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DAVID L. ABNEY is admitted to practice in Arizona and works in the law firm of Knapp & Roberts, where he devotes his time to civil appeals and tort litigation. Mr. Abney has published over 60 legal articles. He earned his B.A. degree, with distinction, and his J.D. degree, with high distinction, from the University of Arizona in Tucson. Mr. Abney also has an M.S. in forensic sciences from National University in San Diego, an LL.M. in federal claims litigation from the University of San Diego School of Law, an M.A. and a Ph.D. from Arizona State University in Tempe, and an M.A. in organizational management from the University of Phoenix. He is Arizona's sole life member in The American Society of Legal Writers. BENNETT EVAN COOPER is a partner in the Phoenix office of Steptoe & Johnson LLP and a member of the Washington, D.C.-based firm's Appellate Group. Mr. Cooper represents clients as an appellate advocate in federal and state courts across the nation. He is the chair of the first group of Appellate Lawyer Representatives to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference and is a past chair of the American Bar Association Council of Appellate Lawyers, which is part of the ABA's Appellate Judges Conference. He is the lead author of the Arizona Trial Handbook (West 2010-2011), which addresses the law of all aspects of civil and criminal trials in Arizona courts, and is a contributor to and member of the editorial board of the Arizona Appellate Handbook (State Bar of Arizona 2011). In addition, Mr. Cooper is secretary of the Civil Jury Instructions Committee and of the Appellate Practice Section of the State Bar of Arizona and, since 2009, has been co-director of the Arizona Appellate Practice Institute. In 2011, he was appointed by the Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court to the Arizona Judicial Council's Commission on Technology. A former law clerk to the Honorable Alex Kozinski of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Mr. Cooper graduated, with honors, from Harvard College and Harvard Law School, where he won the Ames Moot Court Competition, served as executive editor of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy and also was president of the Federalist Society chapter. He is listed in Best Lawyers in America and Southwest Super Lawyers for appellate advocacy, and was ranked in The Top 50 of Arizona lawyers by Southwest Super Lawyers in 2011. JAMES L. CSONTOS is a partner in the Phoenix law firm of Jennings, Haug & Cunningham, LLP, where he practices in the areas of surety and construction litigation, construction defect litigation, commercial business litigation, and appellate practice. Mr. Csontos is a contributing author of 50-state construction lien and bond law related publications, and has spoken for various professional groups on his areas of practice. He earned his B.S. degree, magna cum laude, and his J.D. degree, cum laude, from Arizona State University. Mr. Csontos is a member of the State Bar of Arizona (member, Construction Law Section and former chair, Executive Council). HON. PETER B. SWANN has been a judge of the Arizona Court of Appeals since 2008. From 2003-2008, he served as a judge of the Arizona Superior Court in Maricopa County. Before his appointment to the Superior Court, Judge Swann was a partner at Steptoe & Johnson, LLP, practicing commercial litigation and First Amendment law. At both the trial and appellate levels, he takes an active role in mediation of all types of civil and family disputes. In 2008, Judge Swann was named Judge of the Year by the American Board of Trial Advocates. He is currently a member of the State Bar's Civil Practice and Procedure Committee and Professionalism Committee.
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