15 minute read
Fielding Law, APC Serving San Diego
“Despite my best efforts to go in a different direction, the Universe guided me into Plaintiff Personal Injury Law. You could accurately say that PI selected me,” says Founding Principal Clark H. Fielding.
The Universe chose well. Fielding Law has grown considerably and has earned a sterling reputation in its practice area in the roughly two and a half years since Fielding founded the Firm. Recently his success has been recognized by legal organizations and news media. North Valley Magazine selected him as one of the Top Arizona Valley Lawyers in 2020 and 2021; he is listed in the U.S. News & World Report Lawyer Directory for 2021; he received Lawyers of Distinction Membership for 2020 and 2021; Avvo Client’s Choice Award for 2020 and 2021; and he earned a place in the coveted Southern California Super Lawyers List for 2022. Fielding Law earned Better Business Bureau accreditation in 2020 and Expertise.com awarded the Firm Best Personal Injury Lawyers in Irvine, California for 2020 and 2021.
“Personal Injury is an ideal and fantastic match because of the intersection of law and medicine, which is fascinating and ever-changing. It’s also a numbers and negotiation game, which gives us an edge as I used to be a forensic accountant and love the art of negotiating,” he says.
Fielding cites his Firm’s positivity, compassion and continuing success in tough cases as a major factor in their continuing growth.
One example is the tragic case of 17-year-old Luke Knight, a creative and adventurous Higley High School student from Gilbert, Arizona. Knight left high school in his vehicle when several other teens in another car raced by. One of their tires blew out, which caused their car to sideswipe Knight’s vehicle, sending him into the center divider and light pole. Tragically, he was declared brain-dead at the scene, and passed away the following day in the hospital. His family and friends were devastated. Knight was very popular with the student body, many of whom left memorials at the scene that Fielding and his team visited. The case was not a big money case because of the limited insurance policies, but it was obviously about so much more. “Luke was a super bright light who shared his happiness and hopefulness, he was inclusive; the more the merrier was his motto. He was particularly sensitive to those who felt lonely or lost. Thankfully, we were able to make sure things were done correctly legally so the family could achieve closure and peace of mind to focus on living like Luke,” Fielding says. “Luke’s legacy is about striving to reach out, show love, and live life to the fullest.”
The big news for the Firm is its brick-and-mortar expansion into Arizona in February of 2020, with full-time staffing of the office in January of 2021 and expansion into a larger space in July of this year, which was motivated by client demand and Fielding’s personal ties and desires. “I was raised in Arizona. My parents moved there from Utah in September of 1982 when I was about two-and-a-half-years old. I graduated from Mountain View High School in Mesa and attended Arizona State University - Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. I love hiking in the Grand Canyon and rafting down the Colorado River.” He interned in Washington, D.C. for friend and former Arizona Congressman and U.S. Senator Jeff Flake, externed during law school in Phoenix for the Honorable Timothy J. Ryan in Maricopa County Superior Court, and for the Honorable James A. Teilborg in United States District Court. Fielding is licensed to practice law in California and Arizona. He recently had the honor to represent an ASU law school professor for a personal matter. “Now is the perfect time for the expansion of our presence in Arizona,” he says.
Fielding, assisted by Associate Attorney Ryan W. Cooper, faced a significant challenge in selecting a new attorney for the Arizona operation from a wide list of highly qualified applicants through Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law’s on-campus interviews. “Ryan and I were intending to hire only one person, but we struck gold with Alexa Weber and Claudia Reeves. We decided to hire both of these talented women who are now awaiting their Arizona bar exam results. The Universe continues to work in my favor; we have an incredible team,” he says.
The Fielding Law team understands and appreciates the importance of the parent-child relationship. Paralegal Andrea Blackburn welcomed her first baby, a girl Amelia Alexandria in March of 2020, and is expecting a baby boy in February of 2022. Legal Assistant Rachel Holden’s third child, a boy Connor Ivan, was born this September of 2021. Fielding himself has three young children with his wife Moranda, who also works as the Creative Director for the Firm, so championing working parents, especially mothers who had to leave their jobs at an unprecedented rate during the pandemic, is paramount to the Firm’s culture.
More Than a Job—a Calling
Ryan W. Cooper, Associate Attorney, says, “representing people—individual human beings whose lives have been damaged—has always felt more like a calling than a job. It is very hard work, but it is work that I feel good about. I know that all my energy, stress, and time is being spent to help improve someone’s life. That’s a cause that allows me to sleep well at night.”
In almost three full years of practice, Cooper has recovered more than $14 million for his deserving clients. One client wrote, “Ryan Cooper was exceptional! He was professional and friendly. He explained each step and truly worked hard to get me my best settlement. I would recommend him 100 times over.”
Cooper’s UC Irvine baseball coach preached the mantra of “Be Quick, but Don’t Hurry,” a guideline that he still follows today. When Cooper joined Fielding Law, APC in October of 2020, he immediately applied the mantra to his cases. The most recent example of this mantra at work involved the case of a wonderful French professor at Arizona State University who was T-boned by a truck that ran a red light. Quickly, Cooper and the Fielding Law team were able to recover the at-fault truck driver’s auto insurance policy limit. He then focused his efforts on his client’s substantial Underinsured Motorist policy. At first, his client’s own insurance company only wanted to pay about 25% of her full coverage for her damages. Rather than give up, Cooper thought outside the box and coordinated a non-recorded meeting between his client, himself, and the defense attorneys. Cooper allowed the defense attorneys one hour to talk to his client off the record so they could hear her story in her own words.
In reflection on the case and fantastic result, Cooper said, “The meeting was definitely unorthodox and I’m sure some of my colleagues never would have allowed it because it ‘breaks the mold.’ However, I believed in our client, and I knew that once the defense attorneys spoke with her face-to-face, there was no way they could continue to low-ball her. They would be forced to see her as the wonderful person that I had come to know rather than just another claim number.” Cooper’s instinct was right. Following the meeting, her insurance agreed to pay her the full policy limit. Cooper and the Fielding Law team obtained all available insurance money within six months
of her accident. “Every case is different and as such needs to be handled differently. In this case, my client did not want the case to drag on. She wanted to avoid arbitration, if possible, and she was willing to tell her story if I felt it would help her case. We got creative and got her the best possible recovery within a very short period of time. Quickness does not need to sacrifice quality if done right, and this case was the perfect example of that.”
Cooper’s most recent honors and awards include Super Lawyers—Rising Star for 2021, Best Lawyers—Ones to Watch for 2022, and Avvo Client’s Choice Award for 2021.
CLAUDIA MANNING REEVES
Meeting Challenges Head-on
“While there was much that I had to overcome physically and emotionally as a child and young adult, I am grateful for the cards that I was dealt. I had the unique opportunity to practice empathy and tenacity from an early age. As a Law Clerk, I can truthfully say that I have experienced many of the same emotions and challenges as our clients, and for that reason, I am able to boldly advocate their position,” says Claudia Reeves, Law Clerk.
Reeves’ personal life story combined with her early professional experience gives her that unique perspective on the intense physical, emotional, and mental challenges confronting her Firm’s clients.
Reeves and her identical twin sister were diagnosed at age five with a rare genetic mutation called Oligodontia, which is estimated to affect less than 0.1 percent of the world’s population and is characterized by the absence of more than six primary teeth. She spent the next thirteen years trying every mouth device ever invented to overcome the problem: braces, rubber bands, bondings, palette expanders, flipper teeth, winged teeth, implants, bridges, and so on. The basic need to eat or maintain proper nutrition was extremely challenging since her back teeth did not touch, and her existing teeth did not grow larger than an eight-year-old’s teeth leading to little teeth function.
To put the problem into perspective, until six years ago, she was unable to bite into an apple.
That’s when she underwent facial bone grafting—an essential surgery because without it, her face would collapse. The family’s insurance companies claimed surgeries were not medically necessary. Consequently, her family had to pay out-of-pocket approximately $150,000 for the surgeries.
That invaluable personal perspective is augmented by her practical experience in the world of insurance and public health. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Business Organizational Management at the University of Arkansas with an emphasis on finance and insurance and worked at Allstate Insurance for more than three years so that she could have both textbook knowledge and practical application of the insurance industry. Reeves completed her bachelor’s degree in three years and graduated top 10 percent of her class as a Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society member.
Prior to becoming a Law Clerk at Fielding Law, she was a Legal Researcher at the Center for Public Health Law for a year and five months, aiding requestors with law and policy issues affecting public health with an emphasis on COVID-19 emergency legal preparedness. Her most significant memory at the Center was presenting to the Arizona Supreme Court about COVID-19 at the forefront of the virus. Reeves co-authored multiple pieces that were published in sources such as The Journal of Law, Medicine, and Ethics, The Journal of the American Medical Association Health Forum, and The Berkley Forum. Before that, she was a Legal Intern at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for nine months, helping individuals fight back against race discrimination, pregnancy discrimination, sex discrimination, and disability discrimination.
Fielding says, “Claudia has such a compelling and inspirational story. For some people her physical challenges would make them down on life and be their undoing. She keeps a positive attitude and hits challenges and obstacles head on. Claudia is a phenomenal communicator. Looking
Moranda and Clark Fielding
© Ben Christensen Instagram: @_benchristensen
The Fielding Law Legal Team and Staff. Irvine, California Office at The Boardwalk.
at her, you just know she’s hearing and understanding you perfectly. She’s an acapella singer so she’s a performer and that certainly helps in our profession. She’s been published many times. She’s a bright light. Fighting through challenges has given her tremendous strength.”
Now established at the Firm’s Arizona office, Reeves began her career at Fielding Law as a Law Clerk on August 23, 2021.
Reeves earned her Juris Doctor degree at Arizona State University-Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. She received the Health Law and Policy Certification and the highest distinction for Pro Bono Service and was a member of ASU’s 2020 Transactional Health Law Moot Court Team. In 2019, she was recognized with the Frank Fanning Scholarship for her excellence in employment and discrimination law. Reeves enjoys hiking, kayaking, biking, camping, and lifting weights. She was a singer with ASU’s Law Cappella, is the dog mom to a mischievous foster failure named Loki, and attends Impact Church.
Reeves says, “I also found purpose because I knew that I could use my personal trials to make an impact greater than myself. Becoming an attorney means helping others receive greater payouts from insurance companies for their health adversities and encouraging those walking through similar uncertain and dark times.”
ALEXA LYNN WEBER
A Desire to Advocate
“I have a desire to advocate for those who are unable to advocate for themselves. Along with my innate sense of justice, I have a strong belief that in my role as a future attorney, I have the ability and the responsibility to impact others’ lives for the better. As such, my priority is to not only get to know my clients, but to really understand why their case is important to them. By doing so, I am able to work through each and every case effectively and empathetically from beginning to end,” says Alexa Lynn Weber, Law Clerk.
Weber, who started with fellow Law Clerk Claudia Reeves, is helping to further establish the Arizona office of Fielding Law.
Weber attended Iowa State University, Greenlee School of Journalism and Mass Communication, earning a B.S. Public Relations with a minor in Political Science. She earned her Juris Doctor degree at Arizona State University - Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, where she received a full-ride scholarship and participated in the O’Connor Honors Program.
During her first summer of law school, she worked as a law student intern for Honorable Judge Darren L. Vahle
in Centennial, Colorado. In this role, Weber assisted with research during trial, sat in on multiple jury trials including first-degree murder trials, and helped organize the courtroom for jury selection. In her second summer of law school, she worked as a legal intern for the District Attorney’s Office in Centennial, Colorado. This experience allowed her to develop a love for advocating; she argued bond, argued against motions to suppress, and was responsible for crafting plea deals for misdemeanor traffic offenses and other traffic infractions. Weber rounded out her last semester of law school as a Legislative Assistant at the Arizona Legislative Council.
Weber found her passion for law and policy while working at a public policy firm in Denver during her last summer in college. In this position, she worked as an intern for a grassroots campaign in Colorado. This job required her to reach out to local community members to educate them about the health care system in Colorado and to find a common thread that connected individuals to each other, aside from political ideologies. The experience was as gratifying as it was educational. “I found myself lighting up and smiling with every interaction I had and with each connection I established,” she says.
Weber is a strong believer in the necessity of personal communication between attorney and client. This feeling stems from growing up in the 300-population town of Larkspur, Colorado. “From a very young age, I had to understand the value of close, meaningful relationships with individual people and my community. I carry that lesson into every phase of my work here at Fielding Law.”
The vetting process for joining Fielding Law was intense and included Zoom interviews. From the beginning of the process, she felt that the match was a perfect alignment of skills, education, motivation and personality. “From the moment I spoke with Clark Fielding and Ryan Cooper over Zoom for my first interview, I felt their sense of passion and dedication—two crucial ingredients for a successful law firm. I knew I wanted to be a part of that.”
She found the way Fielding and Cooper spoke about why they went into plaintiff personal injury was inspiring, unconventional and unlike her experiences in other offices. “During the job search, I knew that the most important things to me were working with a group of people who build each other up, rather than tear each other down and treat the workplace as a sort of competition. Fielding Law has a devoted, caring, and dedicated team that embraces the people around them and strives for excellence every day,” she says. Weber enjoys spending time outside in Arizona, caring for her two adorable cats, and keeping her twenty-five plants thriving.
Fielding says his Law Clerk Alexa is fierce, yet considerate of clients, co-workers as well as opposing counsel. Alexa is a published author and a Girl Scout Gold Award Recipient. “There’s so much to her in terms of intelligence, attention to detail, and work ethic. She also finished law school at 24 yearsof-age. She is a natural fit for us,” Fielding says.
Fielding adds that both the new members “fit perfectly with our team ethos and our vibe. Both love the Valley of the Sun and adventuring. Both have the ‘It’ factor that marks them for success. They reinvigorate the Firm and me.”
He has a unique description of the new law clerks in the Tempe office. “Scorpions are tough, adaptive, swift and common in Arizona. From my experience, they also run in pairs. I looked at these two brilliant women working in unison together, so the analogy was obvious and appropriate. They are very powerful indeed—our two scorpions.”
Fielding predicts a bright future for his Firm. The new Arizona office is just one example of how that prediction is already coming true. “I believe in the underdog against the big insurance companies; the biblical David versus Goliath fight. I know we can make a positive difference in peoples’ lives from all walks of life. I am fulfilled advocating for the common man. When the Universe places you in the right place at the right time, amazing things happen,” Fielding says. n
Contact Fielding Law, APC The Boardwalk 18575 Jamboree Road, Suite 600 Irvine, CA 92612 (949) 288-5484
Fielding Law, APC The Watermark 410 North Scottsdale Road, Floor 10 Tempe, AZ 85281 (480) 542-5454
hello@fieldinglawfirm.com www.fieldinglawfirm.com
