Home2023 Hispanic Heritage Month

AWLA CELEBRATES

Arizona Women Lawyers Association promotes and encourages the success of women lawyers throughout Arizona by providing members with information and support, fostering connections among women lawyers, and monitoring and celebrating the successes of our members.

MINA E. MENDEZ

Mina currently serves as Chair of the Arizona Board of Executive Clemency.
She served as a Superior Court Commissioner from 2004 to 2013

She handled cases from every department of the Court, and served rotations on the Criminal, Family and Juvenile calendars. Mina’s accomplishments on the bench include: streamlining the Superior Court’s Title 14 guardian process; serving as the Court’s “expert” on issues related to domestic violence orders of protection and injunctions against harassment; serving as Chair of the Orders of Protection Best Practices Committee, comprised of court personnel, police representatives and victim advocates; frequent presenter for the Administrative Office of the Court’s New Judge Orientation Training program and Superior Court rotation training; drafting the Court’s FAQs for unrepresented family court litigants; and mentoring new family court judges. Mina served as a Judge pro tem and a private mediator from 2013-2017. Before her appointment to the bench, Mina worked in the private sector and served as an Assistant Attorney General for six years.

MENTORING AND COMMUNITY SERVICE

Mina has a long-standing commitment to mentoring, particularly mentoring Latina law students and young lawyers. Mina is a coordinator for the Latina Mentoring Project, a nationally recognized mentoring program with the goal of fostering mentoring relationships between law students, undergraduate students, lawyers and judges. The Latina Mentoring Project started as a book club hosted by Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Mary Murguia. It has now grown into one of the largest mentoring programs of its kind in Arizona with more than 230 participants, two formal mentoring events each year, and dozens of informal events. Additionally, the Latina Mentoring Project now includes members in California, Utah, Nevada, Texas, New York, Colorado and Florida. Mina is a member of Los Abogados and the Arizona Women Lawyers Association and has served on committees for both organizations.

JESSICA S. SANCHEZ

Jessica is an equity partner with the firm of Udall Shumway PLC and currently serves as Immediate Past President of the State Bar of Arizona and was the first Latina President to hold the position.

Ms. Sanchez focuses her practice primarily in the area of education law, representing school districts and charter schools throughout the State. In addition to her time at Udall Shumway PLC, Ms. Sanchez has also served as in-house legal counsel for the Scottsdale Unified School District and the General Counsel for the three Tempe School Districts (Tempe Union High School District, Tempe Elementary School District and Kyrene Elementary School District).

Ms. Sanchez has experience providing legal advice and representation on a broad range of matters including, but not limited to, special education, student discipline, employment matters, Open Meeting Law, public records, policy review, and governing board liability issues. Ms. Sanchez has conducted many in-service training programs and has presented a variety of seminars for the National Business Institute, MEDS-PDN, and the Arizona School Boards Association.

Practice Areas
Education Law
Education
J.D., Arizona State University, 2006
B.A., Northern Arizona University, 2002

Professional Associations and Community Involvement

State Bar of Arizona – State Bar President 2022-2023; State Bar Past President 2023-2024; Executive Officer, 2019 – 2021; Board of Governors, 2017 – Present, 2019/2020 Strategic Planning Committee Chair; 2019/2020 Finance Committee Co-Chair; Appointments Committee, 2013 – 2019 (2018/209 Chair), Bar Leadership Academy, 2012-2013
Arizona School Board Association/Arizona Council of School Attorneys
National School Boards Association/Council of School Attorneys
Maricopa County Bar Association – Hall of Fame Committee, 2016-Present
Los Abogados Hispanic Bar Association – 2016 President, 2013 Emerging Leader Award, Board of Directors, 2007-2017
Hispanic National Bar Association Bar – Deputy President for Region XIV, 2017 “Top Lawyer Under 40” Award, HNBA Program Mentor

ALICIA SKUPIN

Alicia was appointed to the position of Presiding City Magistrate to lead the Chandler Municipal Court in July 2021. She has served as a Magistrate for the Chandler Municipal Court since October 2014 and also served as Acting Presiding City Magistrate since Dec. 28, 2020.

Prior to joining Chandler, she served over a two-year span as a Judge Pro Tempore in the municipal courts of Mesa, Scottsdale and Surprise.

Prior to becoming a judge, Skupin was a partner in Skupin Law Group, contracted public defender and attorney who represented clients charged with misdemeanor offenses in municipal courts. She also worked for the Arizona Court of Appeals as a Judicial Law Clerk for one year.

Skupin earned a law degree and bachelor’s degree in English/Education from Arizona State University. She is a member of the State Bar of Arizona in good standing since joining in 2002. She is bilingual to communicate with people in English and Spanish.

Judge Skupin has actively participated in numerous judicial and law organizations during her career, including the Commission on Diversity, Equality, and Justice in the Judiciary (CODEJ); Commission on Technology (COT), State Bar of Arizona committees, Los Abogados (Hispanic Bar Association), Arizona Magistrates Association, and Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice. She currently serves as a faculty member for Limited Jurisdiction New Judge Orientation, the Arizona Judicial Conference, and has served as an editor for the Limited Jurisdiction Bench Books.