Compassionate Guidance For Workers’ Compensation and Social Security Disability
Biography

Laura Clymer is an associate at Brian Clymer, Attorney at Law. The firm represents people in Arizona workers' compensation and Social Security disability cases. Laura is a workers' compensation certified specialist, State Bar of Arizona. She also serves on the executive board of the Arizona Association of Lawyers for Injured Workers.
Laura, a native Arizonan, graduated from the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University in 2013. She was one of 11 in her graduating class of 210 students to receive a Dean's Award for outstanding contributions and performance at the law school. She passed the Arizona bar exam given in July 2013 and was licensed to practice law on December 11, 2013.
"I love advocating for injured workers because it gives me the opportunity to represent a wide-range of hardworking folks just trying to get back from being hurt on the job," Laura said. "It is also important to hold insurance carriers accountable for the promise made to injured workers a hundred years ago: in exchange for giving up the right to sue their employer, the injured worker receives medical benefits and a portion of their lost wages for their on-the-job injuries. Too often, insurance carriers find ways to skirt their responsibility and fall short in upholding their end of the bargain made with labor decades ago..
In addition to practicing full-time, Laura is a part-time, adjunct professor of law practice at the University of Arizona, where she teaches a legal writing, analysis and research class to UA undergraduate law majors and MLS graduate students.
Outside of work, Laura takes on an active role in her faith community, Casas Adobes Congregational, U.C.C. She is a member of the Rotary Club of Marana, where she will serve as club president in 2022-23. She's a loyal fan of UA athletics, and enjoys reading, movies, travel, and most of all, spending time with family and friends over a great meal.
While in law school, Laura was co-editor-in-chief of the Law Journal for Social Justice; served on the executive board of OUTLaw, the gay-straight student alliance; and worked as a research assistant in the ASU Work-Life Policy Unit of the Civil Justice Clinic at the law school. She also completed legal externships for U.S. Magistrate Judge David K. Duncan, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the civil division of the U.S. Attorney's Office, and clerked one summer in Maricopa Superior Court. She was the 2012 recipient of the R. Kelly Hocker Employment and Labor Law scholarship and a co-recipient of the Jonathan Paul Schubert Memorial scholarship in 2013.
Laura's writing and research projects while in law school included: researching and contributing to chapter 7 in "The Rights of the Accused under the Sixth Amendment" (Paul Marcus et al, American Bar Association, 2012); "Drone Journalism: What Happens When the 'Intrepid Reporter' Takes to the Skies?" (Privacy Law seminar paper, spring 2013); and exploring and evaluating "take-home asbestos" liability under Arizona law (Products Liability seminar, graduation paper, fall 2012).
Prior to law school, Laura was a journalist for 18 years. She was the city editor and online content editor for the award-winning Arizona Daily Sun newspaper in Flagstaff from 2001 until August 2010. Laura's writing, interviewing, and investigative skills honed during her years as a journalist have proved invaluable in making the transition from a journalist to a lawyer.
Laura is a younger sister of Brian, and a graduate of Canyon del Oro High School (Tucson, Az.). Laura received her bachelor's degree in history and communication, cum laude, in 1986 from DePauw University (Greencastle, Ind.). While at DePauw, she played basketball and softball for the Tigers, wrote for the student newspaper and student yearbook, and was on the steering committee for DePauw's Little 500 bicycle race.
Education
- Arizona State University, Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, Tempe, Arizona
- J.D. - 2013
- Honors: Dean's Award for Outstanding Contribution and Performance at the Law School
- DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana
- B.A. - 1986
- Honors: cum laude
- Major: History and Communication
Practice Areas
- Workers' Compensation Law
- Social Security - Disability
Bar Admissions
- Arizona, 2013
Certified Legal Specialties
- Workers' Compensation, State Bar of Arizona, 2021
Professional Associations
- Arizona Bar Association, Member, 2013 to Present
- Pima County Bar Association, Member, 2013 to Present
- Arizona Association of Lawyers for Injured Workers, Member; Board of Directors, 2015 to Present
Current Employment Position
- Associate Attorney
Classes & Seminars
- Legal Analysis, Writing & Research, University of Arizona, 2016 to Present
- “Litigating COVID-19 Cases: Exposing the Elements of a Claim”, co-presenter, Workers Comp Section, State Bar of Arizona 2021
- “Bad Faith the Commission”, co-presenter, AALIW Fall CLE, 2019
Honors
- Best Lawyers Ones to Watch (2021, 2022, 2023)
Representative Cases
- Tapia v Industrial Commission, 245 Ariz. 258, 426 P.3d 1237 (2018) (Az. Ct. App).
- Matthews v Industrial Commission of Arizona, 2021 WL 2885804 (July 9, 2021), Az. Ct. App.
Past Positions
- Arizona Daily Sun (newspaper), City editor/online content editor, 1999 to 2010
- The Ruidoso News (NM) (newspaper), Sports editor/entertainment editor, 1994 to 1999