The Legal Aid Foundation of Colorado announced Thursday that six trustees have been elected to its board: Jonathan Boonin, a member at Hutchinson Black & Cook in Boulder; Paul Hurcomb, a partner at Sparks Willson in Colorado Springs; Joe Lambert, a senior associate in the Colorado Springs office of Hogan Lovells; Jackie Roeder, a partner at Davis Graham & Stubbs in Denver; Gio Ruscitti, a partner in the Boulder office of Berg Hill Greenleaf & Ruscitti; and Jay Sturhahn, a member in the Denver office of Sherman & Howard.
Also joining the board in an ex officio capacity are Kathleen Hearn Croshal of Pueblo, president of the Colorado Bar Association; and Liz Och, an attorney at Hogan Lovells in Denver and co-chair of the foundation’s Associates Advisory Board.
Officers for 2019-20 are chair Eric Olson, vice-chair Heather Perkins, secretary Tony Giacomini, treasurer Cheryl Walton, and past-chair Natalie Hanlon-Leh.
The organization also announced Thursday that it received $2 million in its annual fundraising drive for Colorado Legal Services. The funds will be used to provide necessary legal assistance in serious civil matters for Coloradans who cannot afford counsel.
This year, law firm giving accounted for 60% of the total amount raised, with 120 donor firms giving at the leadership level of $450 per Colorado lawyer in the firm. Donations from individual lawyers reached a record level as well.
“Our donors should be commended for their abiding commitment to equal justice,” said Legal Aid Foundation Executive Director Diana Poole. “Their ongoing financial support helps assure fairness in our civil justice system, regardless of individual economic circumstances.”
Colorado Legal Services provides legal representation and advice through a network of 13 offices around the state, as well as online self-help information and interactive forms for use in civil proceedings.
Lateral Watch
Moye White announced Wednesday that Daniel Wennogle joined the firm’s litigation section as a partner.
Wennogle focuses his practice on litigation involving construction and property rights including contract disputes, delay claims, lien and bond claims, both public and private, construction defects, quiet title actions, easement disputes and condemnation. He also counsels and advises contractors regarding contract provisions, helps prepare and assess claims, and advises clients in the unmanned vehicles industry.
Prior to joining Moye White, Wennogle was a partner at an AmLaw 200 firm in Denver, where he worked with clients in the construction, utilities, real property and unmanned aircraft system (drone) industries.
Wennogle received a law degree from the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law, a master’s degree from the University of Montana and a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University. He is active in the Colorado Bar Association, where he serves as the vice chair and legislative liaison for the construction section.
Wennogle is also a mentor for University DU law students and an associate board member for Mending Faces, a Colorado-based nonprofit.
Lance Shurtleff joined Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani as a partner in the Denver office.
Shurtleff joins the firm in the construction, environmental/toxic tort, professional liability defense and trucking and transportation practice groups.
Shurtleff has handled complex cases in state and federal court. He also handles matters before a variety of regulatory boards. He provides legal advice to clients in the trucking and oil and gas industries and handles Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Mine Safety and Health Administration and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claims.
Shurtleff is licensed to practice in Colorado, Wyoming, North Dakota, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. He also serves as a volunteer for The Children’s Hospital Foundation, the South Suburban Parks and Recreation, the Food Bank for the Rockies and Peach’s Neet Feet.
Trial lawyer Michael Mulvania has joined Denver-based Richards Carrington as of counsel. He represents clients in oil and gas, trade secrets, class actions, securities, antitrust, products liability, and environmental litigation.
ASSOCIATE WATCH
Davis Graham & Stubbs announced Friday that Katie Brown and Mike Richardson joined the firm’s trial department as associates.
Brown’s practice focuses on employment litigation and counseling. Before joining DGS, she was a legal fellow in the employment and labor law section of the Denver City Attorney’s Office, where she represented the City of Denver and its agencies in employment law claims, constitutional claims and administrative appeals of disciplinary actions.
She received a law degree from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Texas Christian University.
Richardson’s practice will continue to have an emphasis on litigation pertaining to complex financial restructurings and bankruptcy matters.
He previously worked at another law firm in Denver and, prior to that, clerked for 1st Judicial District Judge Christopher Zenisek. During law school, he clerked for Judge Howard Tallman of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado; and Judge Kristen Mix of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.
Richardson received a law degree from the University of Colorado Law School and a bachelor’s degree from Colorado College.
Judicial Announcements
Gov. Jared Polis on Tuesday announced the appointment of Judge Jessica Curtis as a district court judge in the 4th Judicial District to fill a position created by Senate Bill 43. He also announced the appointment of Chelsea Rengel as a Jackson County Court judge in the 8th Judicial District to fill a vacancy occasioned by the retirement of Judge Cindy Wilson.
Curtis currently serves as a county court judge for El Paso County, a position she has held since 2017. Her docket consists primarily of criminal cases, including misdemeanors and traffic offenses, as well as DUI and county civil cases.
Previously, she was a magistrate for the 4th Judicial District, a partner at Hoffecker & Curtis, an attorney in the Office of the Guardian Ad Litem and a deputy state public defender in Colorado Springs.
Curtis received a law degree from the University of Colorado Law School and an undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Rengel is an associate attorney with Miller and Associates Law Offices. Her practice consists solely of Social Security disability cases. Previously, she was a deputy public defender for the Office of the Colorado State Public Defender in Jefferson County and a judicial law clerk for Judge Randy Stoker in the 5th Judicial District of Idaho. Rengel received a law degree from the Gonzaga University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Marquette University in 2008, and her J.D. from Gonzaga University School of Law.
Both appointments are effective immediately.
The 4th Judicial District Nominating Commission will meet Aug. 13 at the El Paso County Judicial Building to interview and select nominees for appointment to the office of county judge for El Paso County. The vacancy will be created by the appointment to the District Court bench of Judge Jessica Curtis. The vacancy became effective July 16.
Application forms and more information are available from the office of the ex officio chair of the nominating commission, Justice Melissa Hart, 2 E. 14th Ave. in Denver and the office of the court executive, Scott Sosebee, 270 S. Tejon Street, in Colorado Springs. Applications also are available on the court’s home page at www.courts.state.co.us/Careers/Judge.cfm
The completed application must be submitted by 4 p.m. Aug. 5. Any person wishing to suggest a candidate to fill the vacancy may do so by 4 p.m. July 29.
The members of the nominating commission for the 4th Judicial District are: Larry Gaddis, Juan Moreno, Mary Linden, Jennifer George and Joshua Brooks, all of Colorado Springs; and Daniel Nicholson and Philip Mella of Woodland Park.
