Photo of attorney Kerry M. Griggs

Kerry
M.
Griggs

  • Senior Member

Biography

Kerry M. Griggs is a Senior Member at The Cavanagh Law Firm, P.A.'s Phoenix office. He is a former chairman of the firm's board of directors and is currently serving as the firm's general counsel and risk manager. Mr. Griggs graduated in the top 15% of his law school class at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1995. In addition to being named by Phoenix Magazine as a Top Attorney in Arizona, Mr. Griggs has been selected as a Southwest Super Lawyer. He has also earned recognition as one of the "Top Attorneys in the Southwest" and "America's Most Honored Professionals." 

Mr. Griggs focuses primarily on commercial litigation and first-party insurance disputes. His areas of expertise include insurance coverage, insurance special investigations, real estate litigation and administrative practice. He also works extensively in the fields of product liability and consumer product warranties. He has conducted numerous jury trials, arbitrations and bench trials in state and federal courts.

 For his insurance clients, Mr. Griggs routinely coordinates coverage and special investigations, including examinations under oath and arson investigations. He frequently counsels insurance companies on first-party coverage matters. He has been an appraiser in a number of property insurance claims and often lectures to professional audiences on general insurance issues.

 Mr. Griggs served as the regional editor for the second edition of the ABA publication Bad Faith and Punitive Damages, Annotations to First-Party Insurance Cases. He is a frequent presenter for the International Association of Arson Investigators, focusing on the proper investigation and litigation of civil arson cases. Mr. Griggs has expertise in many risk management issues facing Arizona insurers.

 Mr. Griggs has lectured extensively on risk management topics pertinent to real estate brokerages for the Phoenix Association of Realtors and other professional real estate organizations. He represents real estate brokers and agents in court and administrative proceedings.

 Mr. Griggs regularly delivers presentations on product liability law. He recently lectured in Toronto and Chicago on indemnity considerations in U.S. product liability litigation. 

 Mr. Griggs is a member of The Harmonie Group, the Arizona Association of Defense Counsel, the Maricopa County Bar Association, and the Arizona Bar Association. His personal interest include off-road motorsports, metal and machine work, SCUBA diving, and recreational target shooting. Mr. Griggs is on the board of directors of the American Sand Association, a non-profit organization that works to maintain a sensible balance between motorized off-road activity and environmental preservation.

 

Education

  • Washington University School of Law, St. Louis, Missouri
    • J.D. - 1995
    • Honors: Upper 15%
  • Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
    • B.S. - 1992
    • Honors: summa cum laude
    • Honors: Hinckley Scholar, Presidential Scholar, Golden Key National Honor
    • Honors: Society, Valedictorian Candidate
    • Major: Psychology

Bar Admissions

  • Arizona, 1995

Honors

  • Southwest Super Lawyers
  • The Best Lawyers in America, 2020, Commercial Litigation
  • The Best Lawyers in America, 2021 – present, Commercial Litigation and Litigation-Insurance
  • Top Attorneys in Arizona
  • Top Attorneys in the Southwest
  • America’s Most Honored Professionals

Professional Associations

  • State Bar of Arizona
  • Maricopa County Bar Association
  • Defense Research Institute
  • The Harmonie Group
  • American Sand Association

Pro-Bono Activities

  • Board of Directors of the American Sand Association

Representative Clients

  • Insurance

Languages

  • French