Award of Special Merit

    Established in April 1988, the Award of Special Merit is presented by the Board of Governors to members of the State Bar of Arizona who have made significant contributions to the furtherance of public understanding of the legal system, the administration of justice,  and confidence in the legal profession.   

    2026 Recipient

     

    Jennifer Rebholz is a Board-Certified Specialist in Personal Injury & Wrongful Death law in Arizona, a designation held by fewer than two percent of personal injury attorneys in the state. Certification requires documented trial experience, peer review and written examination. She is Senior Counsel at Zwillinger Wulkan in Phoenix, representing individuals and families as plaintiff’s counsel in catastrophic injury and wrongful death matters.

    She served as President of the State Bar of Arizona (2021–2022), overseeing attorney regulation, ethics policy and initiatives supporting public trust in the legal system. In 2025, she received the State Bar President’s Award for leading the Task Force that modernized Arizona’s Certified Specialists Program. She chairs the Working Group continuing that reform across all 10 Arizona legal specializations and serves on the Arizona Supreme Court Ethics Advisory Committee, appointed by the Chief Justice.

    She is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), an invitation-only national organization of experienced trial lawyers committed to preserving the civil jury trial, and serves on the Phoenix Chapter Executive Board. She is AV Preeminent rated by Martindale-Hubbell.

    Her career spans more than 20 years of civil litigation and 35+ jury trials as first chair across five Arizona counties. She is a graduate of Gonzaga University School of Law and Northern Arizona University.

    Previous Recipients

    The award has been presented to:

    1988     Hon. Frank X. Gordon, Jr
    1989 Not awarded
    1990 Hon. L. Ray Haire
    1991 Prof. Charles M. Smith
    Hon. Morris K. Udall
    1992 Not awarded
    1993 Mark I. Harrison
    Charles T. Stevens
    1994 Hon. Nikki A. Chayet
    Patricia A. Sallen
    John M. Schlosser
    1995 E. Calvin Fuchs II
    Duke Nordlinger Stern
    1996 Christopher Johns
    1997 Michael M. Grant
    1998 Not awarded
    1999 Hon. Norman S. Fenton
    2000 Sen. Marc L. Spitzer
    Hon. Thomas A. Zlaket
    2001 Timothy M. Hogan
    Norman L. Miller
    2002 Daniel Cracchiolo
    2003 Walter Cheifetz
    2004 Hon. Edward E. Davis (posthumously)
    2005 Frances L. Johansen
    2006 Anthony W. Clark
    Susan R. Agrillo
    Norma L. Classen
    2007 Theodore Campagnolo
    Hon. Gary E. Donahoe
    2008 Larry C. McVey
    Sidney T. Marable (posthumously)
    2009 John W. Rogers
    2010 Gary R. Stickell
    Alex E. Navidad
    2011 Hon. Daniel A. Barker
    James W. Richardson
    2012 Hon. Ann A. Scott Timmer
    Stephen Weiss
    2013 Mark E. Meltzer
    2014 William W. Owsley
    2015 David B. Rosenbaum
    2016 Gary M. Kula
    2017 Robert L. Gottsfield
    2018 Hon. Michael P. Pollard
    2019 Hon. Dan R. Slayton
    2020 Stacy Rupprecht Butler
    Denice R. Shepherd
    2021 Anne Ronan
    2022 Know Your Rights
    2023 Barbara Atwood
    2024 D. Christopher Russell
    2025 Joseph Kanefield

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