ASU alum Ann Timmer recognized as 'Legal Rebel' by American Bar Association

Arizona Supreme Court Vice Chief Justice Ann A. Scott Timmer, an alumna of the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, has been recognized in the “Legal Rebels Class of 2021” by the American Bar Association Journal and American Bar Association Center for Innovation.

For this year’s class, the ABA, which started the Legal Rebels franchise in 2009, chose to “highlight judges, lawyers and legal professionals who have helped bring about changes to the judicial system,” according to the ABA Journal article. “Through their work, they’ve established the blueprint for courts to better serve the general public — with or without a pandemic.”

Timmer and Administrative Director of the Courts Dave Byers, an ASU master’s degree alum, were highlighted for playing leading roles in Arizona’s progress in increasing access to justice.

“The actions the state’s judicial branch has taken … to tackle the justice gap, including embracing nonlawyer ownership of law firms, have placed Arizona at the forefront of a burgeoning national movement to reform how the legal industry is regulated,” wrote Lyle Moran, an ABA Journal legal affairs writer, in an article about Timmer’s and Byers’ efforts.

Timmer served as chair of the Task Force on the Delivery of Legal Services that then-Chief Justice Scott Bales ordered the state to create in late 2018 to examine how Arizona could overhaul the ways it regulates the profession. Timmer, ASU Law JD Class of 1985, said she asked Bales to name her to the post because of her passion for working to combat the access-to-justice problem.

“We have done things over the years that have helped a little, but you still have this huge block of ice there,” she said.

“I don’t necessarily think of myself as a ‘rebel,’ but I was nevertheless delighted and honored to be recognized for my role in the Supreme Court’s forward-thinking approach to expanding the public’s access to justice,” Timmer said. “I encourage ASU students to include the spirit of innovation that is the university’s hallmark in whatever career paths they eventually walk. The continuing progression of our society depends on it.”

Read more in the full ABA Journal story.