High-profile Arizona ethics attorney leaves Jennings Strouss to join Spencer Fane
Scott Rhodes, the former managing partner at Jennings Strauss & Salmon PLC, has joined the Phoenix office of Spencer Fane LLP.
Rhodes, who specializes in legal and professional ethics cases, had been with Phoenix-based Jennings Strouss since 1995, and was the firm’s managing partner from 2009 to 2015. Rhodes is the son of former Arizona Congressman John J. Rhodes, who served for three decades in the House of Representatives and retired as House Minority Leader.
He moved over to join Spencer Fane effective April 13, and is a partner at the firm. Spencer Fane is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri.
Rhodes told the Business Journal that he was approached by Spencer Fane Chair Pat Whalen, and said that the whole process for him to change jobs moved at a brisk pace.
“We had a casual conversation that went for 15 minutes, and then an hour later we were still talking, so there was a strong connection,” Rhodes said. “It happened pretty quickly. I have recruited a lot of lawyers over the years, and my belief is that you need to make this happen quickly. It doesn’t do anyone any good to think about it too long.”
Spencer Fane adds more attorneys
Rhodes said that while at Jennings Strouss he was impressed at how Spencer Fane inserted itself into the Arizona market and focused on slow, organic growth in the early days.
“Coming into the Phoenix market isn’t an easy thing to do,” Rhodes said. “But I was impressed that they came in and were taking their time and slowly bringing in high-quality lawyers. It was obvious that they had a plan to be good, as opposed to just adding people quickly for growth.”
Rhodes said he will continue to focus on what he has done for the past 28 years: representing law firms and individual attorneys in professional ethics cases. Joining Spencer Fane, he said, will allow him spread his reach a bit further with the footprint and resources of a national firm.
“The amount of work for ethics attorneys has grown a lot in recent years, so you might say that could be a good or bad thing,” Rhodes said. “There are more cases now where attorneys are being referred to the bar for disciplinary consequences.”
David Funkhouser III, who took over as managing partner of Spencer Fane’s Phoenix office on March 1, said Rhodes not only brings a wealth of experience in commercial litigation and attorney ethics cases, but brings a depth of experience that all of the office’s attorneys can draw on.
“Our ability to bring on a titan of the Phoenix and Arizona bar to add to the depth of our other recent hires puts us in a good position for even more growth,” Funkhauser said.
Another group of Jennings Strouss attorneys had joined Spencer Fane just prior to Rhodes’ arrival. Norma Izzo, a family law attorney formerly with Jennings Strauss brought two other attorneys along with four support employees to Spencer Fane in February. With these latest additions, Spencer Fane’s Phoenix office now has a total of 44 employees, including 28 attorneys.