Davis Miles McGuire Gardner will hold a slightly different holiday party this week – in part due to COVID-19, as the party will be virtual – and in part because the firm will pay a special tribute to the firm’s founders. Charlie Davis and Greg Miles founded the firm in 2002 when they were already veterans of the Valley’s legal community. The firm is now among Arizona’s largest, with a significant presence in Utah and New Mexico. It consistently ranks among the Best Law Firms in America ® for Arizona, according to US News and World Report, and is ranked annually among the top law firms in multiple practices areas in Ranking Arizona, magazine.
“Charlie and Greg were pioneers in many ways,” says Pernell McGuire, who has served as the firm’s managing partner since 2014. “They created and executed a vision of service delivery and compensation models that allowed talented lawyers to thrive and thousands of businesses and individuals to obtain quality representation. We continue to build and expand upon the foundation they set,” he said.
“When I brought my business practice here eight years ago, it was among the best decisions I have made,” said Mike Ferrin, chair of the firm’s transactions department. “The commitment to quality and excellence has really helped us build our team, and we are still building,” he said.
“Greg and Charlie took a risk on letting up and coming young lawyers build their practices and learn to think like business owners while also working on complicated legal files and having direct client interaction. Many of us are the lawyers we are today because of Charlie and Greg,” said David Williams, litigation department chair. It is only fitting that we give them a proper thank you,” he said.
The firm’s tribute will include a video featuring various lawyers and staff at the firm and in the community on whom Davis and Miles have had an impact. Rather than a night of in-person speeches, the firm opted for a video that the firm and family can watch while being socially distant.
“It isn’t easy to build a brand and sustain a firm,” said Douglas Gardner, who leads the firm’s number-one ranked family law practice and oversees the consumer law department. “Hats off to their hard work and dedication and setting up a platform we are now expanding upon.”
Both Davis and Miles will still continue to assist certain clients going forward, even as a next generation of leaders is managing and growing the firm.
“A few years ago we included in our firm mission to improve the lives of our clients, our employees and our communities. Thanks to the great work of our founders, that mission rolls forward,” said McGuire.