Mark McGinnis’ practice focuses on water rights, natural resources, environmental, complex commercial litigation, energy law and the law relating to special districts.  His primary clients include an agricultural improvement district, irrigation and electrical districts, cities and towns, industrial entities, individual business owners, and developers.  He has in-depth experience in the Arizona Surface Water and Groundwater Codes and matters relating to the Colorado River.

Honors & Awards

• Premier Environmental Lawyers, Exclusive Featured Attorney for Phoenix (2020)
• Best Lawyers’ Phoenix Water Law “Lawyer of the Year” (2013, 2015, 2018)
• Best Lawyers’ Phoenix Natural Resources Law “Lawyer of the Year” (2014, 2016)
• Best Lawyers’ Phoenix Environmental Law “Lawyer of the Year” (2017, 2020)
• Top 100 Lawyers in Arizona, Arizona Business Magazine (2017, 2018)
• Water Lawyer of the Year – USA, Finance Monthly magazine (2018)
• Chambers USA, Arizona Environmental Lawyers (various years)
• Martindale-Hubbell, AV rating
• The Best Lawyers in America (2006-present)
• Southwest Super Lawyers (various years)
• Alpha Gamma Rho, Alpha Pi Chapter, Hall of Fame inductee (2019)
• Sidney S. Woods Alumni Service Award, University of Arizona (2011)
• Alpha Gamma Rho, Alpha Pi Chapter, Alumni Achievement Award (2011)
• Young Achiever Award, University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (1995)

Representative Professional Experience

• Litigation counsel for applicant in proceedings relating to permits to store water in six large reservoirs in the Phoenix area, including successfully prosecuting the applications against protests at the administrative, trial court, and appellate court levels.
• Trial counsel for objectors in litigation and administrative proceedings relating to Assured Water Supply designation for an Arizona municipality and associated impacts on river base flows, obtaining a mutually agreeable settlement of disputes among the parties.
• Successfully defended cattle brand of Arizona rancher, obtaining reversal in Arizona Supreme Court of agency decision to issue duplicate brand.
• Obtained preliminary injunctions on behalf of senior water rights holders against individuals and entities alleged to be using water without valid appropriative rights.
• Litigation counsel for a multi-county water conservation district and two irrigation districts in court proceedings to obtain judicial approval of an Indian water rights settlement.
• Successfully represented owners and operators of Arizona underground water storage facilities against challenges in two separate administrative matters relating to permits issued by the Arizona Department of Water Resources.
• Trial counsel for two Arizona irrigation districts successfully defending against landowner challenges relating to the districts’ ability to relinquish their long-term Central Arizona Project subcontracts as part of a comprehensive Indian water rights settlement.
• Represented a group of large public and private utilities in five separate actions relating to disputes involving long-term coal supply agreements for two electric generating stations located in Arizona and Nevada.
• Coordinating counsel for more than forty corporate defendants in a groundwater contamination lawsuit, including two large class action proceedings covering much of the Phoenix metropolitan area and more than 100 consolidated individual personal injury cases.
• Actively involved on behalf of the Salt River Project for more than twenty-five years in the Gila and Little Colorado River general stream adjudications, to determine the relative water rights of more than 25,000 claimants in those watersheds.
• Counsel for the Salt River Project for more than twenty-five years in administrative and judicial proceedings to determine the ownership of the beds of every watercourse in the state of Arizona.
• General Counsel for a Pinal County electrical district, overseeing all legal matters relating to the district and its operations.

Education

• Arizona State University College of Law, J.D., magna cum laude, 1991; Articles Editor, Arizona State Law Journal; Order of the Coif; William H. Pedrick Scholar
• University of Arizona,
  M.S., Agricultural and Resource
  Economics, summa cum laude, 1988
• University of Arizona,
  B.S., Agricultural and Resource
  Economics, magna cum laude, 1984

Bar & Court Admissions

• State Bar of Arizona, 1991
• United States District Court,
  District of Arizona, 1991
• United States Court of Appeals,
  Federal Circuit, 1995
• United States Court of Appeals,
  Ninth Circuit, 1998
• United States Supreme Court, 2006

Salmon, Lewis & Weldon, P.L.C.

Salmon, Lewis & Weldon was formed in 1995 with the goal of providing our clients the highest quality legal services at a reasonable cost. Since then, our firm has added prominent attorneys in several practice areas to meet the needs of our growing clientele. Today, we have an unsurpassed team of veteran lawyers and hard-driving young professionals who remain committed to the goal of meeting all of our clients’ needs and expectations on a cost effective basis.

Our firm has leading attorneys in the areas of business and finance, commercial litigation, commercial real estate, electric power and utilities, environmental law, government relations, Indian law, insurance coverage and defense, special districts and municipal law and water rights and natural resources.