THE PEOPLE OF BSK. (Please Select A Representative Below)
BSK is regarded as a practice run by a team of energetic and knowledgeable attorneys with the ability to think strategically in a constantly changing work environment and marketplace.
We take pride in the quality of our work and the clients we serve, and we value the long-term relationships we have built over the years. We believe in investing in ourselves and our future through continuing legal education. We consider professional development a key factor in motivation and retention because it creates the opportunity to continue to grow and develop job and career enhancing skills.
Our firm fosters a culture of mutual respect. We believe gaining perspectives and experiences from a variety of attorneys and staff creates more innovative solutions and greater contributions from everyone, as we strive to provide the best possible service for our clients.
ATTORNEYS
- Bradley S. Braun
- Kelley L. Cathie
- James W. Howard
- Gregory M. Kruzel
- Deborah W. Miller
- Kenneth J. Peace
- E. Dennis Siler
- Juan Pablo G. Zaragoza
SUPPORT STAFF
James W. Howard
James W. Howard has litigated the hot-button issues of the day for thirty years and the present is no variation as businesses grapple with the fallout of the recession and as an aging baby-boom generation struggles to preserve wealth and independence. Today Jim's practice focuses on the myriad financial disputes between owners and within business organizations and on trust, estate and elder care litigation. On the business front, he litigates the many contentious issues presented by shareholders, employees, business contracts, restrictive covenants, corporate dissolution and liquidation. As for his trust and estate practice, Jim primarily defends trustees and other fiduciaries regarding their administration of challenging estates. He defends and prosecutes will contests and tries contested guardianship and conservatorship cases. Jim handles his business, trust and estate and employment practice, utilizing the skills and experience that he acquired over a rich and diverse career.
Jim's early career educated him in the law of antitrust, racketeering, fraud and misrepresentation, officer and director liability, lender liability, lawyer malpractice, and banking regulation. Jim began defending antitrust suits against the Bell System in the early 1980s and he then moved on to litigate the bank and savings & loan failures of the eighties and nineties. Through the end of 2000, Jim investigated and prosecuted bank fraud and resolved failed financial institutions primarily as outside counsel for federal banking regulatory agencies. He came to Arizona to help close down Charles Keating's notorious Lincoln Savings and concluded his bank fraud career litigating the financial affairs of an Arizona governor. Jim then served as outside general counsel to select business clients, expanding his base of knowledge and experience to include the negotiation and enforcement of contracts regarding product manufacture and licensing, real estate development, and employment law matters.
Jim grew up on a working farm just outside of Kansas City, Missouri. He obtained his J.D. in 1982 from the University of Missouri-Kansas City where he was an editor of the Law Review. He obtained a B.S. in Economics and History from Kansas State University and is admitted to the bars of Arizona, Missouri and Illinois. He is active in the Scottsdale Bar Association and the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce.
Jim is married with a daughter starting college and another finishing up high school; he and his wife recently added a son to the mix just to make things more interesting. Jim is an avid runner and hiker and enjoys camping and skiing with his family.
