Biography: Mr. Cheifetz started the firm in 1989 as a solo practitioner handling a variety of legal matters and is currently the firm’s managing partner. He has extensive experience in construction disputes, complex commercial litigation and homeowners association matters.  

One of Mr. Cheifetz's first significant cases was representing neighbors in the White Mountains against a multi-national paper firm with logging facilities in Eagar, Arizona. As a result of leaking underground petroleum storage tanks, his clients’ properties were contaminated. Mr. Cheifetz was able to establish that the paper firm’s storage tanks were the source of the contamination and that they had ignored the problem for many years, resulting in significant settlements for his clients. With the money earned from that matter, Mr. Cheifetz was able to hire Claudio Iannitelli, with whom he became equal partners. Mr. Cheifetz and Mr. Iannitelli thereafter built the firm by handling a wide variety of construction related disputes and collection matters, and with the significant addition of John Marcolini as a partner and the hiring of associates, they were able to develop the broad practice enjoyed by the firm today.

Throughout this process, Mr. Cheifetz has been dedicated to helping the “little guy” when possible. Mr. Cheifetz’ and Mr. Iannitelli's first published opinion, Lang v. Superior Court, involved their representation of an elderly woman against a car dealership for fraud. When Mr. Cheifetz contacted former employees to gather evidence supporting their fraud allegations, the car dealership argued that it was unethical to talk to the car dealerships former employees without the car dealerships attorney present, and the trial judge precluded Mr. Cheifetz from using the former employees’ testimonies at trial. Mr. Cheifetz and Mr. Iannitelli won on appeal, which resulted in a published opinion in 1992 that still sets the parameters as to when an attorney may contact former employees.

Practice Areas: Commercial Litigation; Construction Litigation; Homeowners Association (HOA) Litigation; Creditors' Rights (Collections)

Admissions:
Bars: Arizona (1988)
Courts: U.S. Court of Federal Claims; U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona; All state courts in Arizona.

Education:
Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ (B.S., 1984)
Arizona State University College of Law, Tempe, AZ (J.D., 1987)