Debora
L.
Verdier
Biography
Debora Verdier serves as a senior partner at the firm. In all kinds of labor and employment disputes, Ms. Verdier represents employers in proceedings before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, state and federal courts, and private arbitrators. She has experience defending businesses, including municipalities, from allegations of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation made in accordance with Title VII, the Family Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the whistleblower provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Ms. Verdier has represented a number of Arizona companies in EEOC and employment-related litigation cases, including private charter schools, medical facilities, fitness clubs, vacation resorts, car dealerships, law offices, and multi-family housing managers. She has reviewed policies and made required revisions to meet with legal changes. She has also given in-service and training on ADA, FMLA, and Title VII themes to management staff in those same businesses. Ms. Verdier counsels businesses with a view toward averting disputes and offering pre-litigation remedies, in addition to defending business clients in court.
Ms. Verdier has defended insurance companies in cases involving reimbursement problems and insurance coverage disputes as well as corporations in liability and insurance matters. Her work in this area has included drafting opinions on insurance coverage, letters reserving rights, and, if required, resolving coverage issues through litigation and negotiation.
Ms. Verdier was admitted to membership in the International Association of Defense Counsel in 2012. The only way to join this group of 2,500 people is by invitation. In several areas of legal reform and professional advancement, the IADC takes the lead.
From 2012 until 2020, Ms. Verdier worked as a judge pro tem in the Maricopa County Superior Court. She has been an adjunct faculty member at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University since 2012, where she teaches a practical skill course called "The Litigation Experience." Ms. Verdier joined Cavanagh as an equity partner in June 2020 and joined the Cavanagh Board of Directors in 2022.
Practice Areas
- Alternative Dispute Resolution
- Appellate Practice
- Commercial Litigation
- Education
- Employment, Labor, OSHA & Immigration
- Government Relations
- Health Care
- Insurance Bad Faith
- Insurance Coverage
- Insurance Defense
- Labor and Employment
- Litigation
- Property Management Companies
- Real Estate Brokerage Firms
Industries
- Automotive
- Aviation
- Education
- Franchise
- Government
- Healthcare
- Hotels and Resorts
- Insurance
- Internet
- Legal
- Non-Profit Organizations
- Professional Practices
- Restaurants
- Retail
- Sports and Recreation
Education
- Arizona State University, College of Law, Tempe, Arizona
- Juris Doctor - 1997
- Honors: Member, National Moot Court Team, 1996 - 1997
- Honors: President, Women Law Students' Association, 1995 - 1996
- Honors: Outstanding Woman of the Year, Women Law Student’s Association, 1997
- Honors: CALI Award – Federal Courts
- Honors: CALI Award – Employment Law
- Arizona State University, Phoenix, Arizona
- Bachelor of Science - 1992
- Major: Political Science
- Major: Philosophy
Bar Admissions
- Arizona, 1997
- U.S. District Court District of Arizona
- U.S. District Court District of Colorado
- U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit
Honors
- Southwest Super Lawyers, 2013 - 2024
- Southwest Super Lawyers Top 25 Arizona Women Attorneys, 2015 - 2024
- Southwest Super Lawyers Top 50 Arizona Lawyers, 2016 - 2019, 2023, 2024
- AZ Business Magazine’s Top 100 Lawyers in Arizona, 2016 - 2020, 2022, 2024
- AZ Business Magazine’s Top Lawyers in Labor and Employment, March/April 2011 and March/April 2013
- The Best Lawyers in America, Employment Law – Management and Litigation – Labor and Employment, Commercial Litigation - 2022 - 2024
- PHOENIX Magazine Top Lawyer in Labor and Employment Law, 2022, 2023
- Capitol Times Women Achievers of Arizona, 2022
- The Best Lawyers in America , Women in the Law, 2023
Professional Associations
- International Association of Defense Counsel, Appointed Member
- State Bar of Arizona (Since 1997)
- Professional Liability Underwriters Society (PLUS), Southwest Chapter, Steering Committee Member (2013 - 2019), Chapter Chair (2017 - 2018)
- Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM)
- Arizona Association of Defense Counsel
- Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
Past Positions
- Sanders & Parks, PC, Owner, 2004 - 2013
- Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, Associate, 1999 - 2003
- O'Connor, Cavanagh, Anderson, Killingsworth & Beshears, Associate. 1998 - 1999
- Arizona Court of Appeals, Honorable Cecil B. Patterson, Jr., Clerk, 1997 - 1998
- Manning & Kass, ellrod, Ramirez & Tressler, 2013 - 2020
Representative Cases
- Doe v. Mahoney, 244 Ariz. 2040, 418 P.3d 1013 (Ariz. App. 2018)
- Hill v. City of Phoenix, 162 F. Supp. 3d 918 (D. Ariz. 2016)
- In re the Estate of Richard D. Snure, 234 Ariz. 203, 320 P.3d 316 (Ariz. App. 2014)
- Yahweh v. City of Phoenix, 544 Fed. Appx. 776 (D. Ariz. 2013)
- Canyon Ambulatory Surgery Center, et al. v. SCF Arizona, 225 Ariz. 414, 239 P.3d 733, (App. 2010)
- Xcentric Ventures, L.L.C. v. Bird, et al., 2010 WL 447759, (D. Ariz. 2010)
- CBS Broadcasting, Inc., et al. v. EchoStar Communications Corp., et al, 276 F. Supp. 2d 1237, (S.D. Fla. 2003)
- In re Price Waterhouse Ltd., 202 Ariz. 397, 46 P.3d 408 (2002)
- CBS Broadcasting, Inc., et al. v. EchoStar Communications Corp., et al. , 265 F.3d 1193, (11th Cir. 2001)