Lynda C. Shely is a Shareholder in the Phoenix office of Klinedinst. With nearly four decades of experience, Ms. Shely advises law firms, law firm investors, and lawyers alike in all aspects of legal ethics law, Arizona ABS regulations, and risk management. She also assists clients with responding to initial Bar charges and serves as an expert witness in legal malpractice, motions to disqualify counsel, fee disputes, and lawyer discipline cases.
Ms. Shely advises clients on regulatory topics involving compliance with the Rules of Professional Conduct, alternative business structure law firms, lawyer discipline matters, and law office risk management. Prior to joining Klinedinst, Ms. Shely worked at her own law firm, where she built a reputation serving law firm clients in matters such as ethical advertising, Arizona’s alternative business structure program, fee agreements and billing requirements, training and supervision of law firm personnel, and conflict waivers. Prior to private practice in Arizona she was the Director of Lawyer Ethics at the State Bar of Arizona, where she supervised multiple departments and provided tens of thousands of telephonic advisory opinions to members of the State Bar on legal ethics issues. She served as Staff Counsel to the Ethics, Fee Arbitration, and Peer Review Committees, as well as the Client Protection Fund Board of Trustees and the Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee. Before moving to Arizona Ms. Shely was an associate at an Am Law 50 firm handling intellectual property and antitrust matters.
Ms. Shely is an active leader in the legal community, serving on multiple committees of both the American Bar Association and the State Bar of Arizona. She served as the 2020–2023 Chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, was an Arizona delegate in the ABA House of Delegates from 2016–2023, a prior Chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Client Protection, and a longtime member of the ABA’s Center for Professional Responsibility. She also served on the Center’s Conference Planning Committee and the Standing Committee on Professionalism. Additionally, she is a member of the State Bar of Arizona Ethics Advisory Group, acted as Co-Chair of one of the subcommittees of the APRL Futures Committee, and serves on several other non-billable groups involved with legal ethics.
Ms. Shely has led the efforts of several organizations as President, including the National ABS Law Firm Association (2022–2023), the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers (2014–2016), and the Scottsdale Bar Association (2008–2009). She continues her involvement in the community today through various national and regional organizations. Not only that, Ms. Shely has taught as an Adjunct Professor at all of the law schools in Arizona, on professional responsibility and law firm management.
As a tribute to her impact on the Arizona legal community, Ms. Shely has received multiple recognitions from both the State Bar of Arizona, being named “Member of the Year” in 2007, and the Maricopa County Bar Association, being honored in the Hall of Fame in 2023 and Member of the Year in 2022. Since 2013, she has continuously been featured every year in Best Lawyers In America for her work in Ethics and Professional Responsibility. Notably, she has received the Arizona Women Lawyers’ Association, Maricopa Chapter, Ruth V. McGregor Award in 2015, the Scottsdale Bar Association Award of Excellence in 2010, and the Attorney Law-Related Education Award, Arizona Foundation for Legal Services and Education in 2002.
Ms. Shely earned her Juris Doctor from the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University in Washington, DC.
Education
- Franklin & Marshall College (B.A.)
- Columbus School of Law (J.D.)
