(December 10, 2019)… The law firm of Burch & Cracchiolo is pleased to announce that shareholders Andrew Abraham, Edwin C. Bull, Wendi A. Sorensen and Joel K. Heriford have been named 2020 AZ Business Leaders by AZ Big Media. This is an annual publication that profiles the business leaders and innovators that are changing the face of Arizona business.
Abraham, Burch & Cracchiolo’s president, has been practicing for more than 36 years in the real estate law and real estate litigation practice area and is a Certified Specialist in Real Estate. Concentrating his practice primarily in the areas of commercial litigation, real estate related litigation and real estate transactions and finance, he also has substantial experience in the area of franchisor/franchisee relations. Abraham has significant experience with respect to negotiation of commercial leases for major anchor tenants on behalf of both landlords and tenants. Abraham is certified as a Real Estate Specialist by the Arizona Board of Legal Specialization and has been listed in Best Lawyers in America for Real Estate Transactions since 2008 and in every edition of Southwest Super Lawyers. In the 2011 and 2014-2019 editions, he was voted among the Top 50 lawyers in Arizona by his peers. He is included among Arizona’s Finest Lawyers and is an AV® Preeminent 5.0 out of 5 peer review rated attorney in Martindale-Hubbell.
Bull is the senior member among the firm’s zoning and real estate attorneys. Certified as a Real Estate Specialist by the State Bar of Arizona, his practice involves the full range of real estate entitlements including zoning, general plan amendments, specific area plan approvals and amendments, interpretations, variances, use permits, subdivision and site plan approvals, annexation, development agreements, construction permits, development impact fees, real estate transactions, right-of-way abandonments and other development-related matters. His practice also involves various administrative processes, eminent domain, and due diligence for potential purchasers of real estate. Bull, who has practiced law for 39 years, is a peer review rated 5.0 AV® Preeminent attorney who has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America every year since 2003, and was named the U.S. News 2014, 2017 and 2019 Best Lawyers "Lawyer of the Year" Phoenix in Land Use and Zoning Law. Ed has been selected by Super Lawyers of the Southwest every year since its inception in 2007, Arizona’s Finest Lawyers from 2008-2019, Chambers USA since 2005 and AZRE Commercial Real Estate Magazine’s "People to Know" in commercial real estate. In 2019 Ed was named by AZ Big Media an "AZ Business Leader".
Sorensen has been certified by the State Bar of Arizona as a specialist in Personal Injury and Wrongful Death law due to her nearly three decades of litigation experience in both state and federal court. Her practice focuses on aggravated liability and damages matters, including Federal Motor Carrier (trucking accident) cases, vehicular products liability matters, construction site injury and death matters, and premises liability cases. Sorensen is a proven mediator and was named “Mediator of the Year” in 2019 by Attorney at Law Magazine. She has been recognized among Arizona's Finest Lawyers and currently serves as Chair of the Arizona State Bar committee responsible for conferring certification status in the area of Personal Injury and Wrongful Death law. Sorensen has been a Southwest Super Lawyer since 2012 and has been named to the Top 25 Women Attorneys in Arizona in 2013 and 2015-2020.
Heriford is a corporate and business attorney who focuses his practice on income tax planning and business law aspects of business transactions, including business formation, operation, sale and merger of corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, joint ventures and strategic alliances, as well as Section 1031 tax-deferred exchanges. In addition, He represents company founders and other entrepreneurs on a broad range of personal planning matters, with an emphasis on wealth transfer and succession strategies. Heriford is highly experienced in a broad range of estate planning matters, including estate taxation, retirement planning for qualified and non-qualified retirement plans, wealth preservation and wealth transfer strategies, asset protection planning, and planning for non-traditional families. He is also experienced in the creation and administration of a wide variety of trusts including revocable living trusts, irrevocable life insurance trusts, special needs trusts, family limited partnerships, family limited liability companies, asset protection trusts and charitable remainder trusts.
About Burch & Cracchiolo, P.A.
Burch & Cracchiolo is one of the Southwest's premier law firms. The firm was founded 49 years ago by Haze Burch and Dan Cracchiolo and today the firm’s 39 lawyers are among the most highly regarded and recognized leaders in the areas of business and corporate law, construction, estate and wealth preservation planning, family law, finance, intellectual property, labor and employment, litigation, personal injury and insurance defense, real estate and tax controversy litigation. The firm has offices in Phoenix, Arizona; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Orange County, California. In order to better serve clients nationally and internationally, Burch & Cracchiolo is a member of Primerus, an international alliance of 200 law firms from over 40 countries around the world. For more information www.bcattorneys.com