CDQ’s Community Involvement
At Cohen Dowd Quigley, the betterment of our community is a priority. We are honored to be involved with many charitable organizations.
CDQ is a longstanding supporter of the Judicial Intern Opportunity Program (JIOP), one of the American Bar Association’s major diversity and inclusion initiatives. JIOP provides law students who are members of racial, ethnic and other groups traditionally underrepresented in the legal profession with the opportunity to clerk with a judge. Through its involvement in the program, CDQ demonstrates its commitment to increasing diverse representation and engagement within the legal community. CDQ attorneys have served as co-chairs at the national and regional levels and are active in conducting screening interviews for prospective interns, mentoring current interns, and financially sponsoring the program each year.
Every year, CDQ hosts a Christmas party for a class of children at Children’s First Leadership Academy (formerly known as the Thomas J. Pappas School), a free charter school targeted to helping socially and economically disadvantaged students succeed. CDQ also contributes to and supports many other worthwhile organizations, including the ABA’s Fund for Justice and Education, XICO (the premier cultural institution in Arizona serving Latino and Indigenous artists), Ballet Arizona, the Maricopa County Bar Association’s annual Barrister’s Ball, the FBA’s Holiday Party, Health First Foundation Northern Arizona Golf, Northern Arizona’s Basketball and Football Sports Publications, the CLLSA’s annual Fajita Cookoff, St. Francis Xavier School Glory Days, and Lou Grubb Friends Fore Golf, as well as smaller charitable groups such as RSL AZ Soccer, Arcadia Instrument Booster, Positive Coaching Alliance, University Sports Publications and CVV Stars Youth Sports.
Members of our CDQ family also volunteer their time in the legal and larger community
Ronald Jay Cohen has repeatedly been recognized for his leadership in the legal community. He has been honored by the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (“NITA”) with the Honorable Robert E. Keeton award, received the Maricopa County Bar Association’s Robert R. Mills Member of the Year award, and served as the President of the American Bar Association’s Section of Litigation. Ron has also been a Maricopa County Judge Pro Tem, led and taught dozens of Evidence and Trial Advocacy Programs and been a team member of the Judicial Performance Review. Ron was selected as an original Master of the Sandra Day O’Connor Inn of Court and during his membership served on its Executive Committee.
Daniel G. Dowd has been a member of the senior leadership within the Arizona Bar Association Section of Litigation since 2001, and has served as a member of the Section’s governing body, the Council. He has devoted years to developing and supporting JIOP, and is previously served as co-director of Division VI of the Section of Litigation, called “The Profession.” In that role, Dan and his co-leader oversaw eight section committees focused on the legal profession: Corporate Counsel, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, LGBT Law and Litigator, Minority Trial Lawyer, Solo & Small Firm, The Woman Advocate, Young Advocates, and Young Lawyer Leadership Program. Dan presently serves as Director of Division V of the Section of Litigation, called “Substantive.” Dan is an accomplished speaker, and regularly volunteers his time for speaking engagements for a variety of organizations. He is also the Program Director for NITA’s highly acclaimed, multi-day Arizona and Nevada Deposition Skills Programs.
Daniel P. Quigley is an accomplished speaker who regularly speaks for various organizations, including the Federal Bar Association, and the State Bar of Arizona Professionalism Program. Dan has long served as a faculty member for NITA’s Arizona Deposition Skills Program. He has served on multiple committees serving the legal community, including the State Bar of Arizona’s Appointments Committee and as chair of the Arizona Supreme Court Committee on Examinations.
Daniel E. Durchslag has been selected as the Volunteer of the Month for the Maricopa County Bar Association’s Volunteer Lawyers Program. Dan assists with the JIOP program by vetting and interviewing candidates for internships. He served as a Regional Brief Judge for the National Appellate Advocacy Competition, and assisted with the newsletter for the ABA Pretrial Practice and Discovery Subcommittee. Dan also coaches youth basketball.
Cindy Albracht-Crogan is the Arizona State Co-Chair for the American Bar Foundation, an independent, nonprofit national research institute that seeks to expand knowledge and advance justice by supporting empirical research on law, legal processes and legal institutions. She is also an instructor for the NITA Deposition Skills Program. Cindy and her husband, Dale, also routinely volunteer at their children’s school, St. Francis Xavier Elementary School. Cindy has choreographed and assisted with various school productions and Dale coaches their daughter’s volleyball team. Cindy is a consistent supporter and promoter of the National Kidney Foundation Arizona and competed in the Dancing With The Stars fundraiser in 2020.
Gabriel R. Aragon is active across various professional organizations, including a term as Chair of the Maricopa County Bar Association’s Section of Litigation. Gabe also volunteers with the Volunteer Lawyers Program and served as Vice Chair of the ABA’s Corporate Counsel Committee, Tort Trial and Insurance. He also coached youth soccer for many years, and regularly volunteers for St. Vincent De Paul.
Betsy J. Lamm is a member of the Foster Care Review Board (“FCRB”) in Maricopa County, Arizona, a citizens’ review board created by the Arizona statute to advise Arizona’s juvenile court system on progress toward achieving a permanent, safe placements for children in foster care. Members of the FCRB are appointed by the Presiding Juvenile Court Judge in Maricopa County to serve three-year terms. Betsy has served as a member of the FCRB since her initial appointment in 2016, with reappointments in 2019, 2021, and 2024. Betsy has also served as a screening interviewer for JIOP since 2009, repeatedly participating in the Phoenix JIOP annual orientations, and serving as a formal JIOP mentor from 2009 to 2014. Betsy also encourages her two children to take action in their community, most recently preparing hygiene and cleaning kits with her children to donate to the Welcome to America Project (https://wtap.org/), an organization dedicated to assisting refugee families resettling in Arizona. Finally, time permitting, Betsy enjoys volunteering at her children’s elementary and middle schools in the Madison School District.
J. Neil Stuart has served as a volunteer at the Maggie’s Place, which is a non-profit organization devoted to assisting pregnant and parenting women by providing housing and many other programs and services. He also assists with the JIOP program. Neil is also a volunteer youth coach with the Phoenix Rising Soccer Club.
Kevin Moyer serves as a member of the associate board for Boys Hope Girls Hope of Arizona, a nonprofit that closes the achievement gap and workforce development divide by acting as a bridge to opportunity which spans middle school through college graduation and into career launch.
Rebecca van Doren has served as a volunteer judge pro tem, a position which helps to relieve the burden on Maricopa County Superior Court judges by taking on certain tasks such as conducting settlement conferences and serving as a discovery master. Rebecca and her husband, Jason, have hosted multiple foreign exchange students, welcoming students from China, Brazil and Germany for year-long stays in their home. Jason is also a volunteer for the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Animal Safe Haven.
Kaysey Fung currently serves as a Regional Co-Chair for the ABA Section of Litigation’s JIOP. Prior to that appointment, Kaysey served as a JIOP Working Group Member, a screening interviewer, and a formal JIOP mentor. Kaysey is an active member of the Arizona Asian American Bar Association, a Council Member for her church, a Member of the Xavier College Preparatory Alumnae Board, and the Class Agent for her high school class. She is also the Co-Recording Secretary for the GFWC Desert Jade Women’s Club, a local non-profit volunteer organization that provides community and enrichment that annually awards scholarships to high school seniors of Chinese descent. Kaysey also volunteers as a trial judge for the annual Arizona High School Mock Trial Program. In recognition of Kaysey’s commitment to the community, the ABA Section of Litigation selected Kaysey as the 2021 recipient of the Laurie Miller Public Service Award, an award given to a Section Leader for excellence in advocating for and/or assisting underserved persons or communities for the public good.
Alejandra Curiel is part of the Judicial Endorsement committee for Los Abogados, Arizona’s Hispanic Bar Association. A sub-committee of Los Abogados’ Appointments Committee, the Endorsement committee assists in evaluating judicial applicants for possible endorsement by Los Abogados, and providing potential applicants with mock judicial interviews.
Kaitlyn Swift remains an active volunteer in her role as an advisor for Alpha Phi International Fraternity. Kaitlyn focuses her efforts on recruitment and chapter officer development, working directly with collegiate women to expand their leadership skills. Kaitlyn travels to international leadership conferences and events multiple times a year to offer continued mentorship and support.