Susan Plimpton Segal

Susan Segal brings exceptional expertise in the areas of public law and employment law. Susan represents school districts and municipalities throughout Arizona on public law issues relating to governance, conflict of interest, civil rights, due process, employee professional conduct, and compliance with Arizona procurement, public records, and open meeting laws. She advises both public entities and private sector clients on a broad range of legal issues and challenges. Susan is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee and is Chair of the firm’s Client Committee.

Susan was formerly a member of the Arizona Attorney General Open Meeting Law Enforcement Team and the Opinion Review Committee. Susan also has extensive experience in advising and representing employers in the private sector on employment matters. She has drafted employment agreements and manuals and has appeared before administrative state and federal courts on behalf of employers.

Susan joined Gust Rosenfeld in 1995 but left briefly in 2003 to serve as the Office of the Arizona Attorney General Chief Counsel of the Education and Health Section and then the Public Advocacy Division from 2005 to 2011. During that time, she was lead counsel in complex multi-state litigation against companies engaged in predatory lending practices and consumer fraud and was instrumental in the settlement of lawsuits that resulted in significant relief to Arizona consumers. She also represented the State of Arizona in school equity funding litigation, as well as a lawsuit that resulted in the placement of an Arizona school district tied to Warren Jeffs and his church into receivership. She has investigated allegations of fraudulent practices by private for-profit educational institutions and monitored their compliance with post-judgment court-ordered relief.

Susan speaks frequently on Arizona Procurement Law, Conflict of Interest Law, Public Records, and the Arizona Open Meeting Law. She is a contributing author of From the Ground Up: Legal Issues in School Construction, published by the National School Boards Association. She currently teaches as an adjunct professor at the Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.

Professional Recognition

•The Best Lawyers in America , Education Law; Employment Law - Management; Municipal Law (2019-2026)
•Lawyer of the Year Phoenix, Municipal Law (2021)
•Phoenix Magazine 2023 Top Lawyers - Education
•Top 100 Lawyers in Arizona, Az Business (2021)

Presentations & Publications

•From the Ground Up; Legal Issues in School Construction, published by the National School Boards Association (contributing author)

Community Involvement

•Ability360 (Board Member)
•Arizona Theatre Company (former Chair of the Board of Trustees, Board Member)
•Fresh Start Women’s Foundation (former Executive Board Member)
•Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law Ambassado