Superintendent Douglas Welcomes New Director of Legal/Hearings
(Phoenix, Ariz., March 21, 2017) – Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas is pleased to announce that Daniel Schultz has been named the Arizona Department of Education’s (ADE’s) new Director of Legal/Hearings.
“I am excited to work with Daniel to ensure that the Department provides the highest levels of data privacy for Arizona’s 1.1 million students,” Superintendent Douglas said. “With almost 30 years of extensive legal experience, he has worked with government entities, as well as with Fortune 500 companies.”
Schultz attended the United States Military Academy in West Point as an undergraduate before receiving his J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1988. Immediately after graduation, Schultz went into litigation, accepting the position of litigation principal at Troop, Steuber, Pasich, Reddick & Tobey, LLP in Los Angeles.
During his 11 years at the firm, he participated in complex insurance coverage litigation on behalf of Fortune 500 companies, developing case strategies and drafting pleadings, briefs and memoranda. Schultz also defended depositions and supervised all facets of discovery and trial preparation.
After a couple of years addressing telecommunications, internet service provider and franchisor-franchisee disputes as lead counsel for insurance litigators DLA Piper, Schultz began his private practice when DLA conflicted out of its largest case. In 14 years of private practice, his law office handled intricate environmental insurance litigation, recovering more than $170 million for the State of California.
In his new role, Schultz will focus on providing comprehensive legal guidance and interpretation of legislation for ADE, prepare ADE for judicial proceedings and administrative law hearings, as well as draft a variety of contracts, resolutions, regulations and legal documents on behalf of the Department.
Schultz spends his free time following college football, especially his beloved Wisconsin Badgers, having attended back-to-back Rose Bowls when he lived in L.A. Married to his wife, Belinda, they have four children: a daughter, Nicole (19 years old), as well as Alec, Adam and Ben (16), who are triplets. He is also a member of the International Technology Law Association, an avid deer hunter, a high school state baseball champion and the pet owner of a tortoise named Jib.