Ted Codding, Bill Richards Win Cudahy Award

(Phoenix, Ariz. – Dec. 10, 2007) Attorney General Terry Goddard today presented the Michael C. Cudahy Award for Mentoring to Ted Codding and Bill Richards during the annual Awards Day ceremony for the Attorney General’s Office.

Codding, of Phoenix, is Acting Section Chief in the Office’s Financial Services Section. He has been instrumental in implementing more comprehensive financial reporting for the Office. During the 2007 legislative session, Codding developed the plan, adopted by the Arizona State Legislature, that achieved attorney salary parity for the Office. Codding holds a M.B.A. from DeVry University’s Keller Graduate School of Management and a B.S. from the University of Maryland.

Richards, of Phoenix, has primary responsibility for many of the Office’s complex litigation cases. His most recent cases include representing the Attorney General’s Office in litigation over the United Effort Plan, which owns most of the property in Colorado City, and in Espinosa v. Arizona, a case involving the use of the AIMS test. Richards holds a B.S. in speech communication from Northern Arizona University and a law degree from Arizona State University.

“Ted and Bill are great role models for the Office,” Goddard said, who presented the awards. “They take time out of the day to answer questions and provide guidance. Their work ethic is stellar. They exemplify the mentoring legacy established by Mike Cudahy during his quarter century of service to the Attorney General’s Office.”

This is the second year the Cudahy Award has been presented. It honors his 25 years of service to the Attorney General’s Office – including a decade as head of the Criminal Division – and his legacy as an outstanding mentor. He died in 2006 at age 57 after a long battle with cancer.

The Office’s Outstanding Team Award was presented to the Baptist Foundation Trial Team. This group secured convictions against two top executives of the Foundation on charges of fraud and racketeering. The case became the longest criminal trial ever prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office and brought long-delayed vindication for the thousands of victims of the BFA fraud. Team members include Criminal Division Chief and lead prosecutor Don Conrad; Assistant Attorneys General Monica Klapper and Kelly O’Connor; Special Agent Kathleen Kempley; Programs and Projects Specialist Dan Sands; paralegal Victoria Baldner, and victim advocate Anne Marreel.

Other awards handed out today included:

Employee of the Year
  • Mike Hough, Administrative Operations Division
  • Leann Picard, Child and Family Protection Division
  • Kris Weed, Civil Division
  • Larry Flick, Criminal Division
  • Michelle Davis, Finance Division
  • Cathy Jacobs, Public Advocacy Division
  • Charli Gray, Solicitor General’s Office
Attorney of the Year
  • Janet Sell, Child and Family Protection Division
  • Ann Hobart, Civil Rights Division
  • Kent Cattani, Criminal Division
  • Eryn McCarthy, Finance Division
  • Ann Uglietta, Public Advocacy Division