THE FIRM

Tice Mendes Law, PLLC is a Mesa-based litigation firm operating under an Arizona Alternative Business Structure license. We practice criminal defense, immigration removal defense, federal habeas corpus, bankruptcy, and civil litigation, including wrongful death and personal injury. Our lawyers appear in Arizona state courts, the immigration courts, the Board of Immigration Appeals, and federal district and bankruptcy courts across several districts. You will be in front of judges early and often, with the managing attorney reviewing your filings and available before every appearance. We expect to teach. We do not expect you to arrive knowing everything. The associate will work from our office at 305 East Main Street, Mesa, Arizona.

POSITION SUMMARY

We are hiring one associate attorney to carry the front end of our criminal and immigration dockets. The core purpose of the role is to relieve the managing attorney of routine court appearances and first-pass drafting so that he can concentrate on evidentiary hearings, trials, merits hearings, and appellate work. This is an in-office position. The associate works from the firm office when not in court, at a detention facility, or otherwise out on firm business. We are not offering a remote or hybrid arrangement. The work is primarily criminal defense and immigration removal defense, with personal injury and civil litigation as a secondary component. The civil work is real but it is not the center of the job; candidates who want a primarily civil practice should not apply.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

Cover preliminary hearings, arraignments, status conferences, pretrial conferences, and other non-evidentiary settings in Arizona state criminal courts. Cover master calendar hearings, bond hearings, and status dockets before the Executive Office for Immigration Review and prepare filings for the Board of Immigration Appeals. Draft, serve, and track discovery requests; review and index disclosure; prepare and file motions to compel and related discovery motions. Draft routine motions and responses — continuances, release conditions, suppression motions in straightforward postures, motions to reopen or continue in immigration court, and similar filings — for review by the managing attorney. Perform targeted legal research in Westlaw and reduce it to short written work product with verified citations. Meet with clients and, where applicable, family members and detained clients; document those communications in the file. Assist on personal injury and civil litigation matters as needed, including demand packages, written discovery, and disclosure statements. Maintain the calendar of appearances and deadlines for assigned matters and give the managing attorney advance notice of conflicts.

HOW WE EVALUATE CANDIDATES

We do not screen on class rank, law school ranking, journal membership, or grades. We have no interest in where you finished. We care whether you can carry a calendar, write clearly, keep your commitments to clients and to the court, and take correction without taking offense. Lawyers who were unremarkable students are frequently excellent trial attorneys, and we would rather find one of those than compete for a resume. If you are qualified on the items below and you want to be in court, apply. Do not screen yourself out.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

One to three years of post-admission practice experience. Public defender, prosecutor, legal aid, immigration nonprofit, and small-firm litigation backgrounds are all welcome. Admission to the State Bar of Arizona in good standing, or the demonstrated ability to obtain Arizona admission promptly — for example, by transfer of a qualifying Uniform Bar Examination score, or by sitting for the next available Arizona bar examination. A willingness to be in court most days. If you like appearing and want more of it, the experience level matters less to us than the appetite. Clear, concise legal writing. We value a tight four-page motion over a padded fifteen-page one. Working proficiency with Westlaw. A valid driver's license and an insurable driving record.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

EXPECTATIONS We use artificial intelligence tools in this practice, and we expect our associates to use them well. "Well" means two things, and the second one is the one that gets lawyers sanctioned. Fluent use. You should be able to use AI tools to accelerate research, summarize records, organize discovery, and produce first drafts. Disciplined verification. Every citation in every document leaving this office is independently verified in Westlaw before filing — no exceptions, no shortcuts, no reliance on a tool's assurance that a case exists or says what it is said to say. The same discipline applies to quoted record material, procedural history, and factual assertions. We will ask you in the interview how you verify what these tools give you. There is no wrong answer except that you do not. If you have never used them, say so — we will teach you the tools. The verification habit is the part we cannot install for you.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Spanish fluency, written and spoken. Juris Doctor (JD) degree from an accredited law school; admission to the state bar is required or pending admission Prior experience before the Executive Office for Immigration Review, including detained dockets. Familiarity with Maricopa County and Pima County criminal practice and local rules. Federal court experience, including admission to the District of Arizona or the ability to obtain it. Experience with electronic case management and e-filing across multiple court systems. Prior law office experience demonstrating familiarity with litigation processes and legal research tools such as LexisNexis and Westlaw Excellent writing skills with the ability to produce clear, concise legal documents and motions Ability to manage multiple cases efficiently while maintaining attention to detail in a fast-paced environment

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Salary of $80,000 to $95,000 annually, commensurate with experience. Retirement plan with firm matching contributions up to 4% of salary. Health insurance premiums for the associate paid by the firm. Paid federal holidays. Fifteen days of paid time off annually. Annual State Bar of Arizona membership fees paid by the firm. All mandatory continuing legal education paid by the firm, including course fees and reasonable travel where required. Firm-provided Westlaw access. Use of a firm-provided Tesla for firm business, including travel to courts, detention facilities, client meetings, and hearings. Professional liability coverage through the firm's malpractice policy.

WHAT THIS ROLE OFFERS

Substantive courtroom time from the first month, in two practice areas where hearings come quickly and repetition builds real skill. You will make more appearances in a year here than most associates make in three at a larger firm. You will also get direct supervision from the managing attorney on every filing and a clear line of sight into how criminal and immigration exposure interact for the same client.

TO APPLY

Send a resume, a short cover note, and one writing sample of no more than five pages — a motion or brief you drafted yourself — to andrew@ticemendes.com . Please use the subject line "Associate Attorney Application — [Your Name]." A routine filed motion is a better sample than a polished law school paper. If it was filed, say so, and redact client-identifying information consistent with your confidentiality obligations. The cover note can be three paragraphs; we are not grading it. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Tice Mendes Law, PLLC PO Box 12031, Tempe, AZ 85284 800-352-1678

Pay:

$85,000.00 - $110,000.00 per year

Benefits:

401(k) Health insurance Paid time off

Work Location:

In person