Jones, Skelton & Hochuli is pleased to announce that all four of our law clerks have passed their bar exams and are admitted to practice in Arizona. Congratulations to our newest associate attorneys, Ian Beck, Brian Cuevas, Nicole Prefontaine and Evann Waschuk.
All four associates worked at JSH as part of our 2018 summer associate program, and graduated from law school May 2019. We are pleased they have chosen JSH to begin their law practice.
Ian Beck works in the firm’s government liability and employment group. He earned his law degree at Michigan State University College of Law, graduating magna cum laude and recognized as a two-time Dean’s List Scholar. While at MSU, Ian was a member of the St. Thomas More Society and Latino Law Society, and worked as an Admission Intern for the College of Law. He was also a Finalist for the Donald Nystrom Best Brief Competition for his Advocacy brief, and competed on the MSU Arbitration Team, earning a place at the ABA National Tournament. Combining his passion for law and professional sports, Ian’s law school thesis compared Sweden’s Court of Arbitration in Sport to the NFL’s arbitration proceedings as structured in its collective bargaining agreement. In addition to working at JSH as a summer associate, he gained legal experience as a file support clerk at another Valley law firm, and as a legal extern at a national construction and facility management company. Ian earned his undergraduate degree, cum laude, from ASU’s W.P. Carey School of Business, where he served as Sports Editor of The State Press, as Treasurer of the Sun Devil Mock Trial and was a five-time recipient of the Dean’s List designation. An alumnus of Brophy College Preparatory, Ian volunteered as an Alumni Head Coach for their Mock Trial Program, coaching a team that won its regional tournament.
Brian Cuevas works in the firm’s transportation, auto and products liability group. While pursuing his J.D. from ASU, he worked as a legal intern for The Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project, and as a legal extern with the ACLU of Arizona. Brian was also active in his law school community, writing for the Law Journal for Social Justice, serving as a Student Ambassador, and being a member of the Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps, Moot Court, Chicano Latino Law Students Association, and Corporate and Business Law Society. He earned top marks in his Legal Research and Writing, and Legal Advocacy courses, and was a recipient of a Merit-Based Tuition Scholarship. Born in Mexico and raised in Arizona, Brian also earned his undergraduate degree from ASU, graduating summa cum laude with a Major in Justice Studies and Minor in Philosophy. In 2015, he worked as a legislative intern at the Arizona House of Representatives. With exceptional grades and dedication to higher learning, Brian was the recipient of the Arizona Regent Full-Tuition Scholarship, and was a Dean’s List Scholar all eight semesters. Brian is fluent in written and oral Spanish, and is an experienced English-to-Spanish/Spanish-to-English interpreter.
Nicole Prefontaine works in the firm’s professional liability, bad faith and complex litigation group. In addition to working as a summer associate at JSH, Nicole worked as a law clerk at Oxford Life Insurance, a legal extern for the Honorable Danielle Viola, and as a student attorney working on trademark cases at the Lisa Foundation Patent Clinic. Nicole earned her J.D. from ASU, where she also received the CALI Award for her Animal Law course, a Dean’s Award for Outstanding Achievement, and was a William H. Pedrick Scholar. Active in the ASU law school community, Nicole helped establish the Corporate and Business Law Journal, and served as a Senior Note and Comment Editor of Jurimetrics, Vice President of the Animal Legal Defense Fund Student Chapter at ASU, and Secretary of the Corporate and Business Law Society. She also completed the Trial Advocacy Program, and upon graduation, was named a Trial Advocacy Fellow. Before law school, Nicole worked as a case manager and legal assistant with a Chicago-based personal injury, firm and as an intern with U.S. Probation & Pretrial Services. Originally from Wisconsin, Nicole earned her undergraduate degree in Legal Studies from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, graduating with Dean’s List honors and a certificate in Criminal Justice.
Evann Waschuk works in the firm’s transportation, auto, products and general liability trial group. She earned her J.D. from ASU, and was a member of the Corporate and Business Law Society, and writer and Managing Editor for the Sports and Entertainment Law Journal during her 3L. In addition to her legal internships at JSH and with the Community Legal Services Housing Authority, Evann earned top marks in research and writing courses at ASU, including Intensive Legal Research and Writing; Legal Method & Writing; and Legal Advocacy. While pursuing her B.A. in Business Administration from Bellarmine University, Evann played for the Bellarmine Knights women’s tennis team, and was named MVP and team captain her senior year. She and her team also earned first place two consecutive years in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, a member of the NCAA Division II. Evann’s discipline, skill and hard work earned her the John T. Loftus Award for Athletic and Academic Excellence. She graduated magna cum laude and was a Dean’s List Scholar.