AZ FOP Law Firm

Bob is a second-generation Arizonan, born and raised in Phoenix. Following his graduation from Arizona State University’s College of Law in 1981, Bob served as law clerk to the Honorable Thomas Tang, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. As a judicial clerk, he drafted opinions, orders and memoranda for the Court in cases involving a variety of federal matters including labor and employment issues. Later, he was associated with a small law firm where his practice included issues pertaining to complex Native American water rights, eminent domain litigation, commercial transactions, estate planning, business formation, election and civil rights law.

For the past quarter century, though, his practice emphasis has been in public employment law, including wage and hour issues and civil rights litigation. He has practiced in the United States Supreme Court, and argued cases in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the United States District Court, the Arizona Supreme Court, the Arizona Court of Appeals and the Arizona Superior Courts.

Active in his community, Bob has served as a faculty member at the State Bar Seminar “The Power of One: Making Cultural Diversity a Reality for the Legal Profession in Arizona” and at the Business Law Forum for Minority and Women-Owned Businesses speaking on the “At-Will” employment doctrine in Arizona. He was a founding director and remains a member of the Arizona Asian-American Bar Association, and served as a volunteer and participating mentor in the Maricopa County Bar Association Cultural Diversity Mentoring Program. Bob’s community involvement also includes service on the Board of Directors for the Phoenix Museum of History and a four-year appointment by the Governor to serve as a member of the State Liquor Board.

Bob was given an “AV” preeminent rating by his peers, the highest quality rating for competence and ethical standards issued by the Martindale Hubbell Law Directory, and he is proud to have maintained that rating for the past 15 years.

Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Rating

Representative appellate cases

• Pijanowski v. Yuma County, 202 Ariz. 260, 43 P.3d 208 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2002): Establishing the right of more than 650 County Sheriff’s Deputies to overtime pay based on a 40 hour work week.
• Clark v. Town of Buckeye, 343 F. App’x. 177 (9th Cir. 2009): Clarifying a police officer’s rights to pre-termination due process.
• Strube v. Arizona Dept. of Econ. Sec., 140 Ariz. 212, 680 P.2d 1273 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1984): Establishing the rights of employees to receive unemployment benefits during temporary plant “shut downs”.

Carol is a native of Arizona, born and raised in Phoenix. Carol received her Juris Doctorate from the University of Arizona Law School in 1986. While at the University of Arizona, she was a member of the Arizona Law Review. Prior to law school, Carol worked as a law clerk and assisted in the preparation of complex Native American water rights litigation cases. Following her graduation from law school, she became an associate attorney at a firm in Phoenix, Arizona. As an associate, her practice included civil litigation and continued participation in the Native American water rights litigation cases.

In 1987, Carol helped to establish the law firm of Yen & Pilch, (eventually becoming Yen Pilch & Landeen). Her practice focuses on employment law, civil and commercial litigation and elections law. Carol represents clients in all aspects of labor and employment law. She has handled matters involving Title VII discrimination claims, Age Discrimination in Employment claims, Americans with Disability claims, Family Medical Leave Act claims, and matters brought under the National Labor Relations Act, to name a few. Carol has also handled complex wage claim matters brought under both state and federal law, and other complex civil litigation matters. She has appeared and argued cases before both the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the Arizona Supreme Court. Carol has also appeared before the Consumer Products Safety Commission, where she helped her clients oversee the largest consumer product recall in U.S. history.

Carol was appointed to serve as a judge pro tem in the Maricopa County Superior Court in 1994 and continues to serve in that capacity, presiding over several cases each year, and handling many settlement conferences.

Carol’s peers have given her an “AV” preeminent rating, the highest quality rating for competence and ethical standards issued by the Martindale Hubbell Law Directory. She is proud to have been selected in 2011 for inclusion in the Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers, a distinction held by less than 5% of women lawyers nationwide.

Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Rating

Representative appellate cases

• Lake v. City of Phoenix, 222 Ariz. 547, 218 P.3d 1004 (2009): A landmark case establishing the right of police officers to obtain “metadata” under the Arizona Public Records Act.
• Sherrill v. City of Peoria, 189 Ariz. 537, 943 P.2d 1215 (1997): Establishing and clarifying the requirements for referendum and initiative petitions under the Arizona Constitution.

Edmundo Robaina has practiced in the areas of labor and employment law for nearly 25 years. Edmundo regularly advises and represents individuals and business clients in discrimination/harassment cases under Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the National Labor Relations Act, and other federal and state laws. Furthermore, he handles wrongful termination cases pursuant to Arizona and federal laws; federal and state public employee discipline matters; wage and hour cases, breach of employment contract cases, and more. Throughout his career, Edmundo has successfully represented clients in state and federal administrative forums, in mediation and arbitration cases, and before various state and federal trial and appellate courts.

Edmundo is a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association and has served on the board of the Arizona Employment Lawyers Association. Edmundo has presented to a number of organizations on employment law topics including federal retaliation law, reasonable accommodation in the workplace, employment practices and trends, Arizona employment law, administrative law, wrongful termination, and mediation.

Edmundo is rated “AV Preeminent” by Martindale-Hubbell and has consistently been recognized by Arizona’s Finest Lawyers, Southwest Super Lawyers, and The Best Lawyers in America.

Dave Kresin represents employees and small businesses in employment litigation matters including discrimination, retaliation, medical leave denial, restrictive covenant enforcement, wage and hour violations, and more. Dave is licensed in the state courts of Arizona, Kansas, and Missouri, as well as the U.S. District Courts for Arizona and Kansas, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and previously served as a law clerk to the Hon. G. Thomas VanBebber in the United States District Court for Kansas.

Dave has substantial experience in federal courts, state courts, private arbitrations, and administrative proceedings, and has extensive trial experience covering a range of different employment law issues. In 2020, Dave was named a member of the Lawyers of Distinction, and in 2014 and 2015, he was recognized as the Employee Rights Attorney of the Year in Arizona by the Corporate INTL Magazine Global Awards. He also was named one of “Arizona’s Finest Lawyers” in 2011. Dave is a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association, the Arizona Employment Lawyers Association, and the American Bar Association Labor & Employment Section.

Dave has presented on a wide variety of employment law topics and authored several articles relating to federal employment law issues including:

• Presenter, “The Fair Wages and Healthy Families Act: Arizona’s Current Minimum Wage and Earned Paid Sick Time Law”, Referrals Royale Network Luncheon, December 2019
• Co-Presenter, “Employment Restrictive Covenants including Non-Competes, Non-Solicitation, and Non-Use Agreements: What’s Enforceable and What is Not”, Arizona Employment Lawyers Association Annual Meeting, February 2016
• Co-Author, “2013 Update re: Fee Applications (Article 10.8)”, Arizona Employment Law Handbook, October 2013
• Presenter, “The OSHA-Administered Whistleblower Laws”, Arizona Employment Lawyers Association Annual Meeting, February 2011
• Presenter, “Updates on the FMLA and ADA”, Arizona Employment Lawyers Association Annual Meeting, February 2009
• Co-Author, “Federal Regulations Update,” Employment Relations Today, Fall 2004, Spring 2005, Fall 2005, Spring 2006
• Presenter, “Untangling the Web of Overlapping FMLA, ADA, PDA, Workers’ Comp, and Antidiscrimination Laws,” Council on Education in Management FMLA Update, October 2005