Dan received an Honors B.A. in economics from Stanford University in 1977, and was a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford. He earned his J.D. from Brigham Young University in 1981. Dan also earned an LL.M. (Judicial Process) from the University of Virginia in 2004.
Dan was appointed by Governor Jane Dee Hull to the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One, in July of 2001. As an appellate judge, he was the principal author of over 900 written decisions. They span the range of commercial, tort, constitutional, family, civil and criminal matters.
Prior to joining the appellate court, Dan served as a superior court judge for the State of Arizona, Maricopa County, from 1992 to 2001. While at the trial court, Dan served in the criminal, civil, special assignment, and family court departments. He presided over approximately 250 jury trials, and hundreds of other proceedings. He was Presiding Judge for the Southeast Judicial District from 1997 to 2000. As a superior court judge, Dan also mediated dozens of cases in professional malpractice, commercial and complex civil matters.
From 1981 to 1992, before his appointment to the bench, Dan was an attorney in private practice. He was a Shareholder and Associate at Gallagher & Kennedy and Of Counsel to Bonnett, Fairbourn & Friedman, P.C. His legal practice focused on complex civil litigation. He represented clients in professional malpractice cases, products liability matters, contract disputes, vehicular and trucking accidents, environmental litigation, insurance coverage disputes, and wrongful death actions.
Outside the courtroom, Dan has been involved with the following: Arizona Commission on Judicial Performance Review, City of Mesa Judicial Advisory Board, the Executive Council for the State Bar’s Appellate Practice Section, Los Abogados Hispanic Bar Association, the J. Reuben Clark Law Society, and founding chair of Division One’s Connecting with the Community effort. As part of this effort, Division One reaches out to the community by holding live oral argument before students in various area high schools. Other community activities have included working with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and participating in church and youth organizations. He has also acted as part of an international team of advisors to the Government of Turkey in advising the Ministry of Justice on matters involving judicial standards and performance.
In 2011, at the time of his retirement from the court, Dan was awarded the Arizona State Bar’s Award of Special Merit for “significant contributions . . . to the furtherance of the public understanding of the legal system.” He was also given the Mark Santana Law-Related Education Award by the Arizona Foundation for Legal Services and Education for “exceptional contributions . . . in furthering education and understanding of the role of the law in our democratic society.”
In 2012 and 2013, after retiring from the bench, Dan was a partner in international law firm of Bryan Cave LLP. Dan now serves as a special master, arbitrator, and particularly enjoys being a mediator.