2012 September

Denver Bar Association I Vol. 3434 Issue 3 I8March 2012 2012 A Denver Bar Association Publication I Vol. Issue I September

Artist, Esq.

The Winners of the Denver Lawyers’ Arts and Literature Contest Verify your information for the Legal Directory by Sept. 15.

See page 37.

2 The Docket I September 2012

Vol. 34 Issue 8 I September 2012

ON THE COVER 16

Artist, Esq.: The Winners of the Denver Lawyers’ Arts and Literature Contest

FEATURES

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From the President

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Courts Take Over E-Filing System

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The Making of a Presidential Debate

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Limiting Money in Politics—Point

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In Praise of Citizens United—Counterpoint

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A Seat at the Bar: Democracy Education Committee

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Inspector General’s Report

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DBA Communications Survey Executive Summary

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DBA Annual Report

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IN EVERY ISSUE 42

Legal Affairs

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Dates on the Docket

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Briefs

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THE DOCKET 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. 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, Scott Challinor, Michael J. Decker, Craig C. Eley, David L. Erickson, Loren R. Ginsburg, Rebecca I. Gumaer, Ryan T. Jardine, Thomas L. Kanan, Jr., Robert J. Kapelke, Paul F. Kennebeck, Natalie Lucas, Alicia J. McCommons, Daniel R. McCune, Margaret McMahon, Douglas I. McQuiston, William R. Meyer, Christopher Mommsen, Siddhartha H.

27 Rathod, Gregory D. Rawlings, Frank J. Schuchat, Marshall A. Snider, Daniel A. Sweetser, Erica Vargas, Anthony J. Viorst, Dennis P. Walker DBA OFFICERS: James G. Benjamin, President; Daniel R. McCune, PresidentElect; John M. Vaught , First Vice President; Gillian M. Bidgood, Second Vice President; Ilene Lin Bloom, Immediate Past President; Daniel A. Sweetser, Treasurer BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEMBERS: Catherine A. Chan, Janet Drake, Nicholas Ghiselli, Vance O. Knapp, Barbara J. Mueller, Lucia C. Padilla, Meshach Rhoades, Frederick B. Skillern Andrew M. Toft; Chuck Turner, Executive Director EDITOR: Sara Crocker P.C. EDITOR: Chuck Turner GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Kate Schuster

(303) 860-1115 denbar.org/docket Copyright 2012. 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.

September 2012 I The Docket

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From the President

How Fortunate We Are to Practice in Paradise

by J im Benjamin

W

hen I started practicing law in Southern California, I was 27 and John Denver’s song “Rocky Mountain High”—with its opening verse of “He was born in the summer of his 27th year, coming home to a place he’d never been before”—was at the top of the charts. After tiring of the long multi-freeway commute, I decided to relocate to the place where I always found myself vacationing: Colorado.

There are many small pleasures of residing in Colorado that are taken for granted by natives but were eye-opening to a new transplant from Los Angeles. As I strolled down the street in Telluride, where I established Colorado residency, I found that Coloradans enjoyed greeting every passing stroller with a smile and a “good morning.” In L.A. you avoid eye contact at all cost.

To describe the practice of law in L.A. as adversarial was an understatement.

Normal practice would better be referred to as “scorched earth” tactics. I attributed this in large part to the enormous number of lawyers practicing law. Many

lawyers assumed they would never be engaged with the opposing lawyer again, and they believed in the notion that winning is everything.

I was sworn in to practice at the Ahmanson Theatre along with more than 3,000 other new lawyers by a California appellate judge. Months later, I was admitted in Colorado with a private swearing-in conducted by Justice James Groves, a family friend.

One of my first assignments in Colorado was to try a weeklong trial in Breckenridge. Spring was in bloom in the mountains—wildflowers, fresh new green foliage everywhere, and deer casually eating next to the highway. A mere month before I had been commuting daily on an L.A. freeway, bumper to bumper, with concrete as far to the right as you could see, only ending where skyscrapers met the pavement, and six lanes to the left (or more if you were not in the fast lane!).

While I “first chaired” for my client, I was fortunate that a co-defendant was represented by trial lawyer extraordinaire, Albert Wolf. During one break, I lamented how I just did not have Al’s presentation skills. Al might have been pulling my leg, but he said he actually went to acting school for a year after law school to hone his trial advocacy skills.

Every day in court was live enter-

tainment—the likes of an off-Broadway play. Each night I would prepare for the next day’s proceedings in a condo along the Blue River, finding a few minutes to wet a fly for relaxation. I literally pinched myself and asked, “Are they really paying me to do this?”

Unlike the “I’ll never see you again and I’ll bury you” attitude of the practice in Los Angeles, I found that on every other case assigned to me I would encounter the same opposing lawyer.

Collegiality among members of the Colorado bar was immediately apparent and in sharp contrast to practice in Southern California.

Lawyers in Colorado obviously were concerned with honor and integrity.

Maintenance of that integrity fostered trust. And trust facilitated quick resolution of disputes, as well as lifelong friendships.

Of course, this stor y harkens back to a time when attorney registration numbers in California were in the sixty thousands and Colorado numbers were only four digits. With registration numbers approaching those of earlier California days, let us not lose sight of the collegiality, civility, integrity, and trust that makes practice in our beautiful state such a pleasure. Let us strive to continue to make this “home” to professionalism. D

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4 The Docket I September 2012

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September 2012 I The Docket

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Courts Take Over E-Filing System; Statewide Launch Set for Jan. 1

by B ri an M edina

which are district court civil, domestic, water, and probate cases; and county an. 1 will mark a significant court money and forcible entry and milestone for the Colorado legal detainer cases. ICCES will not expand to community: the Colorado Judiany additional case types for district or cial Branch will replace LexisNexis File & county courts on Jan. 1. However, ICCES Serve with its new, homegrown electronic will expand electronic filing to all Court filing system, the Integrated Colorado of Appeals and Supreme Court case types.

Courts E-Filing System (ICCES). Here’s Who Can Register to Use ICCES what you need to know about this imporICCES will be available to attorneys tant transition to the state’s new e-filing licensed to practice law in Colorado. program.

Any law firm, government agency, or Court Transition to ICCES private agency with at least one ColoradoAll trial courts within Colorado’s 22 licensed attorney may register. judicial districts will transition to ICCES, ICCES also will allow pro se litigants along with the Colorado Court of Appeals to e-file and e-serve in small claims cases and the Colorado Supreme Court. The in Adams and Jefferson counties. It will only court that will not be part of the not, however, allow pro se litigants to Jan.1 transition is the City and County e-file and e-serve in the district, county, of Denver’s County Court. The schedule or appellate courts. Eventually, the judifor Denver County will be provided at a cial branch will permit pro se litigants to later date. e-file and e-serve in these courts.

Case Types Available in ICCES The Transition Begins Oct. 1 ICCES will accommodate the same Although all Colorado courts will case types filed through LexisNexis, begin using ICCES on Jan. 1, the judicial branch will ease into the ICCES transition during a three-month pilot from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31. Colorado’s 8th, 14th, 17th, and 20th Judicial Districts will pilot ICCES during this threemonth period.

Leslie Lawson Dan Himelspach On the date a pilot district switches 21Years of High Quality to ICCES, e-filers will Dispute Management Services stop using LexisNexis in that district and begin using ICCES instead. Any thing attorneys normally would file and serve in LexisNexis— including new cases Freddy Alvarez Janis Cella Todd Mackintosh and subsequent pleadings—must be 1801 Williams St. Ste. 300 www.DisputeManagementInc.com Denver, CO. 80218 done through ICCES. info@DisputeManagementInc.com (303)321-1115 Pilot courts will not

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accept e-filings through LexisNexis. The pilot courts will send all orders, notices, and other court documents to attorneys through ICCES. Non-pilot courts will continue to use LexisNexis from October through December.

Both LexisNexis and ICCES will run parallel during this pilot period. Although this may be somewhat confusing, remember this simple rule of thumb during these three months: Use ICCES in the pilot districts and use LexisNexis in the non-pilot districts. Visit bit.ly/Odjta6 to view the pilot schedule.

When the Pilot Ends On Jan. 1, the ICCES pilot ends. All of Colorado’s remaining 18 judicial districts, along with the Colorado Court of Appeals and Colorado Supreme Court, will transition to ICCES. LexisNexis will no longer be the Colorado Courts’ e-filing provider, and all e-filing and e-service in the Colorado courts will be done through ICCES. Take Advantage of Training Oct. 1 is fast approaching, and the judicial branch has begun ICCES training. Although organizations may not be located in a pilot district, its attorneys may need to e-file in a pilot district. The judicial branch will offer numerous training opportunities through December, including live and Web-based trainings.

Visit bit.ly/PcdK5H to view training opportunities.

The judicial branch’s transition to ICCES is a significant endeavor, and all of its resources will be dedicated to the transition. While the judicial branch will make every effort to hold live trainings across the state, it cannot come out to individual law firms for training.

Submit Questions by Email Contact the judicial branch’s ICCES team by email at icces-feedback@judicial. state.co.us with any questions. D Brian Medina is the project coordinator for the current LexisNexis e-filing program, and the lead system design analyst for the judicial branch’s new ICCES system.

The Making of a Presidential Debate

DU Prepares to Host First Meeting of Candidates ties and infrastructure is one of the primary considerations for the Commission on Presidential Debates in choosing debate hosts. The facility chosen by the university to host the debate is Magness Arena (inside the Daniel L. Ritchie Center for Sports and Wellness). T his arena is nearly 80,000 square feet and will be converted to become the 2012 presidential debate hall. Inside the arena, the major media co-producers of the debate, inc luding ABC , CBS , CNN , C-SPAN, NBC, and Fox News, will be provided space from which to provide commentary and analysis before and after The tower of the Daniel L. Ritchie Center is one of the most the debate. recognizable architectural pieces on the DU campus. Magness One unique requirement Arena, inside the center, will house the first presidential debate. in preparing a presidential

by R yan Jardine debate hall is to establish a complete redundant system for all power and icture this: rising lights illumite chnolo g y to that facilit y. T his nate a stage, the candidates, ensures that the event and media covand a moderator. Nearby a erage will be broadcast as scheduled buzzing hive is fully engaged preparwithout interruption. ing numerous cameras, smart boards, The 1976 presidential debates and transcripts as reporters and news underscore the importance of this celebrities review their last minute requirement. At these debates, former notes before air time. The world colGeorgia Gov. Jimmy Carter faced off lectively takes a breath, Twitter comes with incumbent President Gerald Ford alive, and the University of Denver in the first debates to be held in pubtakes to the global stage as the host lic venues before of a live audience. of the first of three of the 2012 presiPreviously, presidential debates took dential debates on Wednesday, Oct. place in television studios. During 3. This per fect scene didn’t come the first of these debates in Philatogether overnight. It was the result delphia, the sound completely failed, of nearly a year of concerted effort by resulting in a 27-minute delay. Durthousands of individuals who began ing the delay, both candidates stood their work the moment the Commisnearly motionless, fearing they would sion on Presidential Debates awarded appear un-presidential in the face DU the opportunity to host the first of of this unprecedented technological these events. crisis. These candidates were petriThe Preparation fied to their podiums, and the nation According to DU Vice Chancellor watched and waited for the sound of Institutional Partnerships David to be restored. The commission was Greenberg, the quality of the faciliestablished, in part, to eliminate these

P

Be a Part of the Debate

For more information about the debate, related activities, and volunteer opportunities, visit debate2012.du.edu.

See a full list of Debate Event Series speakers at debate2012.du.edu/news. For more information about DebateFest or to register, visit debate2012.du.edu/news/ debatefest.html.

and other technical failures that may happen at a debate.

In addition to transforming Magness Arena, DU had to prepare for everything that comes with a debate of this magnitude, including security and the associated entourage of media, political junkies, and campaign staffers. Before the debate, the U.S. Secret Service will establish a large fenced perimeter to ensure the security of the debate participants. The Hamilton Gym, adjacent to the Magness Arena, will be converted into the Media Filing Center, providing access to the 3,000-plus credentialed media anticipated to attend.

In addition to preparations related to the facilities, media, and the campaigns, DU has led outreach within the university and the community.

Since being awarded the debate, DU also has hosted numerous prestigious speakers as part of its Debate Event Series, including Gen. George Casey, Condoleezza Rice, Madeleine Albright, and former U.S. Senators Chris Dodd and Hank Brown. These and numerous other speakers have provided the university and the community with context for many of the issues that we face on a local, national, and global scale. The series will continue through Oct. 9.

The Debate The debate itself is the ultimate made-for-TV political event. The commission is responsible for everything Debate, continued on page 38 September 2012 I The Docket

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Limiting Money in Politics

Voter Equality Threatened by Campaign Cash Editor’s note: These facing columns offer a point-counterpoint on the merits of limiting money in politics.

B y K en G ord on

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rom a macro level, the money-inpolitics issue pits five members of the U.S. Supreme Court who make an absolutist freedom argument against the desire of the American people to maintain rough equality in each person’s political voice—freedom vs. equality.

When people try to limit money in politics they try to preserve the political equality that is part of our American historical DNA: • In the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

• In the Gettysburg Address, “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”

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• In the Fourteenth Amendment, “nor shall any state … deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

Clearly, all men (and women) are not created equal in intelligence, physical characteristics, or many other ways.

What the writers of the above statements meant is that we are all equal in the respect and consideration that should be shown to us in the process of creating a government. It is what Baker v. Carr, the Tennessee reapportionment case, meant when it said, “one man, one vote.”

I admit that if I tell one of the billionaires who likes to contribute to Super PACs that he can spend only X dollars rather than the multi-millions he wants to spend, then I am interfering with his freedom. The Supreme Court feels this is the end of the discussion.

Proponents of this kind of unlimited freedom seem to ignore the cost to democracy inherent in unlimited spending. Sheldon Adelson may give

$100,000,000 to the Romney Super PAC. In a Romney administration, will your voice be equal to his? The same will apply to billionaires on the Democratic side. A recent Brennan poll found that 25 percent of those surveyed were less inclined to vote because of the influence of Super PACs. They felt their vote didn’t matter very much.

We live in a world of vast and growing disparities in wealth. When there is no barrier between the money of wealthy individuals and corporations and the political system, then we have lost the equality that is part of our founding principles. (Unions can make unlimited expenditures as well, and it is fair to mention this, but their resources are small compared to corporations.)

This is not just a theoretical loss. It shows up in every policy we try to put into place. Want to protect coastlines from offshore drilling? Exxon made a $49 billion profit in 2009. Because of Citizens United v. Federal Election ComCampaign Cash, continued on page 10

In Praise of Citizens United

Someone Has to Pay for All Those Yard Signs Editor’s note: These facing columns offer a point-counterpoint on the merits of limiting money in politics.

by D oug McQ uist on

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n his article advocating government limits on spending for political speech, Sen. Ken Gordon contends that Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission “pits five members of the Supreme Court who make an absolutist freedom argument against the desire of the American people to maintain rough equality in each person’s political voice—freedom vs. equality.” Really? The last time I checked, an opinion by five members is law, not the random jottings of some renegade band of black-robed breakaways. But more than that (and as much as I respect Sen. Gordon), his characterization is both a little chilling and miles from the truth.

Sen. Gordon is upset that “five members” of the Supreme Court upheld the plain meaning of the First Amend-

ment. What keeps me up nights is the fact that four members could so easily contemplate gutting it.

The Supreme Court, fortunately for the republic, understood that even the most well-intentioned trip down the spending-limits road leads to a very dark place. An exchange during oral argument illustrated this. According to press accounts of the oral argument1, Justice Samuel Alito asked Deputy Solicitor General Malcolm Stewart (arguing in support of the statutory restrictions at issue): “What’s your answer to [the] point that there isn't any constitutional difference between the distribution of this movie … [or] providing the same thing in a book? Would the Constitution permit the restriction of all of those, as well?”

Stewart responded essentially that yes, under the provisions at issue, the government could order the book off the shelves. As Bradley Smith mentions in his National Affairs article2, when Stewart said this, there was an “audible gasp”

in the courtroom.

There already are too many countries where the government decides which groups get to speak in the political realm, or when they get to speak. Not many Americans would want to live in them. Thank God, the Supreme Court refused to make us.

There also is concern that “political equality,” is threatened by unlimited political spending. History tells us there has never been any such thing as “political equality,” at any time, in our country or in any other. If anything, it is the unfettered political spending guaranteed

by Citizens United that is in our “historical DNA.” The “equality” envisioned by our founders was equality of stature, the equality of all men before the law, and the absence of fixed classes of people.

Nowhere do the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution even discuss —much less require—“political equality.”

Yard Signs, continued on page 11

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Campaign Cash, continued from page 8 mission, it can spend as much of that as it likes on political campaigns. How courageous do you think Congress is going to be in advocating for policies opposed by the oil industry? We saw in the health care debate that Congress would not oppose the interests of insurance and pharmaceutical companies. We saw in the debate over financial regulation that Wall Street can still gamble with public funds because the Glass-Steagall limit on using depositor money for risky investments was not reinstated.

So there you have it. If you are opposed to any regulation of money in politics, then you are OK with destroying the principle of political equality, and having a government that works disproportionately for wealthy interests.

But there are reasons we don’t have to go there.

First, the Supreme Court has stated that independent expenditures create no danger of corruption, or the appearance of corruption, both of which they agree are grounds to regulate actual contributions. In the majority opinion in Citizens United, Justice Anthony Kennedy said

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there is very little evidence that independent expenditures even ingratiate.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but this position is absurd.

It tends to show why the restrictive “political question” doctrine has merit.

None of the members of the Supreme Court has ever run for office. The legislative branch says unlimited independent expenditures by non-human entities such as corporations and unions create a substantive evil. The Supreme Court says, “No, we know better.”

I ran in eight elections myself. What everyone in politics knows is that if an interest group or person spends a large amount of money helping a candidate get elected, that candidate will have normal human gratitude. If a piece of legislation came up that the spender favored or opposed, the official would tend to support that interest because of that gratitude and because—this is important—the official would want the spender’s help the next time he ran. The elected official would know that if he voted against the spender’s interest on something that was important to the spender, the spender won’t support the elected official in the next election.

The conclusion that independent expenditures do not create the danger or appearance of corruption is false and is not a necessary conclusion under the First Amendment.

Second, the position that the First Amendment creates an unlimited right to spend any amount of money in politics can be challenged on its face.

No right is absolute.

You can’t yell “Fire!” in a crowded theater. Very few people would argue that the Second Amendment requires that we

allow visitors to a prison or an airport to go through security with a handgun. No one argues that we have to allow sound trucks to go through a residential neighborhood at 2 a.m. blaring out, “Vote for Smith.”

A corporation does not need to make unlimited expenditures from its treasury to be heard. A corporation can hire lobbyists that make a case on the merits. A corporation can create a PAC funded by its employees to make contributions. All of the employees and shareholders of a corporation can contribute individually to a candidate who they feel shares their values and will vote with their interests.

There are many times, places, and methods that allow for corporate influence without also allowing corporations to spend directly from their treasuries.

So, when you think about this issue the question that needs to be considered is whether unlimited spending on campaigns by groups seeking to buy influence for their own selfish interest is required by the First Amendment or can the people take actions to preserve the political equality that is necessary for a democracy to function? D Ken Gordon practiced law in Denver for 17 years before being elected to the Colorado Legislature. In 1987, he won an award from Westword for being the Best Pro Bono Attorney in Denver. In 1992, Gordon was the only candidate in either party elected to the Colorado Legislature who did not take special interest PAC contributions. During his 16 years in office, Gordon served as Senate Judiciary Committee chair, minority leader in the House, and majority leader in the Senate.

Yard Signs, continued from page 9 Our Constitution protects the right of all of us to speak out, to freely associate with other like-minded people, and to raise money for any issue or candidate we see fit. Freely spending all that money (without limits placed on us by government) to enable our political speech enjoys concurrent protection. But the Constitution contains no guarantee that everyone gets issued the same-sized government-approved megaphone.

I wonder whether, in the name of “political equality,” Sen. Gordon would have supported the GOP back in 2010 if they had tried to block the eye-crossingly huge spending in Colorado by the Democrat billionaires club of Rutt Bridges, Tim Gill, Jared Polis, and Pat Stryker.

They spent almost 150 times more than all other conservative and GOP sources combined in just the last election cycle, (including almost $600,000 in a single state Senate race).3 Perhaps the “voice” these liberal billionaires bought with all their spending was “louder” than that of my hapless state GOP; perhaps not. But, the Constitution guarantees their right to spend as they see fit. The GOP’s remedy is to raise more money, not to go to court to whine about being outraised and outspent.

The right to unfettered, free spending political speech was already well entrenched in the founding fathers’ everyday lives when they fashioned the First Amendment to guarantee it. They recognized the peculiarly American notion of unfettered free speech, (and the unfettered spending necessary to support it). They knew that political ads, buttons, and rallies cost money. After all, they were politicians. They fund-raised every bit as aggressively (perhaps more so4) as our current office holders. Any

notion that the government could limit spending on political speech would have been beyond their imagination.

So, I come not to bury Citizens United, but to praise it. I believe in the First Amendment. I believe in the voters. I even believe in the basic decency of most of the people, from all political ideologies, who choose to run for political office. More to the point, I believe in the American idea envisioned by our founders a lot more than the fickle judgment of any given Congress, or even the considered judgment of the Supreme Court.

I make no apology for these beliefs—in this instance, being “absolutist.”

If big spending on politicians and issues turns your stomach, then all I can say is stock up on Tums. We live in a battleground state, and soon the landscape will look like Little Round Top in the middle of Gettysburg. There is no way you can eliminate the spending without muzzling the speech. It is ugly to watch sometimes, but I have yet to see admissible evidence that political interest group spending, even huge amounts of it, is inherently corrupt. 5 On the contrary, evidence abounds that the misguided attempts to restrain such spending, such as the McCain–Feingold Act, have had a corrupting effect, by driving the money into Super PACs and making it more difficult to identify, trace, and spotlight.

If big, evil, conservative groups call all of the shots in presidential elections, can someone explain Barack Obama to me? If Big Oil owns Congress, how could they fail to push through the Keystone Oil Pipeline? Why is most offshore drilling in the Gulf still shut down? Why is most of the public land out West still offlimits to drilling? Can they get a refund on their bribe money?

What the actual evidence tells us,

if we are willing to see it clearly, is that money, even big money, does not corrupt politics. Corrupt politicians (perhaps abetted by lazy, uninformed voters) corrupt politics.

Interest-group spending, by and large, takes the form of spending on ads for candidates whose ideologies are consistent with theirs, and against those with whom they disagree. That is how politics works. The pot always seems to balance out when it comes time to call.

Like I said, it’s ugly, but to paraphrase Winston Churchill, democracy is the worst political system ever devised, except for every other one that has ever existed.

So, if you want to send a few bucks to Sen. Gordon’s Super PAC CleanSlateNow to help rid the system of all that evil money, (and can handle the sweet irony of donating to a Super PAC to “limit” Super PACs), you won’t have to worry about going to jail over it. The same goes if you’d rather send your check to Karl Rove’s group American Crossroads. The Supreme Court, in Citizens United,6 has protected your right to spend as you see fit.

No one can buy your vote unless you sell it, either by not voting, or worse, voting based on the last negative ad you see on the way into the polls. Your job as a citizen is to keep the noise all that spending generates in perspective, and educate yourself before you vote. If you do your job, as the founders demand of you, the spending becomes mostly irrelevant, and the noise fades into the background.

You’re still in charge if you take charge. D

See, e.g., Smith, “The Myth of Campaign Finance Reform,” bit.ly/6hjjUb. Id. 3 Crummy, “Spending by super PACs in Colorado is the dominion of Democrats,” The Denver Post (March 10, 2012) bit.ly/zaeV2v.

4 See, e.g., Klein, “Our Corrupt Politics: It’s Not All Money,” New York Review of Books (March 22, 2012) bit.ly/yhShW6.

5 For a couple of great references on this subject, see nyti.ms/Kn3fIA and Smith, note 1.

6 And again in American Tradition Partnership v. Bullock, 132 S.Ct. 2490; 183 L.Ed. 2d 448, 80 U.S.L.W. 4577 (S.Ct. 2012).

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A Seat at the Bar

Come Back to School with Democracy Education PALS: the Partner Alliance of Lawyers and Schools he 2012–13 school year for DenThis is a new DEC program designed ver Public Schools (DPS) has to build lasting and flexible collaborajust begun and there are loads tions between DPS schools and DEC of volunteer opportunities for Denvolunteers. PALS establishes a yearlong ver’s attorneys and law firms. The DBA’s partnership between a school and a Democratic Education Committee (DEC) group of volunteers to provide in-class works with DPS to implement civicsactivities that link the law and education. based programs in our Denver schools PALS provides a unique opportunity and community. This is a “hands-on” colfor lawyer-volunteers to really get to laboration among lawyers, students, and know teachers and students. Specifically, teachers, and it has been the key ingrediDEC works to match three volunteers ent in DEC’s many volunteer programs. with up to three teachers or classrooms Each year, DEC works to provide a host at each participating school. At the of meaningful in-class opportunities for beginning of the school year, volunteers attorneys, judges, and legal professionals and teachers meet to formulate a plan. who want to give back to their commuPALS is intended to be a very flexible nity through an active participation in program, and each volunteer is asked to Denver’s schools. participate in four to six in-class activiThe DEC invites you to get involved ties during the school year. At the end in Denver’s schools by signing up for any of a school year, each volunteer is asked of the following school programs: either to renew his or her commitment for the next school year or to find a successor volunteer.

In the pilot year of the program, during the 2011–12 school year, three schools were adopted by PALS: • Morey Middle School, Years adopted by C hr isty Crase, Justin J. Prochsince 1972 now, and Erich Bethke.

• Smiley Middle School, adopted by Michelle The filing of a chapter 13 before the Adams, Janet Drake, foreclosure sale, stays the sale and allows and Brad Hill. a debtor to propose a plan to cure the • CEC Middle College of arrearages which might be as long Denver, adopted by Dufas 60 months. §1301, §1322 ford & Brown, P.C. This fall, PALS is adopting four more 303 George schools: George T. Carlson & Associates • S teck E lementar y 4219 S. Broadway S cho ol, adopte d by Englewood, CO 80113 cobk.com Bayer & Carey, P.C. • Carson Elementary Free Consultation Joe School, adopted by IreDavid Evenings & Saturdays land Stapleton Pryor &

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Pascoe, P.C. • Hill Campus of Arts and Sciences, adopted by Peg Perl (and seeking two other volunteers).

• Denver School of Science and Technology Green Valley Ranch High School Campus. DEC is seeking three volunteers.

Each PALS partnership has its own unique programs and activities for the school year, based on the interests and goals of the students. DEC and DPS are working to provide a pool of information and examples for PALS curricula and activities.

DPS Guest Teaching Initiative This volunteer initiative allows an attorney, judge, or paralegal to go into a classroom to substitute teach in K-12 Denver Public Schools. Throughout the school year, there are three to six planned days when DPS teachers are offsite for a seminar, and volunteers are needed to guest-teach at several Denver schools. A guest-teaching day requires a time commitment of either a half-day or a full day, depending on the school’s scheduling needs.

Denver Regional Mock Trial There are many ways attorneys, judges, and paralegals can volunteer and become involved in the Denver Regional Mock Trial competition for Denver high schools.

As an attorney-coach, volunteers partner with Denver teachers to coach students about mock trial elements and prepare a case problem for the regional mock trial competition. The time commitment varies from October to March.

As a scoring panelist, volunteers adjudicate mock trial rounds at the regional tournament in February. An orientation and bench brief are provided in advance. The time commitment is three to four hours per round at the competition.

As a courtroom monitor, volunteers monitor courtrooms and rounds during the tournament. An orientation and checklist are provided. The time commitment is three to four hours per round at the competition.

DPS Attendance Mediation Workshops These workshops are a great way to help a local school improve student attendance. Developed through researchbased practices, Attendance Mediation Workshops (AMWs) target middle and high school students who already have met the statutory definition for habitual truancy—four unexcused absences in one month or 10 unexcused absences in a school year.

AMWs are a voluntary program offered by DPS where the school officials meet with students and their families to identify the reasons for a student’s non-attendance and then create written agreements to solve these problems and assure improved attendance.

The AMWs occur on scheduled weeknights. Each AMW begins with a brief presentation to the students and their families by an attorney or judge volunteer. This presentation allows the volunteer to make a quick but comprehensive presentation of the Compulsory School Attendance Law and the ramifications of violating that law. This program has proven to be an effective solution to many truancy problems. A brief training program is provided for volunteers.

Court Tours DEC, the DBA, and DPS have worked together to coordinate and schedule court tours for teachers and students, which are guided by a lawyer-volunteer.

The tour includes meetings with judges and selected viewings of court proceedings. The time commitment for this volunteer opportunity is approximately three to four hours.

In-class Mock Trials Visit a classroom to help implement and explain what a mock trial is and how it works. Teachers work with students in advance. Mock trial scripts are available

for elementary, middle, and high school classes. The time commitment for this volunteer opportunity is about two sessions, each involving about two to three hours.

Law Day Art Contest Visit a school to discuss Law Day (which is observed on May 1) and explain the DBA’s Art Contest for elementary school (K-5) classes, which focuses on rudimentary concepts of our legal system. Volunteers help promote awareness, participation in the contest at schools, and judging of submissions. The time commitment for this volunteer opportunity is approximately two sessions, each involving about two hours.

We the People Help judge a mock congressional hearing performed by elementary, middle, or high school students. Sample curricula and scripts are available. The time commitment for this volunteer opportunity is approximately two sessions, each involving about three hours.

Career Days Speak about the legal professions to a classroom or at a DBA-sponsored booth during a career day event. The time commitment for this volunteer opportunity is about two to three hours and is ongoing during the school year, depending on DPS requests.

Carolyn Gravit at cgravit@cobar.org or Meghan Bush at mbush@cobar. org.

The DEC meets monthly from noon to 1:30 p.m. on the first Thursday of every month at the DBA’s offices. You can participate in person or by phone.

We’ll See You at School!

As DEC’s co-chair, it has been my privilege to work with an amazing group of volunteers to provide truly meaningful programs that allow lawyers, teachers, and students to work and learn together.

Why wait to volunteer? Jump into the school year! D Erich Bethke co-chairs the DBA’s Democracy Education Committee with DPS General Counsel John Kechriotis. He is a director at Senn Visciano Canges P.C. where he practices business and family law. Bethke can be reached at ebethke@sennlaw.com or (303) 298-1122.

A Seat at the Bar is an occasional series that highlights a committee or program of the Denver Bar Association.

Get Involved The best way for you to get involved in DEC’s school programs is to to get on DEC’s membership email list. DEC will contact you by email with updates for volunteer opportunities throughout the school year. Contact September 2012 I The Docket

13

Inspector General’s Report

What Does $100 Million in Legal Fees Look Like?

by F r ank S chuch at

I

found the title intriguing: “Evaluation of FHFA’s Management of Legal Fees for Indemnified Executives.”

The Office of Inspector General’s dry and to-the-point designation for this little tome announced something promising. It was certainly high time for somebody to evaluate this situation.

I was eager to know what the inspector general of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) had turned up.

As a lawyer, a taxpayer, and a comedian, I craved an explanation of how it could be that Fannie Mae, and the U.S. government in its role as Fannie Mae’s conservator, has actually paid several law firms $100 million from Jan. 1, 2004, to February 2012, to defend Fannie Mae’s disgraced former CEO, its former CFO, and former controller.

That’s a lot of dough for defending just three former executives. Should be an interesting tale here. I was looking forward to a good read.

The backstory was irresistible and very contemporary. The three former executives are currently defendants in a shareholder class action lawsuit that is based on a special examination by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFEO), the predecessor of FHFA, which found in 2004 that these same three former executives had “knowingly manipulated Fannie Mae’s earnings to maximize their own bonuses, while improperly neglecting accounting systems and internal controls and misleading the regulator and the public.”

To be fair, the $100 million in legal bills is not only for the shareholder class action. It also includes defense costs in connection with various investigations and administrative actions. Indeed, the three former executives had even agreed back in April 2008 to hand over significant amounts of cash, stock, or other consideration to settle administrative actions brought by OFEO

14 The Docket I September 2012

charging each of them with having used improper accounting methods to generate unearned bonuses.

In the 2008 OFEO settlement, former Fannie Mae CEO Franklin Raines agreed to pay $24.5 million to resolve the administrative action. Former CFO Timothy Howard agreed to pay $6.4 million. Former Controller Leanne Spencer agreed to pay $275,000. The taxpayers paid the legal fees.

And Fannie Mae, at the time still a publicly traded government-sponsored enterprise, paid a fine of $400 million in restitution and penalties to settle SEC and OFEO enforcement actions based on the misconduct by the three executives.

So why are millions of federal dollars still being used to pay the lawyers hired by the very same people who created such havoc and losses to their shareholders and to taxpayers?

The inspector general gives us a clue: the obligation to indemnify for legal fees is cut off only if there is a “final adjudication” that the executive acted in “bad faith.” And apparently the administrative action initiated by OFEO was settled by OFEO before OFEO had obtained a “final adjudication of bad faith” or any concession of such by Raines, Howard, and Spencer.

In other words, OFEO could have cut off the indemnity by allowing the administrative action to proceed to a final adjudication, but didn’t do so. And now, OFEO asserts to the inspector general that it must continue to advance payment of legal fees because there was never a “final adjudication” of bad faith.

And the inspector general buys it.

I was hopeful

Read the full report at fhfaoig.gov/Content/ Files/EVL-2012-002.pdf. that the inspector general’s evaluation would illuminate how it is that notwithstanding all the money it pays its bright legal talent, Fannie Mae finds itself shoveling $100 million dollars, so far, to outside lawyers to defend three former executives who, to be kind and not overly judgmental, did not do well by their employer. Who approved of this? Who are the law firms? Does anybody look at the bills? And what does $100 million in legal bills for three people look like?

In terms of literary promise, this is a story that could have been a masterpiece in the hands of a Raymond Chandler, John Grisham, or Mel Brooks.

Instead, it is like a Victorian-era Victoria’s Secret catalogue. Everything is covered up.

Now I will have to wait for Newt Gingrich to publish that history of Fannie Mae for which he received a multimillion dollar advance. What a shame. Is this inspector general named Clouseau? D

DBA Communications Survey

Executive Summary: Members Offer Feedback on Docket, D-Brief How important is it that the DBA’s official publication includes the following components?

B y H e at he r C l ark

I

n February, the Colorado and Denver Bar Associations surveyed its members regarding the CBA and DBA’s communications. The survey sought answers to the following questions: • How do members prefer to receive information from the DBA? • What methods of communication are effective and ineffective?

• What topics are of most and least interest?

• What mobile devices are currently being used?

• What social media platforms are currently being used?

• What improvements can be made?

This executive summary consolidates the survey responses. The DBA takes this opportunity to apprise members of what actions it has taken or will be taking in response to the survey results. To view the full report, please contact Heather Clark at hclark@cobar. org.

Survey Methodology A survey comprising 41 questions, 10 of which were directed to DBA members, was emailed on Feb. 10 to all CBA and DBA members with known email addresses and who have not opted out of receiving emails from the DBA. The survey also was available via a link on the home page of the DBA website, denbar.org.

The summary data obtained from 650 partially or fully completed questionnaires were tabulated and analyzed by the staff of the DBA’s Communications and Marketing Department. These returns represent 7.2 percent of the DBA membership.

The Docket Out of 600 responses, 79 percent of respondents look through The Docket each month, and 39 percent immediately look through it. The survey also revealed a “pass along” rate of 1.2, which is the number of people who see each issue, including the subscriber. The circulation of The Docket is 9,000, which means monthly readership is approximately 10,800.

The survey revealed that members most prefer to read about court news and features on judges.

The Legal Affairs section and articles on law practice management also are of high interest. The majority of suggestions for future content concerned substantive law topics (not currently covered), law practice management information, and more features on women lawyers and judges. Negative comments were noted about too many travel articles.

In the future, The Docket editor and committee will work to further find diverse contributors and work to shape content that has a broader focus on the legal community.

The majority of respondents prefer to receive the printed hard copy The Docket; however, 37 percent of respondents indicated they would like to receive an email notification each month that links to the current issue.

This option was made available for the September issue. The email will contain a list of content, with links to the cover story, features, and items in every issue, such as Legal Affairs.

D-Brief eNewsletter Seventy-three percent of respondents occasionally read the DBA’s weekly eNewsletter; 34 percent always read it.

Topics of most interest are CLE events and court news.

The DBA’s Communications and Marketing Department now includes notices of judicial vacancies occurring in the Denver metro area. D Heather Clark is the director of communications and marketing for the Colorado and Denver Bar Associations.

September 2012 I The Docket

15

Artist, Esq.

Photography by Jamie Cotten.

16 The Docket I September 2012

T

his marks the first year of the Denver Lawyers’ Arts and Literature Contest, and on behalf of The Docket Committee I would like to start by thanking all of the entrants that made this inaugural contest a success beyond our expectations.

All of our entrants have a license to practice law, but those who stood out also showed off their artistic license.

You’ll see their works in the following pages.

Our contest winners come from different walks of life and different practices, but with each of them the love for art and literature was fostered at a young age and is something each has developed and refined in turn.

Based on the response we’ve seen, it’s clear that many Denver lawyers find their balance in work with a creative outlet that allows for a bit of escapism, but one they all pursue with the same kind of discipline that has guided them in their careers.

—Sara Crocker, Docket editor

Want More Art?

Join us on Thursday, Sept. 6, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., in the lobby of 1900 Grant St. for a party to congratulate all the entrants. The winners’ work will be on display. Light appetizers and drinks will be served. Please RSVP to Kate Schuster at kschuster@cobar.org. Also, read a full Q&A with each of the winners at denbar.org/docket.

On the cover and to the left, the winning artists convened in the plaza of the Denver Art Museum.

From left back row, Trey Rogers, Lynda Knowles, Tarek Saad, Travis Simpson, James Breese, Manuel Ramos, Ruchi Kapoor, and Charles E. Norton.

September 2012 I The Docket 17

Denver Lawyers’ Arts and Literature Contest

Drawing Winner

Lynda Knowles Due Process

L

ynda Knowles has worked as legal counsel at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science for the past five years. She has always been interested in art, but in the past five to 10 years she has been actively studying it and taking classes in areas such as figure drawing and calligraphy. “My inspiration for this piece was thinking about how convoluted the law can sometimes seem, yet at the same time how it all fits together as an (imperfect) whole. I think due process constantly evolves yet is always present in our system of justice,” Knowles said. “This piece was especially intense for me, with a lot of back and forth between the overall composition and the smaller forms juxtaposed and connected throughout.”

18 The Docket I September 2012

Fiction Writing Winner

Tarek Saad

Are You Going to Answer That?

T

arek Saad has been practicing law, mostly with large firms in commercial litigation, since 1992. He started writing at a very young age, after reading nearly every book in his small town library several times over.

Generally, he has shared his work only with a select few, and this is the first writing contest he has entered. “Being a (non-fiction) story-teller for my day job, I think writing fiction helps develop a lawyer’s ability to make seemingly dry cases pop with relevance,” Saad said. “I love that fiction allows me to do something I can’t do as a lawyer: Use one of my favorite sayings, ‘Never let the facts get in the way of a good story.’”

Are You Going to Answer That?

by Tarek Saad

W

hen the phone rings, my life is interrupted far more than I care to believe, far more than I care to admit to others. The ring of a phone automatically interrupts you for at least one second, and on average for eleven. That statistic comes from researchers studying people while the phone is only ringing. If you pick up …

In the late ’70s, I was old enough to know how a phone worked. It was high on a wall, had a rotary dial or pushbuttons, and you had either a green one the color of canned peas or a yellow one the color of old, crusty mustard. Because only the police could have black phones, the president had the only red phone, and everyone knew white phones smudged too easily. I knew the phone rang— loudly—and when it was passed to me, Grandpa or Grandma was on the other end. I knew you had to sit still while talking on the phone, because the curly cord would get tangled if you weren’t really

careful.

When I was allowed to answer the phone, it instantly became a distraction, one of the very few interruptions important enough for me to scurry off the couch from reading books or watching TV. I learned other people actually called. Sometimes an aunt or uncle or one of my parent’s friends. Occasionally a stranger. My parents talked to these strangers, while I fretted in another room, and the conversations sounded very official, and no one really laughed.

A newly minted teenager in 1981, my parents bought us another phone.

They put on a longer cord to prevent tangles because I was walking around with the phone more than ever. I was starting a multi-year quest to impress, and that involved talking on the phone for many hours, frequently finding hideaways to overcome fatherly, motherly, or brotherly interruptions. The phone had morphed from a curious distraction to a critical, constant part of daily life. My

parents had upgraded to a longer cord to prevent entanglements, but the cord became more tangled than ever, and so had my life.

The marketplace gave me cordless phones during my years in college and law school. No more entanglements … of cords. Now I could talk pretty much anywhere in the house, and with a headset it became easier to do other things simultaneously. While blathering on the phone, I could eat, do homework on my roommate’s computer, watch TV, and play video games. My phone conversations became less focused, less memorable.

Indeed, just weeks after I graduated, I simply shut off my phone service. I needed to study for the bar exam, and as much as I loved feeling someone could call me at any moment, I needed a break Fiction, continued on page 26 September 2012 I The Docket

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Humor Writing Winner

Ruchi Kapoor

Sports Lessons for the Uncoordinated

R

uchi Kapoor is a clerk with the Denver Juvenile Court and she hopes to transition to appellate practice. She has written short essays, mostly for herself in journals, about events in her life for as long as she can remember. Her love of writing played a role in her career choice. “I can’t remember when I didn’t love to write,” Kapoor said. “I think that was partly what drove me to law school (no, really) because it was a profession where I would get paid to write things that are useful.

Unlike essays about unicorns.”

Sports Lessons for the Uncoordinated

by Ruchi Kapoor

I

grew up with parents who placed an inordinate amount of stress on the importance of education. And when I say inordinate amount, I mean that I still publicly fail at successfully having enough hand-eye coordination to get food from the table into my mouth. I tell you this because for most people this information automatically delegitimizes any comment I may have to make on sports-related topics. That, and the fact that my ethnic roots lie in a country of 1.1 billion people who have collectively won 26 Olympic medals since 1900 (two of which don’t even count, because they were technically won by the British). On most days, I would probably agree with this assessment.

I grew up in Clinton-era suburbia and was consistently the brownest kid around by a long shot. Jocks were “it,” as many terrible teen movies (or anything starring Freddie Prinze, Jr.) would lead you to believe. My generation was indoctrinated with the idea that anyone could succeed at academic pursuits if they just worked hard enough, but to succeed in sports? Sports called for a special kind of innate talent that had to be nurtured and carefully developed. And that was what made athletes so simultaneously reviled

20 The Docket I September 2012

and admired—a cognitive disconnect that sustained even the most idiotic of movie plots.

In other ways, though, the quintessential “jockness” required to participate in athletic competition leaked its way into other pieces of my life as part of the cultural identity that I was developing as the child of American immigrants—a familiar story. When I was in college, for example, I attended a competition called “Bhangra Blowout” at George Washington University. Although I could wax poetic about the roots of Bhangra in Punjabi culture in India, Bhangra Blowout added that familiar American ingredient: athletic competition. Every participating university sent a team with a 10 to 12-minute dance routine, and as time went on the competition evolved. The year that I went, the University of Michigan had the best team and incorporated all sorts of tumbling and gymnastics into their routine, ending it with the 15 members forming a large “M” onstage. There was also a fight in the audience between fans of the Columbia Bhangra team and the Michigan State team. I am not very good with allegiances, so I pretended I was on both sides when asked. “Yeah, dude. It was totally hardcore.”

Later, after the competition was over and we were at one of the after parties, I was introduced to a member of the Michigan team. I don’t remember

his name, or what he looked like really, all I remember is that feeling of being awed and hating him at the same time.

In that moment and in that context, he was a jock—the cream of the cream. And I remember thinking at the time that he probably got all the girls. And he did.

Because, as far as sticking to dating only nerdy pre-med students, dating a nerdy pre-med student who had a semblance of bodily coordination and athleticism in the form of being able to dance in a coordinated group of men was the equivalent of sleeping with George Clooney: you do it if you have the chance.

Reveling in the magic that is communal participation in athletic competition, we all went back home, and back to being college students. I wish I could say that the experience gave me a new view on sports and competition in general, but spending one night pretending to be a fan of a sport that was technically dancing with a lot of gymnastics added in didn’t really give me insight into how sports or athletics work. Instead, I came to understand something important about myself: I needed to find something to do that didn’t require hand-eye coordination.

And that is why I applied to law school.

Nonfiction Writing Winner

Charles E. Norton An Essay About Mom and Dad

C

harles E. Norton is a shareholder with Norton, Smith & Keane, P.C., specializing in trial and appellate advocacy for local governments and private parties who have claims against local governments. As a child, Norton spent his summers reading, and one summer he undertook the project of writing an account of his cat’s life, patterned after Joy Adamson’s “Born Free.” Norton has written largely for his own pleasure and for limited audiences. He sees his writing, either professionally or for pleasure, in similar measure: “I think that nonfiction writing (or fiction, for that matter) about general subjects really helps legal writing, and vice versa. I think all nonfiction writers are ultimately trying to persuade the reader to see reality in the same way that they do. ... Great legal writing is not simply technical; it is persuasive and it has to appeal to the heart as well as to the mind.”

An Essay About Mom and Dad

by Charles E. Norton My parents were not great.

When I write this, I should also, in good lawyer’s fashion, provide a definition of what I meant by the word “great.”

I use the word in the grand, old, precise 19th Century sense: “of a size, amount, extent, or intensity considerably above the normal or average; big…”

By this standard, Genghis Khan and Dwight Eisenhower were “great”; Adolf Hitler and Abraham Lincoln were “great”; Jonas Salk and Steve Jobs were “great.”

My parents did not marshal armies to subdue empires; they did not bend their nation to their will, and cause it to redefine itself as a political community; they did not develop a cure for a disease that had afflicted humanity, or market technologies that changed fundamentally how people live. And, so, they were not “great.”

But my folks were very intelligent and very hard working; kind and compassionate; passionate but private; fun loving and very, very funny; oriented to notions of honesty and honor and not very much interested in commerce. Perhaps most striking of all, they were truly courageous and adventurous.

I have now passed through the stages of life that my folks experienced when I lived with them full-time. I have

learned that some of these qualities that they had are compatible with “greatness”; and others are simply not. And so I have become deeply grateful for being born into this family that was not “great.”

Dad was born in Niagara Falls, New York, in April of 1913. He worked very hard as a boy and a young man, delivering milk from a wagon seven days a week, for $6 a week and then ushering in a vaudeville theater at night as he got older.

It would be a mistake to be too Dickensian about all of this. There was a lot of

fun in Dad’s young life too, especially anything that had to do with sports. As Mom would later say, if any activity involves a ball of any shape or size, your Dad will take an interest in it. And so there were sandlot baseball games every evening in the summers; a lot of touch football, which evolved into tackle pretty quickly; and some basketball, although neither it nor football came close to the stature of baseball for Americans in the 1920s.

Dad graduated from high school in the late spring of 1931. Mighty industrial America had hit the skids. The Nonfiction, continued on page 36

September 2012 I The Docket

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Painting Winner

James “Jay” Breese Chasm Falls

J

ames “Jay” Breese is a judge in Denver County Court and has served on the bench for 25 years. He has enjoyed painting all his life. While he did not formally study art in school, he has taken classes at the Art Student League and with many local artists over the years. His work has been featured in galleries in Georgetown, Evergreen, Estes Park, and Denver. Breese said he enjoys painting with watercolors for their “spontaneity and freshness,” and his paintings are largely based on the photos he takes of the spectacular scenery he enjoys while hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park and other Colorado areas. On discussing his passion for art, Breese said, “Like any good pastime, art takes me away from my regular work. It is like a vacation that refreshes and rejuvenates me.”

22 The Docket I September 2012

Photography Winner

Trey Rogers Ladybug on Yellow Flower

T

rey Rogers is a partner with Rothgerber, Johnson & Lyons, focusing his practice on litigation, government relations and campaign finance, and election law practice. He is the former chief counsel for Gov. Bill Ritter. As a teen, Rogers was a photographer for his high school newspaper and considered pursuing a career in photojournalism. He eventually moved on to other hobbies and didn’t pick up a camera for about 15 years, but his interest was reinvigorated with the birth of his son. Rogers says, “I’ve always been interested in photographing natural subjects, especially fleeting moments—a sunset or a flitting bird. I enjoy trying to capture a little of the beauty that is so abundant in our state and then looking back on my photographs later, or sharing them with others.”

September 2012 I The Docket

23

Poetry Writing Winner

Manuel Ramos Fool Moon Madness

M

anuel Ramos is the director of advocacy for Colorado Legal Services and the author of seven published novels, five of which feature Denver lawyer Luis Móntez. His fiction has garnered the Colorado Book Award, the Chicano/Latino Literary Award, the Top Hand Award from the Colorado Authors League, and an Honorable Mention from the Latino International Book Awards. He has written since he was a young man. “I wanted to write stories that allowed readers to escape but also that reflected my reality and consciousness, that is, the Mexican-American community and culture—something almost impossible to find when I was a boy, more than 50 years ago,” Ramos said.

“The thing that I enjoy most about being a writer is the final read I give a piece when I realize that it is as complete as I can get it. Although I have never equaled the image I have of a story with the actual product, I have come close and there isn't a better feeling than that.”

Fool Moon Madness

by Manuel Ramos silver sheen slipped around twilight bathing us in summer’s ache joan baez sang it’s all over now baby blue she knew the story behind that song but she was not talking not revealing any secrets except for what I could decipher

24 The Docket I September 2012

from her emphasized words orphan coincidence blankets we drank red wine slapped at mosquitoes convinced ourselves age and experience make up for enthusiasm and ambition the time of year required an

emotional response but we staggered in our search for meaning we drank red wine slapped at glowing insects filtered our thoughts an accusatory wind washed through the urban valley breaking an uneasy truce redefining the moment our malaise took root orange-tinged elec-

tric paranoia conquered gray inertia we lapsed into the collective dream of the folding sky death machines rolled through the desert again children with bloody stumps stared with charcoalringed eyes their halos glimmered against Poetry, continued on page 35

Sculpture Winner

Travis Simpson Bear v. Darts

T

ravis Simpson is an attorney at Corry & Associates, specializing in criminal defense, civil litigation, and civil rights. He has been painting with oils and acrylics for more than a decade, knows how to tattoo, and enjoys sketching, sculpting, and all other types of expressions through myriad mediums. His mother got him interested in pottery, painting, and drawing at a young age, and that interest has continued throughout his life. Now, art serves as a way for him to relax after a hard day of work. “For me, sculpting and painting is an amazing way to give my brain a break from lawyering and exercise the other side of my brain,” he said. “By exercising both sides of my brain, I feel more balanced and I feel that this increased flexibility of mind is both an asset to our clients as well as beneficial to my artistic expressions.”

September 2012 I The Docket

25

Fiction, continued from page 19 from my friend, the phone.

Fresh out of law school, I became a big city, big firm litigation associate. I was more valuable away from my phone, and for the first time, I used someone to answer callers looking for me. Voicemail was not going to find me for urgent phone calls while I roamed stacks of books, scribbled furiously on my notepad, and highlighted cases I copied on the copy machine. I loved finding solutions to a client’s problem. Still do.

But I also needed to be supremely available, so my secretary monitored my phone. It got frustrating, quickly.

My secretary found me for urgent calls. I bookmarked what I was doing, descended four floors, and handled them. They came from partners, senior associates I barely knew, and clients convinced I only worked for them. On my return legs to the library, I increasingly muttered objections about the definition of “urgent.” The hours became long, then longer, and the whole inefficient juggling act led me to conclude something I never imagined—the phone was my enemy.

Then came the more unimaginable.

Cellphones. Greater accessibility, more callers, more urgencies, more surprises.

My career advanced faster than expected, and I felt palpable satisfaction at winning a trial, a motion, favorable settlement terms. The better I did, the more people called, and the more new people I met.

More people with my phone number, in different time zones, giving more people my phone number. I ping-ponged between excitement and stress, relieved I had caller ID and voicemail.

The people I met loved what I did, loved who I was. I loved what I did, loved who I was. I reached one of life’s delicious moments where I knew I would be good —no, great—at giving back. I wanted to help those in need, those with real life problems and consequences. Living large meant delivering large.

I earned the opportunity to represent domestic violence victims. I met with my first client, Danielle, and heard a story I was not used to hearing. Certainly not at my office high in the skyscraper

26 The Docket I September 2012

just two blocks away. I felt outrage, and I promised her I would be her lawyer, her salvation. I spent the afternoon in court with her, and got a restraining order. I wasn’t surprised—that’s what I did, I won. As she walked away smiling, I proudly gave her my card with my office and cellphone numbers. Without a hint of hesitation, I told her to call me anytime, anywhere, no matter what.

Most of us feel excited, even in the most subtle of ways, when the phone rings or vibrates, even when we are with someone else and never see who is calling. But I hadn’t felt giddy about an incoming call in a long time. I only felt stress (sometimes panic), followed by body-clenching anger. I plotted a silent rebellion against my phone’s features, and then against the whole machine.

Caller ID had befriended me by identifying who was trying to interrupt my life, but now it made me feel uneasy. No, it made me feel guilty. Very, very guilty. If I chose to hit Ignore, I knew exactly whom I was ignoring. Life was so much better back when my crusty mustard-colored phone with a rotary dial hung high on a wall, and when I talked on the phone it was Grandpa or Grandma, and when we missed a call, it was just an annoying stranger who wouldn’t have made my parents laugh anyway.

I started picking my spots. I periodically put my phone on silent, no vibration, so I didn’t even know when someone was calling, let alone whom.

But every so often I could still see the phone screen light up from across the room, and I knew someone was calling.

I started shutting my phone off. Listening to voicemails later, when I was good and ready, was a far more satisfying life, right?

I was with my brother, nope a friend, nope someone I just met, it doesn’t matter, I was with anyone more important than a phone call that caller ID didn’t match to a name in my contacts. I did not dispute the subpoenaed documents reporting my phone rang. I testified I didn’t recognize the number, and caller ID didn’t give me a name, so I didn’t answer. On cross, I admitted I did more,

the call list admitted in evidence confirms …

I hit Ignore.

And the phone records everyone had in court showed what happened next. I turned my phone off.

I turned my phone back on and listened to voicemails the next morning when I was good and ready. A few work related updates, and a garbled message from the unidentified call. A few minutes after I hit Delete, a good friend called.

My phone showed his name, and I didn’t give it a thought … I answered. He was down at the diner, about to order breakfast. We ate.

It was Saturday morning, and my friend asked if I heard the morning news about what happened over near Campisi’s. Nope, but dang my eggs tasted really good with wheat toast, and after polishing off the cantaloupe, I asked if he wanted to play hoops later.

I didn’t know Danielle lived near Campisi’s, the Italian joint where I had dinner. I didn’t know Danielle felt she needed to first call me, her lawyer, because I had won her a restraining order. I didn’t know she actually believed me when I told her to call me anytime, anywhere, no matter what. And because I turned my phone off, I most definitely didn’t know she tried calling five times in a row after I hit Ignore.

The police officer testified he was dispatched eleven minutes after the time it shows Danielle called me. The 911 operator testified Danielle sounded terrible. She sounded incoherent. She sounded drunk, or uneducated, or both.

The doctor testified Danielle sounded like that because she had endured several big blows to the side and back of her head.

People remind me all the time that it wasn’t my fault. I know that. Until my phone rings with an unidentified call.

Denver Bar Association

Ilene Lin Bloom DBA President 2011–12

2011–12

Annual Report September 2012 I The Docket

27

DBA President’s Message

Pro Bono, Connecting With the Community are Highlights of Term

by I lene Lin Bl o om It was just over a year ago that I found myself sitting around a conference room table at the Denver Bar Association outlining the goals I was hoping to achieve in the coming year.

Now, it is gratifying to be reflecting on the past year and the work we have done for Denver Bar Association members and the public.

Throughout my term as DBA president, I tried to highlight the legal aid funding crisis and look to solutions that we as a bar association could provide to try to ease the effects of funding shortfalls that

“

have access to justice. As you’ll see inside the annual report, our Access to Justice Committee continued to provide legal clinics and other events that provided ways for people to get information about their legal issue. Additionally, our legal community continues to support Metro Volunteer Lawyers. As a result, MVL has been able to expand its programming.

In addition to highlighting access to justice, it was important to me to continue to strengthen the programs of the DBA that help us educate the community and continue to inspire the lawyers of the future.

The Diversity in the Legal Profession Committee has worked to expand its network and is now a sponsor of the Dream Teams, who present in schools and universities about the legal profession and becoming a lawyer. This is another step toward ensuring that we have a diverse legal profession.

Throughout my term as DBA president, I tried to highlight the legal aid funding crisis and look to solutions that we as a bar association could provide ...”

were happening to local and national legal aid organizations across the board. For me, that meant making it easier for attorneys who are interested in volunteering in pro bono activities to find those opportunities.

The goal of the Pro Bono Initiative is to take the guesswork out of finding a volunteer activity. The initiative, which I developed with a wonderful group of volunteers, gauges an attorney’s interests, and a volunteer well-versed in pro bono opportunities throughout the city will point the attorney toward organizations looking for attorney volunteers. It’s a great way to ensure that an attorney will find a volunteering experience that is a good fit from the start.

I truly believe that it is individuals who can make a difference when it comes to ensuring that people in our community

Also in the past year, the Democracy Education Committee has worked to build stronger relationships with Denver Public Schools through its Partner Alliance of Lawyers and Schools program and Guest Teacher Initiative—both of which get attorneys in schools and spending time with students, helping them learn more about civics and serving as great role models. It was exciting to see this committee and its programs be recognized in May with the Helen Phelps Award at the Denver Teachers’ Awards.

Those are just a few of the highlights of this past year, and I hope you’ll take the time to review the the annual report and see the hard work of all of the DBA committees that has gone into the accomplishments of the last year.

A Year at the DBA July 1, 2011— Ilene Lin Bloom takes helm as DBA president.

August 2011— DBA Assistant Executive Director Dana Collier Smith starts her term as president of the National Association of Bar Executives.

Aug. 7, 2011— The DBA Community Action Networks hosts its School Supply Drive Handout at the Denver Zoo,

28 The Docket I September 2012

giving 300 students backpacks filled with supplies.

Aug. 12, 2011— Colorado Supreme Court Justice Alex Martinez named Denver’s Manager of Safety.

Aug. 16, 2011— The Seniors Committee hosts its annual Seniors Golf Tournament at Homestead Golf Course.

Sept. 8, 2011—

The Diversity in the Legal Profession Committee honors Kathleen Nalty with its Diversity Trailblazer Award and Gordon & Rees LLP with the Diversity Leadership Award.

Oct. 4, 2011— The Seniors Committee hosted its annual roast, and longtime telecomm general counsel Larry DeMuth was the honoree in the hot seat.

Sept. 12–16, 2011— During the week, more than 1,500 Denver students were taught about the Constitution by attorneys as a part of Constitution Day.

Oct. 13–14, 2011— The Young Lawyers Division collected new and gently used professional clothing, accessories, and shoes for Law Suit Days.

Executive Director’s Message

Refusing to Give Up the Fight for Civics

by C h arle s C . T urne r There has always been a disconnect between what we, lawyers and the bar, think the public needs to know about our legal system and what the public wants to know about that system. Trying to connect those disparate views has been and always will be an immense challenge for us. That doesn’t mean we won’t continue to explore creative ways to get the message across—of course we will; it is one of the prime directives of what our bar association is all about.

What are some of the creative ways we are employing to work on this issue? Let me mention a few, but let’s not lose focus on the reality of the current social fabric out there and the public’s appetite for what we think they need to know.

Our public legal education program recently won the Helen Phelps Award from the Denver Teachers’ Awards for the DBA’s involvement with Denver Public Schools. As many of our members know—because we have had lots of members volunteer for these programs—we salt public and private school classrooms with lawyers who present programs that explain how the legal and judicial systems in this country work. With the leadership of DBA Democracy Education Committee (DEC) Co-Chairs Erich Bethke and John Kechriotis, the committee’s Partner Alliance of Lawyers and Schools, or PALS, program brought attorneys to Denver Public Schools for year long volunteering with a specific school, giving them the time to get to know students and teachers. In addition to spending time at schools, attorneys with the DEC are working to keep kids in school by volunteering to speak at DPS Attendance Mediation Workshops. These workshops have been found to be nearly three times more effective than

Oct. 21, 2011— DBA eNewsletter the D-Brief receives the Luminary Award for Excellence in Electronic Publications from the National Association of Bar Executives.

Oct. 23–29, 2011— Pro Bono Week began with a kick-off party featuring Ignitestyle presentations on Oct. 24.

The week continued with training for volunteers assisting with pro se clinics and Metro Volunteer

Lawyers.

Nov. 5, 2011— The Community Action Network hosts Strikes for Tykes and raises nearly $5,000 for Children’s Outreach Project.

Dec. 12, 2011— The Seniors Committee hosts its annual Holiday Lunch.

Jan. 24, 2012— Former DBA President Stacy

truancy court in getting students reengaged in school.

The Denver Regional High School Mock Trial program involved seven Denver area schools this year. Those teams were led by volunteer lawyer-coaches who devoted numerous hours to strategizing, practicing verbal skills, and researching legal concepts. Kids in those programs easily spent as much time poring over their trial notebooks as any classmate on the sports fields. Remember that for every pupil on a mock trial team, there are parents, siblings, fellow students, aunts and uncles, and others who get to see the workings of a courtroom, and these young kids stand up, in intimidating situations, and make cogent speeches. It’s not a lecture on our legal system; it’s actually better than that.

Judges also have a role to play and they know it. They too have stepped forward in a major way. Don’t ask me why, but for some reason the public likes to hear from those mysterious folks who magically appear from secret doors, dressed in medieval garb and wielding scary cudgels—the only things missing are clarions and plumes of smoke. Denver District Judge William W. Hood III has worked to implement Judicially Speaking, a program that sends judges into classrooms to teach about the judicial branch, into the Denver area. The program was created

by Judge David Prince and Judge David Shakes in Colorado Springs, and we’re glad to see it expanding across the state.

Getting the word out about America’s legal system is something we’re committed to pursuing. Admittedly, trying to counter the odd miss or malfeasance of a judge or lawyer is tough—headlines do their job in creating sensation, we all know. Plus, it’s unlikely that a young person staring at a smart phone is looking up what an Article III judge really is—so the competition for attention is ongoing.

We can’t sway public opinion all at once, but with each of these programs and the help of engaged members, we have begun to gain ground and have started an effective dialogue with our friends and neighbors in the community.

Carpenter receives Richard Marden Davis Award.

Feb. 6–10, 2012— The Community Action Network hosts its Toothbrushes for Tots Drive.

Feb. 9–10, 2012— Colorado Academy sweeps the Denver Regional High School Mock Trial Tournament, taking the top two spots and advancing to the state mock trial

tournament.

April 16–27, 2012— Nearly $60,000 in money and food donated by the legal community for the Community Action Network’s Roll Out the Barrels Food Drive.

May 2012— DBA Law Day Art Contest winners art work displayed at the Denver Art Museum.

September 2012 I The Docket

29

Denver Bar Association Annual Report The Denver Bar Association is on a mission to help its members and the community. The DBA works to do so by promoting justice, its administration, and its availability to all; supporting and assisting the membership; upholding the honor and dignity of the bar and fostering respect for the legal profession; encouraging a thorough and ongoing legal education; cultivating good relations among all lawyers of Denver; and perpetuating the history and tradition of the profession.

This annual report will offer members a snapshot of the last year and what the DBA has done to advance its mission.

Being Proactive about Pro Bono:

Promoting Justice, Its Administration, and Its Availability to All ................................................................................................

DBA President Ilene Lin Bloom developed the DBA Pro Bono Initiative and it was launched in May. This service will help members, either one-on-one by phone, via email, online, or in person to help interested members identify pro bono opportunities that suit each member’s individual needs. Members first fill out an interest form, available at bit. ly/PBIForm, and volunteers follow up with members to help them identify a volunteer opportunity. At press time, approximately 60 members had used this new service.

The DBA Access Denver County Judge Raymond Satter, with to Justice Commitjudicial assistant Marlene Salazar, talks to Army tee helped bring a new veteran Lance Rivera in a temporary courtroom service to the Veteron Nov. 3 at the Veterans Stand Down. It was the first year the Veterans Stand Down provided a ans Stand Down. ATJ venue for resolving some charges. Photo by Andy Committee member Cross, courtesy of The Denver Post. and Magistrate Beth

Faragher collaborated with the Denver courts to hold a temporary court for veterans to clear tickets and warrants related to misdemeanor and nonviolent violations. Judge Raymond Satter presided at this one-day temporary court that gave defendants community service rather than jail time. Additionally, ATJ Committee volunteers staffed a table to take legal questions throughout the event.

The DBA began its clinic of the Colorado Lawyers for Colorado Veterans program at the Matthews Center on Nov. 11, 2011. This monthly clinic, held the second Tuesday of each month at noon, allows veterans to meet with an attorney and get information on topics such as veterans’ resources, benefits, taxes, housing, and family law. To date, the statewide Colorado Lawyers for Colorado Veterans program has served more than 150 veterans and their families. The program was recognized for its assistance to veterans by the General Assembly on May 2 with Senate Joint Resolution 12-040.

Metro Volunteer Lawyers, with the generous assistance of Lois Ann Rovira, was able to establish the Rovira Scholar Fellowship in March. This position, designed for a recent law graduate, was created to the increase the amount of legal services MVL could provide to those in need. The fellowship was named for Lois Ann’s late husband, former Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Luis Rovira. The goal of the fellowship is to enhance the overall understanding of the complex and unique legal challenges presented in pro bono public service through

A Year at the DBA May 3, 2012— DBA Young Lawyers Division hosts its Law Day Reception, featuring former Colorado Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Love Kourlis.

May 5, 2012— The DBA hosts the Barristers Benefit Ball at the Grand Hyatt Denver.

May 11, 2012— DBA Democracy Education

30 The Docket I September 2012

Committee honored with the Denver Teachers’ Award’s Helen Phelps Award.

Henry Hall Memorial Golf Tournament held at Hiwan Golf Club.

Seniors Spring Banquet. Ilene Bloom and Mary Jo Gross serve as emcees for the event.

May 23, 2012— The DBA Pro Bono Initiative launched to members.

June 5, 2012— The DBA Annual Party celebrates winners of the DBA Awards.

Ilene Bloom passes the gavel to incoming DBA President Jim Benjamin.

June 20, 2012— The DBA YLD hosts Attorneys’ Night Out to raise funds for The Legal Center for People with Disabilities and Older People.

June 4–8, 2012— Members enjoyed free events, CLEs, and more as a part of Member Appreciation Week.

June 4, 2012—

June 12, 2012— Members who have practiced for 50 years are recognized at the

the early training and professional development of outstanding law school graduates.

Additionally, the law firms of Polidori, Franklin & Monahan, LLC and Pelegrin & Radeff, PC joined Faegre, Baker, Daniels, LLP to sponsor and staff MVL’s post-decree clinics in Jefferson County. The addition of these two firms allows MVL to provide post-decree clinics in Jefferson County every month rather than every other month.

Finally, on April 4 MVL began working with the Denver Indian Center to provide a walk-in clinic each month. Members of the Colorado Indian Bar Association and other volunteers have helped to staff it and provide legal advice and resources to attendees.

Creating Connections:

Supporting and Assisting the Membership ................................................................................................

The DBA was one of many organizations across the state to participate in the Mentoring Pilot Program. There were 80 mentee– mentor matches within the DBA’s program. The aims of the program Colorado Bar Association President Mark Fogg helped include promoting kick off the DBA Mentoring Program for 2012 on Jan. 5. pride in the profession; excellence in service; and strong relationships with the bar, courts, clients, and the public through teaching the core values and ideals of the legal profession and the best practices for meeting those ideals.

In the yearlong program, a young lawyer is paired with an established attorney. They meet monthly to discuss personal and professional development; the Colorado bar and legal community; the history and importance of the legal profession; and professionalism and civility. Each mentee and mentor receives 15 free CLE credits, including two ethics credits, on successful completion of the program. The pilot program will end in December, at which time the program will be assessed.

For the first time, the DBA staff produced the 2012 edition of The Colorado Legal Directory, which was released in December 2011. The staff took on this project to provide further benefits to members, such as being able to update and verify their listing online, which was not possible with the previous publisher, and discounted upgrade fees for members. DBA members continue to receive a copy of the legal directory at no charge as a part of their membership.

CBA–DBA Diversity in the Legal Profession Committee has expanded its “pipeline” work to include sponsorship and administrative oversight for the Dream Teams, small groups

of lawyers and students, led by a judge, who do presentations in schools and universities regarding the legal profession and about becoming a lawyer. DILP also is dedicated to providing informational and educational resources regarding diversity and inclusion in the legal profession to bar association members and throughout the community.

The DBA Legal Fee Arbitration Committee merged with its CBA counterpart following approval from the DBA Board of Trustees in April and the CBA Board of Governors in May. The committee arbitrates fee disputes between clients and their attorneys. This free service allows attorneys to resolve fee disputes while maintaining respect for the fiduciary duty owed to clients.

DBA Membership increased by 17 percent (despite a slight dues increase) to 9,290 members. Approximately 100 people applied for Dues Assistance, which is provided on a sliding scale for attorneys who may not be able to afford their dues.

The DBA’s Member Appreciation Week was June 4-8.

The week included complimentary professional photo sittings for members June 6–8 and a secure document shredding and electronics recycling event for members. Approximately $1,300 in cash and 10 boxes of food donations were accepted from the shredding event for Metro CareRing, a local food bank.

Making New PALS:

Upholding the Honor and Dignity of the Bar and Fostering Respect for the Legal Profession ................................................................................................

Partner Alliance of Lawyers and Schools is a program of the DBA Democracy Education Committee where members volunteered many hours and formed relationships with teachers and students. Activities included girls’ lunch hours, career days, current event hours, girls’ empowerment programs, Constitution Day, guest teaching, and a Junior Achievement program. This past year, five volunteers were assigned to two DPS schools: Morey Middle School and Smiley Middle School. The committee’s goal is to further expand the PALS program across Denver Public Schools.

The Community Action Network hosted four events to benefit children in need, including a new fall event—Strikes for Tykes. Nearly $60,000 in money and food donated by the legal community for the Community Action Network’s Roll Out the Barrels Food Drive in April. Approximately 300 Denver Public School students received backpacks stuffed with supplies they will need in class at the Denver Zoo in August 2011. Supplies that were left over were donated to the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless and The Gathering Place. Strikes for Tykes, held in November, benefited the Children’s Outreach Project and raised nearly $5,000. Finally, during the Toothbrushes for Tots Drive, held in February, the legal community donated nearly $1,000 and more than 10 boxes of dental items.

September 2012 I The Docket

31

Community Action Network Committee members Arax Corn, Stephanie Baer, and Richard Lynch pose at CAN’s newest fundraising event, Strikes for Tykes, which benefitted the Children’s Outreach Project.

A new focus of the CBA–DBA Interprofessional Committee has been to develop simpler Interprofessional Guidelines, particularly for physicians to use in their interaction with attorneys. The Interprofessional Committee seeks to foster harmonious relations between attorneys and other professions particularly, but not solely, focused on expert witness issues. Among other things, the committee mediates and arbitrates disputes between professions using the Interprofessional Code promulgated by the committee.

On May 11, the DBA–DPS Guest Teaching Initiative won the Helen Phelps Award at the Denver Teachers’ Awards.

This award was given to one organization that collaborated with Denver Public Schools throughout the year. The DBA–DPS Guest Teaching program was set up in 2009 when DPS asked for substitute teaching assistance by our Denver Bar Association membership. Three to six dates are planned each year to give teachers the opportunity to attend professional development seminars.

DPS Attendance Mediation Workshops target middle and high school students who have met the statutory definition for habitual truancy—four unexcused absences in one month, or 10 unexcused absences in a school year—and are eligible to be prosecuted for truancy. At the workshops, a DBA attorney presents on the Compulsory School Attendance Law and families draft agreements that include the school and external resources, identifying what each party (the student, the family, the school, and the community) will do to support the student’s attendance.

AMWs are nearly three times more effective than truancy court at getting students reengaged in schools. DPS has used a measured pilot for the program for three years, and is looking to expand, with the goal of reaching as many as 28 schools in the 2012–13 school year.

The Legal Community Credit Union of Colorado extended its service hours to 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. The credit union serves 800 members of the legal community and provides access to more than 4,000 credit union branches

32 The Docket I September 2012

nationwide.

The DBA Young Lawyers Division updated its annual Law Day contest from an essay contest for Denver Public Schools high school students to allow students to explore the Law Day theme through artwork, a short video or other recording, or a short essay. Also, the YLD moved its annual Law Day Luncheon to an evening cocktail format. Former Colorado Supreme Court Justice and IAALS Executive Director Rebecca Kourlis spoke at the event and winners of the contest were recognized.

In 2011, the Wheels of Justice Cycling Team, comprised of attorneys and non-attorneys alike who participate in the Courage Classic, raised more than $289,000 for the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s Hospital Colorado. This brings the team’s six-year fundraising total in the Children’s Hospital Courage Classic Bicycle Tour to more than $1.3 million. The DBA is a sponsor of the Wheels of Justice.

Staying in the Know:

Encouraging a Thorough and Ongoing Legal Education ................................................................................................

The DBA Bench-Bar Committee has continued its work in presenting programs that are aimed at allowing judges and lawyers to get together informally to discuss areas of mutual interest. During the past year, the committee has sponsored a number of brown bag lunches, as well as the Bench–Bar Retreat, which have included judges from the Colorado Supreme Court, Colorado Court of Appeals, the Denver District Court, the Denver County Court, and the Administrative Law Courts. Topics have ranged from practice pointers in the respective courts to an explanation of the Civil Access Pilot Project. Members not only learn practical ways to assist in their representation of clients through these programs, but can also meet and talk to judges to get a better understanding of the challenges they face in handling their dockets. These informative and affordable programs

(Top) More than 100 members took advantage of complimentary practice management CLE programming during Member Appreciation Week.

(Left) CBA Immediate Past President David Masters presented two programs—about using Adobe Acrobat X and going paperless at trial—as part of DBA Member Appreciation Week.

are usually held in conference or meeting rooms at the courthouse on a quarterly basis, providing a convenient way for members to obtain CLE credits and improve their practice.

More than 100 members took advantage of complimentary practice management CLE programming during Member Appreciation Week. On June 7, Verizon presented “iPads for Attorneys,” followed by “Hands-on Practice Management: From Intake to Invoicing” presented by Clio CEO Jack Newton. On June 8, CBA Immediate Past President David Masters presented on “Acrobat X for Lawyers” and “The Paperless Trial.”

Elevating Professionalism:

Cultivating Good Relations Among All Lawyers of Denver ................................................................................................

Since 2009, members of the CBA–DBA Professionalism Coordinating Council have worked together to merge existing principles of professionalism into Members of the DBA and CBA Young Lawyers a single unified docuDivisions co-hosted an open house for members, ment to create a guide where they interacted with section and committee for statewide use: the members.

Colorado Principles of Professionalism. The DBA Board of Trustees approved a motion to support the adoption of the new joint principles in December 2011; these updated principles were approved by the CBA Board of Governors in May. You can see the principles at cobar.org/ index.cfm/ID/21435.

The DBA Young Lawyers Division worked with the CBA YLD to host an Open House for the first time, where members mingled and learned more about the sections and committees of both bar associations. The DBA YLD hosted another first time event—this one at a Rockies game.

Perpetuating the History and Tradition of the Profession ................................................................................................

The Barristers Benefit Ball raised approxi mately $90,000 to benefit Metro Volunteer Lawyers. The ball was hosted at the Elsa Martinez Tenreiro and Steve Theis at the Barristers Grand Hyatt DenBenefit Ball. ver on May 5, and in a new twist on the Dancing with the Bar Stars theme that was launched in 2011, the Bar Stars who danced in a competition at

DBA Awards honorees: Elizabeth Correa-Leslie, Teacher of the Year; Erich Bethke, Volunteer Lawyer of the Year; Elsa Martinez Tenreiro, Award of Merit; Colorado Court of Appeals Judge Daniel Taubman, Judicial Excellence; and Troy Rackham, Young Lawyer of the Year. the ball did so with their spouses instead of professional dancers.

The Bar Stars couples were three former DBA presidents, Mark Fogg, Elsa Martinez Tenreiro, and Bill Walters, and their spouses, Pat Fogg, Steve Theis, and Christy Cutler.

Members who have made extraordinary contributions to the legal community were honored at the DBA Annual Party on June 5 at the Sherman Street Event Center. The DBA Awards honorees were Elsa Martinez Tenreiro, Award of Merit; Erich Bethke, Volunteer Attorney of the Year; Troy Rackham, Young Lawyer of the Year; Colorado Court of Appeals Judge Daniel Taubman, Judicial Excellence; and Elizabeth Correa-Leslie; Teacher of the Year.

The DBA Seniors Committee hosted four successful events throughout the year: the 2011 Seniors Golf Tournament at Homestead Golf Course in Lakewood on Aug. 17; the 2011 Seniors Roast of Larry DeMuth at the University Club on Oct. 4; the Holiday Party on Dec. 12; and the Seniors Spring Banquet, which honored 14 who have been licensed for 50 years, since 1962, on June 12 at the University Club.

The Docket continued to bring news and features about people in the Denver Legal community each month. In this past year, there has been increased coverage of topics such as law practice management, the courts and its jurists, and technology trends, as well as programs or events presented by DBA sections and committees. Additionally, the Docket Committee created the Denver Lawyers’ Arts and Literature Contest for DBA members. The winning artists, selected by the committee, are featured in this issue.

The 2012 Henry Hall Memorial Golf Tournament was held at the Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen on June 4. This year’s tournament raised more than $7,000 to benefit Metro Volunteer Lawyers, and 92 golfers played in the tournament.

The winners of the golf tournament are pictured on p. 46.

September 2012 I The Docket

33

Financials Assets

Expenses *2012

2011

1,457,015

1,164,905

Certificates of Deposit

53,000

153,000

Due from Colorado Bar Association

282,788

264,148

0

0

Accounts Receivable (Other)

53,732

67,110

Prepaid Expenses

37,978

35,913

Property Net of Depreciation

16,566

19,136

0

0

4,544

4,544

1,905,623

1,708,756

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Accounts Receivable Denver Bar Found.

Funds Held for Retirement Benefits Deposits Total Assets

Metro Volunteer Lawyers Programs, Committees, and Departments

Liabilities and Membership Equity

*2012

2011

Accounts Payable Other

0

0

Due to Colorado Bar Association

0

0

G&A Human Resources Building, Equiptment, and Operations

0

0

39,615

39,615

0

0

391,384

414,475

0

0

1,244

1,244

432,243

455,334

*2012

2011

1,459,029

1,239,070

14,352

14,352

Total Equity

1,473,381

1,253,422

Total Liabilities and Membership Equity

1,905,623

1,708,756

*2012

2011

Dues

918,441

836,590

Member Programs

396,316

49,932

Metro Volunteer Lawyers

151,865

143,502

Due to Denver Bar Foundation Accrued Compensation Accrued Retirement Benefits Deferred Revenue (Dues and Other) Accrued Sales Taxes and Property Taxes Accrued Income Taxes Total Liabilities Membership Equity Unrestricted Restricted for Special Projects

Revenues

69,024

141,826

1,535,645

1,171,849

*2012

2011

Programs, Committees & Departments

551,949

359,619

Metro Volunteer Lawyers

282,494

248,652

G&A Human Resources

262,078

252,999

Building, Equipment & Operations

234,828

227,749

Governance and Meetings

19,338

27,881

1,350,687

1,116,899

184,958

54,950

Misc. Income Total Revenues Expenses

Total Surplus/Deficit *2012 figures are unaudited

34 The Docket I September 2012

Governance and Meetings

Revenues

Misc. Income Dues Member Programs Metro Volunteer Lawyers

Poetry, continued from page 24 the smoky night as they melted into reflecting pools of ten thousand mosques the old glorious shroud whipped the sand until only the glassy moon grimaced from beyond the horizon barbed wire dripped the lava of despair guard dogs spoke spanish but the hunted travelers were mute and blind and lost

her first and only ration of life while pastel heirs hunted painted eggs in texas buffalo grass littered with foil wrappers and q-tips

alabaster condo that stood over the rubble of little mexico the bottoms paddy town and where inuna-ina once skinned antelopes

i wanted out of the dream but i was surrounded by celebrity hounds licking at my rusty sandals

a siren cut the night but my deafness prevented a response

they avoided eye contact their embarrassment knocked me to my knees

young women puckered elderly lips plumped with gold their bruised necks slumped under the weight of diamond chokers as they waded through tar-drenched muck until they drowned in their imaginations

somewhere an old man gasped his final breath an infant breathed

the thump of incoherent rhythms bounced from a tilted

the policeman reported an ignored car alarm as a useless gesture contradicting the schizophrenic cacophony of neighborhood watch and worldwide amnesia

a living room stuffed with their parent’s memories i whispered something about the usual suspects stainless steel jail bars clutched their errant lovers who watched the warden hang himself elevator music flooded the cell blocks i hummed along because i knew all the words i jerked away from the dream and realized i had not been asleep there was no wine and I was alone

he lost his job when he used his badge as an umbrella to hold back tears from squandered hopes and violent choices naked grandchildren paraded through

September 2012 I The Docket

35

Nonfiction, continued from page 21 unemployment rate nationally hit 25 percent; it was probably higher in the factory towns of upstate New York. Dad was lucky enough to get work shoveling coal in the train yard and later hired in at the carborundum plant as a “stationary engineer.”

All the while, the romanticism that was so much a part of the young boy who loved to read “Ivanhoe” and Zane Grey was struggling to express itself. Dad hitchhiked and rode the rods on a train to get to Indiana; he worked on a farm for a month or so and came home. He tried to join the French Foreign Legion, but fortunately for my future existence it was Bastille Day and their office in New York City was closed. He then found his first career at Mitchell Field on Long Island in 1937, when he enlisted in the Army Air Corps at the age of 24.

Dad completely took to the Air Corps and the Air Force. He loved the camaraderie and the adventure, the military pomp and circumstance, and the disciplined sense of purpose. He became a master sergeant very quickly, and served as a crew chief in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy during World War II. He received the Legion of Merit in North Africa for designing a system for maintaining and repairing Allied aircraft and keeping them in the air continuously. After the war, he served in Alaska, flying in B-29 patrols close to the Bering Strait.

Mom was born in Appleton City, Missouri, in 1918. Her parents came from a long line of steady and industrious German farmers. Grandpa Henry Renken married Grandma Kate in 1912, and in 1920 decided to buy a farm in eastern Colorado near the town of Flagler.

Mom was the center of her parents’ lives in all respects. When you look at her pictures from the 1920s, you can see that eastern Colorado was a frontier; in one photo, she is wearing a homemade gingham dress and playing with a turkey.

She was an only child, and so developed as both daughter and son for proud parents. Mom was a fantastic cook, but also a dead shot with a .22 caliber rifle; she

36 The Docket I September 2012

sewed her own clothes much of her life, but she could also ride a horse bareback all day.

Mom came to Denver in 1937, and went to work for The Denver Post in 1938, where she stayed until 1955. She worked as a “girl Friday” doing a little bit of everything, including selling insurance, editing the in-house newsletter, giving people the location of polling places by phone on Election Day, taking tickets a few evenings a month at the old baseball field at Merchant’s Park, and even putting together skits and pageants on special occasions.

Mom loved The Post and everything about it, including the reporters, who ranged from very thoughtful and gentle people to guys who lived on whiskey and cigarettes and who would just as soon punch you in the nose as debate you if they thought your point of view was ridiculous. It was through her contacts at The Post that she met Dad, who was stationed at Lowry Field.

I suppose I could say that their early relationship involved a smoldering passion, but that would be a lie. It was a forest fire. You can see it in the pictures; Dad photographing Mom, sitting by a stream in the mountains, wearing shorts with her legs stretched out, Dad trying to show how beautiful she is, but never quite being able to capture it to his satisfaction. Her pictures of him have that same quality; a big, handsome guy in a suit and a fedora, cigarette hanging from his lower lip, carrying their bags as though he might just leave or might just stay. He was the pirate king, and he had taken the farm girl far away, but no further than she had taken him.

I was born in 1954, and together we saw the American West in the last days before post-modernism and development caught up with us. We would camp every weekend in the late spring and summer, with a one or two week camping vacation thrown in for July or August.

At first, Mom and Dad would take an old canvas tent from Sears and we would pitch it and break it down, rarely staying more than three nights in the same place. I saw Mesa Verde when the evening campfire programs drew 10 people

on a busy night; Navajo men and women came from the reservation to dance fertility dances, and we knew that this land was not ours and never would be in the same way it belonged to the dancers. The three of us were the only visitors sitting around the fire one night at Capulin Volcano National Monument, with a park ranger and an old rancher telling stories of Spanish conquistadores, fur traders, and cowboys, with the refreshments consisting of hot strong coffee brewing on the campfire, a few eggshells thrown in to settle the grounds.

When I left home, I opted for a more orthodox life than they had lived; I went to law school and became an attorney, a fact that made them very, very proud.

Those last years were kinder to Dad physically than to Mom; he and I hiked all 42 miles of developed trails in Chiricahua National Monument over six days when he had just turned 67. Mom’s knees became arthritic and bent, and her last years were in a wheelchair. But up until almost the end they still went camping together, now in a modest camper on the back of a Ford pickup, Mom still cooking meals for him from scratch, tending the fire, watching the hummingbirds, painting, and writing poems.

One night, when he was 79 and she was 74, they were camped at Sawmill Gulch in North Park. The temperature hit about 20 degrees, and I was sitting in Denver, really worried. I needn’t have; Dad had picked Mom up, and he carried her up to his bunk to be with him and to keep them both warm. They laughed as they slowly and awkwardly made this little journey; they had seen so much together, and lived lives that no one could ever repeat. They knew that they had lived their modest dreams to the fullest and there were no regrets.

In his third State of the Union Address, President Reagan famously said that “America is too great for small dreams.” I must respectfully dissent.

LEGAL DIRECTORY A Publication of the Denver Bar Association

Highlight Yourself in the 2013 Legal Directory 9 You should have received your verification form in the mail.

Verify your

information

by Sept. 15

9 Even if the information on the form is correct, all forms must be returned or completed online by September 15.

9 If we do not receive a response by September 15, your listing will be based on the business address on file with the Colorado Supreme Court Office of Attorney Registration effective June 14, 2012.

9 Listing proofs will not be sent.

9 To complete your form online, go to coloradolegaldirectory.com.

9 Questions? Call 303-860-1115.

September 2012 I The Docket

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Write for

The Docket DBA members are encouraged to send story ideas, photos, tips, and fun ar ticles for t h e D o c k e t C o m m i t t e e ’s consideration. Our goal is to have a newsletter that is an outlet for prose by Denver attorneys, featuring stories about members and about matters of interest to our members. We want to include both the sincere and the satirical! Send member announcements, ideas, or content to Editor Sara Crocker at scrocker@cobar.org.

Debate, continued from page 7 that takes place within the debate arena, and DU will be responsible for those things taking place outside the arena. The audience for the debate is limited, and tickets are allocated by the commission to the participating campaigns and to the participating universities. Tickets for DU students will be distributed by random selection through a lottery.

Outside the arena, DU will host a community-wide celebration, called “DebateFest.” These festivities, at the center of campus, will include activities for ever y subsection of the community. There will be live music, local vendors, and a variety of activities and events centered on the debate. DebateFest is a free event that requires pre-registration, which will open to community members on Sept. 15. DU will televise the debate live outdoors for those in attendance.

Get Involved T h e re a l s o a re m a ny o p p o rtunities for members of the DU community to get involved with the

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debate as volunteers, including being a media runner, assisting the commission with pre-event activities, and assisting with DebateFest itself.

Still others can volunteer to act as facilitators for virtual debates among high school students from across the world. These debates are organized by the initiative Join the Debates, which is a national and international civil outreach program led by Explo and the commission’s cooperation.

After the lights fade, the candidates and their entourages will move on to another city and another venue.

But the experience of hosting a debate of this magnitude here in Colorado benefit the political process nationally and will serve as an important milestone to the city, the community, and the students at DU who will remember the significant role they played in the 2012 presidential election. D

DENVER BAR ASSOCIATION

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NOW PLACING ATTORNEYS!!!

Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Bender and the Colorado Bar Association have declared October as Legal Professionalism Month in Colorado. The aim of the month is to encourage members of the legal profession, professional entities, and judicial officers and staff to rededicate themselves to demonstrating the highest standards of professionalism and integrity and promote public confidence in the profession and the court system.

Governor Ralph Carr’s Commitment toEqual Protection of the Law and Fostering Professionalism Through Mentoring To commemorate the month, members of the profession are invited to attend an Assembly of Lawyers and a special session of the Colorado Supreme Court beginning at 2 p.m. on Oct. 29 at Boettcher Concert Hall, and by their presence to accept newly admitted lawyers to the profession of law.

October2012 Visit cobar.org/professionalism

to view a list of events occurring across the state in conjunction with Legal Professionalism Month.

September 2012 I The Docket

39

CBA-CLE

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LIVE EVENTS AND LIVE WEBCASTS

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Sept. 6, 2012 Mechanics' Liens: Advanced Issues Submitted for 3 General CLE credits

Sept. 5, 2012 Practicing with Professionalism Submitted for 6 General CLE credits (video replay in Denver)

Sept. 7, 2012 Advanced Estate Planning Symposium Submitted for 7 General CLE credits Sept. 11, 2012 – Nov. 19, 2012 Colorado Real Estate Practice (multi-week event) Submitted for 18 General CLE credits, including 4 Ethics Sept. 13, 2012 Legal Marketing: Selling in Your Comfort Zone No CLE credits available for this course.

Sept. 18, 2012 Practicing with Professionalism Submitted for 6 General CLE credits Sept. 21, 2012 Contested Wills: When Intent is in Dispute Submitted for 6 General CLE credits, including .5 Ethics Sept. 27, 2012 Assisted Reproductive Technology: The Process, Bioethics, and How It Will Affect Your Practice Submitted for 7 General CLE credits, including 1 Ethics Sept. 28, 2012 Annual Tort Law Update 2012 Submitted for 5 General CLE credits

Sept. 27, 2012 Mechanics' Liens: Advanced Issues Submitted for 3 General CLE credits (video replay in Grand Junction, Colorado Springs, and Denver) Sept. 28, 2012 Advanced Estate Planning Symposium Submitted for 7 General CLE credits (video replay in Grand Junction, Colorado Springs, and Denver) Oct. 11, 2012 Contested Wills: When Intent is in Dispute Submitted for 6 General CLE credits, including .5 Ethics (video replay in Grand Junction, Colorado Springs, and Denver) Oct. 17, 2012 Annual Tort Law Update 2012 Submitted for 5 General CLE credits (video replay in Grand Junction, Colorado Springs, and Denver) Oct. 19, 2012 Assisted Reproductive Technology: The Process, Bioethics, and How It Will Affect Your Practice Submitted for 7 General CLE credits, including 1 Ethics (video replay in Grand Junction, Colorado Springs, and Denver)

Oct. 15, 2012 Practicing with Professionalism Submitted for 6 General CLE credits Oct. 17, 2012 Practicing with Professionalism Submitted for 6 General CLE credits

CBA CLE

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www.cobar.org/cle 40 The Docket I September 2012

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7/2012 September 2012 I The Docket

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Legal

AFFAIRS GOOD THINGS The CBA–DBA P ro fe s s i o n a l i s m Coordinating Council recognized longtime council member and outgoing chair Donald Alperstein with a certificate of appreciation for his outstanding service to the council, which started in 1996.

Alperstein, center, poses with DBA President Jim Benjamin and CBA and DBA Deputy Executive Director Greg Martin.

The Colorado Judicial Institute elected new board members, officers and ex-officio directors at its annual meeting.

Thomas R. O’Donnell, managing partner of Holland & Hart LLP, was elected secretary and joins re-elected officers, Otto K. Hilbert, II, chair; James E. Scarboro, vice chair; Peter D. Willis, vice chair; and Yvonne England Zuber, treasurer.

Newly elected board members are Marilyn S. Chappell, special counsel for Wells Anderson & Race, LLC; John B. Grow, III, founder, CEO, and president of LawToolBox.com, Inc.; and James D. Kilroy, partner with Snell & Wilmer LLP. Stephen Burg and Nick Fogel, both associates with Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh & Jardine, P.C., were elected ex-officio directors.

The University of Denver is pleased to announce its Law Star honorees for 2012. They are as follows: Bill Keating, Thompson Gross G. Marsh Award; Mike O’Donnell, Outstanding Alumni Award; 2004–05 DBA President Mary Jo Gross, Alumni Professionalism Award; and Prof. Joyce Sterling, Excellence in

Teaching Award.

Nicolle Martin, in-house counsel for Auto Injury Solutions, Inc., has been selected to serve as an Allied Attorney for The Alliance Defense Fund.

Na nc y Co h e n , o f counsel with W heeler Trigg O’Donnell, has been appointed to a three-year term as a member of the Cohen ABA’s Standing Committee on Professional Discipline.

Sandra Wick Mulvany, a partner in the Denver office of McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP, has recently been named as one of Girl Scouts of Colorado’s 100 Distinguished Alumnae.

Thomas J. Wolf, a business and trial attorney at Ireland Stapleton Pryor & Pascoe, PC, has joined Denver Scholarship Wolf Foundation’s Development Committee.

The Navajo Nation Bar Association has selected Troy A. Eid to receive its Member of the Year Award. Eid is a litigation Eid shareholder in Greenberg Traurig’s Denver office and co-chairs the firm’s national American Indian Law practice group.

Otis, Coan & Peters, LLC congratulates member Brett Payton on his election to president of the Payton Weld County Bar Association, Inc. Brad Hamilton was elected chair of the board for Dolls for Daughters & Kenzi’s Kidz.

Hamilton Donelson Ciancio &

Grant, P.C. family law attorney Kate M. Lincoff has joined the community philanthropy Roots & Branches Foundation.

Peg g y Richter of the Denver office of Kutak Rock LLP has joined the Board of Directors for The Colorado Humane Society Richter & S.P.C.A., Inc. The Association of Cor porate Counsel announced that Whirlpool Corporation and its outside counsel, Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell LLP, have been recognized as 2012 ACC Value Champions for their collaboration in making a difference for their organizations through creativity and value-based legal management skills.

A s h l e y Wa l d , a n attorney in Holland & H a r t ’s E n e r g y, E n v i ronment, and Natural Resources practice, was Wald elected assistant secretary of the Dumb Friends League board of directors.

CHANGES Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck added associate Kwali M. Farbes to its growing team. Farbes’ practice focuses on serving as bond counsel, underwriter’s counsel, bank counsel, and special disclosure counsel to companies, governmental entities, and nonprofit organizations.

Fisher & Phillips LLP announced that Sherri Catalano has joined the Catalano labor and employment law firm as an associate.

Wes Wollenweber recently joined Donelson Ciancio & Grant, P.C. Wollenweber’s focus will be on

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 Schuster at kschuster@cobar.org by the 1st day of the month.

42 The Docket I September 2012

employment, homeowners’ associations, and commercial litigation.

Matthew Thompson has joined the Finance & Acquisitions Department of Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP as an associate. His Thompson practice will focus on mergers and acquisitions, private equity, commercial finance, and securities transactions.

Berg Hill Greenleaf & Ruscitti LLP has announced that attorney Alan C. Friedberg has joined the firm as of counsel.

Friedberg concentrates his practice in the commercial area, including securities, business disputes, real estate matters, insurance, and professional liability cases.

The law firm of Rothgerber Johnson & Lyons LLP is pleased to welcome Nicholas N. Dyer as an associate in the firm’s ColoDyer rado Springs office.

Dyer’s law practice is focused on corporate and real estate transactional matters.

Burns, Figa & Will, P.C. announced the addition of Corey Preston as an associate to the firm. Preston’s practice area will focus on commercial litigation.

Otten Johnson Robinson Neff + Ragonetti PC is pleased to announce the addition of Emily A. Hippen as an associate in the real estate group. Hippen focuses her practice on commercial real estate finance, with an emphasis on the representation of lenders and servicers in both loan origination and loan modification transactions.

Andrew Fiske has joined the Finance & Acquisitions Department of Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP as an associate. He concentrates his practice on middle-market mergers and acquisitions, commercial finance, emerging growth, and venture capital transactions.

B e r e n b a u m We i n shienk PC is pleased to announce that Gary R. Maze has joined the firm’s IP and Litigation Practice Maze Groups as a shareholder.

Dorsey & Whitney LLP has hired Anthony Epps as an associate in the Corporate department.

Folkestad Faz ek as Barrick & Patoile, P.C., is pleased to announce that Lindsay J. Miller has joined the firm as an assoMiller ciate attorney. Her areas of practice include family law, civil and criminal litigation, and estate planning matters.

Fisher & Phillips LLP announced that Lawrence Lee has joined the labor and employment law firm as a partner.

Lee Burns, Figa & Will, P.C. announced the addition of Sarah Steinbeck as special counsel to the firm. Steinbeck will work with the firm’s business practice and Steinbeck securities law groups.

Ducker, Montgomery, Lewis & Bess, PC is pleased to announce that Ericka F. Houck Englert has joined the firm as of counsel. Houck Englert has more than 10 years of litigation experience representing companies and individuals in commercial, civil and criminal matters.

Sweetbaum Sands Anderson PC is pleased to announce that Aaron C. Acker has joined the firm’s litigation department.

Polsinelli Shughart welcomes Joseph VanLandingham as an associate to the firm’s commercial litigation practice group.

Dorsey and Whitney LLP has hired Milan Vinnola as an of counsel attorney in the firm’s biotech patent group.

B e r e n b a u m We i n shienk PC is pleased to announce that John G. Stumpf has joined the firm’s litigation practice Stumpf group as an associate.

Otis, Coan & Peters, LLC is pleased to welcome attorney Peter B. Scott to the OCP team.

Scott comes to OCP with more than 39 years of experience advising individuals, families, and business Scott owners on tax law matters

with a focus on estate, business, and tax planning.

Wilson Elser has hired Henry L. Solano, formerly an acting secretary of labor appointed by President Bill Clinton, and a U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado, as a partner.

Real estate attorney Andrew Folkerth recently joined Holland & Hart as a partner. Folkerth provides strategic counsel to his Folkerth clients on real estate, commercial, and development loan matters.

BRICKS & MORTAR Correction: Pendleton, Friedberg, Wilson & Hennessey, P.C. announces that effective May 1, its new firm name is Pendleton, Wilson, Hennessey & Crow, P.C. Pendleton is honored to add to the firm name its tax and estate planning practice chair, Nancy Crow.

Cor re c tion: W he eler Tr i g g O’Donnell LLP has moved to 370 17th St., Suite 4500, Denver, 80202.

Otis, Coan & Peters, LLC is pleased to announce it has expanded its Fort Collins office, located at 103 W. Mountain Ave., to incorporate an additional 1,762 square feet of usable office space.

Senn Visciano Canges P.C. is pleased to announce the relocation of its offices to the Wells Fargo Center at 1700 Lincoln St., Suite 4500, Denver. Telephone: (303) 298-1122 and fax: (303) 296-9101.

Donelson Ciancio & Grant, P.C. (DCG) in Broomfield/Longmont and Freidel Dykes P.C. in Denver combined their law firms. Martin E. Freidel, founder of Freidel Dykes, will join DCG as a shareholder. The firm will continue to be known as Donelson Ciancio & Grant, P.C. Brosseau Bartlett Seserman, LLC is pleased to announce that it has relocated to 6455 S. Yosemite St., Suite 750, Greenwood Village. The main phone number, fax number, and individual email addresses remain the same.

September 2012 I The Docket

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Dates on the

DOCKET DBA EVENTS

FOR THE PUBLIC

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

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

Sept. 5

Sept. 4

Lawline 9 4–6:30 p.m.

Sept. 6

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

Call (303) 295-9470.

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

Call Meghan Bush, (303) 824-5303.

Democracy Education Noon–1:30 p.m.

Call Meghan Bush, (303) 824-5323.

Sept. 6

Denver Lawyers’ Arts and Literature Contest Party 1900 Grant St. Lobby 5:30–7:30 p.m.

Call Kate Schuster, (303) 824-5312.

Sept. 11

Waterman Fund Noon–1:30 p.m.

Call Janet Bauer, (303) 824-5319.

Sept. 13

DBA Board of Trustees 7:30–9 a.m.

Call Denise Lynch, (303) 824-5327.

Sept. 18

Community Action Network Noon–1 p.m.

Call Kate Schuster, (303) 824-5312.

Sept. 11

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

Sept. 12

Lawline 9 4–6:30 p.m.

Sept. 18

Small Claims Clinic Denver City and County Building 1437 Bannock St., Room 117 11 a.m.–1 p.m.

Pro Se Family Law Clinic Office of Economic Development 1200 Federal Blvd., Room 1018 5:30–7 p.m.

Call (720) 944-2594.

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

Call (303) 573-1302.

Sept. 19

Pro Se Divorce Clinic 1437 Bannock St. Courtroom 311 Noon–1:30 p.m.

44 The Docket I September 2012

Lawline 9 4–6:30 p.m.

Sept. 20

Collections Clinic Denver City and County Building 1437 Bannock St., Room 117 11 a.m.–1 p.m.

Sept. 26

Lawline 9 4:00–6:30 p.m.

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

BRIEFS Represent the First District of CBA The Denver Bar Association seeks nominees to serve as Colorado Bar Association Vice President representing the First District (Denver). This is a one-year term beginning July 2013, serving on the CBA Executive Council and Board of Governors. Nominations are due by Friday, Sept. 14. For more information or to send nominations, contact Dana Collier Smith at dcolliersmith@cobar.org.

CWBA Raises the Bar with Dinner The Colorado Women’s Bar Association will host its seventh annual Raising the Bar dinner on Thursday, Sept. 6, at the Brown Palace starting at 5:30 p.m.

Honorees include U.S. District Court Judge Christine M. Arguello, U.S. Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary for Water and Science Anne J. Castle, Faegre Baker Daniels Partner Leslie A. Fields, Colorado Springs Public Defender Carrie L. Thompson, Truhlar and Truhlar Partner Doris B. Truhlar, and Mills & Weitzenkorn Partner Gina B. Weitzenkorn. For more information or to RSVP, please visit cwba.org/raising-the-bar.

DU Law Stars Shine University of Denver Sturm College of Law alumni will be honored at the DU Law Stars Dinner at Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum on Thursday, Sept. 13, from 6 to 9 p.m. Honorees include William L. Keating, Thompson G. Marsh Award; Michael L. O’Donnell,

Outstanding Alumni Award; former DBA President Mary Jo Gross, Alumni Professionalism Award; and Prof. Joyce Sterling, Excellence in Teaching Award.

Proceeds from the event are directed to the Student Law Office and the Judicial Fellowship Program. For more information or to RSVP, please visit bit.ly/ LawStars12 or contact Laura Dean at (303) 871-6122 or ldean@law.du.edu.

Mile High ALA Hosts Open House The Mile High Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators is hosting an open house and membership event from 5 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 13, on the rooftop patio of Jackson’s, at 1520 20th St. All ALA members and prospective members are welcome (and encouraged) to attend. To learn more or to RSVP, contact Membership Chair Michele Bailon at MJB@Benningtonjohnson.com or Membership Co-Chair Linda Gross at lgross@ colorado-law.net. ALA is a nonprofit, providing support and education to all legal management professionals in Colorado.

bit.ly/Nu8TLi. Interested in sponsoring or making a donation? Email Amy Kolczak at ajk3@pvhs.org.

Serving the ModerateIncome Client Many middle and low-income people would like the assistance of a lawyers for their legal matters. This daylong CLE program on Oct. 9 will provide information on the pros and cons of incorporating “modest means” representation into a law practice. Issues to be addressed include screening clients, setting client expectations, cost-cutting measures, limited scope representation, setting the fee, and managing malpractice exposure. Speakers include lawyers who have successfully incorporated representing modest means clients into their practice. The program will be presented at CBA–CLE, at 1900 Grant St., Suite 300. For more information or to RSVP, please visit cobar.org/cle.

COBALT Golf Tournament to Support Colorado Legal Services The COBALT Class of 2012 is hosting a golf tournament to benefit Colorado Legal Services on Friday, Sept. 21, at Arrowhead Golf Club in Littleton.

For more information or to register your foursome, visit

Join a Committee!

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

September 2012 I The Docket

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Picture

THIS

Henry Hall Tournament Supports Pro Bono for Metro Area The 2012 Henry Hall Memorial Golf Tournament posted a record fundraising amount, raising $7,250 for Metro Volunteer Lawyers. Ninety-two golfers participated in the tournament on June 4 at Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen. Tim Kratz was the Men’s Individual Low Gross winner and Susie Roh was the Women’s Individual Low Gross winner.

Challenge Division Low Gross winning team, from left, Rich Yoke, Jonathan Kunkle, Joe Mowery, and Pete Garvin.

Champions Division Low Gross winning team, from left, Sarah Hall, Susie Roh, Edgar Neel, and Tim Kratz.

Challenge Division Net winning team, from left, Mark Miller, Kristen McLaughlin, Daniel Mong, and David Simmental.

Denver Bar Association Honors Members at Annual Awards Party The Denver Bar Association honored those who have made extraordinary contributions to the legal community at its annual party on June 5 at the Sherman Street Event Center. The honorees have demonstrated a dedication to serving their peers and the community through their volunteer efforts with the DBA and other organizations. More than 100 people attended the annual party, which honors DBA Awards winners and marks the passing of the gavel from the current president to the incoming president, whose term begins July 1.

The DBA Awards honorees, from left, Teacher of the Year Elizabeth Correa-Leslie, Volunteer Attorney of the Year Erich Bethke, Award of Merit honoree Elsa Martinez Tenreiro, Judicial Excellence honoree Colorado Court of Appeals Judge Daniel Taubman, and Young Lawyer of the Year Troy Rackham.

46 The Docket I September 2012

2011–12 DBA President Ilene Lin Bloom served as emcee for the event. Bloom’s term ended on June 30.

DBA Happenings Seniors Spring Banquet Celebrates 50 Years in Legal Community Fourteen attorneys who were admitted to the bar in 1962 where honored for their achievement and service to the profession on June 12 at the Seniors Spring Banquet, hosted at the University Club. Approximately 90 guests celebrated the honorees.

Top Left: Seniors Spring Banquet 50-year honorees included Joseph Quinn, Richard Laugesen, Joe Jaudon, Barrie Sullivan, Neil Quigley, Ronald Hill, Lee George Rallis, Bill Schmidt, Jim Wade, William Jensen, Dale Harris, and Donald Gentry. Also in attendance but not pictured were Jerry Conover and Randall Weeks.

Top Right: DBA Executive Director Chuck Turner gives a medal to honoree Neil Quigley, and did so for all of the 50-year honorees at the banquet.

Left: DBA Seniors Committee Chair Don McMichael kicked off the event.

The banquet is one of four annual events hosted by the Seniors Committee.

Former DBA President Mary Jo Gross also helped emcee the event with DBA President Ilene Lin Bloom; here Gross shares a laugh with honoree Ronald Hill.

Attorneys Have Night Out for the Legal Center The Denver Bar Association Young Lawyers Division hosted the seventh annual Attorneys Night Out to benefit the Legal Center for People with Disabilities and Older People on June 20 at Blake Street Tavern.

The event featured a scotch tasting, as well as a wine ring toss.

Guests could bid on items through a silent and a live auction.

Denver Bar Association Access to Justice Committee Co-chair Alison Daniels poses with University of Denver Sturm College of Law Administrative Director of Academic Programs Randy Wagner.

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Samuel Gordon, Esq.

Elaine A. Wohlner, Esq.

Hon. Terri S. Diem

Hon. James S. Miller

Hon. John P. Leopold

Sheldon E. Friedman Esq.

Hon Harlan R. Bockman

John E. Hayes, Esq.

Randall C. MustainWood, Esq.

Hon. William F. Downes

LOOK WHO’S BACK.

AND BETTER THAN EVER.

Collie E. Norman, Esq.

Collie E. Norman, Esq. has practiced as a trial attorney and dispute resolution professional in Colorado for over 30 years.

He has extensive experience in the areas of professional liability, personal injury, medical malpractice, legal malpractice, insurance coverage, healthcare, aviation, commercial and business litigation, real estate and construction. Well seasoned in trial experience, he has practiced in front of numerous juries, appellate courts, and regulatory agencies. Mr. Norman was managing attorney of a medium-sized law firm for over 15 years and owned and managed a private dispute resolution company for over 10 years.

410 17 TH STREET, #1600 • DENVER, CO 80202 LOCAL: 303.534.1254 • TOLLFREE: 1.866.534.1254 www.jamsadr.com 48 The Docket I September 2012

THE RESOLUTION EXPERTS®