Attorneys

Michael J. (Mike) Pearce is a founding member of Maguire & Pearce, PLLC. Before forming this new professional company, Mr. Pearce was a Director in the Phoenix law firm of Fennemore Craig, P.C. where he practiced exclusively in the water and natural resources fields. From 1995 through 2002, he was Chief Counsel of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, where he represented the State of Arizona in interstate and international water issues and managed the Department’s nine member legal division. He has been involved in interstate litigation concerning the Colorado River Basin, the Missouri River Basin and the Apalachicola/Chattahoochee/Flint River Basin. He has represented several interests in the Arizona general stream adjudications, and has assisted cities, districts, private land developers, mining companies and individuals in difficult water development and allocation issues.

Mr. Pearce received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Arizona College of Law in 1981, and his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan in 1978, both with distinction. Before joining the Arizona Department of Water Resources in 1989, he was in private practice in Phoenix, focusing primarily on banking and commercial transactions. He is admitted to practice in Arizona and California, and in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona, The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court.

Mr. Pearce has written and spoken widely on matters of water management and policy. He is the former Chair of the Arizona State Bar Environment and Natural Resources Law Section, the former Chair of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce Water and Natural Resources Policy Committee, and is currently the Editor in Chief of Trends, the American Bar Association’s Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources bi-monthly newsletter.