Michael Orcutt represents licensed professionals in courts across the
state of Arizona and before regulatory and administrative bodies, such
as the Department of Real Estate, the Department of Insurance and
Financial Institutions, and the Arizona Association of Realtors®. His
practice includes the defense of real estate agents and brokers,
architects and engineers, law firms, insurance brokers, appraisers,
and other professionals, through all stages of litigation, from pre-suit
mediation to appeals before the Arizona Court of Appeals and the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. As part of this practice, Michael
has obtained complete defense verdicts for licensed professionals in
more than one dozen bench and jury trials in Maricopa, Pima,
Coconino, and Yavapai Counties.
Michael serves as outside general counsel to several large real estate
brokerage groups in Arizona, including both traditional home and
luxury home market brokers and agents. In this role, he is frequently
sought to advise on arising issues resulting from market trends and
serves as a sounding board. He also represents property owners’
associations as general counsel and in the defense of director and
officers’ liability claims.
Outside of his professional liability law practice, Michael represents
individuals and entities in a wide range of commercial litigation
matters, where he emphasizes providing cost-effective
representation and exploring creative solutions to achieve the best
possible outcome for his clients. He also has extensive experience
handling all types of real property matters, including construction
defects, easements, adverse possession, quiet title, partition,
nuisance, and boundary disputes. Following the housing market
downturn in 2008, Michael counseled hundreds of homeowners
regarding short sale and foreclosure options, and he regularly litigated
post-foreclosure lawsuits under Arizona’s anti-deficiency statutes.
Additionally, he assists builders and investors in their commercial and
large real estate transactions.