The Pima County Bar Foundation is proud to present the 2026 Juan Perez-Medrano Excellence in Public Service Award to Robert B. Fleming - an attorney whose career has been defined by service, advocacy, mentorship, and an unwavering commitment to helping others.

 

The Juan Perez-Medrano Excellence in Public Service Award recognizes an outstanding legal professional who has made extraordinary and exemplary contributions to the Pima County legal community. Robert Fleming embodies that spirit in every sense.

 

Robert graduated from Utah State University in 1974 and earned his J.D. from the University of Arizona College of Law in 1976. As a founding member of Fleming & Curti, PLC, he has built an extraordinary career in estate planning, elder law, special needs planning, guardianships, and conservatorships. He is a Fellow of both the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. He is also a Certified Elder Law Attorney and a State Bar of Arizona Certified Specialist in Estate and Trust Law.

 

But Robert’s greatest legacy may not be found in his many professional accomplishments. It is found in the countless hours he has devoted to making the law more accessible to people who need it most.

 

In June 2014, Robert, along with Beth Smith, Ryan Thomsen, and University of Arizona law professor Kenney Hegland, helped create what is now the Pima County Bar Foundation’s Guardianship and Conservatorship educational program. They recognized an acute need in our community: families and individuals navigating the complicated and often overwhelming process of seeking guardianships and conservatorships for loved ones.

 

What began with presentations to the public at Pima Council on Aging and to mental health professionals eventually became a Pima County Bar program. Robert and Beth Smith gave the first adult Guardianship and Conservatorship presentation for the Pima County Bar in October 2015. More than a decade later, those presentations continue through the Pima County Bar Foundation, providing vital education and assistance to unrepresented members of our community.

 

Robert has also served on reform committees, contributed to improvements in Arizona probate procedures, and consistently shared updates about legislation and significant cases affecting probate and estate planning. For generations of attorneys, he has been a mentor, an educator, and the person colleagues could turn to when facing a difficult probate question.

 

His commitment to service has extended beyond the courtroom and the legal profession. For many years, Robert anonymously provided server services to the Pima County Bar, quietly helping the organization operate behind the scenes.

 

Robert is a champion of autonomy, dignity, and self-reliance. Throughout his career, he has advocated for thousands of vulnerable children and adults and has helped create new opportunities for individuals with special needs. He is especially proud of his instrumental role in the Special Needs Alliance, a premier national organization serving attorneys and families in the special needs community.

 

Robert will retire on January 1, 2027, leaving behind an extraordinary legacy of advocacy, education, generosity, and mentorship. His colleagues will undoubtedly feel his absence, but the programs he helped create, the attorneys he mentored, and the countless lives he touched will continue his work.

 

And perhaps what says the most about Robert is that, despite all of these accomplishments, he simply likes people - their stories, their families, and even their pets. He shares his life with his wife of more than fifty years, their two adult children, two young grandchildren, Rosalind Franklin, his office companion corgi, and Muninn, his homebound cat.

 

Robert Fleming has spent a lifetime helping people navigate some of life’s most difficult moments with greater understanding, dignity, and independence. For that extraordinary commitment to public service, the Pima County Bar Foundation is honored to recognize him with the 2026 Juan Perez-Medrano Excellence in Public Service Award.