Edwin “Ed” Bull is Burch & Cracchiolo’s President, helping to orchestrate the firm’s growth and commitment to client service. Ed, who has practiced law for 34 years, is a peer review rated AV® Preeminent attorney who has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America every year since 2003, and was recently named the 2014 Best Lawyers "Lawyer of the Year" Phoenix in Land Use and Zoning Law.  Ed has been selected by Super Lawyers of the Southwest every year since its inception in 2007, Arizona’s Finest Lawyers from 2008-2013, Chambers USA since 2005 and AZRE Commercial Real Estate Magazine’s "People to Know" on commercial real estate. In 2013 Ed was named the top corporate and business attorney by Arizona Business Magazine in the inaugural edition of "AZ Business Leaders".
 
Ed is the senior member among the firm’s zoning and real estate attorneys. Certified as a Real Estate Specialist by the State Bar of Arizona, his practice involves the full range of real estate entitlements including zoning, general plan amendments, specific area plan approvals and amendments, interpretations, variances, use permits, subdivision and site plan approvals, annexation, development agreements, construction permits, development impact fees, real estate transactions, right-of-way abandonments and other development-related matters. Ed’s practice also involves various administrative processes, eminent domain, and due diligence for potential purchasers of real estate. As a former trial lawyer whose longest trial as a young lawyer lasted three months, Ed still "knows his way around the courthouse" if necessary to protect his clients' rights and expectations.
 
Over the past three decades, Ed has worked on development projects ranging in size from under one acre to nearly 20,000 acres. The diverse types of commercial, residential and industrial development projects include for example: mixed-use master plans, PADs and PCDs, regional malls, retail centers, office developments, industrial developments, multi-family communities, single family subdivisions, senior housing facilities, automotive dealerships, churches, private and charter schools, electrical power plants, in-fill developments, service stations, truck travel centers, storage facilities, and other developments. Ed’s clientele include commercial developers, homebuilders, landowners, master plan developers, multi-family builders and managers, real estate investment companies, automotive dealers, grocers, office developers, energy providers, and others involved in the sale-purchase, planning, zoning, construction, and management of real estate.

 

Education

  • J.D., Arizona State University, 1980
  • B.A., University of Nebraska at Lincoln, 1976

Admissions

  • Arizona

Areas of Concentration

  • Administrative Law Land Use and Zoning Real Estate Development Real Estate Finance

Honors & Awards

  • Selected, Best Lawyers in America, 2014 Lawyer of the Year, Phoenix, Land Use and Zoning Law
  • Selected, Best Lawyers in America
    Land Use and Zoning Law 2003-2015 edition
    Real Estate Law 2003-2015 edition
  • Selected, Southwest Super Lawyers 2007-2014
  • Selected, Arizona’s Finest Lawyers 2011-2014
  • Selected, Arizona Business Magazine Top Lawyers, Real Estate, 2014 
  • Listed, Chambers & Partners USA Guide, Leading Individual Attorney, an annual listing of the leading business lawyers and law firms in the world, 2005-2014

Representative Engagements

  • Quarterbacked hundreds of land use entitlements teams in obtaining the zoning and other approvals needed for numerous PADs, PCDs and mixed use developments, two regional shopping malls, several retail power centers and neighborhood shopping centers, office developments, industrial developments, single-family subdivisions, multi-family communities, mega-churches, electrical power plants, and other developments.
  • Often plays a key role in communications among developers, multi-disciplined staffs, and government officials to achieve solutions needed to break impasses, obtain permits, commence construction, and achieve occupancy.
  • Served as lead counsel on numerous development agreements.
  • Regularly facilitates communications between developers and concerned neighbors with the goal of providing information, addressing concerns, and resolving or mitigating opposition prior to public hearings.
  • Often leads or participates in due diligence for potential purchasers of raw land and partially improved or fully improved real property.

Professional Affiliations

  • State Bar of Arizona
  • Maricopa County Bar Association

Community Involvement

  • Ed has participated over the years in diverse community, civic, philanthropic, development, and political activities.  He has also participated in numerous Planning processes and Zoning Ordinance updates in various municipalities.

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