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McCarthy Family Law, PLLC

Turning Stress Into Solutions®

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

Meet the Team

Meet McCarthy Family Law Team

The family law attorneys you will work with at McCarthy Family Law 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 McCarthy Family Law.

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.

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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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Alison Crane

Alison Crane

Attorney at Law

Throughout her legal career, which started in 2006, Alison has focused on assisting children and families in crisis. Her undergraduate degree in psychology, 15 years at the Attorney General’s office, and numerous hours of continuing education allows her to understand the unique issues faced by people during times of extreme stress. Alison is committed to compassionately guiding those in her care through some of the most difficult experiences in their lives. This includes obtaining an optimal outcome for her client and their family while simultaneously preserving their dignity.

Alison Crane

While Alison prefers collaboration and settlement, she has powerful litigation skills. During her tenure at the Attorney General’s office, Alison spent over a decade litigating child abuse matters. She also trained numerous attorneys to become strong litigators. She’s particularly adept at spotting the legal issues, client and witness preparation for court, and cross examination of experts and adverse parties. Her expertise has been recognized by her peers many times with prestigious awards such as the Arizona Attorney of the Year and Leadership in Action.

 

In her free time, Alison is a fitness junkie. She loves activities such as running, swimming, cycling and yoga. She also enjoys travel and spending time outdoors with her loved ones.

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Holly Edwards

Attorney at Law

From her very first legal internship, Holly knew that she wanted to help families affected by divorce. Since receiving her Juris Doctor in 2004, she has practiced extensively in all areas of law affecting families. While Holly prefer to see cases settle, she is fully prepared to litigate if settlement is not possible. Holly has successfully completed the National Institute for Trial Advocacy program. In addition, she has extensive domestic violence advocacy training.

Holly Edwards

In addition to serving in the private sector in California, Holly also had the privilege of addressing the needs of the underserved in Los Angeles and Orange County. From 2013-2017, she was Directing Attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Orange County, Santa Ana Office. In that role, she supervised several legal units, and personally represented clients in family law, housing/eviction defense, consumer law, guardianship, government benefits and military veteran disputes. Although she enjoyed her time in California, in 2017, she was beyond delighted to be able to return to her hometown of Tucson, Arizona, where she continues to practice family law ever since.

Holly's strong suit is putting people at ease by first recognizing the tremendous stresses that divorce and parenting disputes place on the individual and that every individual has unique needs. She joins that with thorough case preparation and effective (and timely) communication so that the client can emerge from this process with their dignity intact and energy reinvigorated. There are lots of problems, but even more solutions! Holly's job is to help the client find those solutions.

Holly, a proud spouse of a military combat veteran who served in the U.S. Marine Corps for over twenty-one years, has a keen interest in military service issues facing both service members and their spouses/partners. This includes a thorough understanding of military service benefits including division of military retirement, survivor benefits, disability pay, and Tricare/healthcare benefits. She is also very familiar with the unique challenges confronting military members with respect to parenting issues arising out of deployment and other required relocations.
When she's not busy helping clients, Holly enjoys the outdoors with her husband and two children, as well as traveling and running.

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Alejandra Gerardo

Legal Paraprofessional

Alejandra’s (Ale) rich experience in family law, business oversight, finance and development, fluency in Spanish and her unbridled commitment to the Tucson community makes for a powerful combination of talent and ability to effectively serve our clients.

 

Ale’s career began with a BA degree in psychology giving her a unique ability to carefully listen and help solve difficult problems. She then worked for 17 years in the legal field as a law clerk, paralegal and office manager for multiple Tucson law firms.

Alejandra Gerardo

Ale obtained her juris doctorate from the James E. Rogers, School of Law at the University of Arizona along with a Certificate in Family and Juvenile law. After graduation Ale earned her Legal Paraprofessional license in Family Law in Arizona. Ale is a licensed attorney in New Mexico.

While a law student, Ale was an associate at the Domestic Violence clinic, where she developed evidence, examined witnesses, and conducted trials which allowed her to “hit the ground running.”

Ale immediately found a home for her “can-do” approach and organizational skills as a judicial law clerk, and mediator in the Pima County, Superior Court system. There, Ale worked side-by-side with judges, allowing her to understand judicial expectations and how to draft legal documents. She also managed a large staff of bailiffs, trained other law clerks, coordinated courtroom traffic, and managed numerous technology systems.

Born and raised in Mexico, Ale speaks fluent Spanish, allowing McCarthy Family Law to effectively provide for Tucson's Spanish speaking community.

Ale’s big heart and love for Tucson is enduring. Her work at an accounting firm and her extensive volunteer activities have honed her organizational skills and given her unique insights into Tucson’s families and business community. Among many others, this includes her volunteer work at Studio One (a community cultural center), Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation, Wingspan, and Davis Bilingual PTA, all of which involved business oversight, fundraising, development of organizational systems, drafting legal documents, and maintaining financial oversight. For many years, Ale helped coordinate the huge task of organizing the jam-packed annual week of events for Puertas Abiertas, bringing together many diverse communities within the Tucson community.

In addition to handling a broad range of family law matters, Ale is a member of the financial team at McCarthy Family Law.

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Scott Simonson

Attorney at Law

Scott has been with McCarthy Family Law since 2016. Before joining McCarthy Family Law, 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 McCarthy Family Law, 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

Attorney at Law

Tucson native Edina Strum has been with McCarthy Family Law 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 Strum

Family Law Strengths & Education

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 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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