“I loved law school,” says award-winning litigator and arbitrator Maureen Beyers. “They were definitely the hardest years of my life (at least until I had kids), but also the best.”
A native of New York, Beyers is lightyears from law school as far as experience and accomplishments are concerned, but her drive and dedication remain steadfast. Partner and co-founder of Beyers Farrell PLLC, Beyers brought her many years of experience and creative business solution strategies into play when she partnered with Mike Farrell to create this multifaceted firm.
Beyers Farrell PPLC seamlessly combines the best of both worlds-experienced first-rate commercial litigators with sophisticated practices in a lean, efficient and cost-conscious law firm. Priding themselves on their rigorous training, on Wall Street, Beyers and Farrell each have more than 30 years of experience in complex litigation throughout the United States.
Highly respected for her savvy in both commercial and securities litigation, Beyers has received numerous accolades for her work including being honored by Best Lawyers in America as one of Arizona’s go-to litigators. However, she has also carved another impressive niche within the ever-expanding arbitration and mediation arena or ADR.
While an associate at the New York office of Morgan Lewis & Bockius, Beyers started doing securities arbitrations arising out of the 1987 market crash. Bit by the arbitration bug, shortly thereafter she became an arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association, and what was then National Association of Securities Dealers, now known as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
Since 1995, when she moved to Phoenix, Beyers has enjoyed a bifurcated practice: handling business to business disputes as an advocate and serving as a neutral in business arbitrations and mediations. Licensed in both Arizona and her home state of New York, Beyers is nationally recognized as a top arbitrator. She has served as a neutral in hundreds of arbitrations on a variety of business disputes and is a member of many of the American Arbitration Association’s specialized panels, including its Large and Complex Case Panel, and CPR’s Banking, Accounting and Financial Services, Franchise, and Insurance Panels. She is also a Fellow and Chartered Arbitrator with the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, one of the few who are resident in the United States. Beyers also serves on the panel of arbitrators and mediators for several other national and international organizations.
Fully committed, Beyers isn’t one to just “dabble” in ADR. She is actively involved in the practice of advancing effective and creative dispute resolutions. In addition to hundreds of hours teaching and attending alternative dispute resolution programs, Beyers has attended formal mediator training at the Strauss Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University School of Law.
FLEXIBILITY
“There were many reasons why I wanted to start my own practice,” Beyers says. “To begin with, working in a larger firm created too many conflicts. There were cases I had to turn down or could not even be considered for, because my former law firm represented either a party to the arbitration, or the law firm that represented a party. My decision was also partly driven by technology. Today’s advanced technology, along with the ubiquity of the gig economy, allows us to operate a very sophisticated practice without a lot of overhead.
“And finally, I see a lot of change in the law,” she adds. “The impact of technology and what that means is a kind of globalization of law. I believe that it’s becoming more apparent all the time that it will be the smaller firms and mega-firms that will thrive. Smaller firms have the flexibility and yet, thanks to technology, don’t necessarily require offices around the world to meet client needs. Our firm takes particular pride in our personal relationships with our clients and ability to adjust almost instantly to provide top notch representation and advice regardless of where in the world they might be.”
NO SUBSTITUTE FOR HARD WORK
This is a woman who believes in achieving success the old-fashioned way-working for it. “The greatest lesson in life that I’ve learned,” she says, “is there’s no substitute for hard work. There are no short cuts, you just roll up your sleeves and do the hard work.”
When she is not serving as a neutral, Beyers practices all manner of business to business disputes from securities class actions to business divorces. Her background in securities litigation provides her with a unique depth of experience in internal investigations, regulatory investigations, enforcement proceedings, and criminal investigations.
“I really enjoying diving into a business that I know nothing about and learning every aspect about it,” says Beyers, “and then the next case is a completely different field or industry and I get to learn all about that one.”
ALL IN
As ardent as she is about her work, Beyers is equally enthusiastic when it comes to other aspects of her life. Her love of animals is evident in the hundreds of hours of pro bono and non-legal volunteer work she’s provided on behalf of a variety of animal welfare organizations.
“That’s my true passion,” she says. “Right now, we only have one high-maintenance dog, which is very unusual, we usually have quite a stable of dogs.”
When not wearing one of her many other hats or with her large family, Beyers dives into her “off hours” with the same gusto. “Not working – and weather permitting – I’m traveling, paddle boarding, kayaking and hiking,” she says. “I also practice yoga and create mixed media mosaics. It’s very relaxing, but murder on my nails!”
At the end of the day, (typically a very long one) Maureen Beyers enjoys life. Hard work, exhilarating sports and a passionate nature that drives her to embrace every experience, she’s the kind of advocate anyone would vie for.
