Michael McGrath

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Michael McGrath is a partner and the Board Chair of Mesch Clark Rothschild. He is a commercial lawyer in a practice which emphasizes debtor and creditor rights as well as commercial and real estate litigation and transactions.

Michael is a Phoenix native and received his J.D. from the University of Arizona College of Law. He began his career clerking for the Chief Judges of the United States Bankruptcy and District Courts in Phoenix.

Michael  has  been  selected  as  one  of  the  Top  100 Lawyers in Arizona since 2015 by Arizona Business Magazine. He has been included in the Best Lawyers in America publication for more than 25 years and was recognized as the 2016 Lawyer of the Year for Bankruptcy Litigation by the Best Lawyer publication. He has been recognized by Super Lawyers as a Southwest Super Lawyer and has received recognition for 20 years as a Southwest Super Lawyer, Top 50 Lawyers in Arizona and as a member of Arizona’s Finest Lawyers. Recently, Michael was recognized as a Lawdragon 500 Leading U.S. Bankruptcy and Restructuring Lawyers. He has been recognized as one of America’s “Top 100 Stakes Litigators” and as the 2023 Leading Debtor & Creditor Rights Attorney of the Year for Arizona by Acquisition International.

Michael is a fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy and the Litigation Counsel of America. He has served as a Lawyer Delegate to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference and been a member of the Bankruptcy Advisory Commission for the certification of bankruptcy specialists, and Merit Selection Committees for the District’s bankruptcy and magistrate judges. Michael was a member of the Disciplinary Commission of the Arizona Supreme Court from 1994-2000, serving as chairman from 1999-2000.

He is active in civic, cultural, and professional organizations, including the Volunteer Lawyers Panel of Southern Arizona Legal Aid. He is a past Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Tucson Urban League, a former president of the Tucson Conquistadores and the Tucson Conquistadores Foundation. He serves as counsel for the non-profit Rialto Theatre in Tucson. He is a managing member of the Hacienda del Sol Guest Ranch Resort in Tucson.

Michael is married to Eileen Romer McGrath, Ph.D., and they have two daughters: Katlin, Tucson and Shea, Minneapolis.

Practice Areas

 Admissions & Certificates

  • Supreme Court of the State of Arizona, 1979
  • United States District Court, District of Arizona, 1979
  • The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
  • The United States Tax Court

Education

  •  Brophy College Preparatory, Phoenix, 1971
  • University of Arizona B.A. with honor, 1975
  • University of Arizona College of Law, Juris Doctor, 1979

Recognitions

  • Top Pro Bono Attorneys in Arizona, 2024
  • Leading Debtor & Creditor Rights Attorney of the Year for Arizona by Acquisition International, 2023
  • Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Bankruptcy and Restructuring Lawyers
  • Top 100 Lawyers in Arizona, Arizona Business Magazine, 2015 – Present
  • America’s Most Honored Professionals Top 1% by the American Registry, 2016
  • Litigation Counsel of America, Fellow, 2008 – Present
  • Top Lawyers, Corporate Counsel, 2011
  • Arizona’s Finest Lawyers, 2010 – Present
  • American College of Bankruptcy, Fellow
  • Disciplinary Commission, Supreme Court of Arizona, 1995 – 2000; Chair, 1999 – 2000
  • Best Lawyers in America, listed, 1991 – Present, Lawyer of the Year, Bankruptcy Litigation, 2016
  • Super Lawyers Southwest Super Lawyers, 2007 – Present; Top 50 Arizona Super Lawyers, 2016 – Present
  • Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Rating, 1986 – Present
  • United States Bankruptcy Court, District of Arizona, ADR Program, List of Approved Compensated and Uncompensated Mediators Adjunct professor in International Insolvency at the James Rogers College of Law, University of Arizona, 2012

Organizations

  • American Bankruptcy Institute, Member
  • Volunteer Lawyers Panel, Southern Arizona Legal Aid, Member, 1982 – Present
  • Arizona Town Hall, Member, 1989 – Present
  • Financial Oversight Committee, Tucson United School District, Member, 1989
  • Tucson Urban League, Director, 2001-2006, President, 2007
  • Tucson Conquistadores, Member, 1997, President, 2005
  • Tucson Conquistadores Foundation, Charter Member, President, 2006
  • Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference, Lawyer Delegate, 2002 – 2005
  • Rialto Theatre, Tucson, Arizona, Counsel
  • Hacienda del Sol Guest Ranch Resort, Managing Member

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