Joe Schenk is a seasoned veteran attorney working in the business litigation practice group of our Phoenix office where his work focuses on healthcare law, commercial litigation and appeals. For 31 years, he led his own firm, Aiken Schenk Hawkins & Ricciardi P.C., and he is recognized by his peers in the legal industry for his litigation skill. He is a trusted business advisor to numerous healthcare clients, including institutional healthcare professionals, medical boards, group practices and physicians. Joe is a Super Lawyers^® selectee and a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, as well as a former Judge pro tempore in Maricopa County Superior Court.

Growing up in a small Indiana town, Joe always had an aptitude for math and science, and he was a born test-taker. After earning his Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University, Joe worked for Dow Chemical where an engineering colleague suggested law school as a possible future career track. On a lark, he took his LSATs and was subsequently admitted to all three of his law school choices, eventually enrolling at the University of Michigan Law School where the Dean of Admissions may have been the first lawyer that he had ever met. He was one of two students to write his way onto Michigan’s law review board, and after answering a want ad in the Michigan alumni newspaper from a law firm in Phoenix, he began his illustrious career in the valley of the sun. After all these years of trying cases, Joe still loves efficient problem solving, be it a transactional or adversarial matter. Clients rely on his expertise to find the quickest and least expensive route from point A to point B.

Married to his wife, Anna, for more than 40 years, Joe is most proud of his two grown children who have blossomed into complex, interesting, self-sufficient people, and he is now looking at the wonders of life through the fresh eyes of his grandchildren. A true Hoosier, Joe spent most of his life playing pick-up basketball games, but now refreshes his batteries through reading and by exploring new technologies.

• J.D., cum laude, University of Michigan Law School
• B.S., Purdue University

OTHER EXPERIENCE

• Appeals
• Commercial Litigation

• JGD, LLC v. American Title Service Agency, LLC, No. 1 CA-CV 10-0-466
• Coutler et al. v. Grant Thornton, LLP, No 1 CA-CV 14-0625 (2017)
• Caruthers v. Underhill, 235 Ariz. 1, 326 P.3d 268 (2014)
• Webb v. Omni Block, Inc., 216 Ariz. 349, 166 P.3d 140 (2007)
• Monthofer v. Allen, 189 Ariz. 422, 943 P.2d 782 (1997)
• In re: Garlikov, 992 F.2d 224 (9^th Cir. 1993)
• Einhorn v. Valley Medical Specialists, P.C., 172 Ariz. 571, 838 P.2d 1332 (1992)
• America West Airlines v. GPA Corp. et al., 877 F.2d 793 (9^th Cir. 1989)
• Manzanita Park, Inc. v. Insurance Co. of North America, 857 F.2d 549 (9^th Cir. 1988)
• Continental Townhouses East United One Association v. Brockbank, 152 Ariz. 537, 733 P.2d 1120, 73, A.L.R. 4^th 921 (1986)
• Semegen v. Weidner, 780 F.2d 727 (9^th Cir. 1985)
• Span-Eng Associates v. Weidner, 771 F.2d 464 (10^th Cir. 1985)

• Best Lawyers in America^®, Health Care Law and Litigation – Health Care, 2024
• Best Lawyers in America^®, Commercial Litigation, 2016-2024
• Southwest Super Lawyers^®, Business Litigation, 2021-2023
• Southwest Super Lawyers^®, Commercial Litigation, 2009-2020
• AV^® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated (the highest rating available), by Martindale-Hubbell

• Author, “Noncompetition Provisions in Physician Employment Agreements Following Farber,” Fennemore Client Alert, December 1, 2020

• Member, State Bar of Arizona
• Member, Maricopa County Bar Association
• Member, Arizona Association of Health Care Lawyers
• Volunteer Lawyers Program
• Past Chairman, Arizona Civil Jury Instructions Committee
• Past Judge pro tempore, Maricopa County Superior Court, 1993-2007

• Arizona
• U.S. District Court, District of Arizona
• U.S. District Court, District of Indiana
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh District
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit
• U.S. Supreme Court