D. Andrew Gaona

Judge D. Andrew (“Andy”) Gaona joined the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One, in March 2026 after his appointment by Governor Katie Hobbs.

Judge Gaona graduated from the University of Arizona in 2006 and from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, summa cum laude and with the highest pro bono distinction, in 2010. While in law school, Judge Gaona was a legal writing teaching assistant, a student attorney in the Civil Justice Clinic, the Executive Managing Editor of the Arizona State Law Journal, and received the John S. Armstrong Award as his class’s most outstanding graduate.

Judge Gaona began his legal career as a law clerk in the chambers of Justice Andrew D. Hurwitz of the Arizona Supreme Court. He then spent 3.5 years in the Phoenix office of Perkins Coie LLP working in the areas of business litigation, constitutional litigation, and white-collar criminal defense. He joined Coppersmith Brockelman PLC in 2015, where he became a partner and focused on commercial litigation, public law, election law, and appeals.

Judge Gaona served on the Arizona Supreme Court’s Judicial Performance Review Task Force, and often presented on subjects involving Arizona election law and practice in Arizona’s appellate courts. He also cares deeply about his home state and handled many important pro bono cases over his career, and served on the board of directors of the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest from 2014 to 2026.