Founding Partners
Shannon Guerrero-Huff
Years of Practice: 16
State Bar Admissions: Arizona, Washington and Idaho
Federal Admissions: District Court of Arizona
Shannon Guerrero-Huff has practiced for 15 years. Although available in multiple jurisdictions, unless specifically requested by clients or carriers, she currently limits her attention to matters pending in Arizona. Shannon began practicing at the law firm of Rai & Barone, P.C., where she was quickly promoted to partner, then named partner of Rai Duer Huff, P.C. In her time at that firm, she honed her skills in the insurance defense and construction arenas.
Shannon’s proficiency in complex construction defects matters is unmatched. Her years of experience revolved primarily around defending contractors in every type of dispute, including single and multi-family residential projects, commercial construction, contract disputes, lien issues and all other construction matters. The success she achieves for her clients arises out of developing defense strategies at the earliest stages of a dispute, and constantly evolving those strategies with the client and carrier as the case develops. From inception to resolution, Shannon’s comprehensive approach aims to minimize her client’s risk and maximize efficiency at all phases of litigation – from initial pleadings through discovery, depositions, motion practice, arbitrations, negotiating appropriate settlements, trial preparation and even appeals in the Arizona Court of Appeals. Shannon’s knowledge about construction and the liability issues that face the industry are deeply rooted. Her family has operated one of the largest subcontracting businesses in the Phoenix Valley for over 50 years.
Shannon’s dedication to achieving the best outcomes for her clients is exceeded only by her accomplishments as a mother and wife. Her husband, Scott, is currently the offensive line coach for the Seattle Seahawks. Their three young children add an equal mixture of chaos, laughter, and love into the home.
Shannon is a member of the Arizona State Bar, Idaho State Bar, Washington State Bar, the Maricopa County Bar Association, the Arizona Association of Defense Counsel, and the Construction Section of the Arizona State Bar. Outside of her legal practice, she is a licensed Arizona Realtor and Private Pilot. Shannon is bilingual in English and Spanish.
Brock Kaminski
Years of Practice: 7
State Bar Admissions: Arizona and Washington
Federal Admissions: District Court of Arizona, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
With a focus on insurance defense matters, Brock is well-versed in navigating complex matters through traditional litigation, compulsory arbitration and private mediation. He has served as first chair in multiple arbitrations, mediated countless cases, argued numerous motions in court, and has worked extensively with clients, adjusters and experts to craft comprehensive strategies in all types of cases.
Brock’s arbitration experience gives him the insight to develop and execute litigation plans to maximize his clients’ potential for success. For example, he was recently second chair in a week-long construction-defects arbitration representing the general contractor of a custom home built on the upper portion of Camelback Mountain. Even though the homeowner attempted to recover over $3 million in defect claims, Brock’s team successfully defended against over 90% of those claims, while simultaneously obtaining an award in excess of $300,000 on his client’s nonpayment claim against the homeowner.
Brock also understands that superior client representation begins and ends with excellent legal writing. Since the beginning of law school, Brock honed his legal writing; even working multiple externships in the United States District Court drafting numerous opinions/rulings for federal judges. Subsequently, he worked as an Extern for the City of Chicago Department of Law’s Federal Civil Rights Litigation Division where he defended police officers in both state and federal civil rights lawsuits.
In just his first year of practice, Brock drafted a petition for certiorari for the United States Supreme Court. In a case before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Brock also prevailed on an appeal from a plaintiff seeking to overturn a complete defense jury verdict in a multi-million dollar products liability action. Brock went on to winning numerous appeals in the Arizona Court of Appeals, as well as countless motions for summary judgment in the Superior Courts of Arizona.
He has been published numerous times in the Maricopa County Bar Association’s monthly newspaper; “Evolution of Implied Warranty in Arizona” (March 2020), “How to Navigate Potential Fee Liability in Tort-Based Construction Cases” (April 2021) and “Can a Homeowner Sue a Subcontractor for Negligence?” (April 2022). Finally, he served as an editor for a treatise on commercial leasing in Arizona. Joint Tenancies: Property Leasing in Cannabis Commerce (American Bar Association, State and Local Government Section, 2018).
Brock is an active member of the Association of Subcontractors of America - Arizona chapter, and sits on the chapter’s Attorney Council, where he regularly presents on pressing issues affecting Arizona contractors.
Associates
Years of Practice: 5
State Bar Admissions: Arizona
Marcus McGillivray graduated from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University and has been practicing law for over 4 years. He has experience handling a wide variety of civil litigation matters, primarily focusing on insurance defense and complex construction-defect matters. Marcus’ construction experience includes single-family luxury homes, multi-family residential projects, commercial projects and defending general contractors and developers in premises liability lawsuits. Further, Marcus has meaningful experience in commercial transportation cases, catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death cases, subrogation, and contract disputes. Throughout his practice, Marcus served as first chair trial counsel, represented contractors in Arizona Registrar of Contractor hearings, handled appeals, argued motions and mediated numerous cases. Ultimately, he takes pride in devising efficient, effective, and intuitive litigation strategies that advance and preserve the interests of his clients.
Marcus’ practice emphasizes the importance of learning and understanding the intricacies of clients’ unique scopes of work, business practices, priorities, and goals. Marcus acquired this appreciation as a criminal defense attorney representing vulnerable clients to ensure they did not endure marginalization by the justice system. In that role, the importance of having a thorough understanding of the client’s needs and circumstances became paramount in providing a robust defense. To this day, Marcus continues to cater to each client’s unique needs.
Prior to law school, Marcus received his undergraduate degree from Grand Canyon University in English. He is a member of the Arizona State Bar and the Arizona Association of Defense Counsel. In his free time, Marcus enjoys hiking, swimming, fly fishing, and reading.
Marcus McGillivray
Ryan Swartz
Years of Practice: 16
State Bar Admissions: Arizona, California and New Mexico
Ryan Swartz is an attorney with over 16 years of diverse experience in civil litigation. He has broad experience in construction and real estate matters, including suits involving construction defect, purchase contracts and leases. He has represented real estate developers, general contractors, subcontractors and property owners. He has also successfully defended and pursued cases through judgment at trial, secured payments on behalf of his clients, and litigated issues at the appellate level.
Mr. Swartz also has experience in the practice areas of personal injury and premises liability, and has presented continuing education seminars to insurance adjusters and industry professionals.