Chris Begeman is a partner at Righi Fitch Law Group. Mr. Begeman is admitted to practice in Arizona and New Mexico. He handles a wide variety of civil defense cases, including transportation, construction defect, personal injury, product liability, and insurance bad faith. His current practice focuses on defending trucking companies and their drivers in personal injury and product damage matters, individuals and companies involved in injury accidents, and construction companies in construction defect and job site injury matters. Mr. Begeman has successfully defended and tried both personal injury and construction defect cases. 

Mr. Begeman recently obtained a favorable verdict in a personal injury matter stemming from an automobile accident. Mr. Begeman’s client was extremely intoxicated at the time of the accident. Although liability was conceded, Mr. Begeman was able to convince the jury to award the plaintiff only a day of medical expenses and a nominal amount for pain and suffering. Despite a criminal conviction for operating while impaired, Mr. Begeman argued that punitive damages were not warranted, and the jury agreed. 

In a construction defect case, Mr. Begeman utilized a fee-shifting strategy to recover $1.3 million from the plaintiff in a construction defect case. In the case, Mr. Begeman represented a New Mexico general contractor. He advised the contractor to make a strategic settlement offer of $1.3 million. The plaintiff rejected the offer and trial ensued. After securing a full defense verdict, Chris recovered $1.3 million in defense fees and costs from the plaintiff.  

Mr. Begeman has also successfully defended national home builders in arbitration. Representing a national home builder in a soil movement matter, he successfully argued that the home had not experienced post-construction movement necessitating repairs. The arbitrator agreed and awarded the claimant less than 2% of claimant’s expert’s cost of repair. 

Mr. Begeman currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Arizona Association of Defense Counsel. He also serves as a Member of the Board of Directors for Phoenix Christian PreK- 8th Grade School. He is an active member at Mt. View Presbyterian Church. In his spare time, Mr. Begeman enjoys spending time with his wife and four children, playing softball, and everything sports related. 

Education 

• Thomas M. Cooley School of Law, Lansing, Michigan, Juris Doctorate, 2006 
• Thomas M Cooley Law Review, Senior Associate Editor 
• Dordt College, Sioux Center, Iowa, Bachelor of Art, History, 2003 
• Varsity Baseball 

Bar Admissions 

• Arizona, 2006 
• New Mexico, 2010 
• U.S. District Court of Arizona, 2011 
• U.S. District Court of New Mexico, 2014 

Professional Associations & Memberships 

• State Bar of Arizona, Member 
• State Bar of New Mexico, Member 
• Arizona Association of Defense Counsel, Member 2006 – Present; Board of Directors Member, 2012 – Present
• New Mexico Defense Lawyers Association, Member, 2010 – Present

Honors & Awards 

• Selected for inclusion in the Southwest Rising Stars℠ 

Contact Mr. Begeman today at (602) 483-6352.