Michael Benchoff

Mike practices in the areas of white collar and non-white collar criminal defense and government and internal investigations. He represents business entities and individuals in complex white collar criminal investigations, prosecutions and trials (in both federal and state courts), as well as in civil and administrative enforcement proceedings. His cases have included investigations by federal, state and local agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Office of the Inspector General (OIG), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ), and the Offices of the U.S. Attorney, Arizona Attorney General, and Maricopa County Attorney. Mike defends clients against allegations in a broad array of contexts, including bribery and conflicts of interest and various types of fraud, including mail, health care, environmental, procurement, real estate, and tax fraud. He also has decades of experience defending non-white collar criminal defendants charged with homicides and other major felonies, as well as other crimes against persons and property and business and commercial fraud.

Mike began his career as a prosecutor for the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, where he became Chief of the Criminal Division. He then went into private practice as a criminal defense attorney before joining Snell & Wilmer as a partner in 1990. He returned to running his own law firm in 1994 and joined Coppersmith Schermer & Brockelman PLC in 2009.

EDUCATION AND BAR ADMISSIONS

• L.L.B., Columbia University, 1961
• A.B. University of Notre Dame, 1958, cum laude
• Admitted in Arizona, 1963

ACTIVITIES AND RECOGNITIONS

• Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers (1984 to date)
• Listed in Best Lawyers in America for white collar criminal defense and non-white collar criminal defense (since its inception in 1983 to date)
• Listed in Super Lawyers (Southwest) for criminal defense
• Listed in Phoenix Business Journal's "Best Lawyers 2009" for white collar criminal defense and non-white collar criminal defense
• Sustaining Fellow, State Bar of Arizona's Arizona Foundation for Legal Services & Education