President's Award
Awarded, at the discretion of the president, to that attorney(s) who has contributed enormous effort towards the furtherance of the president's goals and priorities during his or her year as president. (Award established in 1996).
2022 Recipient
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Commercial and tort litigator Sam Saks co-founded Guidant Law PLC in 2019, bringing extensive experience in complex business, insurance, personal injury, and wrongful death cases to the multidisciplinary firm. During his nearly 20-year legal career, Sam has successfully secured multi-million-dollar verdicts, judgments, and settlements and has worked on cases at the U.S. Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Arizona Supreme Court, Federal District Court, as well as the superior courts in Arizona. A respected member of the legal community who is recognized by Southwest Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers in America© and Arizona’s Finest Lawyers, Sam is a member of the State Bar Board of Governors and currently serves as chair of its Strategic Planning Work Group. He is also a member of the Judicial Performance Review Conference Team and volunteers his time as a pro tem conducting settlement conferences in civil cases. Founder of Legal Aid for Referrals, Sam previously served on the board of the Arizona Foundation of Legal Services and Education as well as various other organizations. Prior to starting private practice, he clerked for two years for Hon. Sheldon Weisberg, Chief Judge of the Arizona Court of Appeals. |
Previous Recipients
The award has been presented to:
| 2002 | Janet Napolitano Hon. Robert B. Van Wyck Hon. Barry C. Schneider |
| 2003 | Craig Y. Fujii Danny R. Ortega, Jr. Neal Kurn Barry Wong Michael R. Rooney Richard H. Whitney |
| 2004 | Art Hamilton Kathleen A. Mayer Thomas M. Thompson |
| 2005 | Colleen A. Lomax, Esq. Hon. Rebecca A. Albrecht Paul Bennett Edward F. Novak |
| 2006 | Diane L. Drain Jenae R. Naumann Michael L. Walker Rawuel Centeno-Fequiere David B. Rosenbaum |
| 2007 | Michael L. Gallagher Michael Allen Berch |
| 2008 | Herbert I. Zinn Mari I. Valenzuela Sal J. Rivera Larry J. Cohen John W. Rogers William G. Klain |
| 2009 | Pamela A. Treadwell-Rubin Patrick J. McGroder III Jessica Gifford Funkhouser |
| 2010 | Saji Vettiyil Brigadier General Richard Gregg Maxon |
| 2011 | Maret Vessella Amy K. Rehm |
| 2012 | Senator Jon Kyl Alan P. Bayham, Jr. |
| 2013 | Hon. Janet Napolitano Lawrence F. Winthrop |
| 2014 | Patricia Lee Refo |
| 2015 | Robert E. Schmitt William C. Porter |
| 2016 | Thomas M. Ryan Alex Lane |
| 2017 | Thomas L. Hudson Sheena S. Chiang |
| 2018 | Larry W. Suciu |
| 2019 | Charles W. Wirken Laura Zeman-Mullen |
| 2020 | Dr. Kolette A. Butler Hon. Donn G. Kessler (ret.) |
| 2021 | Lonnie J. Williams, Jr. |
| 2022 | Sam Saks |
State Bar Annual Awards
- Award of Appreciation
- Award of Special Merit
- Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Award
- Hon. John R. Sticht Disability Achievement Award
- James A. Walsh Outstanding Jurist Award
- Mark I. Harrison Excellence in Mentorship Award
- Member of the Year Award
- Michael C. Cudahy Criminal Justice Award
- Outstanding In-House Counsel of the Year Award
- President's Award
- Sharon A. Fullmer Legal Aid Attorney of the Year Award
- Tom Karas Criminal Justice Award