Member of the Year Award

The Member of the Year Award is presented by the Board of Governors to an attorney who has rendered extraordinary contributions to the programs and activities of the State Bar in the prior year.  Hundreds, even thousands, of the Bar's members contribute their time and talent to the work of the Bar, but this award is limited to an individual whose contributions are exceptional.   The award was established in 1991.

2013 Recipient

WILLIAM G. KLAIN, a member of Lang Baker & Klain, PLC, focuses his practice on complex corporate and commercial litigation. He is a 2012 and 2013 Super Lawyers® selectee in business litigation.

Bill is Chair of the State Bar's Civil Practice and Procedure Committee, and an appointed member of the Arizona Supreme Court's Advisory Committee on Rules of Evidence and the Arizona Judicial Council's Committee on Superior Court. He is a frequent presenter on civil practice and procedure, chairs State Bar's "Nuts and Bolts of Civil Practice and Procedure: Views from the Bench and Bar" seminar and chaired the annual "Civil Litigation Rules and Case Law Update" seminar at the State Bar convention for many years.

Bill was awarded the State Bar of Arizona’s President's Award in 2008 for his contributions to civil practice and procedure, and the Scottsdale Bar Association's Award of Excellence in 2012 for his contributions to the legal community.

He is a member of the Scottsdale Bar Association and the Thurgood Marshall Inn of Court. Bill received his J.D. from the University of Denver and B.A. from the University of Richmond, and lives in Phoenix with his wife, Carrie, and their two daughters.

Previous Recipients

The award has been presented to: