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Legal Corner: Spotlight on the ACAA President - Phyllis Smiley
Please tell us a little about your background and where you were educated.
I was born and raised in Indiana and received a bachelor's degree in mathematics education from University of Michigan. My first job in a law office
was as a paralegal in a large, multinational law firm in Chicago. I was one of their first six paralegals - before most people ever heard of a
paralegal and before there were any training programs for paralegals. Most of our work was on large anti-trust litigation cases, doing legal
research and discovery. After a couple of years, I married, moved to Iowa and took a hiatus from work to raise my three children. In 1984, we
moved to Arizona where I became single again, went through several jobs, including massage therapist and flower arranging, and went back to work as
a paralegal/legal assistant/bookkeeper with a sole practitioner focusing on juvenile law. After a few years I decided to go to law school at ASU,
graduating in 2000 - the day before my middle child graduated with a bachelor's degree from that other Arizona university in Tucson.
What is your background and experience in municipal law?
After finishing law school I started my career as an attorney with Martinez and Curtis, P.C., a small, boutique law firm specializing in municipal law,
special districts, water, and utilities law. Later at Curtis, Goodwin, Sullivan, and Schwab, P.L.C., I worked primarily with Susan Goodwin and Kelly
Schwab, two of the finest municipal lawyers in Arizona, who mentored me in municipal law. For the past 16 years, I have worked on a variety of matters
for many Arizona cities and towns and for several years was the planning and zoning attorney for one of our larger municipal clients. Currently, I serve
as town attorney for the towns of Chino Valley and Miami, Arizona.
Please tell us about your history and involvement with ACAA.
I first became involved with the ACAA while I was working with Susan and Kelly. They invited me to attend association events and soon I was attending
the annual meetings and the round tables at the League Conference each year. I remember sitting at my first round table session and feeling totally
lost by a discussion of the details of impact fees and development agreements. Each year after that, I congratulated myself for understanding more of
the discussions and, after a few years, I actually became a presenter on various topics at the meetings. I have served on ACAA committees regarding
sign codes, medical marijuana, and other topics over the past 15 years.
What do you hope to accomplish in your year as president of ACAA?
Over the next year, I would like to get more young attorneys interested in practicing municipal law as a potential career path by reaching out to the
state's law schools and inviting current law students to attend our annual conference and committee meetings that may be held throughout the year. I
would also like to involve more assistant and deputy city attorneys in ACAA programming and events.
Another goal of mine is to continue enhancing the ACAA's quality presentations on relevant topics and issues facing municipal attorneys today, including
the half-day presentations for newer and intermediate city and town attorneys. Staying up to date with proposed and new legislation and issues that
arise for city and town attorneys is always challenging and I intend to work to continue the ACAA's role as a go-to valuable resource in that regard.
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League of Arizona Cities and Towns
1820 W. Washington St.
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Phone: 602-258-5786
Fax: 602-253-3874
http://www.azleague.org
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