Our top priority in this time of uncertainty is protecting the health and safety of our employees, clients, friends and families. Our office will remain open, but we are primarily working remotely. Essential personnel are in the building, but in their own isolated suites. We believe it is prudent to limit in-person meetings and settlement conferences during this time. Currently, the best way to communicate with us is through emails and telephone calls. Be assured that our technology allows us to provide the same seamless service you would have if everyone were here in person. If an in-person meeting is required, we are strictly adhering to CDC Guidelines. We are posting regular updates on how COVID-19 affects family law issues on our blog and our Facebook page.

The McCarthy Law Firm, PLLC

Turning Stress Into Solutions®

300 N Main Ave #203, Tucson, AZ 85701
Call Us: (520) 623-0341

Meet the Team

Meet The McCarthy Law Firm Team

The family law attorneys you will work with at The McCarthy Law Firm provide a broad range of legal services to guide you through the process of divorce or legal separation. You will have the benefit of our full team’s diversity, depth and specialized knowledge at your disposal. This allows us to handle a broad range of issues from the most simple to highly complex assets. Since the founding partner, Kathleen McCarthy, began her Tucson family law practice in 1976, her focus has been on the needs of her clients. Every team member participates in a rigorous, ongoing training program with Kathleen.

We are highly skilled and resourceful, compassionate and specially trained. We are your family law legal team.

Kathleen A. McCarthy

Kathleen earned her Law Degree with Honors from the University of Arizona in 1976. She immediately waded headlong into the risky yet exciting process of opening her own practice which today is called The McCarthy Law Firm.

Early in her career, Kathleen learned legal services are only part of what her clients need. They also desperately needed a process to help them heal from the deeply personal and disruptive emotional turmoil that led them to divorce. Seeing this, she has examined how lawyers can help facilitate this healing by maintaining a laser focus on their client’s needs, showing a willingness to truly listen and inform without judgment, and being responsive to these needs. The unexpected outcome? The lawyer experiences healing, too. Witnessing the healing process in action spurred Kathleen to create a series of stress relief seminars for lawyers.

Kathleen A. McCarthy

Typical for Kathleen, when she sees a need, she works to answer it. People suffer so much because they think they are stuck.  Education can dramatically change that. Armed with that insight, Kathleen has been passionate about providing the public with ready access to legal knowledge. She has also worked tirelessly to raise the quality of available legal services. For more than three decades, she has been a constant presence at continuing education seminars for lawyers, judges, accountants and the public. Kathleen is well known for her rather humorous and crisp ideas on a broad range of subjects.

Publications, Presentations & Seminars

Kathleen has prepared numerous legal articles for lawyers and the public, a Spousal Maintenance Handbook for judges and has presented at nearly two hundred events. Her publications include numerous Family Law articles in the Tucson Desert Leaf.  Kathleen has given freely of her time to mentor other lawyers with the overall goal of enhancing the quality of community legal services.  In furtherance of this, she recently developed a 17 part “Survivor’s Guide to the Practice of Family Law,” a tutorial series that she developed and presented through the Volunteer Lawyers Program (VLP). This program was free to family lawyers who donated volunteer hours to VLP.

Civic Passions

With all of the accolades from professional work, Kathleen is most proud of her work with Kino Learning Center (K-12). In 1990, the doors of this locally famous and beloved school were ready to close. She collaborated with the school families and board members to restructure the assets and debts resulting in the school staying open for the next 27 years (and it is still open today!). That experience was a lightning rod for Kathleen. She learned that just a few voices (especially those with some legal knowledge) can change the trajectory of an otherwise foregone conclusion.

Professional Highlights

  • Fellow, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers 1996 to present
  • Board Certified, Family Law Specialist
  • Member, Arizona Board of Family Law Specialization Commission, 1999-present
  • Board-elect Chair, 2020, Arizona Board of Family Law Specialization Commission
  • American Bar Association
  • Family Law Quarterly Updates Editor
  • Former Co-Chair, Pima County Bar Association
  • Pima County Bar Association Commission on Unified Family Courts, 1999-2001
  • Arizona Executive Family Law Counsel, 1998-2001
  • President, Arizona Executive Law Council, 1994-1995
  • President, Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, 1993-1994

Accolades

  • Southwest Super Lawyers
  • Best Lawyers of America
  • Arizona Women Lawyers Association’s Alice Truman Leadership Award
  • State Bar of Arizona Continuing Education Award, for outstanding contributions to the State Bar’s Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Program
  • Arizona State Continuing Legal Education Committee
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Kathleen McCarthy, Founder
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Esther I. Brilliant

A former Pima County Public Defender who has represented clients charged with some of the most serious offenses, Esther is thrilled to practice family law and to have the privilege of assisting and guiding her clients through a difficult time in their lives. She is compassionate, empathetic, and is an experienced and tenacious negotiator. In 2017, she was awarded the “Rising Star” award from the Arizona Public Defender Association and in 2019, she was named as one of Tucson’s 40 Under 40. 

Esther I. Brilliant

Family Law Strengths & Education

Esther is the Immediate Past President of the Women’s Law Association - Southern Arizona Chapter, and a Board Member for the YWCA of Southern Arizona. She graduated from the University of Arizona with her law degree in 2011, has studied abroad in Israel and the Netherlands, and has worked in the field of human rights in Jerusalem, the Hague, San Francisco, and Tucson. 

While her background and training is serious, Esther loves comedy and performs improv comedy with several teams at Tucson Improv Movement. 

When she's not on stage, she spends time with her two rescue dogs. She is learning to cook (and hasn't burned her house down yet) and loves reading and traveling.  

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Megan C. Hill

A former prosecutor for the Pima County Attorney’s Office, Megan now practices exclusively in family law. She’s especially passionate about spousal maintenance cases. Because she helps clients with complex assets, Megan is experienced in working with business valuations, division and asset tracking. She is also a strong advocate for children’s concerns in the divorce process.

Megan C HillClients’ ChoiceAward 2019

Megan C. Hill

Family Law Strengths & Education

Megan works closely with parents regarding legal decision making and parenting plans, placing high importance on the parent-child relationship. She’s also worked with post-decree cases where division of assets or spousal support need clarification or enforcement.

Though an Arizona transplant, she’s practiced law here for more than 16 years. Megan is a proud Hoosier. She grew up in northern Indiana and graduated from Indiana University School of Law. Past private practice includes representing creditors in bankruptcy.

A co-founder of the Tucson MAMAs group, Megan is also a former executive committee member of the Morris K. Udall Inns of Court. She’s a current member of the board of Child & Family Resources, Inc., and of the fundraising committee for Step Up to Justice.

Megan is happiest spending time with family, practicing yoga, cooking, watching Indiana Hoosiers basketball, and hiding out in a quiet place with a good book.

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Natalie Evans Parkman

Natalie first moved to Tucson in 2004 to attend the University of Arizona. Although born and raised in the Phoenix area, she fell in love with the Old Pueblo during her undergraduate experience. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in English in 2008 (Summa Cum Laude / Phi Beta Kappa), and her Juris Doctor Degree at the University of Arizona in 2011. 

Natalie Evans Parkman

Family Law Strengths & Education

After graduation, Natalie served as a law clerk at the Pima County Juvenile Court, and went on to represent children in juvenile dependency, permanent guardianship, and adoption cases at the Pima County Office of Children’s Counsel. In 2013, she transitioned to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office where she served as a litigation attorney in juvenile and domestic relations matters for six and a half years. She initially worked in the Protective Services Section, managing a high volume trial caseload in child dependency matters. She then moved to the Child Support Services Section where she focused on Title IV-D paternity, establishment, modification, and enforcement of child support actions.

With a background in cases involving trauma, inter-family conflict, and disruption of the parent-child relationship, Natalie has cultivated a practice that balances creative problem solving with compassion and diligence. She believes in the mediation and settlement process to resolve matters if at all possible, but her trial background makes her an excellent advocate in the courtroom as well.

Natalie is a former member of the Morris K. Udall Inn of Court, and a member of the Tucson Mother Attorneys Mentoring Association (MAMAs) group. She also participated in Pima County Court Night for several years offering free legal information and resources to the public.

Outside of the office, Natalie spends most of her free time with her family. She also loves to sing, plays a multitude of instruments, and has shared her talents in a number of local music gigs over the years. To stay active, Natalie enjoys Tucson’s vibrant cycling community.

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Hannah Kyle Kinney

Hannah has long had a passion for family law. This passion led her to obtain both a law degree from the James E. Rogers School of Law and an M.A. in Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Arizona. As part of her degree programs, she participated in the Domestic Violence Law Clinic where she advocated for clients in contested Orders of Protection. During that time she received extensive training in trauma informed lawyering. She also developed video presentations on basic finances with the Purple Purse Project that focused on legal barriers to economic empowerment for women. These experiences sparked a lifelong desire to be an ally and advocate for families in crisis.

Hannah Kyle Kinney

Family Law Strengths 

After graduation, Hannah clerked for the Presiding Pima County Family Law Judge, Greg Sakall. During her judicial clerkship, Hannah learned all aspects of family law from the basic to the most complex issues. She also devoted her efforts to making the divorce process more accessible and transparent for self-represented litigants. Hannah is the current Pima County Young Lawyers Division Representative for the Arizona Bar Family Law Executive Council.

Hannah is a Midwestern transplant that has lived in Tucson since she started law school in 2015. Prior to that, she attended undergrad at Cleveland State and majored in English literature. In her spare time, Hannah reads fiction, watches classic movies and thoroughly enjoys cooking elaborate meals. She has also recently adopted a puppy, Mabel, and spends much of her free time chasing her around.

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scott simonson

Scott Simonson

Scott has been with The McCarthy Law Firm since 2016.  Before joining The McCarthy Law Firm, he worked as a commercial litigator, handling business and real estate matters. He’s been voted one of the top pro bono attorneys in Arizona, 2014 and Southern Arizona Legal Aid co-volunteer lawyer of the year, 2018. 

Scott Simonson

Family Law Strengths & Education

Scott earned his Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Arizona. He has a master’s degree in Journalism from the University of California, Berkeley and a bachelor’s degree (summa cum laude/Phi Beta Kappa) from the University of Oregon.

Before joining The McCarthy Law Firm, Scott worked seven years for an Am Law 200 firm as a commercial litigator. His practice included business governance and corporate control disputes, residential and commercial lending issues, complex discovery, and real estate litigation.

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Edina Strum Certified Family Law Specialist

Edina Strum

Tucson native Edina Strum has been with The McCarthy Law Firm since 2009 and is a Certified Family Law Specialist. She’s known since childhood that she would be an attorney, and her care and concern for children and families led her to specialize in Family Law. Edina’s goal in her legal practice is to help families move through the re-arranging of their family dynamics with as much grace and dignity as possible, with a focus on the best outcomes for the children. 

Edina Strum

Family Law Strengths & Education

Edina practices traditional family law, but is well versed in the Collaborative Divorce Method. She is also trained in mediation. She seeks the least hostile path to resolution for her clients.

Edina is a long time member of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC), which is a collaborative group of psychologists, therapists, lawyers and judges dedicated to finding solutions for families in conflict.

A University of Arizona Wildcat through and through, Edina' law degree, graduate degree in Journalism and undergraduate degree in Political Science and Philosophy (Magna Cum Laude) were all attained there.

She also has fond memories of the year she studied in Russia. International travel and exploring other cultures has always been a passion.

Edina has volunteered her time with the Volunteer Lawyers Program, served on the WorldCare Board for several years, and was a proud member of Tucson Sunrise Rotary from 2003-2009.  She has also developed and presented (with various colleagues) multiple Continuing Legal Education seminars for the Arizona State Bar, Arizona Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AzAFCC), and the Pima County Bar.   

Outside of the firm, Edina can be found practicing yoga, hiking, playing with her Australian Shepherd, Bailey, and getting away to play in the snow and cooler temperatures when the opportunity arises.

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Kayt Yrun-Duffy

Kaytlyn Yrun-Duffy

A born and raised Tucsonan, Kayt has been with The McCarthy Law Firm since 2011, her law clerk days. Her emphasis is business valuation and other complex financial matters related to family law cases. You’ll always see a smile on Kayt’s face. Her outgoing aspect and warmth are part of her ability to de-escalate conflict. She has a passion and real skill for helping people reach a reasonable resolution with minimal antagonism.

Kaytlyn Yrun-Duffy

Family Law Strengths & Education 

Kayt loves solving financial puzzles. She has a particular strength for distilling complex information and likes to use spreadsheets to help make things crystal clear for a judge’s or mediator’s consideration.

She earned her Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Arizona, as well as graduating Magna Cum Laude as an undergraduate in Sociology. Kayt also spent a year studying in Vina Del Mar, Chile. She is a member of the Morris K. Udall Inn of Court and sits on the Board of Child and Family Resources.

When she is not in the office Kayt loves all things in nature and the outdoors, including hiking, backpacking, rock climbing, and cycling.

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