FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Clint Williams, 602-626-8805
TEMPE, Ariz. — Jim Barton, an attorney at Torres Law Group in Tempe, made the 2014 Southwest Rising Stars list, an honor placing him among the top 2.5 percent of his peers.
The list is compiled by Super Lawyers, a service that rates lawyers from more than 70 practice areas. Super Lawyers selects attorneys using a patented selection process that ranks 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement. The objective is to create a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of outstanding attorneys that can be used as a resource for attorneys and consumers searching for legal counsel.
“It’s no surprise Jim Barton is on the list,” says Israel Torres, managing partner of Torres Consulting & Law Group. “He’s widely recognized and respected as one of Arizona’s premier legal minds, litigating high-profile cases that affected political laws.”
The selection process for the Rising Stars list is the same as that for the Super Lawyers list, except candidates must be either 40 years or younger, or in practice for 10 years or less. While up to five percent of lawyers are named Super Lawyers, no more than 2.5 percent make it to the Rising Stars list.
Barton, 43, advises clients on campaign finance law, elections law and government relations law. In 2013, Barton advised the Protect Your Right to Vote Committee on formation and questions related to signature gathering. Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett certified that the Protect Your Right to Vote Committee’s referendum of House Bill 2305, which was to be on the 2014 ballot before the legislature repealed the bill. This was the first successful effort to refer a bill enacted by the state legislature to the voters since 1994.
Barton, a former U.S. Navy officer who served aboard a nuclear submarine, also provides campaign finance advice to the Arizona Democratic Party, the state’s largest trade union political action committees, and a variety of independent expenditure committees. He is a key part of Torres Consulting & Law Group’s Government Relations Department.
Before joining Torres Law Group, Barton served as an Arizona assistant attorney general, representing the secretary of state, Citizens Clean Election Commission and the Independent Redistricting Commission. He earned his Juris Doctor from Arizona State University and his Bachelor of Arts in physics and philosophy from Northwestern University.
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