Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck is pleased to announce that David R. Arrajj, Perry E. Bendicksen III, David P. Buchholtz, Janna B. Day, Lisa Hogan, Bonnie J. Paisley, Michael J. Pankow and James A. Pinto have been named Lawyers of the Year for 2013 by Best Lawyers. Arrajj is Las Vegas "Gaming Law Lawyer of the Year," Bendicksen is Albuquerque "Banking and Finance Law Lawyer of the Year," Buchholtz is Albuquerque “Mergers & Acquisitions Law Lawyer of the Year,” Day is Phoenix "Government Relations Practice Lawyer of the Year," Hogan is Denver "Litigation – Labor & Employment Lawyer of the Year," Paisley is Albuquerque “Securities/Capital Markets Law Lawyer of the Year," Pankow is Denver “Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law Lawyer of the Year” and Pinto is Denver “Patent Law Lawyer of the Year."

Arrajj, a shareholder at Brownstein, is a member of the firm's gaming group. He represents exclusive gaming clients in connection with licensing, regulatory investigations, compliance matters, financings, mergers and acquisitions, and other gaming related issues. Prior to joining Brownstein, Arrajj served as corporate counsel for Caesars Entertainment, Inc., and Hilton Gaming Corp. He also served as vice president and general counsel of Bally’s Las Vegas, a Deputy Attorney General for the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, Special Counsel for Licensing and director of the License Division of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission. Arrajj was ranked among the best Nevada lawyers in the 2012 Chambers USA.

Bendicksen, a shareholder at Brownstein, is a member of the firm's corporate and business group, focusing on private equity, venture capital, corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions. His clients include private equity and venture capital funds and their investors, investment banking firms and emerging technology companies. Bendicksen was ranked among the best New Mexico lawyers in the 2012 Chambers USA.

Buchholtz, a shareholder at Brownstein, is a member of the firm’s corporate and business group, focusing on issues including government finance law, economic development and state tax incentive law, and financial institutions law. As a practitioner in the area of federal securities for more than 35 years, he has been involved in many significant merger and acquisition transactions for public companies based in New Mexico. Buchholtz also counsels private businesses and governments on growth, corporate governance affairs and government relations. He was named an Alumni Power Broker in the New Mexico Business Weekly’s 2011 Power Book, as well as a top New Mexico lawyer in the 2012 Chambers USA.

Day, a shareholder at Brownstein and managing partner of their Phoenix office, brings 16 years of lobbying the Arizona legislature and the executive branch to her client strategies. She is one of the state’s most sought-after lobbyists in the areas of campaign finance and lobbyist regulation, regularly advising candidates, contributors and political committees on reporting compliance issues. Her knowledge of policy issues in Arizona and her ability to work with the business community make her an asset to her clients. Day’s experience also includes the areas of tax, health care, public records access, mining and general business issues. She was recently honored by Arizona Capital Times as Best Female Lobbyist in its 2012 Best of the Capitol supplement.

Hogan, a shareholder at Brownstein, is a member of the firm's litigation department focusing on employment matters and commercial litigation. She has argued a number of appeals in state and federal courts and took a pivotal Americans with Disabilities Act case from its inception to a successful ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Paisley, a shareholder at Brownstein, is a member of the firm’s corporate and business as well as public finance groups. She advises technology companies and other small-business clients on many aspects of their operations including securities matters, choice of entity and contracts. Paisley serves as bond counsel to the City of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority. She was ranked among the best New Mexico lawyers in the 2012 Chambers USA.

Pankow, a shareholder at Brownstein, is a member of the firm's bankruptcy and restructuring group focusing his practice on representation of various parties in business reorganizations and debtor-creditor relations, both in and out of bankruptcy court. He represents a wide range of clients, including debtors, creditors committees, secured creditors and prospective purchasers in Chapter 11 cases.

Pinto, a shareholder at Brownstein, is a member of the firm’s intellectual property and technology group. He assists clients with intellectual property issues, technology licensing agreement, IP due diligence, and patent preparation, enforcement and defense strategies relating to consumer products, computer software and hardware, alternative energy and mechanical technologies. Pinto has worked on behalf of clients ranging from large Fortune 100 corporations to startup companies.

Since its inception in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Because Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey in which more than 50,000 leading attorneys cast almost 4.3 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas, and because lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed, inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor. The lawyers being honored as “Lawyers of the Year” were selected because they received particularly high ratings from most of their peers.