2019 Aug Sept

P R O U D LY P U B L I S H E D B Y T H E D E N V E R B A R A S S O C I A T I O N

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IN THIS ISSUE TRAVEL

Driving the Natchez Trace

BAR REVIEW

Broadway Market

SHORT STORY

Dangerous Times Down Under

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F E AT U R E S

D E PA R T M E N T S

2 From the Editor 3

Briefly

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President’s Letter

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YLD Corner

10 Reflections from the outgoing Chair of the MVL Board 12 Laszlo Scofflaw, Attorney Curmudgeon 13 Memoirs of Adjunct

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14 DBA YLD CHAIR Matthew Broderick 18 COLAP Well-being Corner 20 DBA Awards 22 The Launch of Flying Cars

6 Bar Review: Broadway Market 24 Endurance and The Docket visited Broadway Market after work and found it to be bright and inviting, including a full bar and a beer wall with a broad array of styles and breweries represented. BY CRAIG ELEY & RICHARD LIONBERGER

7 Travel

Mediation

26 10 Questions 27 Work Life Balance

In America, we tend to measure our history only back to 1776. But there are some places here, whether up in the high mountains of Colorado..

30 Legal Affairs

BY DOUG MCQUISTON

32 Picture This

16 Dangerous Times Down Under Wylie awoke in a daze. As he slowly opened his eyes, he tried to take in his surroundings, but he was pretty sure he had a concussion.

BY THE DOCKET COMMITTEE

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FROM THE EDITOR | BY BRENDAN BAKER

It’s been a pleasure!

The past 18 months of editing the Docket have been an amazing experience. I have so enjoyed meeting and collaborating with our brilliant members, learning about fascinating developments in the legal world, and being moved to laughter, tears, or awe by the creative and insightful pieces that have come across my desk. So it is with no small amount of sadness that I must announce I have recently taken on a different role at the Bar, making this my last issue as editor.

The new and improved Docket is now in full swing, and there’s never been a better time to get involved. We’ve got a bevy of exciting content coming down the pipes for you, and we always want to see more!

So check out the huge variety of articles and features we’ve published over the last

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few months, and if you are so inspired, please submit your ideas! Writing for the Docket is of course its own intrinsic reward, but apart from the satisfaction that always comes with seeing your name in print, we are currently working on new and exciting ways to up our profile and increase exposure — people should know about all of our talented members!

Writing for the Docket can sharpen your skills, widen your network, establish you as an authority, and help grow your digital footprint. A lawyer with a few publications under her belt is on her way to the head of the pack. This is also a space for creative expression, with the encouragement and support of colleagues and professional editors. For the roughly 76% of you who have always secretly nurtured some desire

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to be an author (or a painter or a poet or even a musician), this is a place for you to dip your toes into those waters and see how it feels.

Thanks for showing me a great time as editor of the Docket, and a particular thank you to the members of the DocketCommittee for all of their assistance and contributions. It’s a great little rag we’ve got here, and I hope you all are as excited as I am to see what’s ahead!

Brendan Baker Brendan Baker, Editor bbaker@cobar.org

BRIEFLY

Q: Who was president when the agency that would become the FBI was created?

“WHAT’S MONEY? A MAN IS A SUCCESS IF HE GETS UP IN THE MORNING AND GOES TO BED AT NIGHT AND IN BETWEEN DOES WHAT HE WANTS TO DO.” — BOB DYLAN

self-improvement, riffing on Kant and Kierkegaard while treating viewers to spectacles such as giant shrimp floating through the sky and numerous iterations of the trolley problem. The show gets hilariously strange both within each episode and across the arc of every season, but it grounds the surreal concepts and visuals with a great cast (led by Kristen Bell and Ted Danson), punchy writing, and compelling character dynamics. It’s the existential ethical sitcom you never

knew you needed. The Good Place airs Thursdays on NBC and is also available on Netflix and Hulu; season four airs in the fall.

DID YOU KNOW: Canadians say “sorry” so readily that in 2009, Ontario passed a law stipulating that apologies could not be used as legal evidence of guilt or liability.

OF NOTE: The Good Place This fantasy-comedy television series is the definition of high concept: it follows telemarketer Eleanor Shellstrop as she awakens in a Heaven-like version of the afterlife, only to learn that she has been sent there incorrectly in someone else’s place due to a mix-up in the cosmic bureaucracy. From this heady premise, the show jumps into an examination of moral philosophy and the possibility of

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PRESIDENT’S LETTER | BY KEVIN E. MCREYNOLDS

provides tangible value to our new and young attorneys.

In delivering more focused programing, we evaluated the broad swath of areas where the DBA had programs to focus on those that provided the greatest value to our members or had the biggest impact for the local community. For professional development, we collected information from our members to make networking events more useful, and significantly expanded the Bench-Bar committee’s events to promote attorney-judge relationships.

Hello fellow DBA members: As this is my first opportunity to communicate with many of you, I wanted to talk briefly about the guiding vision that your DBA leadership team is using to make your bar association stronger.

For the first time in the DBA’s almost 130- year history, in May 2016, we adopted our first organization-wide Strategic Plan.

This Plan was the result of more than a year’s work by DBA leadership and meetings with members, former members, and other parts of the Denver legal community. At the time, I was still technically a “young lawyer,” and our group had a lot of input into helping create this five-year Plan. Beyond stating our shared values, this Plan sets forth a vision for what we want this organization to be.

“The Denver Bar Association is committed to promoting member success by: • •

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Cultivating an inclusive and engaged legal community; Delivering programing focused on enhancing professional excellence; and Supporting and advancing justice.”

Since its adoption, your Board of Trust-

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ees, Officers, and DBA staff have focused the DBA’s resources to make this vision a reality, and I wanted to briefly share some of our progress: To cultivate an inclusive and engaged legal community, the DBA recently adopted a Diversity and Inclusivity Action Plan that provides guidance to leadership to: (1) build a leadership pipeline that reflects our entire community; (2) promote and engage with the diverse communities within the DBA and the greater legal community; (3) implement procedures and policies that encourages D/I/E thinking at all levels of the DBA; and (4) hold us accountable by developing tools and collecting information to assess our progress in making the DBA an organization that is truly for everyone.

While this Action Plan is new, the DBA has already made measurable progress on this part of our collective vision, as prior initiatives have promoted diversity and inclusivity in our leadership so that your Board of Trustees better reflects all of the communities within the DBA. We are working with our young lawyers to develop a similar plan to ensure they do not just have a seat at the table, but a real voice in DBA leadership. As someone who only recently got too old for the YLD, I’m committed to ensuring the DBA

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We are also providing more support to our Young Lawyers Division, which just this Fall will be hosting: (1) a DU/ CU Barristers After Hours networking event with the local law schools (September); (2) Law Suit Days, the YLD’s annual professional attire drive for the disadvantaged (October); and (3) its flagship Court Orientation program, a full-day CLE hosted at the Colorado Supreme Court (November).

To support and advance justice, the DBA has enhanced its pro bono arm, the Metro Volunteer Lawyers, by shifting focus to the legal clinics that provide the most impact for communities in need.

We’ve also launched some exciting new programs, such as the power of attorney clinic, and worked to solidify our relationships with the other local bar associations to ensure MVL provides the help needed throughout the metro area. Because of the crucial services it provides, MVL continues to be the largest program of the DBA, and about $40 of each member’s dues go to support these pro bono activities.

I’m excited to have a role in building on this progress and I look forward to working with our members to continue moving our Strategic Plan from a vision to a reality.

Kevin E. McReynolds Kevin E. McReynolds, DBA President

YLD CORNER | BY KATHARINE LUM

A Denver Bar Association publication. Views expressed in articles are those of the author and not the views of the author’s employers, the Docket Committee or the Denver Bar Association, unless expressly stated.

OUR MISSION

To educate and entertain the Denver legal community without being sued!

EDITOR

Heather Folker, hfolker@cobar.org GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Clair Smith, csmith@cobar.org ADVERTISING

advertising@cobar.org DOCKET COMMITTEE

Ainsley Bochniak, Marion Brewer, Martin Champagne, Klaralee Charlton, Craig Eley, David Erickson, Joshua Fitch, Laurinda Frederick, Emma Garrison, James Garts, Otto Hilbert, Ryan Jardine, Ezra Kramer, Richard Lionberger, Colleen McCoy, Douglas McQuiston, Corinne Miller, Blain Myhre, Jennifer O’Connell, Robert Petrowsky, Gregory Rawlings, Dana Showalter, Marshall Snider, Elizabeth Tharakan, Dianne Van Voorhees, William Wenzel, Rachel Young.

2019–20 CHAIR: Elizabeth Tharakan 2019–20 DBA OFFICERS: Kevin McReynolds,

President; Daniel A. Sweetser, President-Elect; Mo Watson, Immediate Past President; Tyrone Glover, First Vice President; Justin L. Cohen, Second Vice President; Klaralee Charlton, Treasurer; Executive Director, Patrick Flaherty 2019–20 BOARD OF TRUSTEES: Josh Berry, Katy

Dunn, Arnulfo Hernandez, April Jones, Ruchi Kapoor, Noah Patterson, Sara Sharp, Mario Trimble, Lara Zarzecki, Matthew Broderick, Young Lawyers Division, Wendy Weigler, Diversity Bars Representative.

WRITE FOR THE DOCKET: DBA members are

encouraged to send story ideas, photos, tips, and articles for the Docket Committee’s consideration. We are looking for content by Denver attorneys for Denver attorneys, focusing on trends, courts and practice management, in addition to opinion and satire pieces. Please send ideas and member announcements to Editor Heather Folker at hfolker@cobar.org.

The editor has the right to accept and reject submissions at her discretion.

DBA YLD Members attended a kick-off happy hour for Metro Caring’s Roll Out the Barrels food and fund drive on May 30th. Roll Out the Barrels is an annual event in which YLD partners with Metro Caring and Colorado law firms to gather and donate food and funds to support Denver’s food insecure families. YLD members learned about the drive from Metro Caring’s Judith Ackerman while sampling tasty beers and snacks at First Draft Taproom and Kitchen. This year, Roll Out the Barrels, had 18 participating law firms and ran through July 12. Firms and individuals who did not participate in Roll Out the Barrels but still wish to contribute to Metro Caring’s important mission, can visit Metro Caring metrocaring.org or email Judith Ackerman at jackerman@metrocaring.org.

The DBA + CBA YLD rafting trip was a blast! Despite the highest water levels of the season and a little rain, 23 bar members took the ride down Clear Creek on Saturday, June 22 through class 3 and 4 rapids, and proved their mettle at “sea.”

303-860-1115 • denbar.org/Members/The-Docket

Copyright 2019. The Docket (ISSN 1084-7820) is published six times a year by the Denver Bar Association, 1290 Broadway, Suite 1700, Denver, CO 80203. All rights reserved.

The price of an annual subscription to members of the DBA ($15) is included in their dues as part of their membership. Periodicals postage paid at Denver, CO and additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER send address corrections to the Docket, Denver Bar Association, 1290 Broadway, Suite 1700, Denver, CO 80203.

Laszlo Illustration page 12 - Clair Smith

DBA YLD and The CBA Solo and Small Firm Section hosted a family picnic in Cheeseman Park on June 23. Despite unseasonably chilly temperatures, our group had fun with food, drinks, and games!

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THE BROADWAY MARKET | BY CRAIG ELEY & RICHARD LIONBERGER (PHOTOGRAPHY)

The Docket visited Broadway Market after work and found it to be bright and inviting, including a full bar and a beer wall with a broad array of styles and breweries represented.

In addition to the bar and beer wall, food and restaurant options at Broadway Market include: Biju’s Little Curry Shop — A classic Indian neighborhood curry shop with seasonal curries and wonderful samosas that the Docket enjoyed.

Pizzeria Coperta — Two styles of Roman pizza, pizza al taglio and Pizza Roma, and Roman street food.

Maria Empanada — Delicious handmade empanadas made by specially trained artisans. Maria Empanada and its owner and founder Lorena Cantarovici have been featured on the Food Network.

Miette et Chocolat — Chocolate confections, gifts, and other sweet snacks from co-owners Gonzo Jimenez and David Lewis.

Misaki on Broadway — Fresh sashimi, sushi and other Japanese cuisine, including an oyster bar from Chef Jesus Silva and Charlene and Robert Thai.

Mondo Mini — A curated selection of popular items from grocers Mondo Market, including cheese and charcuterie boards.

Mother Tongue — Ottoman-inspired street food, such as doner kebab from Daniel Asher and Josh Dinar.

Royal Rooster — Burgers and chicken sandwiches from Chef Junson Brunson.

Wonder — Juice and smoothies; and other healthy grab-and-go foods.

LOCATION 950 Broadway Denver, CO 80203 broadwaymarketdenver.com

FOOD • • • • • • • • •

Biju’s Little Curry Shop Pizzeria Coperta Pizzeria Maria Empanada Miette et Chocolat Misaki on Broadway Mondo Mini Mother Tongue Royal Rooster Wonder

GETTING A TABLE Open seating. Reservations not Required.

Photos from Left to Right 1. Chicken Sandwich from Royal Rooster.

2. Misaki on Broadway.

3. Docket Members enjoying each others company at the Bar Review.

4. People gathered at the full bar that also serves coffee and a great happy hour!

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TRAVEL | DRIVING THE NATCHEZ TRACE — A TRIP THROUGH HISTORY | BY DOUG MCQUISTON

In America, we tend to measure our history only back to 1776. But there are some places here, whether up in the high mountains of Colorado, the Dinosaur Canyons of Utah, or along the back roads in the Deep South, that remind us that our real history stretches back far longer. The Natchez Trace is such a place.

Recently, my wife and I decided to take a driving trip through the Deep South to see a part of our country we’d never been to. Starting in New Orleans (worth its own column — maybe another time …), we drove north along the Mississippi River, past several restored sugar cane Plantations, and up into Mississippi. Our destination was the journey itself — The Natchez Trace Parkway. We aimed to pick it up at the southern terminus, Natchez, Mississippi, and drive it north all the way to its northern end, Nashville, Tennessee. At 440 miles long, it used to take a month to traverse. We would do it in two days.

The Trace is unique in American history. It was laid out not by humans, but by bison. Thousands of years ago, North American Bison roamed the entire country from sea to sea, from

Alaska in the north to the Gulf of Mexico in the south. They formed huge herds, in uncounted millions, ranging the continent looking for grass, water, and salt.

In the South, these bison migrated along rivers with Choctaw names, like the Tennessee, the Yockanookany, the Tombigbee, and others, looking for tall grass and salt licks along the way. Their hooves wore a path along the ridges above these rivers for centuries, even before the Native Americans made their way south from the Siberian land bridge.

Over time, the natives who settled in this area followed the bison to hunt them. In fact, the Trace is home to one of the oldest known settlement sites, Bear Creek Village, which dates back to around 8,000 BC. The Bear Creek Mound is still (barely) visible along The Trace. Native people here evolved into two dominant tribes along the Trace: the Choctaw and the Chickasaw.

These tribes, and others throughout this part of the country, traded extensively with each other over the centuries before the arrival of the Europeans, using the Trace as their primary north-south route.

By the 1600s, these enterprising tribes were trading with some new trading partners — French and Spanish explorers and trappers. Later, American settlers pushed West. They followed The Trace, too, by now almost a road. It took its name from the French phrase the trappers used for “trail.”

Later still, farmers, miners, and others floated their goods on barges down the Ohio, Cumberland, and Mississippi to New Orleans for sale.

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Having no way to navigate upriver (steamboats had not yet made it that far south), these boatmen and traders sold their goods, and walked (or rode) home via The Trace. In 1800, the U.S. negotiated a lease of The Trace with the Choctaw and Chickasaw, and widened The Trace into a Post Road, 11 feet wide. The farmers and merchants used this improved new road, staying along the way in old inns, called “Stands.” It was in such a “Stand,” about 70 miles south of Nashville, that Merriweather Lewis (of the Lewis and Clark expedition) died of an apparent self-inflicted (or maybe not) gunshot wound in 1809.

The “modern” era of The Trace didn’t last long, though. Steamboats moved south. By the 1820’s the traders were comfortably riding back upriver on these steam-powered sternwheelers, taking days to cover what used to take a month or more on foot. By the early 1830’s, the Trace’s millennia-long history as a trading route came to an end. The Choctaw and Chickasaw were forcibly removed from Mississippi and Tennessee to Oklahoma by President Andrew Jackson. Much of the Trace was abandoned. The land around The Trace became the Land That Time Forgot.

A century later, a movement to set markers along what was by then known as “The Old Trace” developed into a full-fledged National Park Service effort in the 1930’s to create a new, paved road following the original route of The Trace. It was this road, completed in 1937, that we drove: The Trace Parkway, from Natchez to Nashville. We covered it at a leisurely pace (the speed limit on most stretches is 40, after all), and it still took just two days.

Starting with a trip to Emerald Mound (the site of another of the Mound People villages), just outside Natchez, we motored north. Picking up the entrance to The Trace Parkway, we veered off the Interstate, and quickly found ourselves slipping through a time warp. Looking around, we were the only car on The Trace on this early April morning. It felt like we had traveled back two centuries in that

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Other than a few hardy bicyclists (we had drenching rain along part of this early-Spring trip), our only companions were flocks of roadside wild turkeys, ducks, and the occasional deer and raccoon. It became easy to see why the Choctaw and Chickasaw loved this beautiful, sometimes swampy, heavily forested area so much, and how tragic it was that they were forcibly displaced. We wondered, as we navigated the curves and the rain, how different things might have been for all of us if our government at the time could have taken a different path.

her husband had both decided to leave “the big city” behind about eight years earlier. They were recruited to come to French Camp by her sister, who taught there. Our host ran the B&B and did other related tasks there. Her husband was an engineer and maintenance tech for the school. Seeing how happy she was in this peaceful, beautiful setting, I wondered for a moment if French Camp might need a lawyer (a faint hope, to be sure). But the road beckoned, so we said goodbye and headed back out on The Trace to complete our journey.

short quarter mile from the Interstate (glad we were able to get the car through that time warp!). The noise of civilization faded away, and all we were left with was the faint hiss of our tires piercing the otherwise complete quiet of The Trace.

Stopping often along the way, we saw the remnants of several of the old “Stands,” including a replica of the old “Grinder’s Stand,” where Merriweather Lewis met his end. At several locations, we saw signs marking “The Old Trace.”

At these stops, we were able to catch a glimpse of the original Post Road.

Millions of footsteps, both animal and human, over the years, had worn the soft ground down so far that the old road was almost 20 feet below the grade of the new one. We half expected to see the ghost of a weary traveler round the corner on horseback on the Sunken Trace.

Because the road and surrounding ground is all National Park land, we left development, gas stations, hotels, and other markers of civilization behind.

Wearied by our long drive (and a few hikes), and pondering how our predecessors managed to walk or ride horseback along the whole Trace, we stayed overnight in a restored Stand in central Mississippi about 900 feet off The Trace known as French Camp.

Unlike its more primitive cousins, French Camp Stand was a beautiful log home built around 1812 by a trapper named Louis LeFleur. It was expanded to two stories over the years, then fully restored. It is now a Bed and Breakfast, part of a large Christian private school and camp complex now called French Camp Academy. Arriving in the evening after dinner, we were the only guests.

We sat on the broad front porch and watched a few deer graze silently in a field across the wooden walkway.

Our Wild Turkey companions along The Trace

We awoke the next morning to the smell of fresh biscuits, bacon, eggs, grits, and coffee.

Our B&B manager had arrived early to cook us this classic Southern Breakfast.

Because we were the only guests, she visited with us, talking about what brought her to French Camp. She and

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From French Camp, we headed northeast, past Tupelo and Kosciusko, Mississippi (and yes, we pulled off briefly to see Elvis’ and Oprah’s birthplaces — how could we not?).

Further north and east, we entered the Tombigbee National Forest, crossing over the massive waterway known as the “Tenn-Tom,” the Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway. From there, we passed through Tishomingo State Park, across the northwest corner of Alabama, crossing over the Tennessee River and then on into Tennessee itself.

As we drove from Alabama into Tennessee, we passed the little town of Leiper’s Fork (home of the new, and already award-winning, Leiper’s Fork Distillery). Sadly, they are so new that their signature namesake whiskey (to be sold as both Bourbon and Tennessee whiskeys) is still safely tucked away in barrels to age for another few years. (Good excuse for another trip?) So we pressed on, ever north.

TRAVEL | DRIVING THE NATCHEZ TRACE — A TRIP THROUGH HISTORY CONTINUED

Close to the northern terminus, we crossed one of the most photographed landmarks of the Trace Parkway, the Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge. It’s a huge, graceful, double-arch concrete structure that runs almost 600 feet long, over 145 feet above Tennessee State Route 96. From there, it was just a short run to the northern terminus.

We pulled off the Trace, just in time for an early dinner at the worldfamous Loveless Café. Opened in 1951 as a diner, serving Annie Loveless’ signature fried chicken and biscuits to travelers along the highway, it grew into a motel (the tiny rooms have since been turned into shops and a small conference facility). They still

serve a half million guests a year, and their fried chicken and biscuits still draw diners from around the world (including us). Absolutely delicious, and pure South.

Although our subsequent adventures in Nashville were memorable, I’d have to say The Trace left its mark on us. I’ve driven roads wide and narrow, from coast to coast. I’ve even driven over narrow jeep trails along the Divide, and winding little mountain tracks on the Island of Crete. But I don’t think I have ever driven a road as historic, and (in its own way) beautiful as The Trace.

The history of the South is complex, disturbing, and harsh. But the

opportunity to see it much as it would have looked 200 years ago is not to be missed.

DOUG MCQUISTON is a Colorado lawyer, mediator and writer with over 37 years’ experience in litigation, alternative dispute resolution, law and technology, and law office management. He is currently a Mediator Panelist with Accord ADR Group, Boulder, Colorado (doug@ mediatelaw.com), and vice-Chair of the CBA ADR Section. He is a frequent contributor to the Denver Bar Association Docket and other publications.

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REFLECTIONS FROM THE OUTGOING CHAIR OF THE MVL BOARD | BY STEVE COOK

As I am finishing my term as chair of the MVL advisory board, I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge and thank the multitude of people who I have met and worked with in different capacities to help continue MVL’s role as the nationally recognized program that it has become. I will not provide names for fear that I will commit the unforgivable act of omitting someone. However, there are many individuals at the DBA and CBA who work tirelessly to provide much-needed support and direction to MVL. In fact, the presidents, board members, and executive directors of all of the supporting bar associations have stepped up this year in a renewed effort to refocus our programs and services and to help design a plan to reach more people.

The staff at MVL are invaluable as well, and provide the needed infrastructure and support to keep moving forward.

The advisory board members of MVL have generously increased their roles, providing guidance and support in the

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development of new programs, recruiting, and fundraising efforts. Finally, we have returning volunteer attorneys and new recruits who attend FLCP clinics, post-decree clinics, power of attorney clinics, and the Denver Indian Center Clinics, and take on full representation cases for MVL. We rely heavily upon the volunteers to make these efforts, as without them we could not function as an organization providing such services to those in need. Thank you for everything you do for MVL! At the same time, I would like to issue a challenge to all of us to really invest in performing pro bono legal activities.

I know that each of us probably does something that fits the definition of volunteering, and of course the amount of that volunteering seems to ride a wave where each of us has done more in some years than others due to family, work, and other commitments.

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But in terms of really providing pro bono legal representation, I challenge each of us to do better. We all have the accidental or unintentional pro bono cases when a client doesn’t pay the balance of their fee. This example/situation is not pro bono service that I am referring to.

Instead, we should recognize that we are called to service in the legal profession, as the Colorado Attorney Oath of Admission states in part: I will use my knowledge of the law for the betterment of society and the improvement of the legal system; I will never reject, from any consideration personal to myself, the cause of the defenseless or oppressed…

Providing pro bono legal services betters our society by providing access to justice that some individuals and families would not otherwise have. It allows us to take up the cause of the defenseless and oppressed and in turn may place us in situations where we do not usually

find ourselves. To me this is where real learning and growth occurs in each of us. Bryan Stevenson, lawyer and social justice activist, says that proximity to those in need teaches us basic and humbling truths, one being that the opposite of poverty is not wealth; the opposite of poverty is justice1.

In a recent case I was assigned through MVL, I was able to witness firsthand how having legal representation changed the course of a particular client’s life for the better. Prior to having counsel, she had tried to explain to the judge how her position differed from that of her brother’s as they both argued to be appointed as guardian for their elderly father. However, it seemed that she didn’t know the right words to say or when to say them, and she was confused by the speed of the proceedings. She had unwittingly dug herself into a hole and it seemed that she would not be able to make her way out.

For this client, it wasn’t about winning or losing, though we all know winning is

a sort of magic elixir. It was more about being in the conversation and having a seat at the table. It was about having her concerns heard and being respected for having a different point of view. There is an undeniable comfort one feels when walking into a courtroom represented by competent counsel. We helped organize her thoughts and positions into an understandable template, gaining respect of the court-appointed guardian ad litem and ultimately from the opposing attorney and the judge. This case was not overly complicated with legal arguments or factual analysis. Quite simply, it was about access.

By volunteering and serving MVL, you are providing access to justice to families and individuals who need protection, representation, and assistance in a myriad of situations. We presently have a need for attorneys to take full representation on over 200 cases. If you are interested in helping, please contact Ivonne Esparza by email at iesparza@denbar.org or by phone at 303-866-9307 .

Thank you to everyone who supports MVL, and in the next year, let us all try to give a little bit more to the cause.

NOTES Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption (New York, NY: Spiegel & Grau, 2015).

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STEVE COOK is the managing partner at Smith & Cook, LLC, a general litigation firm with an emphasis in Criminal Defense, Family Law and General Civil Litigation. Stephen is the Chairperson of MVL’s Advisory Board, volunteers at the Legal Clinic for the Women in Crisis Center with Family Tree, Inc. and is the Continuing Legal Education Chairperson for the 1st J.D. Bar Association.

Davis Award Nominations Sought Nominations are invited for the 2019 Richard Marden Davis Award to honor attorneys under the age of 40 who have demonstrated excellence as a lawyer and leadership in Denver’s civic, educational, and charitable activities.

For more in-formation visit dgslaw.com/who-we-are/davis-award

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ATTORNEY CURMUDGEON | LASZLO SCOFFLAW the Republicans, who have only one. And he’s the wrong one. Back when I was a boy, during the Truman Administration (now there was a President, I tell ya), my mother used to tell me, “In America, anyone can grow up to be President.”

Boy, has she been proven right. Judging from this slate, literally anyone can grow up to be President.

CS

Oh, yeah. Explaining what I would be subjecting you to in this little space. Of course, I am grossly under-challenged by writing for this little monthly magazine, The Docket, but it will have to do until The New Yorker decides to return my calls. Or lifts the Restraining Order, but we don’t need to get into that now.

So — remember how I warned you I’d be excoriating politicians? Here goes: We’re still in the “kickoff ” phase of “Presidential Campaign Season” and I’m already sick of it. How many candidates are there so far on the Democratic Party side? 100? And don’t get me started on

I’m surprised we haven’t had any injuries on the Democratic Party side, caused by candidates shoving, pushing, and tripping over each other trying to out “free stuff” their opponents. One of the candidates is just cutting to the chase and promising free cash — a grand a month, for life, to everyone! Why, the only good idea I have heard from any of them is that same guy’s promise to end Daylight Savings Time. (OK, so he earned my vote on that one.) Am I the only one trying to figure out how expensive all this “free” stuff will be?

And on the Republican side? Don’t get me started. I can’t even keep track of what That Guy plans to do in a second term — and I don’t think he can, either.

But if it happens and it’s good, he’ll take full credit, you can be sure. The sun rises?

He’ll tweet about it like he flipped the switch. And I think he’s decided he can run

the Executive Branch without a Cabinet, since it seems almost every Secretary is “acting.” If they call this “acting,” not sure I want to stay for the whole movie, if you catch my drift.

But don’t think old Laszlo is going to let you off easy. After all, your votes are what got us here, am I right? Last goaround, the Republican primary voters burned through 13 perfectly qualified, experienced hands, and selected a guy with no political experience, four bankruptcies and three marriages. Pure genius.

And the Democrats? Their only choice was between a Socialist die-hard who honeymooned with apparatchiks in the former Soviet Union, and a candidate who made that Commie seem likable by comparison. They took the whole primary season, then picked the only person in America who could have lost to the GOP pick.

So, what have we all decided to do this time? Double down. Sure — why not?

Let’s dial up the crazy to 11 and let ’er rip. Well, pilgrims — saddle up and dig in, ’cause it’s going to get rough.

Send complaints and praise to the editor.

Laszlo Scofflaw

Dear Mr. Scofflaw — I like the new look of The Docket. Congratulations! And I like the content. It does better reflect our lawyer lives. See the following: I read your screed on page 11 of the paper June/July 2019 Docket. I so understand your pain. One cannot change one’s baby name, no matter what they tell you at age 13 (or age 58).

Laszlo (may I call you “Laszlo”?)….

I was told often in my adult life that I could chose whatever name I wanted and make it happen just through usage. So I tried - late in my lawyer life, I admit - in 2005 – 2007 to change my name from “ John “ [so boring] to “ Jack “ [so exciting].

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It worked everywhere pretty much (e.g. clients, law firm partners, long suffering spouse) but NOT with the Denver Bar Association, where I was then chair of the Professionalism Coordinating Council.

Mark Fogg, then the president of the Denver Bar, proceeded invariably to call me “John/Jack” whenever we were together in large groups including at Board of Trustees meetings. Sigh. So it and I became the object of inquiry: is he insecure?

Does he lack substance? Where did the other “John” Ecksteins go wrong? Is this “professional”? Alas and so it did not stick.

After two long years I could not take the push back and so I dropped the attempt

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in 2008 (although plenty of wonderful, understanding and sensitive folks still call me “Jack”).

I am now still known as John with about ¾ of my business acquaintances, except I am now called “John/Jack/John” by Mr. Fogg [and others around the bar association offices who do not know any better].

Yes, indeed, as you wrote: “There must be a better way.” Still!

Sincerely, John / Jack / John “Eckstein” Director and Attorney Fairfield and Woods, P.C.

MEMOIRS OF AN ADJUNCT | BY ELIZABETH THARAKAN

hat do you get when you combine an energetic young lawyer, the Socratic method of constantly asking questions, and 23 communications students? In the University of Denver’s Department of Media, Film, and Journalism Studies, you get the Media Law class that I was hired to teach this winter quarter.

I’d never before served as an Adjunct Professor. For this role, I felt the need to have a commanding presence. Since I could easily pass for a student, I tried to assert my authority by wearing a black suit with a blazer and my highest, pointiest heels on the first day of class.

I began the session by handing these college students a pop quiz, which asked questions such as “Define certiorari and stare decisis,” “What is the highest law of the land, who interprets it, and which 1803 case established this power?” and “Is America a democracy?” I was pleasantly surprised to discover that most of my

class had picked up the answers to these trick questions in high school civics class.

Over the course of the semester, I taught out of Trager’s The Law of Journalism and Mass Communication. We covered the topics of the First Amendment, free speech and free press, defamation, copyright, reporter’s privilege, and invasion of privacy torts. I sent them relevant articles from The New York Times, discussing the Supreme Court confirmation hearings of Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Congress’s “nuclear” option invoked specifically to confirm our own beloved Coloradan, Justice Neil Gorsuch.

I administered to these students detailed exams consisting of 20 multiple-choice questions and a long essay that required students to spot issues from a complex hypothetical fact pattern and separate these issues out using the IRAC (issue, rule, analysis, conclusion) method of explanation. When we reviewed the exams, I implemented a policy of letting students argue for returned points if they felt the questions were too vague or unfair in some other way — provided that these students made their arguments in front of

the entire class and convinced me. Finally, I had them partner up and present “May It Please the Court” assignments, explanations of highly relevant Supreme Court cases and arguments contained in visually stimulating PowerPoint presentations.

On the last day of class, I explained to students why I used the Socratic method, a classic in law school. Constantly cold-calling on students by asking them questions required every student to do the reading and participate, rather than allowing the hand-raisers to dominate the class and bore the rest of the students. I recounted the story of Socrates annoying his students like a “gadfly” in the Greek open-air marketplace, or the “agora.” The ultimate philosopher-king faced charges of corrupting the youth and was sentenced to drink hemlock poison. I thanked my students for not condemning me to the same fate.

ELIZABETH THARAKAN is an attorney, journalist and adjunct professor of media law. She is also a sunset mountain jogger, amateur chef and true friend.

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2019–20 DBA Young Lawyers Division Chair Matthew Broderick

| BY SUSANNA SPEIER

Matthew and his Family

“It’s difficult for young attorneys to gain meaningful courtroom experience,” explains Matthew Broderick, the new Chair of the Denver Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, “because somewhere around 90 to 95 percent of civil cases resolve before trial.” He has found a patch of shade at the top of the marble staircase leading to the Bannock Street entrance of the Denver City and County Courthouse.

Framed by the concave band of vertical office windows girding the exterior periphery, the thoughtful, fresh-faced associate of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP’s (GRSM) Denver office says that only a few of the cases he has worked on ended up going inside of the building. Most of the cases he works on never pass through its ionic columns. They end up settling to avoid the time and expense of trial.

Undeterred by the pre-Fourth of July heat and undistracted by the din of Civic Center Park’s makeshift stage and sound checks, Broderick finds a stylobate in front of tall bronze doors hosting twin Dickensian lion heads in their center frames to

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sit down and discuss life, work, and his hopes for the Young Lawyers Division.

After a couple swigs of water, Broderick says he looks forward to spending the holiday weekend with his family. As usual, he is headed northbound to his hometown, Loveland, Colorado, to cook out, listen to familiar stories, and enjoy celebratory fireworks after tucking in his children and reading them stories. His son’s favorite, “Paw Patrol,” is from the Nickelodeon series of the same name, and his daughter loves “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See.” “I deal with a lot of death,” he reflects, setting the water bottle aside. “A good number of my cases are wrongful death.

It can be challenging. But it helps me appreciate the time I get with my family. The time I get with my parents.” He explains how the residents or patients involved in his cases often have terminal and complicated illnesses. Some diseases, as he’s learned, can be outright terrible.

“I had no idea how dangerous diabetes was until I started focusing my practice

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on medical and healthcare litigation.”

He also discusses the difficulties stroke victims or dementia patients face, and how such diseases are difficult to anticipate. He talks about how anyone could end up losing a family member to these diseases, which creates “an incentive to enjoy life, now.”

Enjoying life means spending time in nature as well as with family. Ideally simultaneously. He and his wife, also a busy professional working in supply chain management for a large company, make an active point to take the kids camping, hiking, and exploring outdoors as frequently as possible. At the Bar Associations’ recent event celebrating 50-year members, Broderick recalls one attorney’s response to the often-asked work/life balance question. Her response to, “How do you balance work with life,” was, “You don’t. You just put one foot in front of the other and keep going.” This rang true to Broderick. He regards it as the most honest answer to the work/life balance question he’s heard since he started practicing.

“Saturday, we’ll go to the zoo. Once we wrap up, I’ll sneak into the office for a few hours. On Sunday, we’ll zip up to visit the parents. When there’s time, you crack out the laptop.” Perhaps the term shouldn’t even be work/life balance, he muses, but should be work/life integration because a typical weekend means you take advantage of one or the other whenever you can.

For his work life, Broderick recalls a summer internship following his first year of law school that put him inside a courthouse for a two-week trial that changed his career focus. Unaccustomed to medical malpractice cases at the time, Broderick was captivated by a lower leg compartment syndrome case. The case had ended the snowboarding career of an Olympic athlete, and put a surgeon on trial for allegedly not diagnosing its severity in time to save the athlete’s leg.

By the time the surgeon was found not liable, Broderick had found his bona fide passion. To be clear, the firm Broderick was interning for was representing the plaintiff and not the defendant. Following what he describes as an “adrenaline-fueled thrill for two weeks straight,” the experience had been life changing, regardless of the outcome.

“Even though we lost and it was really hard on the client, and everyone was exhausted, I kept thinking ‘this is what I want to do — I want to be in trial doing medical malpractice cases.’” Taking ownership of his new passion, the then University of Denver Sturm College of Law student returned to school for a second year, got involved with mock trial events, and continually gravitated toward the defense side.

“You’re going to sue nurses?” his mom’s best friend — who is also a practicing nurse — asked upon learning of his decision to pursue a career in medical malpractice.

“No, I’m going to defend them.”

“Good. Good,” responded his mom’s best friend.

The cases that end up in the civil courtroom are not limited to nursing or to malpractice. Broderick discussed his all-time favorite client, Virginia Allrunner, a defendant in a personal injury case, as one of the few instances where he got to try a case in open court. Allrunner had been involved in a low-speed, rear-end car accident. The plaintiff had alleged “soft tissue neck and upper back” injuries after Allrunner’s car bumped into the plaintiff’s car at an intersection. Allrunner moved forward after being at a complete stop — mistakenly thinking the light had turned green — and hit the plaintiff’s car at about five miles per hour.

Broderick, who worked at Senter Goldfarb & Rice, LLC at the time, described how it helped the case that there was no visible damage to the plaintiff’s car, and how the plaintiff posted photographs of herself dancing at a rock show just a few weeks after the incident. There were “lots of pictures over the course of that Facebook summer where [the plaintiff ] was having fun and dancing and it didn’t seem like she was seriously injured because she was having such a great summer,” Broderick explains. But he believed the most powerful weapon of the defense was Allrunner herself.

Describing Allrunner as a “sweet woman in her 80s,” Broderick said that she made his job easy. “The jury loved her.

She was so sweet and credible. At that age she just said what she knew.” An activist for the Native American community, she was a talented public speaker who did not appear even slightly nervous.

“At one point she made a joke about having a metal bumper, and the entire jury laughed. I knew we were in good shape at that point.”

It was Broderick’s first jury trial. Because of some unexpected circumstances, the partner on the case was unable to attend trial and Broderick was thrust into first chair. Fortunately, another partner, Billy-George Hertzke, stepped in to assist, but Broderick “got to do a lot of the trial — opening, closing, examining the plaintiff, our expert, and the fact witnesses.” It was a great first trial to have because, “With Virginia I realized if I just get out of the way and let my client shine, we might win. It wasn’t about me, it’s about her. If I try to get clever or something, I would mess it up.”

All told, this was a “very low value case,” he explains. But it was important to the plaintiff and it was important to Allrunner. In turn, this meant the case was important to Broderick, especially because it was his first defense verdict.

“When we won, I turned to her and said, ‘Mrs. Allrunner, we won!’ She turned to me and said, ‘We did? That’s wonderful!’”

Broderick hopes to spend his year as Chair of the DBA YLD encouraging and promoting meaningful courtroom experiences for young attorneys in the Denver Metro area. “It doesn’t have to be just trial. It could be a discovery dispute hearing, or a jurisdictional motion hearing, or even arguing over ex parte meetings with treating professionals at a case management conference.” Broderick explains, “We are a decade or so away from a large contingent of seasoned litigators leaving the practice. And they will take with them more trial experience than most young attorneys can ever expect to gain.

So, the next generation of attorneys need to find ways to get there.” Finishing the interview while walking down the steps of the Denver City and County Courthouse gives Broderick the opportunity to turn around and look back at the neoclassical fortress. Like the ever-elusive prize of a civil jury trial, it must seem impenetrable at points. Broderick clearly has every intention of getting back into the courtroom, and he hopes he’ll meet other young attorneys there.

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As he slowly opened his eyes, he tried to take in his surroundings, but he was pretty sure he had a concussion. Everything was green. Just as he was about to try to sit up someone jumped on him and put a hand over his mouth. He panicked and struggled to break free. “Don’t move,” said Mazey, “it’s me. We’re in danger.”

As Wylie’s vision cleared, he finally registered where they were. In the middle of a jungle. He turned to Mazey. “What happened? And where the hell are we?”

“I have no idea. I woke up a few minutes before you, and all I could see was Oscar and Logan being carried away in that direction with their hands tied around logs by people in wolfskin cloaks,” Mazey replied, while pointing in the direction their friends had been taken.

“I hid beneath the roots of a tree until it was safe to try to find you. I don’t know where they went, but we need to move before they come back.”

Wylie’s brain was still not operating at full capacity, but the fear in Mazey’s eyes was unmistakable. He followed her through the jungle, moving as slowly and quietly as possible, in the direction she had pointed earlier.

“Uh, Mazey, why are you taking us in the same direction as the crazy guys in wolf pelts?” She waved away Wylie’s question as they approached a clearing in the trees. It had obviously been cleared by human hands, and it appeared to be the site of some kind of strange ritual.

There were hundreds of tribal natives of this place, wherever they were, standing in a circle around Logan, who was still tied to a giant log by his hands and feet.

The log stood upright in the middle of the clearing, while the surrounding natives chanted in a language neither Wylie nor Mazey could understand.

Wylie had been a bit of a reptile enthusiast as a kid. So although he had only ever seen a snake longer than a couple feet in

videos or in books, he knew exactly what he was looking at when the anaconda silently slithered past the place where he and Mazey were hiding. He tugged on Mazey’s sleeve, and she turned just as the massive snake gave the two of them a look like they had stumbled upon something that they were definitely not supposed to see.

As the creature continued on its path toward the clearing, the ground started to tremble and the air began to hum. Wylie and Mazey turned and refocused their gaze on the circle of natives, who had begun to stomp their feet in rhythm and hum an eerie melody.

The serpent had made its way past the ring of natives and was circling the log to which Logan was tied. Each circle a little bit tighter than the last, as the anaconda narrowed the space between itself and Logan.

The natives reached a fever pitch, they were stomping their feet at a frenzied pace, their hums turning into yelps and screams, and they began to clap along to a beat known only by them. The snake circled faster, keeping pace with the commotion. It was closing in on Logan when Wylie began to stand up. “I have to do something. I can’t just sit here and cower behind a tree while we watch him die.”

He was about to break from their hiding spot when Mazey grabbed his arm and pulled him down. “Look!”

“What the hell?!” Wylie was shellshocked.

“Hang on,” said Wylie, “where’s Oscar?”

In all the commotion of the tribe, the clearing, and the enormous anaconda that had passed just feet from their hiding spot, neither Mazey nor Wylie had noticed that the only person in the center of the clearing was Logan. Oscar was nowhere to be seen.

“He’s not there. You don’t think he’s —,” Mazey couldn’t finish her sentence.

Couldn’t put words to the thought that their hair-brained scheme to steal from Oscar had somehow resulted in his bizarre, grizzly death.

As the chanting and stomping became more rapid and frenzied, Wylie knew that they couldn’t worry about Oscar at the moment. “I’m sure he’s fine, probably being kept somewhere else. We need to figure out a way to save Logan. Because this looks a whole lot like some kind of human sacrifice.”

From the opposite edge of the clearing, Oscar strolled right through the outer line of the tribal circle. No bindings. Nothing at all that would hint at his imprisonment.

He consulted with one of the natives, who appeared to be a high-ranking female, and his face twisted in rage and disappointment.

Oscar made his way toward Logan, casually stepping over the snake on his way. When he reached the log in the center, all of the noise abruptly stopped.

Not just the circle of tribesmen. Even the animals in the trees and on the ground grew silent. The forest itself seemed to be under his spell. He paused a moment, sniffed the air, and turned to the tribal woman he had spoken to before. “Well, Myrina, perhaps you won’t have to be punished after all.”

Wylie and Mazey looked at each other in confusion.

Oscar continued, “Wylie, Mazey, welcome to the Amazon rainforest, why don’t you join us?”

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COLAP WELL-BEING CORNER | BY JENNIFER PLACE

Eating your way to a better mood Today, there is increasing awareness about the relationship between what we eat and our physical health. Media and cultural influences constantly remind us of the ravages of obesity, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. However, most people are unaware that mood and mental health are equally impacted by the foods and beverages we consume. To better understand this dynamic relationship, it is important to re-visit a (not so) basic component of biology.

and mood. Too little serotonin is present in cases of depression and anxiety disorder, in particular obsessive-compulsive disorder. Low serotonin levels can disrupt sleep and cause intense cravings for carbohydrates.

Digestion The process of digestion involves the utilization of mechanical and chemical mechanisms to break down foods into nutrients that the body can use for essential functions. Equate this process to knocking down a skyscraper in order to obtain the materials necessary for building new structures. The largest materials (macronutrients) resulting from this process include proteins.

• Norepinephrine (noradrenalin) helps to regulate appetite and alertness.

Low levels have been associated with depression and lack of motivation, while excessive norepinephrine can cause intense anxiety, stress, insomnia, and even psychosis.

Once proteins are broken apart into amino acids, the body uses smaller micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals to synthesize amino acids into chemicals called neurotransmitters. These chemicals act like messengers in the brain, telling us to be happy, sad, calm, excited, etc.

Neurotransmitters are easily impacted by an imbalanced diet, dehydration, and excess sugar.

• GABA (gamma-amino butyric acid) is known to inhibit anxiety and excitation.

Too little GABA is associated with anxiety disorders and sleep problems.

• Endorphins promote feelings of contentment and pleasure; they are also involved in pain relief. Chronic pain as well as extended opioid use can deplete the natural production of endorphins, perpetuating a need for additional consumption of pharmaceutical sources.

• Acetylcholine regulates voluntary movement, sleep, memory, and learning. Too much acetylcholine is related to depression and too little is associated with dementia.

With sufficient supplies of neurotransmitters, individuals demonstrate increased capacity for mood regulation.

When neurotransmitter supply is deficient, individuals often experience feelings of distress and look for a “quick fix” (i.e., sugar, caffeine) to improve mood.

Neurotransmitter imbalance can occur due to stress, metal toxicity, hormone imbalances, drugs, alcohol, and genetics.

• Serotonin helps to regulate appetite, sleep, impulsive behavior, aggression,

The Sugar Factor Another diet-related issue that inter-

Important neurotransmitters, and how they impact our mood, are described here:

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• Dopamine helps to regulate learning, focus, and movement. Excessive levels of dopamine are present in patients with schizophrenia. Too little dopamine is associated with depression.

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feres with mood is having too much or too little sugar available in the brain. Sugars from carbohydrates elevate serotonin levels, but if released into the blood stream quickly (simple sugars), serotonin and blood sugar levels will drop quickly as well. This yo-yo effect perpetuates sugar cravings and can also lead to medical disorders such as metabolic syndrome and diabetes.

Low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, can produce symptoms often confused with anxiety and mania. Each of these conditions can include feelings of nervousness, irritability, decreased concentration, light-headedness, increased heart rate, palpitations, and angry outbursts. A correlation has also been found between low blood sugar and the occurrence of panic attacks.

Bio-individuality Books and fads purporting a specific diet as the “golden ticket to health” are misleading. Whether it be ketogenic, paleo, fat-free, carb-free, or sugar-free, there seems to be an endless amount of “all or nothing” pathways to improved health. A blanket recommendation to follow one specific “diet” is irresponsible.

Your physiological uniqueness is like a fingerprint and cannot be generalized to a body shape, blood type, or age bracket. Nutritional needs vary and depend on genetics, hormone levels, exercise and lifestyle habits, sun exposure, age, health status, body composition, food sensitivities and allergies, medications, and several other factors.

Despite the bio-individuality factor, several recommendations can be made and followed to improve the likelihood of maximizing mental health through diet.

Consider the following:

1. Get your aminos People who want to improve their mood should consume a diet that provides a variety of protein sources including whole grains, vegetables, soy, lean meats, and dairy (as tolerated). This will provide the body and brain with ample building materials to synthesize necessary neurotransmitters. Most medications aimed at treating mental health issues (i.e., selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors for depression) do not provide the neurotransmitter itself; they mediate the action of the neurotransmitter in some way. Therefore, your body must already have a supply of the neurotransmitter for the medication to work.

2. Stay hydrated A minimum of eight, 8-ounce glasses of water a day can provide your body with the hydrated environment to facilitate cellular function. Studies suggest that 10-12 glasses are optimal, providing the most benefit for mood, energy, and sleep.

3. Stabilize blood sugar The best dietary controls of blood sugar levels are consuming small meals/snacks every 2-3 hours throughout the day that are a mixture of complex carbohydrates, fiber, and fat; and avoiding simple sugars, alcohol, and fruit juice.

4. Reduce inflammation While inflammation is a natural response to tissue injury and also to stress, chronic inflammation in the body is a hallmark of many cancers and is linked to cardiovascular disease, depression, psychosis, memory loss, and additional neurological, immunological and gastro-intestinal illnesses. While there are environmental sources of inflammation, such as air pollution, the main endogenous source of inflammation is food.

Sugar, artificial ingredients (dyes, preservatives, sweeteners, etc.), and saturated/ hydrogenated fats are inflammatory.

Avoiding these irritants and consuming foods with anti-inflammatory compounds (turmeric, ginger, dark chocolate, berries, fish, leafy greens, etc.) can help reduce inflammation.

5. Keep your food choices simple Eat whole, unprocessed foods, loading-up on the rainbow of fruits and vegetables available this time of year and choosing organically grown produce when able. If you consume animal products, remember they are subject to the same endogenous and exogenous sources of stress, inflammation, and illness, which will impact the health of their bodies, eggs, and/or milk.

6. See a knowledgeable healthcare provider Most healthcare practitioners admit receiving a minimal amount of training in nutrition in their formal education. Seek a provider who has training in integrative, functional, and/or nutritional medicine and who recognizes your bio-individual-

ity. This provider can assess for hormonal imbalances, dietary deficiencies, and other biomarkers of health concerns. Be sure to discuss all symptoms, medications, and concerns with him or her, and don’t be afraid to ask questions.

JENNIFER PLACE, MA is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Licensed Addictions Counselor who obtained a certificate as a Nutrition Consultant from the Global College of Natural Medicine in 2008. She has campaigned about the intersectionality of diet and mental health for over a decade, experiencing its value in both clinical and educational settings.

You can contact Jennifer by email: jennifer.place@ucdenver.edu.

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IN THEIR OWN WORDS : THE WINNERS OF THE 2019 DBA AWARDS

The annual DBA Awards recognize outstanding attorneys and legal programs in the Denver area. Each award winner was nominated by peers as an example of the very best our legal community has to offer.

The DBA congratulates the winners and nominees, and thanks everyone who took time to submit a nomination.

Award of Merit: Janet Drake For me, happiness and success grow through relationships. My bar association friendships provided me wonderful opportunities to participate on committees and boards and helped me develop leadership skills that enhance my work every day. I also learned to value diversity, inclusion, teamwork, and collaboration. I hope that I am bringing those values forward in my new role as the Deputy Attorney General for the Criminal Justice Section.

The DBA has been an invaluable pillar in our legal community for many, many years, assisting and supporting the bench and attorneys. The DBA has played a vital role in my legal career: my involvement in the Bench Bar Committee helps me connect the bench and the bar; my involvement in the Denver Access to Justice Committee helps ensure fair and equal access for all in Denver County Court. I am honored and humbled to be chosen for this award.

Thank you to everyone in Denver County Court; it is because of you that I am receiving this award.

Thanks to the DBA for this honor and for everything that you do for the Denver legal community.

Hon. Elizabeth Starrs

Re-engaging with the DBA through the Board of Trustees made all the difference. I met some of my best friends through bar associations. Work can be hard, and careers change over time. The encouragement I receive from friends is invaluable.

Those friendships support me and help me act with courage.

Judicial Excellence Hon. Beth Faragher

I am honored and humbled to receive the Judicial Excellence Award. To receive such praise from an organization I so deeply respect is very meaningful. Who would have thought that I, a McDonald’s manager with a degree in theater, not knowing what to do with her life, would become not only a lawyer but one day but a judge!

The importance of the DBA in my career path cannot be stressed enough. The DBA’s constant support has helped me be a better lawyer and now a judge! I have always believed in the power of the DBA, having been its president more than 15 years ago. I am truly grateful for this very special award.

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Volunteer Lawyer of the Year: Shalyn Kettering I am humbled and profoundly grateful to receive the DBA’s Volunteer Lawyer of the Year Award. It is deeply meaningful that the DBA has recognized my community service, and I hope this award will help elevate the stories of the individuals I have been privileged to work with.

Outstanding Program: LYRIC (Learn Your Rights in Colorado): Michael Juba and Hannah Seigel Proff It is a great honor to receive the DBA’s Outstanding Program of the Year Award. We founded Learn your Rights in Colorado (LYRIC) nine years ago, and now it reaches thousands of children a year statewide. LYRIC’s goal is to teach Colorado youth how to safely and effectively assert their constitutional rights during police contacts.

I am proud to call Denver home. Here, more than anywhere else I have lived, it has been easy to become involved in the causes and organizations that I care most passionately about, enabling me to connect with other Denverites who believe in the transformative power of community service. Thank you to the Denver legal community; this honor will encourage me to continue my lifelong commitment to community engagement.

Education in the Legal System: Tribal Wills Program, Professor Lucy Marsh Thank you! I am delighted to accept this award on behalf of the many dedicated law students and volunteer attorneys who have made the Tribal Wills Program such a success.

At the invitation of the tribe or nation involved, we have provided free wills, medical powers of attorney, living wills, and memorial instructions for tribal members in Colorado, Arizona, California, Montana, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Utah. On every trip we have learned about other traditions and cultures. We have always been impressed by the kindness, friendliness, and helpfulness of the tribal members with whom we have worked.

THANK YOU for this award — and for supporting Tribal Wills!

We are committed to giving back to the community.

LYRIC is a 100% volunteer-run organization. We rely on our board of directors and the 30 attorneys and law students who teach our curriculum in high school classrooms and after-school programs across Colorado, so we share this award with the entire LYRIC community. We are eager to continue expanding so we can reach even more students with our vital message of empowerment.

For more information about LYRIC, please visit lyricolorado.org.

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THE LAUNCH OF FLYING CARS | BY JENNIFER O’CONNELL

get an email with the boarding pass, a chauffeured escort to the local launch pad, and you and your four closest jet-set pals are off to the races. Just travel light, because anything larger than a carry-on will cost extra.

But wait! There’s more! Before Uber Copter was a mere twinkle in its mother’s eye, the birthers of rideshare had already begun the gestation

With baby steps using the regular helicopters of old, Uber Copter begins service in New York City on July 9. This exclusive taxi service cuts the hour-plus commute from NYC to JFK down to a mere eight minutes, thirty max, and does so at a rate of $200-250 per person. If you’ve ever rushed from the city to the airport in a taxi, you know that’s not far off the mark. If you’re a high-falutin Uber Black patron, you’re already paying $200 as it is.

Flying in Dallas next, these copter services will be booked through the app just like a trip to the bar. You’ll

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period for Uber Elevate and Uber Air. Finally, our flying cars have arrived.

The idea is a full-scale drone-like vehicle with vertical take-off and landing capabilities and a plush, luxurious interior. These pups will hop from “skyport to skyport,” according to the company’s website, and take a twohour trip from San Fran to San Jose in 15 minutes.

The skyports, Uber boasts, were the brain children of “the top names in architecture, design, and engineering,” and they had better be since they are multi-acre concepts that must somehow fit in the densest sectors of the country. The key is convenience: The launchpad locations can’t require an additional 30-minute ride for boarding alone.

With the goal of these ports-of-app having capacity for up to 1,000 landings daily, you’d need the best minds in the biz and a healthy body of local lobbyists before breaking ground.

hippies who believe the hoax of climate change is a real thing, scientists and engineers from Silicon Valley, MIT, Brazil, and even Slovenia have been a part of developing as much of an electric-based, gas-free program as their techie brains can dream.

You may be asking yourself — as the space nerd inside me did — who would trust such a venture if the folks who put men on the moon weren’t also on board. Not to worry, Uber has your back. They actually recruited a former NASA engineer to develop the technology based on his 32 years catapulting things into space. The literal rocket scientist and his team even took into account things like design simplicity and noise footprint, which is vital for those local government stick-in-the-muds they will assuredly meet in the city-council prize-fight ring. And for those tree-hugging

I don’t know about you, but an eight-minute hop to DIA, or a hover-flight over the I-25 gridlock at any hour, sounds amazing! Sign me up … as long as we can put it on the company card, am I right?

So, when do we get our first non-virtual-reality experience of full-on Jetson life? Pretty darn soon! Demo flights are projected for next year! And the full rollout is set to begin in 2023 in L.A. and Dallas-Fort Worth.

JENNIFER O’CONNELL is a managing partner of Queener Law in Denver, representing personal injury clients involved in automobile, motorcycle, bicycle, and truck accidents.”

BAR RESOURCES

THE DBA PEER PROFESSIONALISM ASSISTANCE COMMITTEE Are you troubled by rude and unprofessional attorneys? Call Peer Professional Assistance for FREE one-on-one intervention. PPA has been sponsored by the Denver Bar Association since 1994. Call 303-8601115, ext. 1, for more information. All inquiries are confidential.

SOLACE

SOLACE (Support of Lawyers/Legal Personnel — All Concern Encouraged) is a program of the Colorado Bar Association designed to assist those

in the Colorado legal community who have experienced some significant, potentially life-changing event in their lives. The sole purpose of the SOLACE program is to allow the legal community to reach out in meaningful and compassionate ways to judges, lawyers, court personnel, paralegals, legal secretaries and their families who experience deaths or other catastrophic illnesses, sickness or injury.

For more information on SOLACE visit cobar.org/solace.

DBA PLACEMENT SERVICE

ment Service provides law firms and legal departments of corporations with well-qualified applicants. Its quality approach to cost-effective staffing has made the DBA Placement Service a favorite of the legal community since 1986. It provides temporary, temp-to-hire and full-time employment opportunities for secretaries, paralegals, receptionists, accountants, administrators and office assistants.

Contact Mev Parsons or Amy Sreenen at 303-894-0014 or email dbaps@earthlink.net

As a membership service of the Denver Bar Association, the Place-

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This March I had the luck and the privilege of competing in the Masters World Cup Nordic ski races in Norway.

It was a series of age-group races over a six-day period at a real World Cup venue in Beitostølen, a village three hours north of Oslo that reminded me of what Aspen once was. The races were fun but extremely challenging. The mountains were beautiful and provided lots of long climbs, fast descents, and tricky turns. Although I did well for an American, I spent a lot of time on the course looking at the backs of the Norwegians, Swedes, and Finns.

Those of us who compete in any type o f e n d u ra n c e event, whether it is cycling, trail running, or marathons, know there is a lot more to it than just showing up at the start line waiting for the gun to go off. There is a long period of preparation or training, and there is the necessity of planning.

It recently occurred to me that preparing and competing for events like this is similar to the preparation and process of mediating a case.

1. There is no way to compete or mediate without planning and preparation. In order to effectively mediate, one must obviously prepare by knowing the case and the client’s goals. For lawyers, it is important to plan how you are going to present the case to the mediator so that the mediator has a correct and clear message to present to the other side. As a mediator, I am usually impressed with how well lawyers I work with know the law and facts of their cases. Yet sometimes even the best lawyers fail to convey a clear message through the mediator to the other side. Like preparing advance strategy for a race where you plan when to ease up and when to go hard, planning and timing a clear message for a mediator to deliver to the other side can help the case go forward toward settlement.

2. When I recall trying to reach the top of a long hill on a 10 kilometer course, it occurs to me that like racing, mediation is not a sprint but an endurance

event. Sometimes it gets tiring and often it requires conscious pacing. When we enter mediation, we are in it for the long run. It is not a process where we walk in and say, here’s our position, take it or leave it. Rather, it is a process where everyone gives and takes at a manageable pace.

3. In any competition or mediation, there are always low points where everyone feels they’ll never finish.

This is where the right mindset enters the picture.

Someone trying to complete a long race needs to break it down into manageable parts and just try to make it from point A to point B. Those engaged in mediation also may need to just get to one small point, then another, and then yet another where the end is in sight and the success of finishing does not seem so overwhelming.

4. Technique is important. Even during the hard parts, one tries to maintain form. In the case of mediation, try to keep your cool, maintain your professionalism and don’t pass the feed zone. Seriously, don’t allow yourself or your client to get thirsty or hungry. Take adequate breaks. Get lunch and stay hydrated. It does make a difference in mediation.

5. In masters racing, there really are no winners and losers. We all get out there to learn something about ourselves and others. In mediation, sometimes cases do not settle. But mediation always presents the opportunity to learn something about ourselves, our clients, and our opponents. Even though a case may not settle as we had hoped, we still learn from the experience.

6. Competition is really hard. Mediating is really hard. That is why we do it, and that is what we train and prepare for. We would not be there if it were really easy. Just as some of us race long distances on hard courses because we embrace the challenge, some of us mediate because we enjoy the hard work of settling cases and the sense of accomplishment that follows a successful settlement.

One final thought. Sometimes after a long race, I ask myself whether I left anything out there. Did I try my hardest? Could I have done any more? When we finish a mediation, either as a lawyer or a mediator, we should ask ourselves the same questions.

KENNETH PLOTZ served as a district judge and chief judge in the 11th Judicial District for 16 years. After that he moved to Denver and mediates a wide range of cases with Agren Blando/Conflict Resolution Services.

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10 QUESTIONS | ASHLEE ARCILLA

seeing all it had to offer. I love traveling and exploring new places, cuisine, and cultures, especially if there’s a beach nearby!

ARE YOU CURRENTLY BINGE WATCHING ANY SHOWS? I am making my way through Season 3 of Stranger Things and waiting to watch the last season of The Americans.

HOW DO YOU DE-STRESS? It used to be watching Netflix and eating dinner at home with my husband, Jun. Now that we have an infant daughter, naps with the family (which have been few and far between) and taking walks to the park have climbed to the top of the list.

Ashlee Arcilla Serves as the Deputy Director for the Office of Respondent Parents’ Counsel (ORPC), and recent graduate of the CBA’s Leadership Training Program (COBALT.) WHERE DID YOU GO TO LAW SCHOOL AND WHERE ARE YOU CURRENTLY WORKING? I went to law school at the University of Colorado (go Buffs!).

I am now the Deputy Director for a new state agency in Colorado called the Office of Respondent Parents’ Counsel (ORPC).

The ORPC is committed to preserving family relationships and helping children reunify safely with their parents by providing high-quality, family defense attorneys to represent indigent parents in dependency proceedings.

WHY DID YOU BECOME A LAWYER? I went to law school to obtain a degree that would allow me to pursue child welfare law system reform. I worked for the foster care system in Arizona part time while getting my undergraduate degree and felt disheartened by the inadequate resources and information for parents and children.

WHAT’S THE BEST ADVICE YOU’VE EVER BEEN GIVEN? A recent presenter and executive coach through the CBA’s COBALT program said that he writes the letters “SU” on his note pad before sitting down for a meeting. The letters stand for “shut up.” He uses this as a reminder to do less talking and more listening during meetings, but I think this is just great advice for life.

WHERE ARE YOUR FAVORITE PLACES TO TRAVEL? I lived in Brazil for a period in my life and really enjoyed

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WHAT HAS BEEN ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES THAT YOU HAVE HAD TO OVERCOME? Starting a new state agency has been a wild ride. In the early days, it felt like working for a start-up firm in its infancy. We were tasked with overseeing hundreds of attorneys statewide without a dedicated office space or supplies. In three years, our team has definitely gone through some growing pains and learned many lessons. I am really proud of what we have built so far.

IF YOU COULD HAVE DINNER WITH ANY HISTORICAL FIGURE, WHO WOULD YOU PICK AND WHY??

She’s not really a historical figure but more of a current pop culture icon: Beyoncé. Because it’s Beyoncé.

IF YOU COULD CHANGE ANYTHING ABOUT COLORADO, WHAT WOULD IT BE? Colorado is truly an amazing place and I consider myself lucky to live here. If there were anything I’d like to see change, it would be a vast improvement in rush hour traffic. Or maybe a beach.

IF YOU COULD INSTANTLY IMPLEMENT ANY LAW, WHAT WOULD IT BE? In the area of child welfare law, I would guarantee the right to counsel for all parents and children involved in a dependency or neglect case. Colorado is unique in that we have statutory rights to guardians ad litem for all children and attorneys for indigent parents in dependency cases. This is not the standard across the county. That said, as a parent, I cannot imagine facing a legal proceeding where a possible consequence was the termination of my parental rights without being afforded the right to counsel.

WORK LIFE BALANCE — SUSPENDING STRESS | BY: SHELBY KNAFEL

“Foot-knot with your left foot, invert, and then hook your right foot, grab it with your left hand, and pull into that stag pose.” Phrases like this have been my bread and butter for the last three years. While at my day job you can find me running around the DBA, once I clock out, my favorite activity is suspending myself from the ceiling, twisting around and trying not to get tied up along the way.

That’s right. Three years ago I ran away and joined the circus. I’m an aerialist. I took my first aerial silk class when I lived in New Orleans on a cold September day and I haven’t looked back. Or down. Or whatever direction I was on that silk at the moment. Most recently, you may have seen me dancing at the Barristers Benefit Ball, 30 feet in the air. Yeah, that was me.

So, what about it? “Work-life balance.” We hear this all the time. This buzzword has been on the rise now more than ever as mental health is brought to the forefront of today’s news and issues.

But what does it REALLY mean?

Can’t hobbies be work sometimes, too?

Depends on who you ask, but, if you find yourself stressed out of your gourd more often than not, you may want to reconsider how you’re dedicating your time. Your life depends on it. Seriously.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ranked lawyers and workers in the legal system as one of the top occupations at risk for suicide. Too broad of a statistic? How about the American Psychological Association, which states that lawyers are 3.6 times more likely to suffer from depression than non-lawyers. Yikes. Not to mention there’s a proven correlation between suicide, substance abuse, and other mental health issues.

And give yourselves some credit.

It’s a high-stress profession. If it were as easy as shouting “You can’t handle the truth!” and slamming a fist on a table to win a case, then why even bother with the years of schooling, internships, mentors, long nights, bar exams, associations, networking, and CLEs? It doesn’t matter if you’re just starting out or celebrating your 30th year in the profession, stress will be a factor. So, let’s focus on how to alleviate that. Back to silks. “I’m not flexible!” or “There’s no way I’m strong enough!” Yeah, well, no marathon runner woke up the morning of their race without practicing or so much as even stretching and won first place. So don’t think like that. You’ll never start anything new if you shut yourself down because you aren’t prepared or compare yourself to someone who is seasoned.

“I’m too old.” My instructor is 45 years young; I’ve taken classes with someone in her 60s. “I don’t have the right body

type.” Don’t even get me started on this … the most important thing to every single aerialist is safety and good health.

All body shapes and sizes are welcome.

“I hate heights.” Secret? So does literally almost every other aerialist I’ve met, including myself. Also, all beginner classes start slow and easy. Which typically means the ground.“I’m not coordinated enough.” I literally have videos of myself getting tied up and having my instructor stop class to help me get down. It happens.

Honestly, it’s the fun part — every time I go to class, I’m learning something new and challenging myself. It’s a way to be healthy, be social, and be different. Aerial is a unique hobby! You never know what adventures you’ll find or who you’ll meet.

Some of the best people I’ve met, I’ve met through circus.While my hobby is a bit odd, I can’t encourage it enough. I hate running and lifting weights; therefore, silks was perfect for me (and it could be for you, too!).Prefer something with less intensity? Aerial yoga! It’s a fun variation of yoga that can provide all the benefits of aerial silks. “Where do I even start?”

That’s more like it! Look for a studio near you. Denver is a large circus hub that offers multiple classes, teaching styles, different apparatuses, and has a list of highly esteemed, well-trained teachers.

Moth Contemporary Circus Center, Denver Dance, Aerial Cirque Over Denver, Gravity Aerial Arts, Circus Collective, Boulder Circus Center, and even Tease Studio offer aerial classes. There’s plenty of opportunities to get involved. Don’t be nervous to drop in a class. We’re always ecstatic to have new students! And let’s be real, if you can pass a bar exam, you’ve already got what it takes to be an aerialist.

So don’t delay. Sign up for a class. Soon enough you’ll be chatting with your coworkers about the latest drop you learned and trying to get them involved, too.

Trust me.

SHELBY KNAFEL works at the Denver and Colorado Bar Association as their Social Media Coordinator. She can be reached at sknafel@cobar.org.

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Engaging Programs Fulfill your CLE credits, expand your AUGUST 27-28, 2019

Technology for Your Law Office Mastering Microsoft Word, Including Styles and Essential Law Office Technology Receive advanced training on how to conquer Word formatting to save time and create better legal documents. Learn the steps necessary to deconstruct and rebuild any Word document so the document works perfectly and is effortless to edit (for non-beginners). Increase your knowledge of essential law office technology to lower costs and increase efficiency.

SEPTEMBER 12-13, 2019

Business Law Institute Hear some of the best and brightest cover the business law landscape in over 20 sessions in 2 days. You and your clients will benefit from your participation in the Institute for years to come.

SEPTEMBER 27, 2019

Colorado Litigators’ Summit Returning for its second year, litigators from both the plaintiffs and defense bars come together to focus on professionalism and becoming more effective in their litigation and trial practices. With leading jurists, litigators, mediators, arbitrators, and consultants as your faculty, you will gain new skills to improve your litigation and trial practice, and a refreshed perspective on your fellow litigators and state of the judiciary.

network and enrich your practice OCTOBER 3-4, 2019 – VAIL, CO

Employment Law Conference Discuss the most significant employment law developments and legislative and regulatory changes with your colleagues – while you enjoy the fall foliage of Vail. Ideal for new lawyers and seasoned attorneys.

NOVEMBER 1, 2019

Colorado ADR Conference Building Stronger Communities through Dispute Resolution Conflict can impact all levels of community, from families, schools, and workplaces, to legal, social, cultural communities and beyond. In our 13th year, the conference agenda focuses on resolving conflict locally, nationally, and globally. Presentations will focus on the needs of modern and future ADR practitioners, including resilience, professional development, communication skills, and practical skill-building.

REGISTER ONLINE at www.cba-cle.org

The nonprofit educational arm of the Colorado Bar Association and the Denver Bar Association.

LEGAL AFFAIRS in the Denver office of Fox Rotheschild have been elevated to partner.

Changes Armstrong Teasdale announced the addition of partner Edward Adkins to the firm’s financial and real estate services practice group in Denver.

Keating Wagner Polidori Free recently added Teresa Abel. She assists clients in complex commercial litigation.

Stinson, LLP announced that Lucas Schneider has joined the firm as of counsel in Denver.

Ogborn Mihm announced that Emily Fiscus has joined the firm as an associate.

Holland & Hart announced that Amy Lovin joined the firm’s Denver office as an associate in its corporate practice group.

Welborn Sullivan Meck & Tooley annouces that Mike L. Fredregill joined their firm as Special Counsel and Jennifer M. Stoot joined as an associate. Mike Fredregill’s practice primarily focuses on real estate transactions, as well as general business and corporate matters.

Jennifer M. Stoot’s practice focuses on mineral title examination.

Emily Bayton has joined Faegre Baker Daniels as a partner in the firm’s intellectual property group in the Denver Office.

Heather Strack joined Faegre Baker Daniels in the firm’s matrimonial and family law practice in Denver.

Michael Beylkin and Jed Sonnenshein

Nina Ward has joined Lewis Roca Rothgerber as of council in its business transactions practice group.

Jazlynn Allen has joined Lathrop Gage in the firm’s energy team as an associate in the Denver office.

Jon Deppe joined Holzer Patel Drennan as an associate. Jon is an experienced intellectual property attorney that serves clients across multiple industries.

Wells, Anderson & Race, LLC is pleased to announce that Christopher M. Unger has joined the firm as an associate attorney.

Wells, Anderson & Race, LLC is pleased to announce that Mark A. Neider has joined the firm as Special Counsel.

Rider Goodwin Law, a family law firm in Denver, is pleased to announce that Francesca Morgan has joined the firm as Senior Associate Attorney.

Dorsey & Whitney LLP has named Corporate Partner Robert Hensley as head of the Firm’s Denver Office.

Christopher D. Reiss, Shareholder Polsinelli PC has moved to : 1401 Lawrence Street, Suite 2300 Denver, CO 80202

Paul Prendergast, PH.d. has joined Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP as a partner in the Finance & Acquisitions Department.

Moye White LLP is pleased to announce that Andrew T. Flynn has been named a partner at the Denver-based law firm.

Good Things Dan Sweetser of The Sweetser Law Firm received the Outstanding Sustained Contribution Award for his long standing support and extensive contributions to the work of CLC. Coan Payton & Payne announced that Robert Lantz has been elected president of the Denver Council on Foreign Relations.

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP, is pleased to announce that Avi Loewenstein, a shareholder in the firm’s Denver office, has been elected to the board of directors of Young Americans Center for Financial Education.

Sherman & Howard Trial Lawyer and Executive Committee Member, Peter G. Koclanes has been elected to lead the Colorado Judicial Institute and its Board of Directors over the next two years.

Gregory Leibold of Merchant & Gould has been appointed as the managing partner of the Denver office.

If you are a DBA member and you’ve moved, been promoted, hired an associate, taken on a partner, received a promotion or award, or begun service on a new board, we’d love to hear from you. Talks, speeches, CLE presentations and political announcements, due to their sheer number, cannot be included. In addition, the Docket cannot print notices of honors determined by other publications (e.g., Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers, etc.) again due to volume. Notices are printed at no cost but must be submitted in writing and are subject to editing and space available. Send all notices to Clair Smith at csmith@cobar.org.

Announcements will be placed on a first-come, first-served basis.

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In Memoriam

Christopher J. Kulish

April 19, 1957 – May 26, 2019 Christopher Kulish, 62, died shortly after summiting Mount Everest and achieving his dream of scaling the highest peak on each continent. Kulish was a graduate of the University of Colorado Law School and was a partner in Holland and Hart’s patent group in the Boulder office from 2002 to 2009. He maintained a solo practice in Boulder until his death. He is survived by his mother Betty (“Timmie”) Kulish, younger sister Claudia, and younger brother Mark.

assistant U.S. attorney of the District of Colorado, a deputy city attorney for the City and County of Denver, and a U.S. bankruptcy judge for the District of Colorado. He was nominated by President Richard Nixon to the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado in 1974. He served as the chief judge of the court from 1994 to 2000, and assumed senior judge status in 2003.

During his more than 40 years on the bench, Judge Matsch presided over some of the most controversial cases in Colorado. He is perhaps best known for presiding over the 1996 trials of Oklahoma City bombing defendants Timothy J. McVeigh and Terry Nichols.

Judge Matsch is survived by his daughters Katherine Daley, Molly Briggs, and Marti Matsch; a son, Dan; and six grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife of 59 years, Elizabeth Murdock “Lib” Matsch, and their youngest daughter, Elizabeth Ann Matsch.

Richard S. Vermeire

June 9, 1930 – May 26, 2019

Judge Richard P. Matsch died on May 26, in Louisville, Colorado. He was 88.

Judge Matsch was born in Burlington, Iowa, on June 8, 1930. He attended the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor for both undergraduate studies and law school, receiving his JD in 1953. Judge Matsch enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1953 and served until 1955, when he was honorably discharged.

After working in private practice in Denver, Judge Matsch served as an

— Submitted by Ned Giles

Judge Wiley Young Daniel

September 10, 1946 – May 10, 2019 Esteemed Federal District Judge Wiley Y. Daniel passed away on May 10, 2019 He was 72. Judge Daniel was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. He received both his undergraduate and law degrees from Howard University in Washington, D.C. In 1995, when Judge Daniel was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado by President Clinton, he became the first African American to serve on the court.

August 15, 1944 – March 2, 2019

Judge Richard Paul Matsch-

tral Regional Office of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Rich later moved to the defense side of the courtroom and joined Moye, Giles, O’Keefe, Vermeire and Gorrell. Rich was a superb trial lawyer. He specialized in white-collar criminal defense and securities litigation. Rich leaves sons Adam and Luke, daughter Gabrielle, three grandchildren, and many friends and colleagues.

Veteran Denver trial lawyer Richard Vermeire died unexpectedly on March 2, 2019, at age 74. Rich was a longtime partner of the former Denver law firm of Moye, Giles, O’Keefe, Vermeire and Gorrell LLP. Early in his career, Rich served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C., where he was involved in the Watergate prosecution.

In 1976, Rich transferred to the Denver office of the U.S. Attorney and became chief of the Fraud Section. He left the U.S. Attorney’s office in 1980 to become chief trial counsel for the Cen-

He became chief judge in 2008 and held that role for more than four years.

Judge Daniel assumed senior judge status in 2013 and continued to preside over a demanding caseload. Before his judgeship, Judge Daniel practiced law for 24 years with a specialty in civil litiga¬tion. He served as president of the Colorado Bar Association in 1992–93 (thus far the only African American to serve in that capacity), and he was a past president of the Sam Cary Bar Association and vice president of the Denver Bar Association. Judge Daniel received numerous commendations throughout his career and was the recipient of several lifetime achievement awards.

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DOCKET NEWS | PICTURE THIS

Local Events Picture This features membersubmitted photographs and images from Denver Bar Association events.

1 Carolyn P. Gravit to Receive Award for Outstanding Public Service. In June, Carolyn P. Gravit, the CBA Director of Public Legal Education for the Colorado and Denver Bar Associations, received the Charles. B. Dillon Award from the Arapahoe County Bar Association.

For 15 years, she has led law-related educational programs for students and adults in Colorado, improved Denver pro bono efforts for the indigent, and, for the last 4 years, ran the CBA Leadership Program (COBALT).

2 Melissa Nicoletti Retires After 22 Years with the CBA. The Colorado and Denver Bar Associations bid farewell to a beloved and familiar face in June. Melissa Nicoletti, who began as a secretary with the CBA in 1997, retired as the Director of Sections & Committees. She will be moving south to Mexico, but don’t worry — she’ll still be able to cheer on the Broncos no matter where she is. The evening was spent celebrating, reminiscing, and laughing. We would like to thank Melissa for her years of dedication, love, compassion, and hard work.

You will be missed dearly!

Left to Right : Nicoletti Family: Melissa Nicoletti with her mother and daughters.

Melissa Nicoletti and her successor and ‘work-wife’, Amy Sreenen Greg Whitchair, Janet Bauer, Melissa Nicoletti, Patrick Flahery

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3 The Board of Govrnors Meeting Welcomes New President Kathleen Hearn Croshal. On June 14th, the Board of Governors met at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs after the Solo Small Firm Institute. During this meeting, CBA President John Vaught passed along his title to incoming president Kathleen Hearn Croshal. Also during the meeting, the Cannabis Committee received a vote to become an official section of the Colorado Bar Association.

Kathleen Hearn Croshal, CO Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan B. Coats and John Vaught.

Recognizing out going CBA Executive Council members for their service: John Vaught, Amy Goscha, Emma E. Garrison, Courtney Holm, April Jones, Dan Sweetser, Joi G. Kush and Bonnie Schriner

Chief Justice Nathan B. Coats swears in the 2019–2020 CBA President, Kathleen Hearn Croshal.

Cannabis Committee Chair Graham Gerritsen speaks to the Board in order to approve the Cannabis Section.

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