defense, governmental investigations, quasi-governmental investigations (BOMEX and nursing board), administrative securities matter, corporate internal investigations, and complex civil litigation.
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Phoenix, AZ. Assistant United States Attorney, June 1999 – January 2005
Prosecuted False Claims Act matters including health care and defense procurement fraud and well as fee fraud in National Parks and Forests. Obtained the largest recorded settlement for the District of Arizona against Boeing/McDonnell Douglas in a False Claim Act case. Prosecuted white collar crime matters including tax evasion and tax fraud, investment fraud, and securities fraud. First chaired two complex criminal health care fraud trials.
O’CONNOR, CAVANAGH, ANDERSON, KILLINGSWORTH & BESHEARS, Phoenix, AZ. Member, December 1996 – June 1999; Associate, September 1991 – December 1996
Practice areas: Employment defense litigation including complex Title VII, sexual harassment, and discrimination cases; Commercial litigation; General Insurance Defense; Indian law litigation. Significant experienced includes the following:
- Handled in the Northern District for the District of New York on behalf of the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma the largest Indian land claim ever filed on behalf of any Indian tribe
- Represented the Arizona Wheat Growers Association in a complex injunction proceeding filed against the United States Department of Agriculture
- Handled all complex litigation matters for Rural Metro Corporation and Bashas
- First chaired three jury trials and two bench trials; Second chaired two jury trials
- Appeared before the Arizona Court of Appeals in a Special Action involving the award of Workers’ Compensation benefits to a mentally disabled owner/employee
- Author of several appellate briefs
- Handled numerous injunction proceedings involving employment issues
- Extensive motion practice before federal and state courts
- Conducted numerous lay and expert witness depositions
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Phoenix, AZ. Student Intern, September 1990- May 1991
Conducted two bench trials as a third year student; Wrote an appellate brief for United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; Assisted in investigations; Prepared numerous motions and legal memoranda for supervising attorneys including the Honorable Roslyn O. Silver.
EDUCATION:
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LAW – J.D. 1991
Honors/Awards/Activities:
- Graduated in top 20% of class
- Outstanding Oral Advocate-Canby Competition
- Best Brief, Best Oral Advocate, Best Overall Advocate – Canby Competition
- Winner of Jenckes Cup Closing Argument Competition
- Winner of Trial Advocacy Competition/Represented ASU in Regional Competition
- Member of ASU National Moot Court Team/Winner of Regional Competition
- Order of the Barristers
- Executive Moot Court Board Chairperson-1990-1991
UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA – B.A. in Political Science with Special Distinction – 1998
Honors/Awards/Activities:
- G.P.A. 4.0/4.0
- Phi Beta Kappa
- Outstanding Senior in The College of Arts and Sciences
- Golden Key Honor Society Outstanding Senior
- Dean Bass Memorial Scholarship
- Scholarship Chairperson and Treasurer of Delta Delta Delta Sorority
COMMUNITY SERVICE/ACTIVITIES
- Southwest Super Lawyers Top 25 Women Attorneys-2021
- America’s Best Lawyers, White Collar Criminal Defense 2010-present
- Southwest Super Lawyers, White Collar Criminal Defense, Criminal Defense, 2011-present
- Named 100 Top Trial Lawyers in Arizona
- Northeast Valley Top Criminal Defense Attorney
- Cambridge Who’s Who
- American Bar Association Co-Chair for Southwest Subcommittee on White Collar Crime 2009-present
- Women's White Collar Defense Association-Secretary, Arizona Chapter
- Women's White Collar Defense Association-Member, Chapter Development Committee
- American Bar Association Health Care Fraud Subcommittee Member 2010-2015
- Arizona Association of Defense Counsel, Member, 2010-present
- Scottsdale Bar Association-Member, 2015-present
- State Bar of Arizona, Judicial Review Committee
- Recipient of Phoenix Business Journal’s “Forty Under Forty” Award in 2006
- Adjunct Professor at Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
- University of Oklahoma Alumni Association
- Fiesta Bowl Committee: 2002-2009
- Soccer Coach for Scottsdale Soccer Youth Association-girls
- Founder of “Maddie’s Daddy Foundation, Inc.", a 501(c)(3) organization
- Frequent speaker at State Bar and American Bar Association events
- Ashley D. Adams PLC is an accredited business with the Better Business Bureau.