Have an announcement for Law Week Colorado’s people section? Let us know.
Law firm updates
Hall Estill on April 22 announced the return of shareholder Jeff Friedman to its Denver office. Friedman first joined Hall Estill in 2016. After a brief time away, he rejoined Hall Estill to assist clients with commercial real estate transactions and distressed property situations. Friedman earned his J.D. from the Chicago-Kent College of Law and his bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Akerman on April 24 announced the launch of its equine sector team led by intellectual property and corporate litigation partner Adam Massaro. The multidisciplinary team will serve clients in California, Colorado, Florida and Texas and is comprised of former collegiate equestrians and ranked amateur equestrians. The new team represents horse owners, trainers and athletes; equestrian centers, including boarding and training facilities; and professional equine associations with immigration, trusts and estates, transactions, real estate, franchise and licensing and other matters.
BAM Family Law announced April 25 Patricia Martin joined the Denver firm as an associate attorney. She previously worked as an associate at a Denver-area family law firm where she handled complex divorce proceedings. Before that, Martin practiced as an immigration attorney in Denver, assisting immigrants and their families through the immigration process, both in affirmative and defensive applications. Martin is a graduate of the Loyola University Chicago School of Law. While at law school she clerked at a family law firm in Chicago, interned at nonprofits providing legal services to domestic violence victims and participated in Loyola’s ChildLaw Clinic, where she gained court experience in domestic relations and dependency proceedings. Martin is admitted to the bar in both Colorado and Vermont.
Otteson Shapiro announced April 25 Peter Morgan joined the firm’s Denver office as a partner. Morgan represents policyholders in insurance coverage disputes and bad faith litigation. In his more than 25-year career, he has represented insurance companies in connection with claims arising out of most types of insurance. Morgan has litigated and tried cases at the district court and appellate levels and is also an arbitrator. Prior to joining Otteson Shapiro, Morgan was a shareholder of a Denver law firm where he practiced primarily in the areas of insurance coverage, bad faith litigation, professional liability and personal injury defense.
The judiciary
People with active warrants issued from the 10th Judicial District in Pueblo County in certain types of cases can have those warrants cleared without the threat of arrest during a warrant clearance event Saturday, April 27. The event at the Dennis Maes Pueblo Combined Court at 501 N. Elizabeth Street in Pueblo will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and defense attorneys will be available to discuss cases. Participants in the event include the 10th Judicial District’s courts and Probation Department, Office of the State Public Defender, Office of the District Attorney for the 10th Judicial District, the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office and Recovery Monitoring Solutions. No arrests will be made of people seeking to clear outstanding warrants for eligible offenses. Offenses that are eligible for warrant clearance include some misdemeanor, traffic and petty drug charges; drug misdemeanor 1 charges; some class 4, 5 and 6 felonies; and charges for failure to register as a sex offender. Ineligible offenses include any warrants issued from outside of Pueblo County, domestic violence misdemeanors and felonies, any cases under the Victim Rights Act, careless driving causing death or injury, third or subsequent DUIs, weapons charges, felony eluding, arson, sex offenses other than failure to register and class 1 through 3 felonies. To verify eligibility for warrant clearance or get answers to other questions about the event, email [email protected].
Kudos
Former Colorado Hispanic Bar Association president Dolores Atencio was selected as one of the recipients of the prestigious 2024 Margaret Brent Lawyers of Achievement Award. The American Bar Association Commission on Women annually presents the award for professional excellence and paving the way for other women in the legal profession. Atencio and the other four recipients will be honored at the annual ABA meeting in Chicago on Aug. 4. Atencio in 2015, created the national legal history project, Luminarias de la Ley | Luminaries of the Law™ to identify and chronicle the accomplishments of the first Latina lawyers in the country. Key findings from her seven-year study were published in Luminarias: An Empirical Portrait of the First Generation of Latina Lawyers 1880-1980. Carolina Academic Press will be publishing her first book later this year, “The Illustrious Impact of Luminarias on the Law: The Legal Handicraft of the First Latina Article III Judges and State Supreme Court Justices.”