The Docket - Denver Bar Association

Transcription

The Docket - Denver Bar Association
Docket
The
Denver Bar Association I Vol. 33 Issue 5 I May 2011
Inside
Teaching Forensics
in the Middle East
by Mitch Morrissey
You’ve Passed the
Bar ... Now What?
by Becky Bye
10 Tips to
Manage Your Debt
by MINES & Associates
xx
The Legacy
of
John
(and Abigail)
Adams
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2 The Docket I May 2011
©2011 Special Counsel, Inc. All rights reserved.
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800.737.3436
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Marya Brancio esq.
executive director
Docket
The
Denver Bar Association I Vol. 33 Issue 5 I May 2011
On the Cover
4
John and Abigail Adams:
Law Day Legacy of Partnership
9
You’ve Passed the Bar ... Now What?
14
Ten Ways to Cut Your Debt Now
16
Camels and Crime Scenes:
A Lesson on DNA in Abu Dhabi
Features
6
Law Day Art Contest
11
Seven Tips for the New Attorney
Entering Big Law
13
Mystery Surrounding ‘Justice’
Highlights Question on Citizenship
18
Finding Grounding in Morning Coffee
20
Into the Grand
23
Around the Horn:
A Denver Sports Update for Lawyers
4
6
IN EVERY ISSUE
26
Legal Affairs
28
Dates on the Docket
30
Picture This
The Docket
A publication of the Denver Bar Association.
Views expressed in articles are those of the
author, and not the views of the authors’
employers, The Docket Committee, or the
Denver Bar Association, unless expressly
stated. Deadline for articles is five weeks prior
to the issue date; for example, February articles
are due (on disk or by email) Dec. 19. To
advertise, call Alexa Drago at (303) 824-5313.
Docket Committee: Mariya Barmak,
Norman Beecher, Becky Bye, Michael J.
Decker, Craig C. Eley, David L. Erickson,
Loren R. Ginsburg, Robert J. Kapelke, Paul
F. Kennebeck, Natalie Lucas (chair), Alicia J.
McCommons, Daniel R. McCune, Douglas
I. McQuiston, William R. Meyer, Eric R.
Newmark, Richard L. Ott, Jr., Siddhartha
H. Rathod, Gregory D. Rawlings, Frank J.
20
16
Schuchat, Marshall A. Snider, Daniel A.
Sweetser, Erica Vargas, Anthony J. Viorst,
Dennis P. Walker, Elizabeth A. Weishaupl
DBA Officers: Stacy A. Carpenter,
President; Ilene L. Bloom, PresidentElect; Daniel R. McCune, First Vice
President; Kwali M. Farbes, Second Vice
President; John T. Baker, Immediate Past
President; Richard Strauss, Treasurer
Board of Trustees Members: James
G. Benjamin, Paul Chessin, Nancy L. Cohen,
Michelle B. Ferguson, Valerie A. Garcia,
Annie T. Kao, Vance O. Knapp, Meshach
Rhoades, Anthony M. Ryan, Daniel A.
Sweetser; Chuck Turner, Executive Director
Editor: Sara Crocker
P.C. Editor: Chuck Turner
Graphic Designer: Kate Mills
(303) 860-1115
denbar.org/docket
Copyright 2011. The Docket (ISSN 10847820) is published monthly, except for the
combined issue of July/August, by the Denver
Bar Association, 1900 Grant St., Suite 900,
Denver, CO 80203-4336. All rights reserved.
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POSTMASTER send address corrections to
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May 2011 I The Docket
3
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John and Abigail Adams:
Law Day Legacy of Partnership
“The domestic and the public spheres are permeable.
What happens in the one affects what happens in the other.”
—from “Abigail & John: Portrait of a Marriage” by Edith B. Gelles
B y J u st ice s G reg Hob b s
and Nanc y R ice
L
aw Day 2011, observed May 1,
celebrates the legacy of John
Adams. Forever part of this legacy is Abigail Smith, the woman
who partnered with him.
Their letters—1,100 of them written between 1762 and 1801—shine with
wit, intellect, character, compassion, and
critical appraisal and appreciation of and
for each other. Our April 18 Colorado Bar
Association CLE presentation re-enacts
their dialogue through a paired reading
from letters they wrote from courtship in
1762 to the Declaration of Independence
in 1776.
John Adams is well known for
describing a republic as “a government of
laws, and not of men” (in the widely cirA Meeting of the Minds, In Letters
J
ustices Hobbs and Rice performed
as John and Abigail Adams in April,
but you can still watch the program
by going to cobar.org/cle or calling
(303)860-0608. The cost is $18 and
the proceeds benefit the Legal Aid
Foundation of Colorado.
4 The Docket I May 2011
culated letter penned Feb. 6, 1775, under
the pseudonym Novanglus).
Three months before the Declaration of Independence, which he enlisted
Thomas Jefferson to draft, Abigail argues
her case as if she were an equal. In her
letter from March 31, 1776, she says a
government of men serving only men is
tyranny.
“Remember all men would be tyrants
if they could ... That your Sex are Naturally Tyrannical is a Truth so thoroughly
established as to admit of no dispute.”
She urges that the Continental Congress,
in declaring “an independency,” should
adopt “a new Code of Laws” by which
men “give up the harsh title of Master.”
At the beginning of their courtship,
Abigail acknowledges John’s intellect and
scholarship but, in his “nearer inspection
of Mankind ... and the corruptions of
the Heart, which I believe you often find
desperately wicked and deceitful” she
cautions him against being “too severe
... that you do not make quite so many
allowances as Humane Nature requires”
(April 12, 1764). John welcomes her critique by complimenting her “Habit of
Reading, Writing and Thinking” (May 7,
1764). They marry in October 1764.
She admires and supports his public service, but she painfully misses
him during long absences caused by his
on-the-circuit law practice, two Continental Congresses, and a long period of
diplomatic duty in France and the Netherlands. She joins him in England from
1784 to 1788, when he serves as the first
American minister to England.
Their grief of separation is mutual
and their belief in each other’s abilities
is a solace to both. He entrusts her with
their family farming business, the education of their four children, and the role
of leveling his pride and ambition. Selfeducated from reading the classics, like
Lincoln did, she becomes an insightful
first citizen of our new republic.
John’s commitment to the rule of
law leads him to defend eight British
soldiers, and their captain, who fired
on protesting Massachusetts colonists
in the Boston Massacre of 1770. He
asserts self-defense to the actions of an
unruly mob and gains the acquittal of
all but two of the soldiers, who receive
a lesser conviction of manslaughter and
are punished only by a branding on their
thumbs.
By 1772, signs of a “gathering
storm” are brewing, and John is tiring
of the legal practice circuit. “This wandering, itinerating Life grows more and
more disagreeable to me. I want to see
my Wife and Children every Day, I want
to see my Grass and Blossoms and Corn”
(May 23, 1772).
In their separation, each becomes
a witness for the other. John fears that
Boston will “suffer Martyrdom” for the
“Cause of Truth, of Virtue, of Liberty
and of Humanity” but predicts that Lord
North “will as surely be defeated ... as
he was in the Project of the Tea” (May
12, 1774). Abigail observes that “by an
excessive love of peace” the Spartans
“neglected the means of making it sure
and lasting.” Peace cannot be “purchased
at the price of liberty.” She closes this letter by wishing “you every Publick as well
as private blessing” (Aug. 19, 1774).
In Philadelphia John grows weary
with endless orations. “I am wearied
to Death with the Life I lead. The Business of the Congress is tedious beyond
Expression ... Every Man in it is a great
Man—an orator, a Critick, a statesman,
and therefore every Man upon every
Question must shew his oratory, his Criticism, and his Political Abilities” (Oct. 9,
1774).
Abigail’s response is full of grace and
resolve. She says how “ardently I long
for your return,” then encourages him to
stand fast and act in the best interests of
those who have no idea of the weighty
decisions that must be made. “The People
in the Country begin to be very anxious
for the congress to rise. They have no
Idea of the Weighty Business you have to
transact, and their Blood boils with indignation at the Hostile preparations they
are constant witness of” (Oct. 16, 1774).
A Note on Women’s Suffrage
I
n 1776, Abigail Adams wrote to
her husband, John, asking him to
“remember the ladies” in the new code
of laws. He replied that the men will fight
the “despotism of the petticoat.”
Since Colorado became a state in
1876, 84 justices have served on the
Colorado Supreme Court. In 1979, Jean
In 1775, John leads the Continental
Congress to choose George Washington
as General of the Army. Greatly satisfied with this choice, he reports that the
members of the Congress are seeing “the
Necessity of pursuing vigorous measures
... nothing but Fortitude, Vigour, and
Perseverance can save us.” But “Progress
must be slow.” He likens America to a
“large Fleet sailing under Convoy ... the
fleetest Sailors must wait for the dullest
and the slowest” and to a “Coach” with
the “swiftest horses” that “must be slackened and the slowest quickened, that all
may keep an even Pace” (June 17, 1775).
Abigail is riveted by his task of pulling his colleagues together. As fuel to
his flame, she asks a series of questions
about the form of government that
might be established. “(W)hat Code of
Laws will be established? How shall we
be governed so as to retain our Liberties?
Can any government be free which is not
administered by general stated laws?
Who shall frame these Laws? Who will
give them force and energy?” (Nov. 27,
1775).
John rises to her challenge with
pregnant answers. As 1776 dawns, he
pens his “Thoughts on Government.”
“(T)he form of government which
communicates ... happiness, to the
greatest number of persons, and in the
greatest degree, is the best ... that form
of government which is best contrived to
secure an impartial and exact execution
of the laws, is the best of republics.” He
suggests a government with an assembly
divided into two bodies, an executive,
and a judicial power “distinct from both
the legislative and executive, and independent upon both, that so it may be
a check upon both, as both should be
checks upon that.”
Abigail continues to praise and criti-
E. Dubofsky became the first female
justice. Since then, 10 men and five
other women have been appointed to
the court, including Mary Mullarkey,
Rebecca Kourlis, Nancy Rice, Allison Eid,
and Monica Márquez. Justice Mullarkey
became the longest serving Chief Justice
in Colorado history. In 1893, Colorado
Justices Nancy Rice and Greg Hobbs.
cize his work. “A Government of more
Stability is much wanted in this colony,
and they are ready to receive it from the
Hands of Congress.” But she rebukes him
and his fellows for forgetting their partners. While “you are proclaiming peace
and good will to Men, Emancipating all
Nations, you insist upon retaining an
absolute power over Wives.” She warns
him of “Arbitrary power ... notwithstanding all your wise Laws and Maxims we
have it in our power not only to free ourselves but to subdue our Masters” (May
7, 1776).
On July 3, 1776, John reports to
her, “Yesterday the greatest Question
was decided ... that these united Colonies, are, and of right ought to be free
and independent states.”
She congratulates him, credits their
partnership, celebrates the country, and
prays for a constitution founded on justice. “(N)or am I a little Gratified when I
reflect that a person so nearly connected
with me has had the Honour of being a
principal actor, in laying a foundation for
its future Greatness. May the foundation
of our new constitution be Justice, Truth
and Righteousness” (July 14, 1776).
On this Law Day, may we emulate
the combined genius of men and women
committed to public service and private
felicity. D
was the second state to recognize the
right of women to vote, after Wyoming, a
territory when it did so in 1869. Capping a
prolonged struggle, women finally gained
the right to vote throughout the U.S.
upon passage of the 19th Amendment
in 1920.
May 2011 I The Docket
5
Emma Coughlin
J'Lynn Terroade
JoJo Rita
Rayna McClintock
Law Day Art Contest
he DBA’s 4th Annual Law Day
Art Contest took place at the
end of April. This year’s theme
for Law Day is the Legacy of
John Adams, from Boston to Guantánamo. John Adams’ role in the 1770
Boston Massacre trials is regarded as a
noteworthy example of commitment to
the rule of law and defense of the rights
of the accused, even in cases when advocates represent unpopular clients and
become involved in matters that generate public controversy. Democracy
6 The Docket I May 2011
Education Committee member Jason
Cook came up with lesson plans involving the theme. The DBA had several
submissions for the contest.
Haley Drake and August Horning,
two fifth graders at Polaris at Ebert Elementary School, are the winners of the
art contest. Their teacher, Danny Mey,
taught his class the importance of Law
Day using the theme and the students
worked on the art following this lesson.
Runners up, whose drawings are above,
are fifth graders J’Lynn Terroade, Emma
Coughlin, Rayna McClintock, and JoJo
Rita.
Thanks and congratulations to all
who participated. D
On the Cover:
W
inning drawings by fifth graders
Au g u s t H o r n i n g ( t o p ) a n d
Haley Drake (bottom) depict the
Boston Massacre trials. John Adams
represented the eight British soldiers
and captain accused of murder, and all
but two were acquitted.
IT’S ALL ABOUT
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8 The Docket I May 2011
You’ve Passed the Bar ... Now What?
Tips on Making the Transition to the Practice of Law and Ways to Get Involved
by Beck y B y e
T
o all of the newly admitted
lawyers, congratulations and
welcome to the practice of law!
After many years of attending school,
internships, and taking various required
exams and finally the bar exam, you are
now a licensed attorney. You might have
one (or more) of a variety of competing
emotions that can range from elation,
excitement, or even fear and anxiety as
you embark on the practice of law. And
yes, they call it “practicing” for a reason,
as you will always be learning about the
ever-changing substance of law and the
workings of the legal practice.
With the massive public scrutiny of
law schools and the heightened amount
of debt associated with becoming a lawyer, this is the time for you to make the
most of your financial, emotional, and
time investments into this important
profession.1
Giving time to various causes—
law-related or otherwise—can greatly
enhance your professional (and personal) life in more ways than you would
think possible. Plus, due to greater
competition in the legal field, and the
compromised state of the economy, bolstering yourself professionally can help
you distinguish yourself as a new attorney.
With that in mind, I recommend
getting involved with the Colorado legal
community in a way that is meaningful
to you. You will find a variety of mentors
and distinguished attorneys who are
eager and excited to help you throughout your career. For example, the Denver
Bar Association (DBA), the Colorado Bar
Association (CBA), and other local or
specialty bar associations can provide
you with invaluable networking
opportunities,
legal and nonlegal volunteer
opportunities,
continuing legal
education, social
Bye
types of professional and personal assistance. Other
types of groups, such as the Inns of
Court (see “Inn-side the Inns of Court” in
the October 2010 issue of The Docket at
denbar.org/docket) and your law school
alumni associations, are at your disposal
with lawyers and judges happy to provide
their wisdom and help throughout your
practice.
You also should strongly consider
partaking in pro bono work throughout
your career. Through pro bono work,
lawyers can make a profound impact on
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May 2011 I The Docket
9
society and on people’s lives. Further,
pro bono service provides the means
to gain very in-depth legal experience,
representing clients firsthand—experience that many attorneys are not able
to achieve until later in their careers. If
you are interested in pro bono work, you
have various options, such as contacting
the Metro Volunteers Lawyers or the
CBA’s Appellate Pro Bono programs; both
match attorneys with pro bono matters
and can help pair you with an attorney
mentor for your pro bono legal work.
Regardless of your schedule and
how much time you have to devote to
your personal and professional life, you
can find endless opportunities to give
back. It is important for all lawyers, particularly new lawyers, to stay involved in
professional organizations and volunteer their time in various endeavors. D
It’s Monday, the First Day of the Rest of Your Life.
Too bad last Friday was the last day
to file the Bergstrom motion.
Did you know that missing deadlines continues to be one of the most common mistakes leading to
malpractice claims? The failure to file a document is the second most common alleged error and the
failure to calendar properly was the fifth most common mistake leading to a malpractice claim*. A
dual calendaring system which includes a firm or team networked calendar should be used by every
member of your firm.
At Minnesota Lawyers Mutual we don’t just sell you a policy. We work hard to give you the tools
and knowledge necessary to reduce your risk of a malpractice claim. We invite you to give us a call at
800-422-1370 or go online at www.mlmins.com and find out for yourself what we mean when we say,
“Protecting your practice is our policy.”
R
Protecting Your Practice is Our Policy.
800.422.1370
www.mylawyersmutual.com
www.mlmins.com
* American Bar Association Standing Committee on Lawyers’ Professional Liability. (2008).
Profile of Legal Malpractice Claims, 2004-2007. Chicago, IL: Haskins, Paul and Ewins, Kathleen Marie.
10 The Docket I May 2011
Life - Denver Docket 2011
Becky Bye is a member and former
chair of The Docket committee, Chair of
the Colorado Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, a member of the Doyle Inn of
Court, a member of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law Alumni Council,
and a passionate advocate for attorneys,
young and less young alike, to get involved
and give back.
1. This issue is a very long and
serious one, which is outside the scope
of this article. However, I plan to examine the issue of law school debt and the
number of lawyers that enter the workforce every year, which will be published
in The Docket later in year. If you have
any insight or ideas, please email me at
[email protected].
Seven Tips for the New Attorney Entering Big Law
by Jame s Hardy
I
t’s graduation time, meaning several
newly minted JDs are looking for
work. Legal hiring has been abysmal the past few years—more lawyers
seem to be losing their jobs than students gaining new ones. Meanwhile, law
schools continue to pump out graduates
in record numbers. Fortunately, there
seems to be an uptick in legal hiring and
a thawing in the freeze on entry-level
hires. What, then, does a new graduate
at a Big Law firm need to know?
1. Be grateful. In these thin times,
few have your opportunity. And your
employer knows it.
Be grateful for your good fortune
and be humble among your peers who
aren’t so lucky. In the current market,
any law grad stepping into a job straight
out of law school is fortunate—especially
those stepping into a six-figure salary.
2. It’s All About the Hours. As a Big
Law associate, your number one asset to
your employer is your time. This is especially true of new associates, who have
few skills and no clients to call their own.
Unless you were one of those students who left the law library only to
shower, you are in for a lifestyle adjustment. Most Big Law firms demand 2,000
billable hours a year. This is much harder
to achieve than it seems on its face.
I have gone on at some length on
billable hours elsewhere (see The Colorado Lawyer, August 2010, “Point/
Counterpoint: Kill the Billable Hour”).
Here, I will simply leave you with the
three things you most need to know
about them.
First, it is likely you will work more
than you want to or even thought yourself capable of. Do not tax yourself
beyond the breaking point—but you
should probably get close. This is what
your employer expects. Draw a line across
which you shall never cross—whether
it’s for family, community, or yourself—
and don’t ever breach this personal pact.
Second, pay excruciating attention
to how you record your time. Many a
new associate has been undone by poohpoohing the importance of tracking
every six minutes and cogently describing the tasks performed. Do not become
write-off roadkill. More importantly,
never inflate your hours.
Third, don’t get used to it. Do not
allow “hours creep” to convince you this
is the new normal. If you do, years from
now you will regret the time and opportunities lost. It may seem counterintuitive
to think you could become comfortable
with too much work. It’s not. You are
entering a business culture built on this
principle. Work hard, but remain apart
from those who live to work.
3. Know Yourself. Easier said than
done when you are working 80-hour
weeks, which is why you must know
now, as you enter Big Law, exactly what
you want out of it. Are you determined
to make partner, accumulate financial
and social rewards, and die at your desk
with an overworked smile on your face?
Are you instead on the two-year plan,
trying to get a leg up on your student
loans before you head to a more lifestylefriendly job and gain experience and
résumé prestige in the process? Or are
you somewhere in between?
Whatever your goal, know what it
is going in. The personal sacrifices you
make will be justifiable to yourself and
comprehensible to others only if you
have a purpose behind them. Do not be
blown in the wind, but also resist the pull
to barrel ahead like a Denver driver on
I-70 on a Saturday snow day, tailgating
and impatiently passing all in his path.
Be purposeful, but sane.
4. Know Who Your “Clients” Are.
As a new associate, you have two different kinds of clients. There are the firm’s
clients, whom you are unlikely to interact with much at first. Then, there are the
clients you will do the majority of your
work for—the partners and associates
ahead of you in the hierarchy. You should
be eager and
willing to work
for both. As you
start your career,
be particularly
attentive to the
second group.
In the big
Hardy
picture, you
should focus on the actual clients. The
service you provide and the relationships
you forge may determine your long-term
career path.
Big Law feeds in-house counsel jobs
because Big Law clients like to hire the
familiar and proven. Become familiar
with them and prove yourself. This will
create opportunities and give you value
within your firm. Unsurprisingly, the
associates valued (and recruited) by the
firm’s clients are also the associates who
are most valuable to the firm.
Opportunities will arise more frequently and with more responsibility
attached if you establish a sterling reputation with your intrafirm clients. Always
provide great client service, even if the
“client” is a midlevel associate. Don’t forget that your intrafirm clients are just a
step removed from the real thing.
5. Get Comfortable with Hierarchy ... but Treat your Support Staff like
Royalty. In many ways, the new associate role is the toughest to negotiate.
On the one hand, you are clearly at the
bottom of the pyramid, with every lawyer in the firm ordering you about. On
the other, there are paralegals, administrative assistants, and tech specialists
seemingly at your disposal.
How do you integrate these disparate roles? The key is realizing that you
work for all of them. It may seem that
you are supposed to order around one
group and take orders from the other,
but it’s not so simple.
Get used to mixed messages and a
lack of clarity from your nominal bosses.
Never forget there is no such thing as
autonomy in a Big Law firm. Even the
May 2011 I The Docket
11
managing partner takes orders from
someone.
With respect to your support staff,
you must recognize that they generally
know more than you do, have been there
much longer, and will likely still be there
when you are gone. They understand the
firm’s institutional history and culture in
a way you will never comprehend. They
know where the skeletons are buried.
To mix a metaphor, don’t become
a skeleton yourself. To succeed in your
relationships with support staff, you
must treat them in a human and friendly
way, not from a dictatorial stance.
“
you than how you spent your money.
If you can sustain the Big Law pace
for an entire career, you’ll have few
opportunities to enjoy the money. If
you can’t sustain that pace, living a lavish lifestyle while you are in Big Law will
waste valuable financial resources. Don’t
assume you will always make the big
bucks. Live like a student much longer
than you need to. Your career will thank
you with flexibility and opportunities
that do not require a six-figure salary.
This is not to say a lawyer cannot
have a long and satisfying career in Big
Law, but if the sole, or even primary,
When you look back, how you spent your time will be
infinitely more important to you than how you spent
your money.”
Overuse “please” and “thank you.”
Treat support staff like royalty. This is
the one bit of advice you must not ignore.
Not only that, it’s the right thing to do.
6. Don’t Do it for the Lifestyle.
Perhaps the biggest mistake Big Law
lawyers make is taking the gig for the
lifestyle it enables. Money is not lifestyle.
When you look back, how you spent your
time will be infinitely more important to
motivation is money, it’s unlikely. The
most successful Big Law lawyers have
succeeded because they love the work,
the clients, the culture, the big cases,
opportunities to significantly impact the
world, or all of these. The money, though
never unimportant, is icing on the cake.
7. Don’t Take My Word for It. The
best advice I ever received about the
legal profession came from a law review
article. When I read Patrick Schiltz’s
“On Being a Happy, Healthy, and Ethical
Member of an Unhappy, Unhealthy, and
Unethical Profession” in the middle of
my first year of Big Law practice, it confirmed my burgeoning suspicions. The
author is neither a countercultural critic
nor a complaining layabout. Rather, he’s
a former Supreme Court clerk, big firm
associate, law school professor, associate
dean, and is now a federal district court
judge. In his article, he penetrates the
cultural and institutional realities that
all lawyers who have spent any decent
amount of time in Big Law understand
but rarely discuss.
Do yourself a favor and read this
now. It will help you navigate your Big
Law career, whether it lasts for three
years or 30.
With that, I bid you busy days and
not too many nights and weekends.
Good luck! D
James S. Hardy is a Deputy Colorado
State Public Defender in the Appellate Division. Previously, he was a judicial clerk for
Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary
Mullarkey. He also spent close to five years
as a litigation associate at two AmLaw 250
firms in New York and Denver, respectively.
He can be reached at [email protected].
Here’s to 50 Years
(and counting)
Join us for the Senior Spring Banquet on Wednesday, June 22
The DBA Seniors Committee will honor members who became lawyers in 1961.
Lawyers and guests of all ages are invited to honor these 20 accomplished attorneys
at the Senior Spring Banquet on Tuesday, June 8, at the University Club.
The banquet will start with cocktails at 5:30 p.m., and will be followed by dinner and a program for the honorees.
Please RSVP to Alexa Drago at [email protected] or (303) 824-5313. Tickets are $45 per person.
Honorees are:
s H.G. Austin
s James A. Clark
s Roger C. Cohen
s Charles H. Cowpethewaite
s Herbert L. Fenster
s Stuart S. Gunckel
s Peter C. Guthery
12 The Docket I May 2011
s James E. Hautzinger
s John ( Jack) A. Kintzele
s John Mason
s Joe C. Medina
s Kenneth R. Oldham
s Robert M. Phares
s Hon. Leonard P. Plank
s Charles R. Robert
s Hon. Edwin G. Ruland
s Donald P. Shwayder
s Arnold C. Wegher
s Hon. L.T. Woodford
Book Review
Mystery Surrounding ‘Justice’ Highlights Question on Citizenship
by K e rry Hammond
M
ost Americans know that the
Constitution requires the
president of the United States
to be a citizen. What many may not
know, however, is that this all important
document is silent on whether the same
rule applies to a Supreme Court justice.
As a country, our laws follow the guidelines set out in the Constitution, but is it
possible that we confuse the way things
have always been with the way things
must be?
Jay Lillie takes this perception of a
citizenship requirement and weaves a
fictional story out of a what-if. What if
a Supreme Court justice was nominated
by our president, confirmed by the Senate and sworn into the Court—and
only after this process was completed
evidence was discovered that put that
person’s U.S. citizenship into question?
“Justice” creates a scenario that is
very plausible and challenges the reader
with a dilemma that may or may not have
a correct answer. Lillie offers his own
take on how the powers that be might
deal with this type of situation and the
effects it may have on our government.
The story opens with an unidentified body found in an alley in Chicago.
The labels have been removed from the
clothing the victim was wearing and no
identification can be found. The Chicago
police officer in charge of the investigation eventually determines that the
victim was an American reporter for a
foreign press, but is told by his employer
that he was not reporting on a story that
could possibly require his presence in
Chicago. At the same time, in Washington, D.C., a Supreme Court justice has
retired and the president is in the process
of nominating a replacement. A team of
advisers, along with the FBI, screen the
president’s candidate and approve her
nomination. The nominee then is confirmed by the Senate and is sworn in.
As the murder investigation continues, the Chicago
police begin to speculate that there is a
connection between
their murder victim and the newly
appointed Supreme
Court justice. The
reporter seems to
have been researching the ju st ice ’s
background, including her childhood in
New Orleans and her
immigrant mother
who came to the
United States just
before her birth—
and now resides in
a Chicago neighborhood.
“Justice” is a fun
read, with a thoughtprovoking angle.
L illie makes the
politics of a presidential appointment
of a Supreme Court
justice even more
interesting with his
fictional story and
simplified take on
the process, along
with a behind-the-scenes look. Some of
the dialogue is stiff and occasionally the
characters seem to have too much access
to information that one would expect to
be confidential, but the storyline is very
interesting and the plot keeps you reading. The author even throws in a surprise
twist at the end so that when you close
the book, you continue to think about it.
D
“Justice” by Jay Lillie
264 pages. Published by Ivy House
Publishing Group. Available in paperback
for $15.
May 2011 I The Docket
13
Ten Ways to Cut Your Debt Now
by MINE S & A ss o ci ate s
F
or many, the decision to get out
of debt is preceded by weeks,
months, or possibly years of
worry about these obligations. But it’s
important to know that getting rid of
debt can actually start with some very
small steps and strategies that you can
begin today.
Advice is a good first step. A meeting
with a professional financial planner can
help you investigate all sources of income
and total up all your obligations—most
will make you bring all your bills with
you—and tailor a plan that matches
your needs and circumstances. In general terms, here are 10 steps you should
follow:
1. Get a grip on the amount of
debt you have. You can’t overcome
a debt problem without knowing how
much you owe. Start pulling together
every bill with a balance where you’re
charged non-tax-deductible interest—
credit cards, auto loans for a start—and
get a total. If you’ve missed any payments on any of these balances, bring
those current first. Then, organize the
rest of the debt, along interest rates, and
set a payment order that attacks your
highest rate balances first. This also is a
14 The Docket I May 2011
good time to check your credit reports to
make sure there are no other surprises in
your credit picture. For the three credit
reports you are entitled to for free each
year, go to annualcreditreport.com. Any
other credit report with the word “free”
in its name that asks for a credit card
number will likely charge you—avoid
those.
2. Put the credit cards away. Cut
up your cards if you have to, but at the
very least, put them in a safe place where
they’re far away from your wallet and
your phone or computer (so you don’t
use them for catalog or Web orders).
Once your debt is paid off, then you can
consider which accounts you will use—
sparingly—in the future. Keep the cards
with the lowest interest rates.
3. Now get a grip on spending.
It’s time to make a budget. For a month,
start tracking your spending—every
dime. You can do this on paper or on a
computer-based solution like Quicken
or Mint.com. As you go through the
numbers weekly, start identifying things
you can live without—coffee and doughnuts, expensive lunches (carryout is a
huge budget-buster), and any other frills
that can be cut or eliminated. Once you
start to suspect that a particular spending item isn’t absolutely essential, cut it
immediately—don’t wait for the end of
the month. When you get to the end of
the month, build a spending plan that
covers the essentials and a few small
treats, and then directs any additional
savings you’ve identified toward paying
off the debt.
4. Try to refinance your home
debt. If you have not recently refinanced
your mortgage or home equity debt, see
if there’s an opportunity to do so while
rates are still low. You’ll need at least 10
percent equity in your home and a credit
score exceeding 740 to qualify for the
best rates, but start negotiating with
your current lender first and see how
well you do.
5. Try to refinance your credit card
debt. If you are facing an overwhelming amount of credit card debt, talk to
each credit card company directly to see
if you can lower rates or monthly payment amounts. Don’t fall for the 2 a.m.
come-ons from debt resolution companies—they generally charge high fees
and take the payment process out of your
hands, which may mean late or missed
payments. It’s not easy to negotiate a
better deal and you may need to insist
on speaking with several supervisors. If
you succeed at getting a more favorable
deal, it’s better if you keep the payment
process in your hands so you can keep
a constant eye on how your situation is
improving.
6. If you need outside help, use
some smarts. The provisions of the new
Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act that took effect
in February 2010 require that credit
card issuers print a toll-free number for
a nonprofit credit counseling service on
every bill. It’s important to know that
the credit card companies fund these
nonprofits, so they’re not acting completely in your interest. They also are not
foolproof in making sure bills get paid
on time. Any time you let someone else
handle your finances, you face that risk.
If you are looking for outside assistance
and negotiation with your balances,
these agencies are a better option than
those credit-repair agencies you’ll see
advertised on TV. A financial planner
may be able to offer specific negotiation
tips that can help you keep better control
of your debt issues.
7. Learn to use cash or debit. Try
to migrate as much spending as you can
to cash, as long as you get receipts that
help you track that spending. A more
efficient solution—particularly if you
download your bank transactions into a
financial tracking computer program—
is the debit card. Debit cards wearing
a bankcard logo are typically welcome
at most stores where credit cards are
accepted. This way, you pay cash without
carrying cash. If you don’t have such a
card, you can probably get one from your
bank to replace your traditional ATM
card, but remember to tell them to limit
your buying power on the card to only
what you have in your account. Then,
keep a close watch on spending so you
don’t overdraw.
8. If you can do it safely, DIY. You
don’t have to pay for a hand car wash or
a lawn service if you can do such things
yourself. For any home or auto maintenance chores you may have during the
year, learn as much as you can about
those tasks and how much skill, money,
and time it takes to do them. Previous
generations made do-it-yourself a necessity. See if that option is right for you;
you might save considerable money
doing it. Also, for bigger jobs, pair up
with friends and family and you can help
each other save money.
9. Plan your shopping in advance.
Impulse buying had its own role in the
debt crisis. It’s time to stamp it out at
least until your debt issues are fully under
control. Start making a centralized list
of necessary shopping items—keep the
list for grocery, discount store, and other
locations on one page if you can so you
can see everything you’re considering.
Mark off what seems less than necessary.
Use coupons and other discounts—the
same goes for online purchases. Always
do a search for coupon and discount
codes to save money on shipping and
overall purchase price. When you can,
buy used—recycled clothes, furniture,
and home goods will save you money.
Again, direct all savings toward debt.
10. At the end of the rainbow,
don’t restart the problem. Once the
slate is clean, don’t start spending again.
Start saving and investing.
Published as part of MINES & Associates Personal Advantage services and
available at http://MINES.Personal
Advantage.com. Originally published by the
Financial Planning Association® (FPA®).
Free Financial Counseling is available
through the Colorado Attorney Assistance
Program. Call MINES at (800) 873-7138
to set up an appointment.
May 2011 I The Docket
15
Camels and Crime Scenes
A Lesson on DNA in Abu Dhabi
by M i t ch M orrisse y
I
n the 1970s, Abu Dhabi, the cosmopolitan capital of the United
Arab Emirates (UAE), began its
extraordinar y climb to international recognition. This southwest
Asian federation is generally thought
to be the richest country in the world,
and the Persian Gulf city of Abu Dhabi
has seen its population grow from
about 25,000 in 1960 to approximately 900,000 today.
To compete with the moder n
world’s centuries of progress, Abu
Dhabi invested dramatically in its
infrastructure, systems, and institutions. It formed partnerships with
organizations throughout the world
to impor t cultural and scientific
advances. The Guggenheim Museum,
New York University, and the Colorado School of Mines are examples of
the high performance Western partners that have joined with Abu Dhabi
to accelerate its progress.
When Abu Dhabi decided to build
the finest crime lab in the world, it
researched the best administrative
practices and how to manage the
new resources it was building. Even
though Denver’s new Crime Lab has
not been built, Denver has developed
award-winning programs in its Cold
Case Project and DNA Burglary Project and has achieved national and
A camel race in Abu Dhabi.
16 The Docket I May 2011
Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey, Forensic Anthropologist Mool Verma, and Denver Police Department
Crime Lab Commander Greggory LaBerge in front of the Abu Dhabi Forensic Evidence Department.
international recognition for making
advancements in law enforcement
technolog y. Because of this track
record, Abu Dhabi turned to Denver
for guidance and instruction.
In October 2010, the Commander
of the Denver Police Depar tment
Crime Lab, Greggory LaBerge, Forensic Anthropologist Mool Verma, and I,
as the Denver District Attorney, were
invited to provide the instruction they
needed.
We looked forward not only to
providing training on DNA and forensic matters, but also to explaining
how the key to the success of Denver’s
program is the triangle of cooperation
among the Denver Police Depar tment, the Crime L ab, and
the Denver District Attorney’s Office. The extremely
high level of cooperation and
collaboration among these
three entities is rare in the
United States and has been
the foundation for achieving
our common goal of fighting
crime.
O ur tr ip was paid for
by the government of Abu
Dhabi. Each of us taught
classes every day for a week. Our students were young forensic scientists,
attorneys, and judges—all determined
to excel and understand the information the team from Denver was
providing. Every day I would face a
room full of white-robed, bearded men
and a few women who were scientists
or crime scene investigators. Through
interpreters of varying ability, I would
discuss forensic science and the law,
issues around DNA in prosecution, as
well as familial searching with DNA.
Mool and Gregg delivered separate
lectures geared toward their areas of
expertise. Mool’s classes were on basic
hair examination and Gregg focused
on forensic DNA statistics.
We discussed the plans for the
Abu Dhabi Crime Lab with our hosts.
Thanks to a local bond initiative, Denver has finalized plans for its own new
Crime Lab, but Abu Dhabi’s process
differed from ours in one significant
way: we have a strict budget, they have
unlimited resources. It’s amazing what
millions of dollars can do to focus in
on a problem.
The people we met were gracious
and eager that we understand their
culture. Abu Dhabi is a shining new
city that grew out of the desert thanks
to massive hydrocarbon resources.
Without a gradually evolving culture,
there are not many tourist sites. We
visited desert tombs and the Heritage
Village,where we saw an interesting
re-creation of a Bedouin village, representative of the predominant lifestyle
of the area until the early 1960s when
oil was found and construction of the
metropolitan area started. Down the
road is Dubai—another impressive
new city.
For the most part, people in Abu
Dhabi spend a great deal of time
escaping the heat in icy cold shopping
malls. We visited the Palace Hotel,
one of the few seven-star hotels in the
world, and noted that the ATM in the
lobby dispensed gold bars.
We also visited the Sheikh Zayed
Grand Mosque, which is the most
imposing religious and national landmark in Abu Dhabi. It also is arguably
one of the most important architectural treasures of contemporary UAE
society and one of the most beautiful in the world. It was initiated by
the late President HH Sheikh Zayed
bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who is fondly
thought of as the father of the UAE.
The 22,412 square-meter Mosque site
is equivalent to five football fields,
and no expense was spared in both
the exterior and interior design and
decoration.
We discovered another popular
activity when we were invited to the
camel races. We watched in amazement as gangling camels careened
around a track. Each animal had a
Dhabi. It was a tribute to the vision
computer strapped to its back, servof Denver’s leadership and voters that
ing as a mechanical jockey. A few years
our reputation for fighting crime using
ago, “the old days” in the high-speed
advanced techniques and interagency
history of Abu Dhabi, young Pakistani
cooperation is now internationally
boys were employed as jockeys, but
recognized. D
the practice was abandoned in the face
of widespread outrage. The viewing
Mitch Morrissey has served as Denstands were completely empty—the
ver District Attorney since 2005. He is
audience raced their cars alongside the
internationally recognized for his expertrack honking horns and yelling at the
tise in using DNA as a tool in solving
camels. Wagering is against the law,
crimes, and he regularly speaks on the
as is camel doping. In fact, the largest
topic.
section of the crime lab in Abu Dhabi
is where the testing is done for banned
substances in racing camels.
T his center of great
wealth has attracted hundreds of thousands of
e x- p a t r i o t s f ro m a ro u n d
the world. Mool’s f luenc y
in Hindi came in handy on
a daily basis. The core Arab
ruling class is relatively small
compared to the vast number of workers from other
countries. A city and country of great opportunity, Abu
Dhabi has welcomed this
multicultural workforce and
provides a tolerant environment. Most women dressed
conser vatively, but there
was a visible minority that
had a Western look. Other
religions are permitted and
alcohol is allowed, although
not widely available.
For the team from Denver, it was an honor to be
asked to advise the prosecu- Mool Verma and Greggory LaBerge in front of the
tors and scientists of Abu Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.
The Abu Dhabi skyline.
May 2011 I The Docket 17
Finding Grounding in Morning Coffee
by Dav id L . E rick s on
T
here is a wonderful little coffee
shop near our home in Evergreen.
I sometimes stop there for morning coffee. They have a limited breakfast
and lunch menu and the staff is courteous and friendly. Not long ago, I stopped
for coffee, and the exchange at the service counter went something like this:
“I’d like a cup of coffee.”
“What kind would you like?”
“Just a cup of coffee.”
“We have all kinds,” the woman
behind the counter said, gesturing to
the large display board behind her. The
board listed numerous varieties of coffee,
cappuccino, lattes, and espressos—way
too complicated for me this early in the
morning.
“Just a small regular coffee please.”
She started, “We have Columbian,
French Roast—” when I interrupted
18 The Docket I May 2011
with, “Just a small regular black coffee,
please. Whatever is your coffee of the
day.”
“I just thought you might want to
step out of the box, for once,” was her
reply.
“I’m already out of the box,” I said,
somewhat defensively.
I sat down
with my coffee and
thought: I don’t
need a special coffee to get me “out of
the box.” My whole
life is out of the
box! When I have
my “regular coffee,
black” in the morning, it’s to get my
life back in the box.
It’s the same, it’s
consistent, and it
isn’t complicated. If today is anything
like most of my days, it will be a double
butter rum latte with whipped cream on
top kind of day. So, please give me my
regular coffee, black, and if it’s the coffee
of the day then that’s OK. Then, I’ll be
grounded again. D
Feel Like a Million Bucks
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1
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In 2011, please help us make an even bigger difference for the kids, doctors, and families at the Children’s Center for Cancer and
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Thanks to our generous 2011 sponsors who have helped us raise
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May 2011 I The Docket
19
Into the
Grand
KACHINAS
Spirits of the invisible
forces of life,
dwelling in the lofts
of the San Francisco Peaks,
their sacred home
half the year
In the kivas and the plazas
spruce bough, deer horn,
eagle feather, corn ear,
turtle shell rattle,
become visible
the other half.
Greg and K.J. riding the tube on the Grand.
By Justice Greg Hobbs
G
randson K.J. and I say goodbye
to the Navajo Teachers at Canyon de Chelly and head for the
Hopi and the Grand. It’s the last week of
July 2010, and we’re into the “monsoon”
season on the Colorado River Plateau.
Ancient and weathered, the three
Hopi mesas bear into the sky the longest continuously inhabited villages
within the continental United States.
We pull into the only place visitors may
stay—the Cultural Center on Second
Mesa—and check in with our Hopi guide,
Val Northrup.
She quickly says, “Hurry on over to
Third Mesa; there’s a ‘Going Home’ dance
at Hotevilla!”
Kachinas are sacred beings who live
half the year in the San Francisco Peaks
to the west above Flagstaff. The other
half, they rotate dancing in the plazas of
the various host villages. As a visitor, you
can never be sure whether you will ever
see a dance, but book a guide through the
Cultural Center and you may be able to
get in. Though you may have a chance to
observe, you may never, ever take a photograph of them.
K.J. and I climb a wooden ladder,
shaped of long poles and cross-bar limbs,
onto a crowded rooftop. On the opposite
20 The Docket I May 2011
rooftop, children clutching miniature
dancers carved of cottonwood root are
playing a fleet game of tag. Below us,
counter-clockwise, the Kachinas are circling! Drums beating, in perfect unison
they dance, huffing and rattling, spruce
boughs hanging from their woven
belts. Women move around them clockwise, sprinkling corn pollen from small
pouches onto glistening limbs.
Since March, they’ve been dancing for rain. In the recent weeks, their
prayers have been answered. Dryland
Hopi corn is firming into ears. Now, they
joyously celebrate their going home to
the peaks. The dance ends with a thrilling rush of wind—like a storm sweeping
in—from the lungs of sonorous men
whose masks once again permit the spirits to take residence within.
To the west, the San Francisco Peaks
glow sunset crimson. Back at the Cultural Center, we feast on blue corn fry
bread and lamb stew. The next morning,
we walk with Val into sandstone bluffs
etched with fantastic ancestral Pueblo
petroglyphs on cliff faces. After winding back, forth, up, and down the three
mesas by car, she leads us on foot into
several ancient villages.
At Oraibi, a Hopi woodcar ver
approaches K.J. with the corn maiden
kachina that will be going home with him.
Carved of cottonwood root
children play rooftop
Hummingbird,
Mouse Warrior,
Corn Maiden,
Wolf
Circle countering
circle, the women sprinkle
corn pollen blessings
on the perfect beat
of their glistening
limbs.
Northwest through Tuba City in the
Navajo Nation, we journey through the
Echo Cliffs and Cedar Tree Hills, dropping into the great rift the Colorado
River fits its will to. Passing over Navajo
Bridge, we overnight at Cliff Dweller’s
Lodge beneath, the banded Vermilion
Cliffs, earth-red and sky-pink.
K.J. and I strew our bunks with
seven days worth of clothing and camping gear we each must compress into no
more than 30 pounds. We have rented
from our outfitter, Hatch River Expeditions, sleep kits complete with tent,
ground cloth, sleeping bags, and pads.
This will be a 187-mile motorized
raft run through the gut of the gorge to
Whitmore Wash, where we’ll be lifted out
by helicopter. There will be two rafts traveling together on this journey.
K.J. is six weeks short of 14. An
agile, tall talker. Soon enough, everyone will think him 18. At the Lee’s Ferry
launch site, we meet our guide and captain, J.P. Running, his crew man Spencer,
and eight other passengers who will start
the trip here. Halfway down, we’ll pick
up 16 more voyagers who will hike down
from the South Rim Village to meet us at
the Phantom Ranch Bridge.
Into the Grand, strangers become
dunking buddies in less than half a day.
After loading our “night gear” onto the
rafts, where it’s lashed under tautly
drawn waterproof tarps, we smooth
through open vistas on quiet water. A
mountain sheep family grazes along river
right. We visit.
Companions on the first half of our
trip include a Belgian and a Frenchman,
a newly married couple, crew man Spencer’s mother, and three older men who do
an annual adventure trip together.
J.P. delivers basic safety instructions:
No one on the boat any time without life
vest fully buckled; you can ride the raft’s
outrigger tubes if you like; for the really
big slams, you must have your backs to
the lashed bundle and your “butts to the
board.” The “bath tub” low in the very
prow of the boat qualifies as a prime
place anytime. Or you can sit high in
the “tea room” at the center of the boat,
formed by a series of ingeniously packed
gear and food boxes.
Mid-afternoon on the first day, most
of us astride the tubes, we are baptized in
a series of white water rapids called the
Roaring Twenties. We shiver into a stiff
headwind. Rain as hard as hail strikes us.
A cross-canyon blow inflates the
tents we struggle to pin down like balloons. We run around helping each other
pitch, and wait out a soaking rain. The
crew prepares a steak dinner under an
awning they’ve rigged over a blowtorch
gas bottle, grill, and serving tables.
The next morning we wake to a cloud
so low it hugs the river. Come launch
time, it hasn’t lifted and we embark into
a landscape as unfathomable as Conrad
the able seaman wrote of Asian oceans in
“Lord Jim” and “The Secret Sharer.” I can
hear the river gurgling around our vessel
and see nothing but J.P., standing in the
motor mount well, feeling his way downstream on nothing but the intuition from
two decades of Grand Canyon running.
Side hikes take us high above the
river to ancestral Pueblo ruins, petroglyphs, and a cave that pokes a hole
through the sandstone wall just wide
enough that you could slip yourself all
the way through to oblivion. We travel
a trail of embedded trilobites and gastropods up another slick rock tributary
wash.
K.J. 's Corn Maiden in a Hopi cornfield.
That night, the stars come out and
dance about our tentless sleep out on the
beach. The trio of adventure men have
adopted my grandson. The first, a retired
Air Force pilot, the second a navigator
who flew with this pilot many times,
the third a cousin of the pilot. They tell
K.J. exotic hunting and flying stories. In
turn, he spins their yarns into various
“Survivor” competition scenarios for a
future Colorado River trip, if J.P. and
Hatch will agree to it.
Upland rains have turned the Little
Colorado from turquoise to a churning
reddish chocolate brown, the native
load-bearing color characteristic of the
mainstream Colorado. Despite the sediment stopper-effect of the Glen Canyon
Dam upstream of Lee’s Ferry, flash floods
continue to make the Colorado the mud
man it wants to be.
We glide past the sacred Hopi salt
mines on river left just below the confluence. From last month’s Navajo Teacher’s
workshop on the South Rim, I recall one
of our instructors saying how culturally
rich this stretch of the river is. Navajos,
as well as Hopis and ancestral Pueblo
people before them, collected salt from
these seeping walls. Tribal elders, herbalists, medicine men, and women of 11
Colorado River tribes honor the canyon’s
blessings.
Opposite the Tanner Trail, we climb
high above the north side of the river to
ancestral Pueblo ruins that look out on
floodplain cornfields of a thousand years
ago. A boulder shaped like a regal arm
chair carries the adornment of ancient
symbols.
We have a long wait at Phantom
Ranch for the hikers who will join our
voyage. It’s blazing hot. Luckily, there’s a
clear cold pool in Bright Angel Creek that
keeps us sitting cool. The hikers straggle
in, exhausted, some of them nine hours
en route from the South Rim, dangerously dehydrated and favoring injured
knees. I think, what a hard way and what
a loss! The six-and-a-half days we will
have on the river barely seems enough
and our new friends have only half of
that.
We welcome and minister to them.
A family of four, including a teenage girl
and boy, join our boat. Truly, now our ark
bears the ages. We enjoy seeing the three
young people revel in the smack of the
waves and hearing them holler gleefully
as they jump from promontories into
side pools of crystal clear water.
The next three days are a glory of
running the really big rapids, including
the granddaddy dilly of them all, Lava
Falls. We have daytime side hikes to Elves
Chasm and Deer Creek Falls, but we cannot put in for a hike up Havasu Creek
because of a flash flood pouring through
that drainage.
A few at a time, we board the helicopter at Whitmore Wash, for the hop
out to the Bar 10 Ranch on the North
Rim. Saying goodbye to each other, we
fly light planes back to Lee’s Ferry or Las
Vegas.
Crossing back on Navajo Bridge,
K.J. and I head home to Colorado, stopping off at brother Will and sister-in-law
Jean’s place in Durango. They’ve run the
river 10 times in their own oar boat! If
you want to preview or relive your own
run into the Grand, read Will’s young
adult novels “Downriver” and “River
Thunder.” D
May 2011 I The Docket
21
2011 Henry Hall Memorial Golf Tournament
The 2011 Henry Hall Memorial Golf Tournamentttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt
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Price is $125 per player and includes a light breakfast, lunch, greens fees, range balls, and cart.
qnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnChampions Divisionnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
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22 The Docket I May 2011
June 6
Registration, breakfast,
and range balls start at
6:30 a.m., followed by a
7:30 a.m. shotgun start.
Around the Horn: A Denver Sports Update for Lawyers
by N icole M. M und t
A
s lawyers, it’s a safe generalization
that each of us thrives, to some
degree, on competition. Not just competition—but winning (insert Charlie
Sheen quote here). For many of us, the
intellectual competition that comes with
the multitude of hours spent arguing
with opposing counsel, taking depositions, drafting in-your-face motions,
or owning a courtroom, simply isn’t
enough. We’re competition junkies, and
the intellectual stuff, as fun as it can be,
doesn’t make us sweat like some of us
need to sweat.
Fortunately, we live in Colorado,
where organized activities abound,
no matter the season. I grew up in a
household where being “bored” was
unacceptable and any complaints
about boredom were met with a simple
response from my parents to “go outside
and play.” As adults, boredom is rarely
a concept in our lives, but that doesn’t
mean we shouldn’t make more time to
get outside and stay active. Who knows,
it might even make the time we spend
inside more tolerable.
Spring is a great season to get
involved, whether it’s training for a triathlon or joining a softball team. Here is
a sampling of some of the team sports
opportunities happening around town:
CityWide Sports (denvergov.org/
parksandrecreation; select Recreation
tab; then select CityWide Sports). CityWide Sports organizes adult teams for
softball and flag football. Their softball
league, “Softball in the City,” has more
than 10,000 participants, and leagues
run from March to October, with games
taking place at a dozen different fields
around the city. The flag football league
has spring, fall, and winter seasons. Sign
up for CityWide’s newsletter for yearround league information.
Denver Sport and Social Club
(socialandsportsclub.com; select Denver
from the city dropdown). Denver Sport
and Social Club offers leagues in billiards,
dodgeball, golf, football, soccer, bowling,
tennis, ultimate Frisbee, volleyball, basketball, kickball, water polo, and more.
Its website lists the many “free agents”
who are looking for teams to join.
Denver Skeeball League (denverskeeballleague.com). Yes, seriously. And
this isn’t like the local fair either. This is
competition. Teams are guaranteed six
weeks of play, and the Sweet 16 Tournament takes place in weeks seven and
eight. Breckenridge Brewery hosts the
league, and teams play either Monday or
Wednesday nights. Each league is capped
at 60 players, comprising 20 teams.
KIFAC (kifac.org). KIFAC, the acronym for “Kick In For A Cause,” is a great
local organization, founded in 2003 by
a group of friends looking to start a laid
back kickball league, while also contributing a portion of their proceeds to charity.
Eight years later, KIFAC is booming,
offering leagues for kickball and bowling,
as well as many other events, including
Oktoberfest, the Flip Flop Ball, the Festivus Crawl, and a Masquerade Ball. KIFAC
emphasizes fun over competition and
encourages everyone to have a good time
by including beer at the weekly games.
The organization has been so successful,
most leagues are offered almost every
weeknight. Kickball games are held at
City Park, and the Bowling League takes
place at Moe’s Original BBQ and Bowling
on South Broadway. You also may register a full team or as an individual.
Spor ts Monster (spor tsmonster.net; select Denver from the city
dropdown). Sports Monster is an organization providing team sports leagues
in a number of cities across the country.
Their Denver organization offers yearround opportunities to participate in
different sports such as basketball, bowling, dodgeball, football, kickball, soccer,
softball, ultimate Frisbee, volleyball, and
wiffleball. The leagues are held at Dicks
Sporting Goods Park.
So, whether its water polo, wiffleball, skeeball, or some of the more
conventional options, there are many
ways to get involved and to be as competitive as you want with your sport of
choice. You don’t need to put together
an entire team, either. Most leagues
allow you to register as an individual and
indicate the sport you’re looking to play.
There are always teams looking for a few
more players, and it’s a great way to get
out and meet new people. If nothing else,
you can chalk it up to networking and client recruitment (and maybe even bill it
under “marketing”). It certainly beats
the heck out of joining a Leads Group. D
Lawyers League Basketball
2011 Championship Results
In A League, Rothgerber, Johnson
& Lyons defended its title, and for the
second straight year defeated McKenna
Long & Aldridge. It was a close and competitive game throughout.
In B League, the Tortfeasors defeated
Team KKO, also in a tight game.
2011 Lawyers Softball League
Games are from June 4 to Aug. 13. This
is a relaxed, co-ed league; there are no
umpires, and balls and strikes are not
called. Games are at 11 a.m. on Saturdays
at Cranmer Park (2nd and Bellaire). This
is a great way to enjoy the Colorado
summers. Interested team captains
should contact Jack Tanner at jtanner@
fwlaw.com or (303) 894-4495.
May 2011 I The Docket
23
24 The Docket I May 2011
May 2011 I The Docket
25
Legal
Affairs
GOOD THINGS
Professionals in Workers’ Compensation (PWC) held their annual awards
banquet on March 4. The award for
Outstanding Respondent Attorney was
presented to Paul Krueger of Ritsema &
Lyon. The Outstanding Claimant Attorney award went to John Sbarbaro of
Law Office of O’Toole & Sbarbaro.
The Center for Legal Inclusiveness
(CLI) presented its first-ever Inclusiveness Awards on March 14 at CLI’s
bi-annual Dean’s Diversity Dinner at the
University of Denver Sturm College of
Law.
Larry Theis, chair of
the Executive Committee
of Holme Roberts & Owen
LLP, was selected for the
CLI Leadership Award.
Theis
Nicole R. Ament, a
real estate shareholder at the law firm
of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck,
recently was appointed to the Habitat
for Humanity of Metro Denver Board of
Directors. As a board member, Ament
will use her background in real estate to
help the nonprofit achieve its goals.
Rothgerber Johnson & Lyons, LLP
is pleased to announce
that Edward A. Gleason
has become a Fellow of
the American College of
Trial Lawyers. Fellowship
Gleason
in the college is extended
to those experienced trial lawyers who
have mastered the art of advocacy and
whose professional careers have been
marked by the highest standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility, and
collegiality.
Faegre & Benson partner David
Stark has been appointed by Colorado
Chief Justice Michael Bender to the
newly formed Commission on the Legal
Profession. Stark will serve as the chair
of the working group on the relationship
between the legal profession (judiciary,
bar, and legal academies) and the community. The working group will focus on
access to justice, delivery of justice, and
education of the public.
Sherman & Howard
announces that Jason
Miller, an associate in the
firm’s litigation practice,
has been named to the
Miller
City of Lakewood’s sevenmember Board of Appeals.
Ashley B. Wingfield, an associate at the law firm of Brownstein Hyatt
Farber Schreck, recently was appointed
to the Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado
Board of Directors. As a board member,
Wingfield will help organize educational,
fundraising and recreational events as
well as contribute to policy initiatives.
A family connection to brain injury
inspired her to give back to the Colorado
brain injury community.
Baker & Hostetler LLP is pleased to
announce that Holli L. Hartman has
been named to the Corporate Advisory
Board of the Cancer League of Colorado.
Hartman specializes in employment law.
CHANGES
Reutzel and Associates is pleased to announce
that Tara L. Sakraida has
rejoined the firm as of
counsel. The Firm’s practice
Sakraida
continues to emphasize
real estate and land use law.
Akerman Senterfitt announced the
expansion of its intellectual property
practice with the addition of four attorneys in the firm’s Denver office. George
Matava and John Burke will be joining
the firm as shareholders, Darla Graff
joins as of counsel, and Kelly Lusk joins
as an associate.
Patrick Ryan has
moved in-house to Google,
Inc. as policy counsel, Open
Internet, in Mountain
View. Patrick is currently
Ryan
commuting and continues
to teach as an adjunct professor in the
Interdisciplinary Telecommunications
Program at CU-Boulder.
The Legal Resolution
Center (LRC) is pleased to
announce Hon. Art Kafrissen as the newest judge
to join LRC.
Kafrissen
Kafrissen is a former
judge with the Pennsylvania Court of
Common Pleas of the First Judicial District. He will be based in LRC’s Aspen
office.
The Denver office of Kutak Rock
LLP recently hired Kristin Caid, of counsel, in the
public finance group where
she will be assisting clients
as bond counsel and underCaid
writer’s counsel on public
finance transactions. In
addition, the firm hired
Jack Luellen, of counsel,
to join the commercial
litigation team, advising
Luellen
clients in the areas of oil
and gas, natural resources, and energy.
Sherman & Howard announces that
Matt Walker has joined the firm’s Denver office as an associate in the ERISA
and employee benefits practice.
Walker brings four years of diverse
experience in the practice of law, having
served most recently as labor counsel
If you are a Denver Bar attorney member and you’ve moved, been promoted, hired an associate, taken on a partner, received a promotion or award,
or begun service on a new board, we’d love to hear from you. Talks, speeches, CLE presentations, and political announcements, due to their sheer
number, cannot be included. In addition, The Docket cannot print notices of honors determined by other publications (e.g., Super Lawyers, Best
Lawyers, etc.) again due to volume. Notices are printed at no cost but must be submitted in writing and are subject to editing and space available.
Send all notices to Kate Mills at [email protected] by the 5th day of the month.
26 The Docket I May 2011
to the U.S. House of Representatives
Subcommittee on Health, Employment,
Labor, and Pensions on the Committee
on Education and Labor.
Snell & Wilmer is pleased to
announce the addition of Michael
Strand as an associate to its real estate,
environmental, energy, and finance
team.
Strand’s practice encompasses
counseling clients on the entire spectrum of real estate transactions—from
acquisition, financing, entitlement, and
development to design and construction
and then leasing, marketing, and sale.
The law firm of Brown & Hulbert,
LLC is pleased and proud
to announce that Spencer J. Crona, formerly of
Wade, Ash, Woods, Hill &
Farley, P.C., has become of
Crona
counsel to the firm. Crona’s practice will continue to emphasize
estate and trust litigation, guardianships
and conservatorships, and estate and
trust administration.
M i le s & Pe te rs i s
pleased to announce that
Elizabeth Merritt has
become a senior associate at the firm. Her
Merritt
practice will continue to
focus on regulatory compliance, business planning, provider contracting,
reimbursement issues, and commercial
transactions.
Additionally, Robert
Magouirk and Peggy E.
Kozal have joined the firm
as associates. Magouirk will
focus on transactional matMagouirk
ters, regulatory compliance
issues, and administrative and licensing matters.
Kozal will focus on appeals,
Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement, financial fraud
Kozal
de fense, institutional
Troubled by Rude and
Unprofessional Attorneys?
The following lawyers are willing to take calls
on a confidential basis, for guidance, tips, and
strategies for dealing with opposing counsel.
Hal B. Warren: (303) 654-6116
John Baker: (303) 953-6803
Howard Rosenberg: (303) 871-6290
Mark Fogg: (303) 825-2700
Sponsored by
the DBA Peer Professionalism
Assistance Committee
licensing, and regulatory compliance
matters.
Paul Thompson has joined Dorsey
as a partner in the corporate group. He
was a partner at Holme Roberts & Owen.
Greg Tamkin, partner, has been
promoted to head of the Dorsey Denver
office. Tucker Trautman stepped down
from this position after five years of leadership.
Sherman & Howard announces that
David Frommell has joined the firm’s
Denver office as an associate in the litigation practice.
Frommell brings prior experience as
both a lawyer and an engineer.
BRICKS & MORTAR
Reilly Pozner, LLP, a full-service
litigation and trial firm, has moved to
1900 16th St., Ste. 1700, Denver, CO
80202. The firm’s emails, phone, and fax
numbers will remain the same.
DENVER BAR ASSOCIATION
PLACEMENT SERVICE
l
Full-Time
l
Temp
l
Time-To-Hire
Attorneys
Secretaries
l Paralegals
l Receptionists
l Accounting
l Administrators
l Office Services
l
l
Serving the Legal Community since 1986
Mev Parsons / Barb Allen
(303) 894-0014
NOW PLACING
ATTORNEYS!!!
May 2011 I The Docket
27
Dates on the
DOcket
DBA Events
For the Public
All DBA meetings are scheduled at 1900
Grant St., Ste. 900, Denver, unless otherwise noted. Call Melissa Nicoletti, (303)
824-5321, to schedule committee meetings,
so they will appear in this calendar.
To volunteer for the DBA Public Legal
Education programs or for more information,
unless otherwise indicated, contact Meghan
Bush at (303) 824-5303.
May 3
Lawline 9 —
4–6:30 p.m.
Denver Access to Justice
Committee Meeting
Noon–1:30 p.m.
Call Meghan Bush,
(303) 824-5303.
May 4
Docket Committee Meeting
Noon–1 p.m.
Call Sara Crocker,
(303) 824-5347.
May 5
Democracy Education
Noon–1:30 p.m.
Call Meghan Bush,
(303) 824-5303.
May 10
Waterman Fund Meeting
Noon–1:30 p.m.
Call Janet Bauer,
(303) 824-5319.
May 11
DBA/YLD
Executive Council Meeting
6–7:30 p.m.
Call Amy Sreenen,
(303) 824-5311.
May 12
DBA Board of Trustees
7:30–9:15 a.m.
Call Dana Collier Smith,
(303) 824-5318.
May 17
Community Action Network
Monthly Meeting
Noon–1 p.m.
Call Kate Mills,
(303) 824-5312.
May 4
Legal Night At
El Centro De
San Juan Diego
2830 Lawrence St.
5:30–7 p.m.
Call (303) 295-9470.
Lawline 9—
4–6:30 p.m.
May 19
Collections Clinic
Denver City and County Building
1437 Bannock St., Room 164
11 a.m.–1 p.m.
May 25
Bankruptcy Clinic
U.S. Bankruptcy Court
721 19th St.
1:30–3 p.m.
Lawline 9 —
4–6:30 p.m.
May 10
Bankruptcy Clinic
U.S. Bankruptcy Court
721 19th St.
1:30–3 p.m.
May 11
Lawline 9—
4–6:30 p.m.
May 17
Small Claims Clinic
Denver City and County Building
1437 Bannock St., Room 164
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.
May 18
Pro Se Divorce Clinic
1437 Bannock St.
Courtroom 22
Noon–1:30 p.m.
Join a Committee!
If you’re interested in joining a
committee listed here, call (303)
860-1115 with questions. For a
full list of DBA committees, visit
denbar.org.
Write for
The Docket
DBA members are encouraged
to send story ideas, photos, tips,
and fun articles for The Docket
Committee’s consideration. Our
goal is to have a newsletter that’s
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
[email protected].
All meetings are scheduled at 1900 Grant St., Ste. 900, Denver, unless otherwise noted. Activities for the Denver Bar Association are listed on this
page. Call Melissa Nicoletti, (303) 824-5321, to schedule committee meetings, so they will appear in this calendar.
28 The Docket I May 2011
DBA Member
Appreciation Week
Monday, June 6
is June 6–11
v Henry Hall Golf Tournament 7:30 a.m. at Inverness Golf Club. Proceeds support Metro Volunteer Lawyers.
v “Diversity” Complimentary, one hour CLE program starting at noon and presented by Paul Chan, CBA
President. This program is available live and webcasted. Lunch is provided at no cost to attendees.
Tuesday, June 7
v “Mentoring” Complimentary, one hour CLE program starting at noon and presented by David Masters,
Incoming CBA President. This program is available live only. Lunch is provided at no cost to attendees.
v DBA Annual Party, 5:30 p.m. at Hotel Monaco.
Wednesday, June 8
v “New Rule on File Retention and other Recent Changes to the Rules of Professional Conduct”
Complimentary, one hour CLE program starting at noon and presented by Chip Mortimer, Office
of Attorney Regulation. This program is available live and webcasted. Lunch is provided at no cost to
attendees.
Thursday, June 9
v “Information Overload? Tips Manage Online News and Information” Complimentary, one hour CLE
program starting at 9 a.m. and presented by Alli Gerkman, CBA-CLE Manager of Online Content
and Development. This program is available live and webcasted. Breakfast is provided at no cost to
attendees.
v “Future of the Legal Profession” Member Mixer with Ignite-style presentations, 5:30 p.m. at CBACLE, 1900 Grant St., Suite 300. Food and beverages will be provided at no cost to attendees.
Friday, June 10
v “Unbundled Legal Services: Ethical Considerations and Billing Practices” Complimentary, one hour
CLE program starting at noon and presented by Adam Espinosa, Office of Attorney Regulation. This
program is available live and webcasted. Lunch is provided at no cost to attendees.
v Paper shredding and electronics recycling from 4 to 6 p.m. in the parking lot east of the DBA offices.
There is no cost for this event. However, a donation of $2 per box or electronic item is requested with
a 10 box and five item limit. All donations go to Metro Volunteer Lawyers.
Saturday, June 11
v The DBA Community Action Network’s Kickball Tournament to benefit Children’s
Outreach Project, at the University of Denver.
RSVP for all events by emailing [email protected] or calling (303) 860-1115, ext. 727.
May 2011 I The Docket
29
Picture
THIS
Recognizing Pro Bono
Attorneys and law firms from the Denver, Boulder and Adams/Broomfield Bar Associations were honored for their commitment
and completion of 50 hours of pro bono service on April 8. Five Colorado Supreme Court Justices—Chief Justice Michael Bender,
Nathan B. Coats, Allison H. Eid, Greg Hobbs, and Nancy E. Rice—were on hand to congratulate attorneys who completed the suggested amount of service to the indigent or to organizations that serve them. Photos by Jamie Cotten.
Lindsay Unruh and Katie Roush of Reilly Pozner pose with the Justices and their certificate recognizing the firm’s pro bono service.
James C. Coyle, chief deputy regulation counsel for the Office of Attorney
Regulation Counsel, speaks while the DBA’s Metro Volunteer Lawyers Executive
Director Dianne Van Voorhees looks on.
30 The Docket I May 2011
Chief Justice Michael Bender speaks during the ceremony.
DBA Happenings
Exploring Diversity in the Legal Profession
The Legal Inclusiveness & Diversity Summit brought approximately 200 people to the University of Denver to learn about
diversity in the legal profession. The summit, expanded this year to one and a half days, was held March 14 and 15 at the Sturm College of Law. It featured five strands focused on leadership, inclusiveness, balanced hours, professional development, and diversity
and inclusiveness research and training. The Center for Legal Inclusiveness presents the summit annually. Photos by Jamie Cotten.
Leading national diversity and inclusiveness
expert Arin Reeves presented on how to
lead diversity, inclusiveness, and productive
skepticism.
Attorneys (from left) Michael Connelly, Rich Baer, and Michael Spencer served on a general counsel panel at the summit.
Glenwood Wins State Mock Trial
Glenwood Springs High School’s Team A won the Colorado Bar Association’s State Mock Trial Tournament, defeating last year’s
state champ, Lakewood High School. Twenty-four teams traveled from across the state to the Adams County Justice Center in
Brighton for the annual competition, held on March 11 and 12. Colorado Supreme Court Justice Alex Martinez presided over the
final round. Glenwood will compete in the national mock trial tournament May 5 to 7 in Phoenix.
Students from Lakewood High School Team A and Glenwood Springs
High School Team A faced off in the final round of the state mock trial
competition.
Glenwood Springs Team A will compete in the national mock trial tournament this
month.
May 2011 I The Docket
31