Attorneys Who Fight Exclusively for Survivors

Tim Tonkin has spent 25 years making sure the people who got hurt don’t have to face the people who hurt them alone. That’s the through line. The cases have evolved — insurance companies, transportation companies, corporations, hospitals to rideshare companies and institutions — but the work has always been the same: show up fully for someone who needs it.

His practice at Phillips & Associates is built around one conviction: that survivors deserve someone who understands the fight and the outcome are inseparable — that winning in a courtroom only matters if it moves the person toward healing, peace, and the ability to reclaim their life. In recent years, Tim has focused on sexual abuse litigation — rideshare assault claims against Uber and Lyft, and institutional abuse by churches, schools, and government-run facilities that put their own protection ahead of the people in their care.

He is certified in injury and wrongful death litigation by the Arizona Board of Legal Specialization — one of the most demanding credentialing processes in the state, held by a small percentage of practicing attorneys. In 2017 he was also inducted as an Associate Member of ABOTA, one of the most selective trial advocacy organizations in the country. He is also a member of the National Crime Victim Bar Association — an organization built specifically around the idea that victims of violent crime deserve the same fierce legal advocacy as anyone else.

Tim’s origin story starts in sixth grade, when a mock trial exercise lit something in him that hasn’t gone out since. He lost that case. He decided on the spot he wouldn’t lose another. That’s still the version of Tim that shows up to work every day.

He knows what he’s up against. Corporate defendants don’t arrive underprepared. They come with resources, delay tactics, and a financial incentive to minimize what they pay to people who have already been through enough. Tim’s first instinct is always to find the most efficient path to resolution — one that gives his clients peace, closure, and the ability to move forward. But corporate defendants would be wise not to confuse that with hesitation. If a fight in a courtroom is what it takes, Tim is more comfortable there than they will ever be.

Professional Standing

Tim serves on the Board of Directors of the Arizona Association for Justice. He served as Co-Chairman of the State Bar of Arizona’s College of Trial Advocacy from 2018 through 2024, has lectured at State Bar seminars and Arizona Association for Justice events, and has served as a Fee Arbitrator for the State Bar.

Beyond the Docket

Outside the office, Tim is husband to RoseMary and dad to five kids — one who’s already graduated college and one who hasn’t graduated kindergarten yet, with three more somewhere in between. The house is loud, the life is full, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. Yoga is a constant — not an escape, but a practice that brings direction, intention, and strength to everything else. The clarity he builds on the mat carries directly into how he shows up for his clients and his family.

Vara Lyons is a litigation attorney at Phillips & Associates whose practice is devoted entirely to representing survivors of sexual abuse. She came to this work through a career path that spans both sides of the courtroom — prosecuting serious crimes as an Assistant District Attorney in Brooklyn and advancing civil rights policy as Counsel with the ACLU of Mississippi — and she brings that breadth of experience to bear on every case she handles.

As a former prosecutor, Vara understands how institutions respond when confronted with allegations of abuse. She knows the tactics used to minimize, delay, and deflect — and she knows how to counter them. That background gives her clients a meaningful advantage: an attorney who has seen these cases from multiple angles and knows exactly what it takes to build a case that holds wrongdoers accountable.

Her time at the ACLU of Mississippi deepened her commitment to civil rights and gave her a close understanding of how systemic failures allow abuse to persist. That perspective shapes the way she approaches institutional liability cases — not just as individual claims, but as opportunities to force meaningful change in the organizations that failed to protect the people in their care.

Vara earned her J.D. from George Washington University Law School and is admitted to practice in New York, Mississippi, and Washington. At Phillips & Associates, she works closely with survivors throughout the entire legal process — from the first confidential conversation through resolution — with a focus on making that process feel as clear, supported, and empowering as possible.

Bethany Houston was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, and has spent the last nine years building her career at Phillips & Associates. She came to the firm as a pre-litigation paralegal and, over time, developed the depth of knowledge and operational instinct it takes to lead a team. That progression — from learning the work to guiding others through it — reflects the kind of commitment that defines how she approaches every case she touches.

Before joining the legal field, Bethany spent twelve years in clinical healthcare as a Medical Assistant and Phlebotomist. That background is not incidental to what she does now. Working directly with patients in a medical setting taught her how to be present with people who are scared, in pain, or uncertain about what comes next. That same quality — the ability to make someone feel seen and steadied in a difficult moment — is something she brings to every client interaction at the firm.

Her academic foundation comes from Grand Canyon University, where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Health Care Administration. The combination of clinical experience, formal education in healthcare systems, and nearly a decade of legal practice gives Bethany an unusually well-rounded perspective. She understands how medical records are generated, how institutions document (and sometimes fail to document) what happened, and how that information shapes the trajectory of a case.

What Bethany values most about her work is straightforward: she has helped people who were harmed get to a place of justice. That outcome — real, tangible, and meaningful for the person on the other side of the file — is what keeps her invested in the work every day.

Outside the Office

When she is not working, Bethany is with her husband and children, watching them pursue their goals — in the classroom and on the field. The family enjoys traveling and camping, and the same energy she brings to her work follows her everywhere she goes.