Attorney Profiles

Originally from Chicago, Illinois, Debra Runbeck has been living in Arizona since 1976. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Northern Arizona University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. Her extracurricular activities included playing piano with a jazz combo and singing with a Renaissance choir. She worked as a Deputy Sheriff before deciding to attend law school. During and after law school, she continued working as a reserve game ranger with Arizona Game and Fish Department. Her Juris Doctor degree was earned with honors at Arizona State University in 1988. She is admitted to practice in Arizona state courts and U.S. District and Claims courts.

Debra began her legal career with Fennemore Craig in 1988 where she practiced in numerous areas of the law including medical malpractice, personal injury, product liability, landlord/tenant, workers' compensation and collections. She is a Certified Specialist in Workers' Compensation and has been practicing in that area since approximately 1990. Although she has represented both carriers and applicants, her practice has been focused on representing applicants since 1994. She is a past co-chair of the Workers' Compensation Section of the State Bar, and an active member of the Continuing Legal Education Committee of the section, the Workers' Compensation Advisory Commission, the Arizona Women Lawyers Association and the Arizona Association of Lawyers for Injured Workers. Governor Hull appointed Debra as a member of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Board In December 1999 and Governor Napolitano appointed her to the Structural Pest Control Commission in 2003.

Debra has always engaged in pro bono activities through the Volunteer Lawyers' Program, and currently acts as a Court Advisor for minor children involved in custody disputes. She is also a Judge Pro Tempore with the Maricopa County Superior Court for the purpose of conducting settlement conferences. Her leisure time is spent mostly with her husband, Craig, her two beautiful daughters, and her father. They enjoy music, horseback riding and traveling.