2011 June

Docket The

Denver Bar Association I Vol. 33 Issue 6 I June 2011

The Future of the Legal Profession Inside Five Honorees Selected for DBA Annual Awards

by Margaret Haywood

A Reflection on Volunteering with the Peace Corps

What’s your

Big Idea?

Alli Gerkman will introduce you to Ignite presentations and how they can spark inspiration.

by Bobbie Hobbs

The Requirement to Buy: Gun Ownership and Health Reform

by Marshall Snider

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Docket The

Denver Bar Association I Vol. 33 Issue 6 I June 2011

ON THE COVER 4

Ignite the Legal Profession

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Serving the DBA and the Community

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Going Away to Grow Up

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Gun Ownership and Health Reform

FEATURES 5

Executive Director’s Message

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The Food Chain of the On-the Go Attorney

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Bar Stars Trade Barbs Before Dance Competition

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Have a ‘Night Out’ for the Legal Center

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A Night at Mi Casa

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Ten Tips for Wise Volunteering

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Choosing the Next Chapter of Your Life

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Email Chain Keps April Gag Going

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Bar Review: Uptown Brothers

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IN EVERY ISSUE 26

Legal Affairs

28

Dates on the Docket

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Picture This

The Docket A publication of the Denver Bar Association.

Views expressed in articles are those of the author, and not the views of the authors’ employers, The Docket Committee, or the Denver Bar Association, unless expressly stated. Deadline for articles is five weeks prior to the issue date; for example, February articles are due (on disk or by email) Dec. 19. To advertise, call Alexa Drago at (303) 824-5313.

Docket Committee: Mariya Barmak, Norman Beecher, Becky Bye, Michael J. Decker, Craig C. Eley, David L. Erickson, Loren R. Ginsburg, Robert J. Kapelke, Paul F. Kennebeck, Natalie Lucas (chair), Alicia J. McCommons, Daniel R. McCune, Douglas I. McQuiston, William R. Meyer, Eric R. Newmark, Richard L. Ott, Jr., Siddhartha H. Rathod, Gregory D. Rawlings, Frank J.

16 Schuchat, Marshall A. Snider, Daniel A. Sweetser, Erica Vargas, Anthony J. Viorst, Dennis P. Walker, Elizabeth A. Weishaupl DBA Officers: Stacy A. Carpenter, President; Ilene L. Bloom, PresidentElect; Daniel R. McCune, First Vice President; Kwali M. Farbes, Second Vice President; John T. Baker, Immediate Past President; Richard Strauss, Treasurer Board of Trustees Members: James G. Benjamin, Paul Chessin, Nancy L. Cohen, Michelle B. Ferguson, Valerie A. Garcia, Annie T. Kao, Vance O. Knapp, Meshach Rhoades, Anthony M. Ryan, Daniel A. Sweetser; Chuck Turner, Executive Director Editor: Sara Crocker P.C. Editor: Chuck Turner Graphic Designer: Kate Mills

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(303) 860-1115 denbar.org/docket Copyright 2011. The Docket (ISSN 10847820) is published monthly, except for the combined issue of July/August, by the Denver Bar Association, 1900 Grant St., Suite 900, Denver, CO 80203-4336. 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, 1900 Grant St., Suite 900, Denver, CO 80203-4336.

June 2011 I The Docket 3

Ignite the Legal Profession: What’s Your Big Idea?

by A l li G e rkman

F

ive minutes. Twenty slides. Fifteen seconds per slide.

There aren’t too many rules at Ignite events. Inspire your audience or scare it. Make ’em laugh or make ’em cry. If you find yourself presenting at

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yers, legal editors, and practice management partners presented to a full room on topics like “What a Law Firm Can Learn from Zappos.com”; “ The Big Law-Solo Partnership: Outsourcing Innovation and the Lessons of Tommy Supreme”; and “Agile Legal Management: What Law Firms Can Learn from the Software Industry.”

This year, I managed to get my hands on a ticket to the sold-out second year of Ignite Law in Chicago, which gave the stage to such legal tech leaders as Carolyn Elefant, Kevin O’Keefe, and Dennis Kennedy, and covered topics like “Apps for Justice: Code to the Rescue”; “(Lack of) Privacy 2.0: Law in the Age of Trans-

Ignite empowers ordinary people to put forth extraordinary ideas that, when shared with the right mix of people, can transform an industry.”

an Ignite event, the approach you take is entirely up to you, as long as it can be captured in five minutes, 20 slides, with 15 seconds per slide.

Ignite events started in Seattle in December 2006, when two people from O’Reilly Media decided it would be fun to mix networking, beer, and big ideas.

The result was the first of many Ignite events, not just in Seattle, but around the world. Colorado is home to at least three city-based Ignite events—in Boulder, Denver, and Fort Collins.

In 2010, several people attending the American Bar Association’s TECHSHOW in Chicago organized an “Ignite Law” program for people interested in the future of law practice. Sixteen law-

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parency”; and “Bespoke Legal Services in an Off-The-Rack Culture.” The overarching theme of the night was technology, which was fitting, given its connection to TECHSHOW. Each presenter, in rapid succession, presented his or her idea. The presentations were illuminating, inspiring, and occasionally controversial, but the conversation they generated in the room and throughout the conference was even better.

Ignite Law was not my first Ignite event. I have been to events in both Boulder and Denver, and every time, I’ve walked out holding tight to a spark.

Maybe it was the kind of spark that leads me to improved email inbox man-

agement, or maybe it was the kind of spark that changed the way I looked at a broader issue, like online privacy.

But each time, it sparked some kind of change in my life, big or small. I guess that’s why they call it Ignite.

Ignite empowers ordinary people to put forth extraordinary ideas that, when shared with the right mix of people, can transform an industry. This is why we’re bringing an Ignite program to the Denver Bar Association for Member Appreciation Week. We know our engaged and diverse membership has no shortage of opinions on what the future of the legal profession will look like, so the DBA is giving members the opportunity to lead that conversation.

I guess that leaves only one question: What’s your big idea about the future of the legal profession?

You have five minutes. Go! D Alli Gerkman is a program attorney and manager of online content and development at CBA–CLE, which includes running CBA–CLE’s blog, cbaclelegalconnection. com. She is particularly interested in how different online and offline educational approaches can help adults—in particular, lawyers—learn and develop professionally over the course of their careers. To that end, she has blogged about conferences and continuing legal education since 2008, which also happens to be how she first stumbled on Ignite-style events.

If You Go: Ignite Law “The Future of the Legal Profession,” June 9 The event begins at 5:30 p.m. at CBA–CLE, 1900 Grant St., Suite 300.

There is no cost to attend for DBA members. Food and beverages will be provided. RSVP to lunches@ cobar.org or (303) 860-1115, ext. 727.

If you’re interested in presenting or want more information, please email Alli Gerkman at agerkman@ cobar.org.

Executive Director’s Message

Our Way to Say ‘Thank You’

by C h arle s C . T urne r

T

WO, FOUR, SIX, EIGHT, WHO DO WE …

You have all heard the cheer, hokey as it is … or have you? There are times around the bar office when we indeed wonder if you do hear that message? Our sense of occasional bewilderment (known in medical circles as OB Syndrome) is understandable because, if we know anything, we know that our members these days are simply swamped with deadlines, demands, and diversions.

We also know that those D’s have to come before any consideration of DBA activities—and I haven’t even begun to get into family time and obligations either.

So, we try to take some time each year to make sure that you, our members, understand how much we appreciate what you do for us, and more important, what you do for your fellow members.

So, the week of June 6 has been set aside for a variety of activities that will try to express to you that we value you as members and we thank you for your loyalty.

What’s on the agenda? Let’s focus on the fun and games first, starting the week off with a golf outing at Inverness Golf Club on Monday, June 6. You can join other members in a low-intensity physical activity in a beautiful setting.

As for a bit of heavier lifting, bring your boxes of stuff to be shredded and electronics to be recycled on Friday, June 10, from 4-6 p.m. No cost, but we do ask for a donation of $2 per box or item to benefit Metro Volunteer Lawyers. Fun? How about the Annual Awards Party on Tuesday, June 7, at the Hotel Monaco? It starts at 5:30 p.m. with complimentary food and libations for members.

For those more cerebrally inclined, there is a “Daily” continuing legal education program focusing on such subjects

a s d i ve rs e a s , well, “Diversity” (Monday, June 6, at noon); “Mentoring” (Tuesday, June 7, at noon); “New Rules on File Retention” ( We d n e s d ay, June 8, at noon); “ I n f o r m a t i o n Turner Overload” (Thursday, June 9, at 9 a.m.); and “Unbundled Legal Services” (Friday, June 10, at noon). For all of them, registration is complimentary for DBA members.

We hope to see you at some, many, or all of these activities so we can express in person our thanks and appreciation to you, our members. Flip to page 10 of this issue for RSVP information for these and many more activities during Member Appreciation Week. D

Here’s to 50 Years (and counting)

Join us for the Senior Spring Banquet on Wednesday, June 22 The DBA Seniors Committee will honor members who became lawyers in 1961.

Lawyers and guests of all ages are invited to honor these accomplished attorneys at the Senior Spring Banquet on Wednesday, June 22, at the University Club.

The banquet will start with cocktails at 5:15 p.m., and will be followed by dinner and a program for the honorees.

Please RSVP to Alexa Drago at adrago@cobar.org or (303) 824-5313. Tickets are $45 per person.

Honorees are:

s H.G. Austin s Donald K. Bain s T. Larry Barnes s Thomas L. Barton s Donald M. Burkhardt s Roger C. Cohen s Charles H. Cowperthwaite s James J. Doherty s Harry A. Ells s Herbert L. Fenster s Terry N. Fiske s Robert R. Gallagher

s Ernest Franklin F. Gaylord s Harmon S. Graves s Stuart S. Gunckel s Peter C. Guthery s James E. Hautzinger s Charles E. Holmes s John L. Kane, Jr. s Gene Keith s John ( Jack) A. Kintzele s Bruce G. Klaas s John Mason s Edward J. McGrath

s Gilbert L. McSwain s Joe C. Medina s John Nicoll s Kenneth R. Oldham s Robert M. Phares s Leonard P. Plank s Charles R. Roberts s Robert L. Roberts s Edwin G. Ruland s E.E. Schnabel s Jeremy Shamos s Don H. Sherwood

s Donald P. Shwayder s Robert S. Slosky s Richard Tuttle T. Spriggs s Clyde G. Starbuck s Fred B. Strothman s Ronald O. Sylling s Gerald L. Wallis s Arnold C. Wegher s Albert B. Wolf s L.T. Woodford

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6 The Docket I June 2011

Serving the DBA and the Community: The 2011 DBA Awards Winners B y M arg are t Hay w o od

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he Denver Bar Association’s Annual Awards honor those who have made extraordinary contributions to the legal community.

Although our recipients this year possess a wide and diverse variety of experience and backgrounds, they all share one outstanding quality—a genuine dedication to service. From mentoring, to pro bono work, to education, our recipients’ tremendous work greatly benefits not only the DBA, but the greater Denver community, as well.

Award of Merit David C. Little got his start as a Denver deputy district attorney before becoming a founding partner of Montgomery Little and Soran, P.C. Since then, he has handled hundreds of cases involving complex commercial and professional litigation.Throughout his career, Little has stood out as a prominent advocate, Little mentor, and educator on all areas concerning professional liability, responsibility, and ethics. His expansive résumé includes service on the Colorado Supreme Court’s Civil Rules Committee and its Board of Continuing Legal and Judicial Education, as well as the Colorado Bar Association’s Lawyers Professional Liability and Ethics Committees.

For new attorneys, Little suggests setting up a network. “You are going to have questions, you are going to have difficulties, and you must have some means by which you can discuss those,” he said.

“I don’t think the practice of law in isolation is possible anymore.”

As for himself, Little believes communication is a critical component in

the field, and he strives “to practice with empathy and tolerance. It is important to recognize that none of us is perfect, and we all have to be more respectful of one another.”

Volunteer of the Year Beyond her position as Senior Vice President and Corporate Counsel at ET Investments, Mary Jo Gross is deeply involved in giving her time back to the legal profession and the Denver community. At the DBA, Gross ser ved as chair person for several committees, was Gross on the Board of Trustees, and was the association’s president from 2004 to 2005. Gross was instrumental in connecting the DBA Community Action Network (CAN) with the Children’s Outreach Project, with which she also is closely associated. Just as with the DBA, Gross remains very active at the CBA. Additionally, Gross mentors law students and volunteers with Lawline 9 and the mock trial competitions. Her greatest joy is helping honor senior members of the legal profession through the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and the DBA. Gross gives so much of her time for somewhat selfish reasons—it makes her feel good. “If you want to feel better about yourself, and your circumstances, and your situation, whatever it is, go do something for somebody else,” she said.

“It makes you feel good—just get out there and try it!”

Young Lawyer of the Year As a young attorney, Lucia Padilla brings an impressive level of dedication, both to her work as a senior attorney at Qwest Communications and to her community involvement and pro bono

ser vice. Before joining Qwest, she was an associate attorney at Isaacson Rosenbaum P.C. Padilla s e r ve s o n t h e board of the DBA Young Lawyers Division and Padilla played a large role in developing Legal Film Night, a popular free CLE program that brings together law students and practicing attorneys.

Padilla’s participation with the Bar goes beyond the necessary networking as a young attorney; it is an “opportunity to do things in the community, to learn about what is going on, not only to further your career but to get grounded in the legal community and the larger Denver community.”

Her extensive community involvement includes serving as board chair of the nonprofit Bayaud Enterprise, Inc. and providing pro bono services for Metro Volunteer Lawyers. “Volunteering is what makes a community a community,” Padilla said. “Lawyers have a unique ability to really help and influence our communities and help less fortunate individuals.”

Judicial Excellence Since his appointment in 2007 to the Denver District Court, Hon. William W. Hood III strives to bring humility Awards, continued on page 9 Celebrate the DBA Awards Honorees The awards ceremony will be held on Tuesday, June 7, at Hotel Monaco. The event will kick off at 5:30 p.m. RSVP to lunches@cobar.org or (303) 860-1115, ext. 727.

Want to learn more about the honorees? Go to youtube.com/ coloradoanddenverbar for full video interviews.

June 2011 I The Docket 7

The Road Worrier, Part 7

The Food Chain of the On-the-Go Attorney

B y G reg R aw ling s

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ext to the price of gasoline and its myriad tidal fluctuations, the most important thing to an on-the-go criminal defense attorney is what to eat and where, or what not to eat and why.

The lattermost food-related question hit me like a Mike Tyson gut-punch about an hour after leaving a Cañon City

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where I bumped i n to g l o b e t ro tting bird hunter E. Alexander “Zandy” DeSalvo, who assured me that I was in for a treat.

And I was. You take the good with the bad. I have eaten well in Fort Morgan and poorly in Colorado Springs; I have eaten poorly in For t Morgan and well in Colorado Springs (where I love La Baguette).

Once, while driving back from Grand Junction, I ran into a big horn sheep outside Eagle, which I immediately fielddressed and grilled on a spit right beside I-70. Well, that’s actually a complete fabrication. I nearly hit one, then stopped in Eagle for a burger at an ersatz ’50s diner near the courthouse.

I sincerely believe that the most important thing that has happened in

and potency of margaritas than it does, well, the food.

The great Jim Harrison, gourmand, Zen Buddhist, and literary master, has devoted a large chunk of his career to writing about eating. This makes sense, in that you can’t very well eat about writing. Or can you?

A client just bought in sweet potatoes, tomatoes, mangoes, and a variety of other food stuffs that didn’t end in “-oes” for the attorney across the hall.

I am vexed with jealousy, as I write this very sentence. I’m lucky if my clients show up for court, much less bring in bounties of the harvest. Mmm, mangoes.

René Descartes famously remarked “cogito ergo sum”—I think, therefore I am—which I’ve always considered hogwash. I eat, therefore I’m not even crankier than usual, and be glad about that, my friends. That seems more real to me. A hungry lawyer is a bad lawyer.

A hungry, drunk lawyer is worse yet. Eat or die.

Tomorrow I visit a prison in Burlington, a private joint named for Kit

I sincerely believe that the most important thing that has happened in Colorado (and maybe America) over the past few months—and yes I include the November elections—is that Wendy’s radically upgraded its French fries.”

eatery called Mr. Ed’s. Okay, I know, only a masochist would eat at a place named after a dead talking horse—or a live talking horse, for that matter. Maybe I am nothing if not a classic self-loathing basket case, but then again, you find a decent place to eat lunch in Cañon City— and Subway doesn’t count. Regardless, you don’t want to be zooming up the back route from Fremont County when your lunch has decided to seek immediate revenge.

Then, there are those little places that surprise you. I once ventured into a family-owned lunch spot in South Park,

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Colorado (and maybe America) over the past few months—and yes I include the November elections—is that Wendy’s radically upgraded its French fries. I went to law school a few blocks from the first Wendy’s Restaurant. Bad coffee, worse law school. That there were two brewpubs and a classy martini bar even closer made law school almost sufferable.

On a sad trip to Del Norte, where I nearly died in an airplane crash last year, I ate at the second worst Mexican joint in Colorado, the first being a changing target, in that being the worst Mexican joint in Colorado has more to do with the price

Carson—a man who ate what he shot and shot what he ate. My gut feeling (and I mean that literally) is that a bag lunch is called for. You don’t want to be driving at high speeds across western Kansas (meaning every place east of metro Denver) and take a chance on the local cuisine. Unless you’re in Rocky Ford; then, eat a melon and bring me one, too.

Mmm, melons.

So we drive, we eat, we stop in the occasional courthouse to pay for it all. It is an endless, vicious circle. Now what’s for lunch? D

Awards, continued from page 7 and respect to the bench. Initially assigned to the domestic relations and criminal dockets, Hood is now a jurist in civil litigation. Prior to his appointment, Hood was a partner at Isaacson Rosenbaum P.C., where his practice included civil and criminal trial work.

Before that, he spent 10 years as a prosecutor in Arapahoe County.

Hood Hood remains very active with the CBA and DBA, enjoying the interaction that comes from community involvement. “Being a judge can be somewhat isolating at times and it is nice to lock arms with other lawyers and go do good things,” he said. This shines through in his community involvement, especially in the DBA’s school-related programs.

“I’ve always found [volunteering] to be very refreshing. I think it helps to put wind back in your sails,” Hood said. “The activities the Bar gets involved in enables us to help improve the quality of the judicial system and to help the community around us.”

Teacher of the Year Over the years, the academic community has repeatedly recognized Molly Lepore for her dedication to and enthusiasm for teaching. Since 2005, Lepore has taught senior English at the Denver School of Science and Technology (DSST).

Before that, she taught at Denver Academy. Lepore earned Teacher of the Year in 2003, Outstanding Experiential Educator in 2005, and in 2009, the Anna and John J. Sie Faculty Excellence Award for Lepore her ability to “positively impact student achievement and consistently demonstrate professional excellence.” After volunteering for two years for a mock trial team, she started a mock trial program at DSST. For the last six years, Lepore has been its teacher– coach. On two occasions, the team took home the Denver Regional Tournament’s “Professionalism Award.”

Lepore believes in civics education because it “falls into the category of having the tools to be agents of change. That is a big part of what I advocate for the kids— you have to be able to read well, you have to write well to communicate, and you need to understand our system in order to make the changes that you want.” D

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Bar Stars Trade Barbs Before Dance Competition at Barristers Editor’s Note: There was some playful razzing between John Moye and Hubert Farbes leading up to the dance competition at Barristers Benefit Ball. Citing great poets, they both traded jabs and we’ve included the exchange for your enjoyment.

Thanks to all four participants in the spectacular dance competition: Cyndy Ciancio, Hubert Farbes, Vicki Johnson, and John Moye. Turn to page 30 to see photos from the ball and the winner of the dance competition.

From: Nick Muller To: Hubert Farbes; John Moye Hubert, I was just with John Moye, and he said something sort of like, he is going to kick your butt!

—Nick From: Hubert Farbes To: Nick Muller; John Moye

—Lao Tzu From: John Moye To: Huber Farbes; Nick Muller As A.E. Housman (almost) said: The time you won your town the race/We chaired you through the market-place;/Man and boy stood cheering by,/And home we brought you shoulderhigh.

To-day, the road all runners come,/ Shoulder-high we bring you home,/And set you at your threshold down,/Townsman of a stiller town.

Smart lad, to slip betimes away/ From fields where glory does not stay,/ And early though the laurel grows/It withers quicker than the rose.

Eyes the shady night has shut/Cannot see the record cut,/And you’ll just know it in your gut/After I kick your butt.

From: Nick Muller To: John Moye; Hubert Farbes Oh, I hadn’t seen this—what a challenge to you, Hubert! This is a terrific poem—even if the last lines are a little unlike Housman!

—Nick From: Hubert Farbes To: John Moye; Nick Muller No time for poetry the rest of the afternoon Moye; but FYI—the Farbes family crest is—a thorny rose! [and, for God’s sake, stop with your massacres of the great poets]

Ha! The time is nigh.

From: John Moye To: Hubert Farbes; Nick Muller As the time draws nigh, glooming, a cloud,/A dread beyond, of I know not what, darkens me./I shall go forth, brave knave, and kick your butt.

(With apologies to Walt Whitman) From: Hubert Farbes To: John Moye; Nick Muller Apologies to Whitman are definitely required, forthgoer—but remember this: Standing tiptoe, a man loses balance,/Kindling himself he fails to light,/ Acquitting himself he forfeits his hearers,/Admiring himself he does so alone.

Aware of this, the wise man has the simple return/Which other men seek:/ Without taking credit/Is accredited,/Laying no claim/Is acclaimed/And, because he does not compete,/Finds peaceful competence./How true is the old saying,/‘Yield and you need not break’!

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A Seat at The Bar

Have a ‘Night Out’ for the Legal Center If You Go: Attorneys’ Night Out, June 23 5:30 to 9 p.m. at Blake Street Tavern, 2301 Blake St. Glenlivet tasting and heavy hors d’oeuvres. $25 to attend; proceeds benefit the Legal Center for People with Disabilities and Older People. Register at thelegalcenter.org.

by Bl air D ickhone r

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h e Denver Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division will once again team up with the Legal Center for People with Disabilities and Older People to hold the 6th Annual Attorneys’ Night Out on Thursday, June 23. This annual fundraiser has become a successful tradition that both groups look to build on this year. Attorneys’ Night Out takes on additional significance this year as the Legal Center celebrates its 35th anniversary as Colorado’s federally mandated Protection and Advocacy System, protecting the rights of children and adults with disabilities.

This year’s event will once again be hosted by Blake Street Tavern and will feature a complimentary Glenlivet Scotch tasting to go along with heavy hors d’oeuvres for all attendees. In addition to the money raised through ticket proceeds and donations, the Legal Center and the Young Lawyers Division will host a live and silent auction during the evening. Last year, featured auction items included museum memberships, artwork, restaurant discounts, and vacation packages. In total, more than $22,000 was raised for the Legal Center at the 2010 event—a number both groups hope to surpass this year.

Since 1977, the Legal Center has been dedicated to serving the legal needs of people with mental and physical disabilities, people with HIV, and older people throughout Colorado. The Legal Center seeks to simplify the legal system and make it more accessible

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for disabled and older people who otherwise would be overwhelmed by the inherent complexities of the law. The Legal Center strives to advance this systematic change by working closely with health care providers, offering direct legal DBA Young Lawyers Division board members (from left) Sarah Oviatt, Lucia Padilla, representation, and Gillian Bidgood at last year’s Attorneys’ Night Out event. and advanc ing our laws through improved legislation. of Development for the Legal Center For the past five years, the Young for People with Disabilities and Older L awyers Division has been proud People, at janderson@thelegalcenter.org to partner with the Legal Center to or (303) 722-0300. D organize and sponsor Attorneys’ Night Out. The Young Lawyers Division is A Seat at The Bar is a column that will a group of young or newly admitted highlight activities and happenings of secattorneys in the Denver area that tions and committees of the Denver Bar collaborate in community ser vice Association. If you have a story or idea you projects and professional development would like to share in A Seat at The Bar, activities. Attorneys’ Night Out is not please contact Docket Editor Sara Crocker only an important fundraising event for at scrocker@cobar.org. the Legal Center but also an excellent opportunity for lawyers in Denver to combine a professional networking opportunity with an event that supports In 2010, the Legal Center provided the the legal needs of our less fortunate following services at little or no cost: fellow citizens. w 3,500 callers were provided Each year, Attorneys’ Night Out informational and referral services brings together the needs of the Legal w 2,740 people received educational Center and the mission of the Young programs across the state w 1,237 individuals across the state Lawyers Division in a lively social setof Colorado were served by the ting. Due to the overlapping interests Legal Center of the two groups, the Young Lawyers w 424 of those served were provided legal representation by the Legal Division provides volunteers to staff the Center event and encourages all of its members w 218 nursing facilities with a total to attend and donate to the Legal Center. of 20,295 beds and 543 assisted living facilities with 15,500 beds Last year, more than 150 attorneys from were served by the Colorado Longaround the metro area came together Term Care Ombudsman Program at at Attorneys’ Night Out to support the the Legal Center Legal Center. w 100+ pro bono and 20 paid attorneys supported to leverage For additional information regarding legal services for 4,631 older people this year’s Attorneys’ Night Out, please in Colorado contact Joshua D. Anderson, Director

Remembering the Importance of Service: A Night at Mi Casa

by K ady D odd s When I recently volunteered with the DBA’s Young Lawyers Division for Legal Night at Mi Casa Resource Center, I was reminded of what an honor serving as a lawyer can be. Most lawyers I know joined the profession not only because they are good at arguing or find legal research and writing interesting but also because they enjoy helping others. Despite the lawyer jokes we all politely endure, the legal field essentially is about ser vice— sharing our knowledge and skills with those who need them.

For years, DBA YLD, together with Arnold & Porter, the DBA Access to Justice Committee, and the Colorado Lawyers Committee, have hosted Legal Nights at Mi Casa and Centro San Juan Diego. These community centers help serve the needs of lowincome families in the metro area.

They are always in need of volunteer translators f luent in Spanish legal terms and lawyers of any experience level to help attendees identify their legal concerns and locate appropriate resources and information. Volunteer lawyers are not expected to bring specific legal knowledge to the table and do not give legal advice. The night I volunteered, the majority of attorneys beside me were not experts in family law, immigration law, or many of the other subjects that were at issue that night, but our general knowledge of the legal process proved helpful.

During my first volunteer experience, we arrived to a full gymnasium, and there were many who continued to wait patiently even after legal night officially ended. Hearing their questions in a ver y immediate and personal context inspired me to learn more about a number of legal subjects. As I sat with a mentor attorney

Mi Casa works to increase the employability, education, and skills of Latinos and low-income families, offering support services such as Legal Night.

Photo courtesy of Mi Casa. and watched as family after family approached our table, eagerly accepted the direction and resources we provided, and graciously thanked us, I was reminded why being a lawyer can feel so good.

DBA YLD welcomes you to join us at the upcoming Legal Night at Mi Casa starting at 5:30 p.m. on June 21.

For more information about how to volunteer at Legal Night, please email JP Phillips at James.Phillips@hro.com.

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Daniel C. Himelspach Janis Y. Cella

Leslie M. Lawson Federico C. Alvarez

DISPUTE MANAGEMENT, INC. 1801 Williams Street Suite 300 Denver CO 80218 (303) 321-1115 free parking

www.DisputeManagementInc.com info@DisputeManagementInc.com

June 2011 I The Docket 13

Wellness Brief

Ten Tips for Wise Volunteering

by MINE S & A ss o ci ate s Consider the following to find the best volunteering fit for you: 1. Research the causes or issues important to you. Look for a group that deals with issues you feel strongly about and wish to contribute to. You might already be giving money to one of these organizations, and that might be a good place to begin your volunteering experience. If you can’t find such an organization, here’s a challenging and intriguing thought: why not start one yourself? You can rally your neighbors to clean up that vacant lot on the corner, patrol the neighborhood, paint an elderly neighbor’s house, take turns keeping an eye on the ailing person down the street, or form a group to advocate for a remedy to that dangerous intersection in your neighborhood. There is no end to the creative avenues for volunteering, just as there is no end to the need for volunteers.

2. Consider the skills you have to offer. If you enjoy outdoor work, have a knack for teaching, or just enjoy interacting with people, you may want to look for volunteer work that would incorporate these aspects of your personality.

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Many positions require a volunteer who has previous familiarity with certain equipment, such as computers, or who possesses certain skills, such as ability in athletics or communications. For one of these positions you might decide to do something comparable to what you do on the job during your work day, or something you already enjoy as a hobby.

This sort of position allows you to jump right into the work without having to be trained for the assignment.

3. Consider volunteering as a family. Think about looking for a volunteer opportunity that would be suitable for parents and children to do together, or for husband and wife to take on as a team. When a family volunteers to work together at a nonprofit organization, the experience can bring them closer together, teach young children the value of giving their time and effort, introduce everyone in the family to skills and experiences never before encountered, and give the entire family a shared experience as a wonderful family memory.

4. Would you like to learn something new? Perhaps you would like to move into areas that will provide you with a novel experience or change? Then, seek a volunteer opportunity involving

training in an unfamiliar skill. Many nonprofits seek out people who are willing to learn, especially if the needs they serve are specialized or unique. Many nonprofits have a demonstrated need but few volunteers are skilled in what it takes to fill that need. Realize beforehand, however, that such work might require much more of an effort or time commitment for training before the actual volunteer assignment begins.

Make sure you are willing to commit to the necessary responsibilities.

5. Don’t over- commit your schedule. Make sure the volunteer hours you want to give fit into your hectic life, so that you don’t frustrate your family, exhaust yourself, shortchange the organization you’re trying to help, or neglect your day job. Do you want a long-term assignment or something temporary? If you are unsure about your availability or want to see how the work suits you before making an extensive commitment, see if the organization will start you out on a limited number of hours. Better to start out slowly than to commit yourself to a schedule you can’t—or don’t want—to fulfill.

6. Nonprofits may have questions, too. While most nonprofits are

eager to find volunteer help, they have to be careful when accepting the services you offer. If you contact an organization with an offer to donate your time, you may be asked to come in for an interview, fill out a volunteer application, and describe your qualifications and your background just as you would at an interview for a paying job. It is in the organization’s interest to make certain you have the skills they need, that you are truly committed to doing the work, and that your interests match those of the nonprofit. Furthermore, in volunteer work involving children or other at-risk populations, there are legal ramifications for the organization to consider.

community-sponsored soup kitchens or food pantries; museums, art galleries, and monuments; community choirs, bands, and orchestras; prisons; neighborhood parks; youth organizations, sports teams, and after school programs; shelters for battered women and children; and historical restorations, battlefields, and national parks.

7. I never thought of that! Many community groups that are looking for volunteers may not have occurred to you.

Most of us know that hospitals, libraries, and churches use volunteers for a great deal of their work, but here are some volunteer opportunities that may not have crossed your mind: day care centers; neighborhood watch; public schools and colleges; halfway houses; community theatres; drug rehabilitation centers; fraternal organizations, such as the Elks, Moose, Knights of Columbus, or Rotary Clubs; retirement centers and homes for the elderly; Meals on Wheels; church or

9. Virtual volunteering? Yes, there is such a thing! If you have computer access and the necessary skills, some organizations now offer the opportunity to do volunteer work over the computer. This might take the form of giving free legal advice, typing a college term paper for a person with a disability, or simply keeping in contact with a shut-in who has email.

This sort of volunteering might be wellsuited to you if you have limited time, no transportation, or a physical disability that precludes you from getting about freely. Virtual volunteering also can be a way for you to give time if you simply

8. Give voice to your hear t through your giving and volunteering! Bring your heart and your sense of humor to your volunteer service, along with an enthusiastic spirit, which is in itself a priceless gift. What you’ll get in return will be immeasurable!

enjoy computers and want to employ your computer skills in your volunteer work.

10. Be a year-round volunteer! We all tend to think more of those in need during the holidays, but volunteering is welcomed and necessary all year. The need for compassion doesn’t stop with the New Year, and warm spring weather doesn’t fill empty stomachs or decrease the litter in the public parks. We all need to be aware that making our communities, our nation, and our world better is a 365-day-a-year responsibility and there is always something we can be doing to help! D Published as part of MINES and Associates weekly communication series and available at MINESandAssociates.com.

Originally published by MetroVolunteers.

Wellness Brief is a monthly column that looks at all aspects of health and living well and offers tips on how to bring wellbeing to your daily life. Is there a topic you would like to read about? Please email suggestions to Docket Editor Sara Crocker, at scrocker@cobar.org.

June 2011 I The Docket 15

Bobbie Hobbs and her husband, Greg, at California State University–Los Angeles, during their Peace Corps training in the summer of 1967. This year, the Peace Corps is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Going Away to Grow Up

A Reflection on Volunteering with the Peace Corps

by B ob bie Hob b s

I

solated, lost, my husband Greg and I are hiking to the Nevado de Tolima, a volcanic, snow-covered mountain in the Colombian Andes.

Our trek started at 4 a.m. from a lush hot spring. Journalists from Ibague, who organized the trip, give the young guide with the tiny transistor radio their gear to pack onto mules. The ubiquitous bambuco rhythm Colombians love for dancing yields this Good Friday to Bach’s “St. John Passion” and “St. Matthew Passion” and Beethoven’s “Christ on the Mount of Olives.” The kid hates this. The journalists talk about how the transistor will radicalize Campesino life.

Just Kids in the Andes We insist on carrying our own packs, but an hour into the slippery climb along

16 The Docket I June 2011

and through waterfalls, we offload our packs onto the mules. I retch up the pan (“bread”) and café con leche. I think the cause is the wet dead fly I’ve nearly swallowed.

After climbing for 12 hours, huddled in my leaky poncho by a trailside waterfall, I plead for everyone to go on and let me sleep.

At 13,000 feet, we reach the paramo, a desolate, windswept plain above tree line. Verdant green gives way to frostmisted grays, vast bogs, and wetlands dotted with a variety of unearthly plants called frailejones stretching off in every direction. Gathered under a plastic tarp the Colombians keep muttering we are lost, “¡Qué Lío! ¡Qué Lío!” (“What a mess!”).

Now we panic. We trusted them. We wish we had taken more control, had a map, asked more questions. They have us going on word-of-mouth directions.

Stuck in this miasma in the half light of late afternoon, we can’t see the sheep herder’s shelter on the ridge above us we’ve been toiling toward. Misty shadows emerge and recede. We are chasing cows through immense bench land encircling a snow-covered mountain.

Greg is mumbling that the only way out is a two-day walk straight ahead.

Why can’t I tell him that’s ridiculous and we’ll go back the way we came? Finally, one of the Colombians locates the thatched roof shelter.

In Colombian cities, grills across household windows and doors keep would-be burglars from entering. Surrounding walls are spiked with broken glass. Here, at the end of the earth, this shelter is open for anyone in need.

Shaking wet, chilled, and exhausted, I unroll my sleeping bag onto the dirt floor and immediately fall asleep. Never mind the hot soup the journalists invite us to join in sipping. Greg dips in. Out of the boiling kettle he fishes up a sock that’s dropped from a drying perch over the fire.

In the middle of the night a man looks in on us and silently goes on his way. The next morning, sun evaporates steam from the thatched roof of the shelter. We talk of Tiro Fijo (“Sure Shot”), founder of FARC, a communist guerilla organization. Could he have been the midnight visitor?

A Family in the Mist Out of the gloom we see a man leading a mule bearing his young wife, who cradles their crying, sick child swaddled in a ruana.

She pleads for help. I am helpless to their needs. My survival Spanish consists of, “I want,” “I have,” and “Where is?”

Usually, I struggle for translation. I comprehend her fear immediately in my gut; I know the universal language of hope.

The husband wears Campesino garb: black hat, rubber boots, and a machete strapped to his side.

Several in our group are preparing to scale the deadliest mountain in Colombia. The Colombian journalists turn their backs and continue preparing for their climb. The little family disappears into a

foggy desert.

I went by the hospital in Ibague before we started our hike. People on stretchers waited outside in the rain to get into the emergency room. Trash from the hospital piled on the street, discarded syringes, drip bags, used gloves. I worry for the baby.

The Navajo poet Luci Tapahonso beautifully says all of us have the same feelings for our children. We nurture and protect them the best we can.

Today, 43 years later, Colombia ranks 22nd in the World Health Organization’s health care ranking. The U.S. is 37th.

Novios in the Corps Always polite, the Colombians welcome us to their country in September 1967. Greg and I are newly married.

They joke about us being novios and turn the dancing music up.

In “The Milagro Beanfield War,” VISTA volunteer Herbie Goldfarb is oblivious to the subtle double-entendre of a small northern New Mexico town.

I laugh at how they are laughing at him.

He tries so earnestly to fit in.

I feel like Herbie.

I am a newly minted speech therapist from the University of Northern Colorado. My Peace Corps assignment is to help the hearing impaired through a program at the National University in Bogotá. The program ends suddenly after I’ve been in the country for three months—the Colombian professor in charge wants to charge tuition and the U.S. government intends that poor people be served. USAID pulls the equipment I need.

I volunteer at an orphanage for deaf girls started by a Catholic nun in a poor barrio south of downtown. She encourages my work, glad for any help she can get. Other volunteers say I shouldn’t be doing this because it is a church school.

Gastric distress seems to be a favorite topic among volunteers, “You ate the strawberries, and you deserve the amoebas.” I join Greg on many Jeep rides into the lowlands and up to Amazon headwater high in the Andes.

His assignment is to bring superin-

Colombian journalists huddle under a plastic tarp on the paramo. tendents of rural school districts out of the capitol city, where they politick, to visit teachers and see the students.

Volunteers working with Colombians at a production studio in Bogota beam out educational television programs for use in mostly one-room schoolhouses. The teachers have so few materials to work with. I admire what they are able to do. I help put on teacher education workshops—ideas on how to incorporate television programs into their classrooms.

The children sit on wooden benches, write on slates, and recite in unison. We help them paint the map of the world on school walls or help figure out how to use natural materials for class lessons.

Events Back Home Hosting an African American volunteer at our apartment in downtown

Bogotá, we switch on the short wave radio after dinner while we play cards.

It is 1968 and spring back home. Martin Luther King is dead, the announcer repeats. Abruptly saying goodbye, all that our fellow volunteer can say is, “They’ve killed the wrong guy.”

My pregnancy test comes back positive a few days later. In early June, just as we return home to have the first child of our little family, Robert Kennedy is murdered in Los Angeles. Greg enrolls in law school at the University of CaliforniaBerkeley.

FARC’s revolutionary fervor turns to kidnapping and assassination fueled by the cocaine trade in the United States.

In 1981, the Peace Corps withdraws from Colombia, not returning until 2010.

The contents of the book locker the Peace Corps sent with us to Colombia are still with us. I treasure Joseph Heller’s “Catch 22,” the “Fanny Farmer Cookbook,” and Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness.” Conrad described colonials firing aimlessly into the bush.

We were kids wandering into the Andes. We had to come back home to grow up. D Bobbie Hobbs was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Colombia from 1967 to 1968. The Peace Corps is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

Bobbie often joined her husband, Greg, on school visits down the mountainsides of Colombia to the Amazon while they were in the Peace Corps.

June 2011 I The Docket 17

Ride the Wave!

Join

for

1

CELEBRATING A CENTURY

Wheels of Justice Kick-Off Party!

Thursday, June 16, 5:30–8 p.m. • The Blake Street Tavern, 2301 Blake St., Denver We’ll have great food, beer, wine, and fun, and you will learn about the best strategies for fundraising as individual riders and hear details from The Children’s Hospital doctors on the life-saving programs we’ll be supporting. RSVP to lunches@cobar.org by June 10.

Help the Wheels of Justice reach its $250,000 goal!

JOIN AS A SPONSOR: See the excellent publicity and benefits available to team sponsors at www.wheelsofjusticecycling.org.

SIGN UP TO RIDE: Wheels of Justice riders receive great benefits, including cool swag, training rides, coaching sessions, bike maintenance classes and parties. Sign up at www.wheelsofjusticecycling.org.

Thanks to our generous 2011 sponsors who have helped us raise more than $60,000 so far. Please join them!

18 The Docket I June 2011

Gun Ownership and Health Reform Under an X-ray: Their Time Has Come

by M arsh all S nide r

I

n Kennesaw, Ga., gun ownership is not only a right, it is a legal requirement. In 1982 the City Council of this then-rural town of 5,000 citizens passed an ordinance requiring every head of household to maintain a firearm and ammunition. The idea was to prevent crime; in theory, no one would want to burglarize a home that with certainty was occupied by a gun-toting head of household.

In an odd twist, the ACLU challenged this ordinance in federal court.

Typically, it is the conservative right that challenges laws by which government intrudes on our right to make personal decisions. But whether government involvement in our lives is good or bad depends on whose ideology is being gored (for example, many conservatives who think government should leave us alone have no problem with laws that tell us who we can marry).

The federal court in Georgia upheld the Kennesaw mandatory gun law. The court did, however, require an amendment to the ordinance to exempt conscientious objectors. Criminals, the mentally ill, and people who could not afford a firearm were already excused from the law’s requirements (it must have been a relief to the citizens of Kennesaw that their elected representatives did not require criminals to own a firearm).

Although home burglaries did decline in the two years after the law was passed, the gun ownership law was largely symbolic. Prior to the enactment of this ordinance, an estimated 95 percent of Kennesaw residents already owned a firearm. The gun ownership requirement is still on the books but probably not a factor in crime reduction. There is no penalty for violating this ordinance, no one has ever been prosecuted for not owning a gun, and only 50 percent of the current population of 35,000 own a firearm.

motor vehicle drivers to buy liability insurance. It can thus be seen that laws requiring citizens to purchase commercial products are constitutional.

Of course, citizens can opt out of the motorcycle helmet and liability insurance purchase requirements by choosing not to ride a motorcycle or drive a car.

The health insurance reform law does not give individuals that option—you can’t agree to opt out of health. That is why the Kennesaw law is so important.

It, too, had no opt-out provision, unless you were a criminal, mentally ill, a conscientious objector, or poor. By making these same accommodations to the Affordable Care Act, that law also should withstand constitutional scrutiny. All Congress has to do is amend the law to exempt criminals, the mentally ill, and the poor from the requirement to buy health insurance—they probably don’t need it, anyway. D

But what, I hear you ask, does any of this have to do with me, a Colorado citizen who can own a firearm or not, as I wish? The answer is obvious. If citizens of Kennesaw can be required to purchase a commercial product such as a gun, it follows that citizens of Colorado can be required to purchase a commercial product, such as health insurance. The precedent is clear and controlling.

We already have case law in Colorado to support the mandatory health insurance requirement contained in last year’s Affordable Care Act (the soThe University of Denver Sturm College of Law called health care is proud to announce the reform law that really is not about health care reform; it is about health Howard Kenison, JD’72 insurance reform).

Outstanding Alumni Award •• In 1970, the Colorado Supreme Charles Goldberg, JD’64 Court ruled that a Alumni Professionalism Award •• mandatory motorcycle helmet law Professor Alan Chen Robert B. Yegge was constitutional Excellence in Teaching Award because it bore a •• reasonable relaTerrance Carroll, JD’05 tionship to the Bruce B. Johnson Outstanding public health, Young Alumni Award safety, and welfare (that statute Wednesday, September 21, 2011 is no longer on Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center the books, but the S u p re m e C o u r t For more information or to register for the 2011 DU Law Stars dinner, please contact Laura Dean at ldean@law.du.edu ruling is still viable or 303.871.6122 or visit us online at law). We also now www.law.du.edu/alumni/lawstars.htm. require Colorado

2011 DU Law Stars!

June 2011 I The Docket 19

Choosing the Next Chapter of Your Life

Personal Strategic Planning for Attorneys B y K en S te rn

M

ost executives and professionals recognize the importance of strategic planning to the success of their company or firm; however, most executives and professionals do not apply those same principles to planning the next chapter of their own lives, and lawyers do so even less frequently. In fact, personal strategic planning is every bit as important as business planning, particularly for baby boomers who are still breaking new ground in formulating alternatives to traditional career paths.

Since the ’60s, the baby boomer generation has been questioning tradition and has created new and exciting ways to do business and live their lives. The same

“

Some boomers are looking to combine legal work with other passions or interests—such as melding law practice with a second career, becoming more active with a nonprofit, or restructuring their practice to have better work-life balance.

Many have changed careers entirely.

The rewards involved in making these types of career modifications are enormous, including more enjoyment of life, less stress, and more time to pursue other interests. Rather than leaving a successful law practice that has been built over many years, baby boomer attorneys are discovering how to leverage their equity and their book of business in ways that provide a higher quality of life and still allow them to reap the benefits of their years of hard work. Additionally, choosing the next chapter of one’s career

Rather than continuing to work at 100 miles per hour and then retire completely, baby boomers are looking at ways to continue their careers, but in a different fashion or at a different speed.”

is true with how they view their careers as they approach what traditionally was considered one’s retirement years.

Baby boomers are healthier, more active, and more innovative than previous generations at the same age. The desire of many to continue working beyond what was traditionally considered normal retirement age reflects their vitality. Others see working longer as more of a necessity than a choice, due to the recession and its impact on net worth. Continuing vitality and/or diminished net worth may motivate many baby boomers to continue working, but they often don’t want to do so at the same pace or in the same way that has been the basis for their success.

Rather than continuing to work at 100 miles per hour and then retire completely, baby boomers are looking at ways to continue their careers, but in a different fashion or at a different speed.

20 The Docket I June 2011

can be very beneficial to the health and continuing success of the individual’s law firm in terms of strategic and succession planning.

Choosing the next chapter of one’s life, under these circumstances, also presents some challenges and requires careful consideration and action, similar to strategic planning. First, the individual must create a vision of what the next chapter will look like and then create a specific plan of action to make that vision a reality. It is also important to create accountability measures. Harmonizing t h e i n d i v i d u a l ’s

next chapter with the ongoing best interests of the law firm also re q u i re s c a re ful and skillful planning. Oftentimes, the firm cannot plan its future until its baby boomer senior partners have determined the next chapters of their careers. The use of a consultant or an executive coach can be very helpful in designing and executing this transition.

Taking the time to engage in personal strategic planning provides an opportunity to reexamine one’s values and interests—determining whether a new chapter in one’s legal career can or should be created and implemented; that it is consistent with one’s current values, interests, and reality; and, hence, that it is more enjoyable and rewarding. D Ken Stern is has created his own next chapter, blending an active immigration law practice at Stern & Curray LLC with a second career in executive coaching and strategic planning with Linx Group LLC. For more information about personal strategic planning, contact Ken Stern at (303) 407-4100 or ken.stern@sterncurray.com.

Email Chain Keeps April Gag Going Editor’s Note: As it can each year, some of the April Fool’s articles in the April issue of The Docket caused a stir at legal offices across the city. One office wasn’t buying the story, “Colorado Lawyers to Fix Judicial Complex Budget Shortfall,” but they sure had some fun playing along. For your reading pleasure, we have republished the email circulated by Ron Von Lembke, with his permission.

From: Ron Von Lembke Sent: Friday, April 1, 2011 8:53 a.m.

To: Attorneys and Staff Subject: Colorado Lawyers to Provide Construction Support to Judicial Building Attached is an article from the April bar journal announcing the requirement that, due to budget shortfalls, Colorado lawyers will be required to contribute 10 hours of physical labor toward construction of the new judicial complex in Denver. I have been asked to coordinate this effort for our office.

I have performed an inventory of tools available in the office to support this project. With the exception of a hammer and a pair of multi-purpose pliers (which belong to Stephanie), our inventory is woefully short. I note, however, that we could possibly convert some of our heavy duty staplers into hammers and, in a pinch, we may be able to use our paper cutter to shape tiles for the bathrooms.

The bar does allow attorneys to purchase an exemption from the requirement for $5,000. I called the bar and asked whether we could bond this requirement in order to spread the cost over the lifetime of the complex. They thought the idea had merit but said the idea would have to go to a committee for further study. In the meantime, they did say that for those attorneys who may not be able to afford the initial $5,000 exemption payment, they could send their paralegals, secretaries, IT per-

sonnel, and project managers to act as “minions” (their word, not mine) on the job site. Their job would be to hold the coats of the working attorneys, pull the occasional lawyer out of cement batches, or scrape small bits of attorneys off the sidewalk who ventured too close to the edge.

I am going to ask for a medical exemption since I got a paper cut yesterday afternoon while reading the journal.

Failing that, I plan to volunteer for a lessphysical job such as deconstruction.

I am open to your thoughts and comments.

–Ron Subject: RE: Colorado Lawyers to Provide Construction Support to Judicial Building Ron, I think it is wonderful idea! I have over 10 hours experience on a Bobcat and believe I would be well-qualified to handle heavy machinery with a couple of hours of YouTube instruction and Speedway practice. I have only isolated incidences of ramming into things, and I’m relatively confident those days are behind me.

–John Subject: RE: Colorado Lawyers to Provide Construction Support to Judicial Building Ron, This sounds like an excellent program. Given your physical condition, when can we expect to be notified as to whether we’ve been selected as an active minion for this project? As our lawyers select their proxy-minions, I have several comments and questions. Unlike Laurie, I do not have any knowledge, skills, or experience that pertains to this project, but I’m wondering if it might be worthwhile for Drew to set our staff up with on-site internships? If one of us is

able to master the crane, or bulldozer, or scraper, or I achieve my personal goal of proficiency with a DeWind Trencher, we would be much better prepared to contribute to the Counselors’ Labor Exchange program.

If we are not able to set up the construction internships, I offer my services as a “digital laborer.” This could entail building PowerPoint presentations about on-site safety, overlaying construction plans in the beta version of the upcoming “Google Construction Zone,” or simply reviewing construction contracts as there might not be other minions suited for this job. Also, my generation specializes in creating blogs about our experiences and I anticipate there will be a story to tell about poor on-site conditions or the inevitable caste system that develops between lawyers and minions.

Thoughts?

Overall, I’m very excited to get involved with this project. As we’re operating heavy machinery, laboring on the computer, or collecting bits of attorneys, how should we bill our time?

Thank you, Josh Subject: RE: Colorado Lawyers to Provide Construction Support to Judicial Building Ron, I used to be a nurse in a former life and I can help with your paper cut. In a past life I was a doctor and we would amputate the appendage that was injured. I have some high quality chef knives at home I could use and I would be happy to chop that injured finger off. I would only charge you $4,000, which would result in a savings to you of $1,000. It seems to me this is a reasonable course of action to take so you can get on with your life and help build that justice center. Let me know if I can help.

I’m ready, willing, and able.

–Laurie June 2011 I The Docket 21

Lockton Companies, LLC

American National Bank Colorado Fund for People with Disabilities Ballard Spahr Andrews Ingersoll LLP Organizational Options King & Greisen LLP

22 The Docket I June 2011

Bar Review

Brothers Combines Uptown Beers and Down South Flavors

by S ar a C ro cke r

U

ptown Brothers Brewing Co. opened last August, bringing craft beers, southern-inspired food, and a 47-inch TV screen for just about every angle to the Capitol Hill neighborhood.

Nestled in the former Red Room space, at 320 E. Colfax Ave., Uptown Brothers straddles the area of Colfax that walks the line between seedy and sophisticated. The large windows of the bar and its lounge style, with open tables, booths, and a long bar, invite people watching inside and out—whether observing politicos sip a few martinis after a day at the Capitol or having a front-row seat to the strange occurrences that make Colfax such a legendary street. That can be a good thing—or a bad thing.

We—namely Dave Colt, Kate Mills, Frank Schuchat, Marshall Snider, Dennis Walker, and myself—got comfy at Uptown Brothers on a recent weekday.

What brought us there was the owner, Paul Lumbye, who is still a practicing attorney and a former colleague of Walker.

What kept us in our seats was the draft beer menu. If you wanted it, it was there. And if you didn’t know what it was, the wait staff was there to explain, offer samples, and suggest new beers to try. Plus, the menu rotates fairly regularly.

“I was particularly impressed by the extensive draft beer menu,” Snider said after visiting. “Thirty-two choices of various wheats, lagers, ales, ambers, stouts, IPAs, and Belgian-style beers should allow anyone to find something they like.”

For sports fans, this bar should have you at its proclamation of nineteen 47-inch HD TVs. There was a lot to watch and it kept our conversation flowing.

During our visit, we were joined by the proprietor, who shared a story of a motor vehicle hearing he had attended

with a client earlier in the day. Even more exciting, he let us know that Uptown Brothers plans to start its own in-house brewing.

A few of us also tried the food while there. Though there were some who raved and some who panned, we all agreed that the menu has some interesting options in case your happy hour stretches into the night.

The menu boasts bar food with a southern flair; mixed in with staples like hot wings, nachos, and BLTs were fried green tomatoes, po’ boys, and Carolina pulled pork.

“The food is unique,” Walker said.

“Where else would you get Brunswick stew, crab cakes, and cheese grits in one stop?” D Uptown Brothers Brewing Co. Craft drafts and southern fixings.

320 E. Colfax Ave., (303) 839-8000 uptownbrothers.com

June 2011 I The Docket 23

24 The Docket I June 2011

June 2011 I The Docket 25

Legal

AFFAIRS GOOD THINGS Perkins Coie is proud to announce that Denver partner Karen Samuels Jones is this year’s recipient of the Joy S. Burns Women Of Enterprise Award. This award, which is given by the Franklin L. Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management, Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver, is given to a professional woman in the real estate or construction industry who demonstrates the highest achievement in the industry, outstanding leadership, ethical standards, and character in her industry and community, as well as giving her time and resources to promote the talents and accomplishments of other women within the industry.

Ken Fellman of the Denver-based law firm Kissinger & Fellman P.C. received the Arvada Chamber of Commerce’s Pioneer Fellman Award on May 12.

The Chamber presents the award to an individual in recognition of his or her enduring commitment to the welfare of the Arvada community and the individual’s extraordinary contributions, service, and selflessness over an extended period.

In his law practice, Fellman specializes in local government telecommunications law.

Joan McWilliams, principal of McWilliams Mediation Group, LTD, is pleased to announce the publication of her latest book “Parenting Plans For Families After Divorce”—a book that shows parents how to write an effective parenting plan that supports a healthy and sustainable post-divorce family.

Penfield Tate, a shareholder in the Denver office of the international law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP, has been

appointed to the Board of Governors of the Colorado State University System by Gov. John Hickenlooper. Tate’s appointment will require confirmation of the state Senate.

Brian G. McConaty, a shareholder in the Denver-based firm, Robinson Waters & O’Dorisio, has been named President of McConaty the American Board of Trial Advocates’ Colorado Chapter and has been elected a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers McConaty’s practice emphasizes medical malpractice defense, health law, and civil and commercial litigation. Additionally, he is a Master Barrister with Doyle’s American Inn of Court and has been on faculty at the University of Colorado School of Medicine since 1988.

Gregor y & Plotkin would like to announce and congratulate John Plotkin on his appointment to the Pinnacol Assurance Board Plotkin of Directors.

James T. Markus, a member with the law firm of Markus Williams Young & Zimmermann LLC, has been named presidentelect of the American Bankruptcy Institute. With nearly 13,000 members, Markus the ABI is the largest nonpartisan national organization dedicated to research and education on matters relating to bankruptcy and insolvency.

Rothgerber Johnson & Lyons LLP is pleased to announce that Nicole R. Nies has been elected to serve a three-year term Nies with the Real Estate Law

Section Council of the Colorado Bar Association.

The Real Estate Law Section monitors and reports on judicial, legislative, and other developments that affect the practice of real estate law. The goal of the section is to promote, clarify, and educate members concerning issues arising in Colorado real estate law.

Sherman & Howard’s Kate Johnson has been named to the Board of Directors of Denver ’s RedLine, a nonprofit urban Johnson arts center. Johnson also serves the board as secretary.

Johnson is a member in the Tax and Probate Department in Sherman & Howard’s Denver office. Her practice focuses on wealth transfer and tax planning; the administration of trusts and estates; and the establishment of charitable organizations.

Kimberlie K. Ryan h a s b e e n s e l e c te d b y the American Arbitration Association to serve as an arbitrator on the Ryan Employment Law Panel of Arbitrators. Ryan also continues her practice as a mediator on the AAA panel and as legal counsel with Ryan Law Firm, LLC. Colorado State Bank and Trust (CSBT) is pleased to announce (“Mimi”) Miriam A. Goodman has joined as assistant vice Goodman president and trust officer at the CSBT Boulder branch. She will be responsible for business development and support of trust and wealth management clients in Boulder and Northern Colorado.

If you are a Denver Bar attorney 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 Kate Mills at kmills@cobar.org by the 5th day of the month.

26 The Docket I June 2011

Before joining CSBT, Goodman practiced law for 14 years with the Boulder firm of Frascona, Joiner, Goodman and Greenstein, P.C. Her practice focused exclusively on estate planning and trust and estate administration.

CHANGES Casey Quillen has become an associate at Overturf McGath Hull & Doherty, P.C. Quillen has experience in insurance defense litigation and will continue to focus her practice on personal and premises liability, as well as construction defect litigation.

Miller & Steiert, P.C. is pleased to announce that David W. Miller, formerly of CH2M Hill, has joined the firm as of counsel.

Miller’s practice will include business consulting and mediation through Littleton Alternative Dispute Resolution (LADR).

Attorney Tracy L .

A s h m o re h a s j o i n e d the Denver-based law firm, Robinson Waters & O’Dorisio, P.C. as a shareAshmore holder.

Ashmore will continue her focus on antitrust and competition law and business disputes, with an additional emphasis on real estate and insurance coverage matters.

The law firm of Rothgerber Johnson & Lyons LLP is pleased to welcome Lyndsay K. Arundel as an associate in its Denver Arundel office.

Arundel is continuing her practice in the defense of complex tort and product liability matters, including insurancerelated litigation.

The Nelson Law Firm, LLC is pleased to announce that Christian J. Schmidt has joined the firm. Schmidt brings more than a decade of diverse experience involving all facets of construction

defect litigation.”

Miller & Steiert, P.C. congratulatesBenjamin E. Currier on becoming a shareholder with the firm.

The law firm of McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP announced that former Denver City Attorney David R. Fine Fine joined the firm’s Denver office on April 25 as a partner. Fine’s practice will focus on business disputes and commercial litigation, employment law, and public policy matters.

Otten, Johnson, Robinson, Neff & Ragonetti, P.C. has added Heather B. Baker as the firm’s Director of Marketing and Business Development (a newly created position within the firm). Heather comes to Otten Johnson with more than 10 years of experience marketing professional services organizations. She serves as the Marketing Committee chair for the Center for Legal Inclusiveness (CLI) as well as a Program Committee co-chair for the Legal Marketing Association (Rocky Mountain Chapter).

B e re n b a u m We i n shienk PC is pleased to announce that Rajesh K. Kukreja has joined the firm as a shareholder and Kukreja as a member of the firm’s Domestic and Family Law and Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice groups.

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. (Ogletree Deakins), welcomes Jessica Tsuda as an associate to the firm’s Tsuda Denver office.

Tsuda joins the firm from Holme Roberts & Owen LLP and has experience with employment and labor-related litigation and counseling clients on applicable federal and state laws.

BRICKS & MORTAR Anton Law Group announces the relocation of their firm to 55 Madison St., Ste. 650, Denver, CO 80206; phone: (720) 536-4600; fax: (720) 546-4601.

IN MEMORIAM Denver Bar Association receptionist Paige Adkins Martinez passed away unexpectedly on April 8. She was 39.

Martinez was working at the DBA while pursuing her master’s degrees in nursing and mental health counseling. She is survived by her parents, her grandmother and grandfather, and six siblings. She will be remembered most for her great talents and musical ability, especially when she played the piano or sang. She loved helping others and being an aunt to her seven nieces and five nephews.

A memorial service was held April 23 in Ashland, Ohio.

Troubled by Rude and Unprofessional Attorneys?

The following lawyers are willing to take calls on a confidential basis, for guidance, tips, and strategies for dealing with opposing counsel.

Hal B. Warren: (303) 654-6116 John Baker: (303) 953-6803 Howard Rosenberg: (303) 871-6290 Mark Fogg: (303) 825-2700 Sponsored by

the DBA Peer Professionalism

Assistance Committee

June 2011 I The Docket 27

Dates on the

DOCKET DBA EVENTS All DBA meetings are scheduled at 1900 Grant St., Ste. 900, Denver, unless otherwise noted. Call Melissa Nicoletti, (303) 824-5321, to schedule committee meetings, so they will appear in this calendar.

Call (303) 860-1115, ext. 727 or email lunches@cobar.org to RSVP for all CLEs.

June 2

Democracy Education Noon–1:30 p.m.

Call Meghan Bush, (303) 824-5303.

June 6

Henry Hall Golf Tournament 7:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.

Call Alexa Drago, (303) 824-5313.

CLE: Diversity Noon–1:00 p.m.

June 7

CLE: Mentoring Noon–1:00 p.m..

Denver Access to Justice Committee Meeting Noon–1:30 p.m.

Call Meghan Bush, (303) 824-5303.

DBA Board of Trustees Hotel Monaco 3:30–5 p.m.

Call Dana Collier Smith, (303) 824-5318.

DBA Annual Awards Hotel Monaco 5:30–7:30 p.m.

June 8

CLE: New Rule—File Retention— Rules of Professional Conduct Noon–1:00 p.m.

June 9

CLE: Information Overload 9–10 a.m.

28 The Docket I June 2011

DBA Member Mixer and Future of the Legal Profession 5:30–8:30 p.m.

June 10

CLE: Unbundled Legal Services: Ethical Considerations Noon–1:00 p.m.

Paper Shredding and Electronics Recycling 4:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m.

June 14

Waterman Fund Meeting Noon–1:30 p.m.

Call Janet Bauer, (303) 824-5319.

June 21

Community Action Network Noon–1 p.m.

Call Kate Mills, (303) 824-5312.

FOR THE PUBLIC To volunteer for the DBA Public Legal Education programs or for more information, unless otherwise indicated, contact Meghan Bush at (303) 824-5303.

June 1

Lawline 9 — 4–6:30 p.m.

Legal Night At El Centro De San Juan Diego 2830 Lawrence St. 5:30–7 p.m.

Call (303) 295-9470.

June 8

Lawline 9— 4–6:30 p.m.

June 14

Bankruptcy Clinic U.S. Bankruptcy Court 721 19th St. 1:30–3 p.m.

June 15

Pro Se Divorce Clinic 1437 Bannock St. Courtroom 22 Noon–1:30 p.m.

Lawline 9— 4–6:30 p.m.

June 16

Collections Clinic Denver City and County Building 1437 Bannock St., Room 164 11 a.m.–1 p.m.

June 21

Small Claims Clinic Denver City and County Building 1437 Bannock St., Room 164 11 a.m.–1 p.m.

Legal Night at Mi Casa 360 Acoma St. 5:30–7 p.m.

Call (303) 573-1302.

Pro Se Family Law Clinic Office of Economic Development 1200 Federal Blvd.

Room 1018 5:30–7 p.m.

Call (720) 944-2594.

June 22

Bankruptcy Clinic U.S. Bankruptcy Court 721 19th St. 1:30–3 p.m.

Lawline 9— 4–6:30 p.m.

June 29

Lawline 9— 4–6:30 p.m.

Join a Committee!

If you’re interested in joining a committee listed here, call (303) 860-1115 with questions. For a full list of DBA committees, visit denbar.org.

Denver County Presiding Judge Issues Delay Prevention Order From Presiding Judge John M. Marcucci: The Denver County court is conducting a judicial review of its civil cases that are not presently set for trial and are more than 365 days old.

The purpose of the review is to determine whether those actions are being diligently prosecuted. All interested parties, including but not limited to pro se plaintiffs and attorneys for plaintiffs are ordered to review the status of any matter(s) not set for trial, which was filed more than 365 days ago; where you were/are a party or Counsel in the action(s). You are further directed to file with the Court, within 60 days a response to show cause, listing your case(s) by case number and explaining why that case(s) should not be dismissed for failure to prosecute.

Noncompliance with this order constitutes a failure to diligently prosecute the action(s) and is grounds to, and will result in, the dismissal of the action(s) without prejudice through an entry of dismissal by Minute Order in the Registry of Actions without notice to counsel/party. See Rule 341(b)(2).

Dismissal of an action(s) by the terms of this order and entry of that dismissal into the Registry of Actions is a final judgment and the action(s) and its file(s) will be physically purged. Actions that are dismissed by order will not be subject to reinstatement as an active case unless relief from this order is permitted by and in accordance with the Colorado Rules of County Court Civil Procedure.

If relief is granted and the case is reinstated, the burden to provide that Court with a complete replication of the file(s) is upon the proponent of the reinstatement.

Common Ground

Alternative Dispute Resolution with compassion, expertise and insight .

The qualifications and experience of our former judges have earned them the highest respect of the legal community. They are noted for their respectful treatment of all parties and their genuine desire to find the best solution. No egos. No biases. Just insightful, objective resolution.

Contact Legal Resolution Center at 1.888.881.7365, or visit us at www.legalresolutioncenter.com

DENVER BAR ASSOCIATION

PLACEMENT SERVICE l

Full-Time

l

Temp

l

Time-To-Hire

Attorneys l Secretaries l Paralegals l Receptionists l Accounting l Administrators l Office Services l

Serving the Legal Community since 1986 Mev Parsons / Barb Allen (303) 894-0014

NOW PLACING ATTORNEYS!!!

June 2011 I The Docket 29

Picture

THIS

Sold-out Barristers Benefit Ball a Dancing Success!

The Bar Stars dancers, who paired with professional dancers for a “Dancing with the Stars”-like competition at the Barristers Benefit Ball, performed for a sold-out crowd of approximately 700 at the Grand Hyatt Denver on April 30.

The annual fundraiser for Metro Volunteer Lawyers (MVL), whose theme was “Dancing with the Bar Stars for MVL” not only featured live music and dancing but also casino games, and the always popular raffle and mystery box items.

Though the final fundraising numbers are still being tallied, the Bar Stars dancers raised more than $14,000 for MVL. See video from the Ball at bit.ly/BBB2011.

CBA President Paul Chan circulates with bins for each Bar Star dancer. Attendees were able to vote with their pocketbook or their applause, with an award for top fundraising and for People’s Choice.

DBA President Stacy Carpenter and her husband Justin Prochnow pause for a photo amid the crowd enjoying the cocktail hour.

Cyndy Ciancio and her professional dance partner, Tim Edgar, won People’s Choice for their dance to Donna Summer’s “Last Dance.” Ciancio also raised the most money for MVL, taking the top fundraising award, too.

30 The Docket I June 2011

DBA President-elect and Barristers Benefit Ball Committee co-chair Ilene Bloom poses with her husband, JJ Henrikson. Bloom co-chaired the committee with MaryBeth Sobel.

DBA Happenings

The Bar Stars dancers and their professional partners lined up the dance floor to find out the winner of the People’s Choice and top fundraising awards.

A Lady Gaga look-alike entertained guests.

Members of the Jerry Barnett Orchestra lead guests to the ballroom for dancing and to watch the Bar Stars competition.

A heartfelt thanks goes out to all the patrons, underwriters, contributors, and sponsors, including: Patron Tables s Baker Hostetler, LLP s Bayer & Carey, PC s Benjamin Bain Howard & Cohen, LLC s Berenbaum Weinsheink, PC s Bieging Shapiro & Barber, LLP s Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP s Burns Figa & Will, PC s Colorado Bar Association CLE s Colorado Bar Association Family Law Section s Davis & Ceriani, PC s Davis Graham & Stubbs, LLP s Dorsey & Whitney, LLP s Dufford & Brown, PC s Faegre & Benson, LLP s Fairfield and Woods, PC s Gibson Dunn

s Gordon & Rees, LLP s Gutterman Griffiths, PC s Hensley Kim & Holzer, LLC s Holland & Hart, LLP s Holme Roberts & Owen, LLP s Husch Blackwell, LLP s Ireland Stapleton Pryor & Pascoe, PC s Jacobs Chase, LLC s Judicial Arbiter Group, Inc. s Kelly Garnsey Hubbell + Lass, LLC s Kennedy Childs & Fogg, PC s Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, LLP s Lambdin & Chaney, LLP s Lathrop & Gage, LLP s Long & Page, LLP s Messner & Reeves, LLC s Morrison & Foerster, LLP s Moye|White, LLP

s National Institute for Trial Advocacy/ the John Baker Family s Peck Shaffer & Williams, LLP s Polsinelli Shughart, PC s Pryor Johnson Carney Karr Nixon, PC s Reilly Pozner, LLP s Ritsema & Lyon, PC s Roberts Levin & Rosenberg, PC s Robinson Waters & O’Dorisio, P.C. s Rothgerber Johnson & Lyons, LLP s Sherman & Howard, LLC s Silver & DeBoskey, PC s Snell & Wilmer, LLP s University of Denver Sturm College of Law s Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell, LLP

s Godfrey & Lapuyade, PC s Declan & Linda O’Donnell s The Sweetser Law Firm, PC

s Charles & Deborah Turner s Willoughby & Eckelberry, LLC

s Creekside at Beaver Creek s Rodney Wallace s Windwarrior, LLC

s Woodrow & Sobel, PC

Individual Patrons s Ilene Lin Bloom & JJ Henrikson s Frederic K. Conover II s Nancy Elkind & Skip Hibbard

Raffle Contributors s The Broadmoor s Campus Cycles s Barbara & Roger Chamberlain

Corporate Underwriter s Oran V. Siler Printing Company

Sponsors s Litigare, Litigation & Trial Design Consulting June 2011 I The Docket 31

samuEl Gordon, Esq.

ElainE a.WohlnEr, Esq.

hon. richard d. TurElli

hon. TErri s. diEm

hon. JamEs s. millEr

hon. John P. lEoPold

shEldon E. FriEdman, Esq.

hon. harlan r. Bockman

colliE norman, Esq.

Traveling sTaTewide To meeT your seTTlemenT needs 410 17th Street, Suite 1600 • Denver, CO 80202 303.534.1254 tOllfree 1.866.534.1254