Mick Rusing heads up the firm’s litigation section, covering virtually every area of civil litigation.
A Fellow of both the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and the American College of Trial Lawyers, Mick has practiced law for 45 years. He has tried well over 100 cases in federal and state courts in such areas as breach of fiduciary duty, contract, intellectual property, ERISA, employment, environmental, insurance bad faith, insurance coverage, legal malpractice, medical malpractice, patent infringement, products liability, securities, trusts and estates, will contests, and wrongful death. He has argued cases before the Arizona Court of Appeals, the Arizona Supreme Court, the Nevada Supreme Court, the Bankruptcy Appellate Panels, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Mick maintains a significant part of his litigation practice in the injury area, including products liability and malpractice, but in recent years his focus has also been on significant business litigation involving the prosecution and defense of fraud actions, partnership disputes or other business entity litigation among principals, and matters involving real estate or construction.
As a savvy litigator with years of experience, Mick often serves as a neutral, mediator, or arbitrator. Mick has arbitrated and mediated a wide range of disputed matters including, but not limited to: real estate purchase/sale, leasing, construction, and financing; partnership, corporate and LLC issues; commercial and business agreements; employment/independent contractor relationships and related contracts; environmental liability/remediation responsibilities; financial, insurance and banking relationships/responsibilities; insurance claims and liability coverage; intellectual property/copyright/patent rights; professional contracts and relationships, and related negligence claims; product liability actions; shareholder/corporate relationships and derivative actions; personal injury, defamation and wrongful death claims. Mick brings substantial trial experience to the mediation table, with over 100 trials in various forums. Mick serves as a Superior Court Pro Tem Judge and recently completed mediation training at Straus Institute, Pepperdine Law.
Chambers USA Survey of America’s Leading Business Lawyers recognized Mick as a top Arizona litigator. According to the survey, “Rusing is no stranger to multi-million dollar disputes…” and peers acknowledge him as “one of the finest: he has all the right attributes you want in a lawyer.” Mick has been listed by The Best Lawyers in America® in eight litigation categories: Commercial, Banking/Finance, Labor and Employment, Real Estate, Regulatory Enforcement, Mass Tort/Class Actions, Personal Injury-Plaintiffs and Personal Injury-Defendants.