Our Mission
Wilenchik & Bartness has experienced and proven attorneys who provide quality, "big firm" legal representation in a more responsive and less intimidating "small firm" atmosphere.  

Company Profile
Our attorneys have represented small and large corporations, individuals, and various governmental bodies, including municipalities, the State of Arizona Attorney General's Office, the Maricopa County Attorney, and the Sheriff of Maricopa County. Wilenchik & Bartness is an A-V rated law firm and is listed in Martindale-Hubbell's Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers. It is on an approved list of law firms to represent the State of Arizona Attorney General's office, City of Phoenix, as well as the Maricopa County Attorney's office. See Attorneys for a list of our esteemed attorneys, and for information on how to join the firm, see Careers.

In The News... The Arizona Court of Appeals upheld the verdict and award of costs obtained by Wilenchik & Bartness in Saban v. Arpaio. Wilenchik & Bartness represented Sheriff Joseph Arpaio; his chief deputy, David Hendershott; and Maricopa County in a defamation lawsuit by Dan Saban, a former candidate for Sheriff. In 2007, a jury found in favor of the Sheriff after an 11 day trial and awarded Defendants taxable costs in the litigation.  Wilenchik & Bartness wins jury trial against master developer and later appeal Dennis Wilenchik won a verdict for $700,000 for Randall Martin Homes in a lawsuit for breach of contract as well as the the following appeal. Randall Martin Homes entered into a contract with Evergreen Communities to purchase a piece of raw land in Buckeye, Arizona.

Wilenchik & Bartness argues appeal in front of retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O' Connor Dennis Wilenchik and Kathleen Rapp represented 12 of the 15 Arizona Counties in a case on appeal before retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O' Connor. The panel also included Ninth Circuit Judge Sandra Segal Ikuta and Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski. Audio of the argument, which includes a final argument by Dennis I. Wilenchik, can be found here.

Wilenchik & Bartness Sponsors First Annual Goldwater Women's Tennis Classic
Wilenchik & Bartness is proud to sponsor the annual Goldwater Women's Tennis Classic, held at
the Phoenix Country Club. The event benefits the Boys and Girls Clubs of the East Valley.

Wilenchik & Bartness wins trial and appeal in commercial leasing dispute
Dennis I. Wilenchik won a verdict for over $540,000, in addition to attorney’s fees, for the Plaintiff in a commercial leasing dispute. The verdict, for BB&K Metro Tech Center, LLC., was also successfully defended on appeal.

Wilenchik & Bartness wins jury trial and appeal defending Sheriff Joe
Dennis I. Wilenchik and Lawrence J. Felder won a complete defense verdict for Sheriff Joe Arpaio against an inmate who slipped on a plastic bag in a Maricopa County jail cell, then sued the Sheriff for negligence. The jury awarded the Plaintiff, Lonny Mitchell, no damages, and the Court awarded attorney's fees to the Sheriff. Mr. Mitchell appealed the award of attorney’s fees, and Wilenchik & Bartness won the appeal.

Wilenchik & Bartness wins 6-day jury trial defending the Sheriff and appeal
Dennis I. Wilenchik and Lawrence J. Felder won a complete defense verdict for Sheriff Joe Arpaio in a lawsuit against him by a former inmate, Christina Jimenez. Ms. Jimenez claimed that the Sheriff was responsible for her being attacked while waiting for her husband after her release from jail. Wilenchik & Bartness produced evidence at trial that the drug “Librium” was found in her system immediately after the assault. Ms. Jimenez tested negative for the drug before being released, but had telephoned her husband to bring the drug with him when he came to pick her up. Wilenchik & Bartness argued that Ms. Jimenez's husband brought the drug to her and was responsible for the assault. The jury found the Sheriff not responsible, and Ms. Jimenez appealed the verdict. Wilenchik & Bartness again won on appeal.

Wilenchik & Bartness Included on the 2009 Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers
Wilenchik & Bartness was given Martindale-Hubbell's "highest rating in legal ability and ethical standards," being named to the 2009 Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers.

Wilenchik & Bartness wins jury trial on a directed verdict.
Dennis Wilenchik and Kathleen Rapp successfully defended Sheriff Arpaio from a meritless lawsuit brought by a former inmate who had been sentenced to serve 24 hours in Tent City for a DUI.  Patricia Dougherty brought suit after she fell while attempting to exit a 4 foot 7 inch bunk bed in the dark and alleged that the Sheriff was negligent in assigning her to a top bunk. Dennis Wilenchik moved for judgment at the close of trial and the Court ruled that there was no evidence of unreasonable action or inaction on the part of the Sheriff or his deputies and, as such, the matter could not go to the jury on the sole count of negligence. Judgment was awarded for Sheriff Arpaio as a matter of law.

Wilenchik & Bartness wins bench trial representing Arizona Counties
Dennis Wilenchik and Kathleen Rapp, representing the Elections Officials from 12 of the 15 Arizona Counties, worked hand-in-hand with the Arizona Attorney General's Office to defeat a challenge to the Arizona Voter ID and Proof of Citizenship laws. The complex litigation included three consolidated cases brought by individuals and special interests groups seeking to overturn Arizona's election integrity laws. After more than two years of litigation driven by MALDEF and other out-of-state Plaintiff's organizations, Judge Silver of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona issued a 49-page order finding that the State and Counties had properly upheld the will of the people, rejecting all constitutional challenges to the laws.

Wilenchik & Bartness wins three week jury trial against Dan Saban. Dennis I. Wilenchik, William P. French, Tyler Q. Swensen, and M. Rob Somers, representing Defendants Maricopa County, Sheriff Joseph Arpaio, Chief David Hendershott, Steve Bailey, and Ray Jones, recently won a three week jury trial on all claims by Dan Saban. This case involved an allegation by Saban, a candidate for Sheriff of Maricopa County in 2004, that Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his Chief Deputy, David Hendershott, abused their positions by beginning an investigation into whether Saban raped his adoptive mother, Ruby Norman, approximately 32 years earlier. Saban sued the Sheriff and several deputies alleging that they conspired to violate several laws and, in the process, defamed Saban and invaded his privacy.

Dennis I. Wilenchik has been named in Marquis Who's Who in American Law for 2007-2008.
Dennis I. Wilenchik was recently included in the 2007 list of Super Lawyers. Only 5 percent of the total lawyers in the state are selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers. Over 800,000 lawyers were asked to nominate attorneys in the candidate screening process. After the initial screening, a committee considered several factors including Dennis Wilenchik's verdicts and settlements, transactions, representative clients, and experience. Next, Dennis Wilenchik was grouped by his practice area and evaluated by his peers. Finally, Dennis Wilenchik was screened according to firm size, and selected to this prestigious list based upon his points in the aforementioned categories. For more information, see www.superlawyers.com.   

On June 19, 2007, the La Paz County Attorney appointed Dennis I. Wilenchik as a Special Deputy County Attorney to serve as a public prosecutor for La Paz County concerning allegations relating to public offenses, if any, concerning Tricia Lynn Groe within La Paz County.  

AZ Supreme Court accepts unprecedented Amicus Brief relating to judicial conduct.
Wilenchik and Bartness has had the pleasure of assisting the Maricopa County Justice Courts on a variety of issues, including helping them create professional standards to clarify and illuminate the Code of Judicial Conduct for the Justice Court Bench. At the same time that the Bench as a whole was undertaking this monumental effort, the Commission on Judicial Conduct and the Arizona Supreme Court began investigating the actions of a single Maricopa County Justice of the Peace. After the Commission made its recommendation to the Court, the Bench as a whole felt the need to present the Supreme Court with the direction in which the Justice Court Bench was trying to move, including the professional standards that it was creating. As such, the Bench requested that Wilenchik and Bartness assist them in writing an amicus brief to the Supreme Court on the topic of the Commission's recommendation of discipline. This unprecedented brief was accepted by the Supreme Court and, in the following opinion, the Supreme Court ultimately remanded the case back to the Commission on Judicial Conduct with instructions to change the manner in which they analyzed the case. The Supreme Court's opinion can be found at http://www.supreme.state.az.us/opin/pdf2007/JC060002.pdf 

Wilenchik & Bartness wins at the U.S. Supreme Court.  
In 2004 Arizona voters passed Proposition 200, an initiative measure that, among other things, changed the election law to require:  (1) proof of citizenship to register to vote; and (2) proof of identification when one votes at the polling place on election day. Several Plaintiffs, including the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Foundation, Intertribal Counsel of Arizona and the Navajo Nation filed suits challenging the new election law. The District Court of Arizona consolidated the actions and denied a motion by consolidated Plaintiffs to enjoin Arizona's election law for the November 2006 national elections. 
The 9th Circuit overturned the District Court's ruling, granting Plaintiffs an Emergency Temporary Injunction. County and State Defendants applied to Justice Kennedy for a stay of the 9th Circuit decision.  On October 20, 2006 the High Court issued a per curium decision overturning the 9th Circuit's decision and preserving the status quo for Arizona's elections. The litigation continues on the merits in District Court. A copy of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision can be found at http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/06pdf/06A375.pdf

For a complete list of seminars and publications by Dennis I. Wilenchik, click here.