Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser has appointed Anne Lee as director of performance and practice excellence and Sam Walker as executive in residence to his leadership team at the Department of Law. These new roles in the department will coach employees and help create best practices in the office.
“Both Anne Lee and Sam Walker bring legal expertise and innovative mindsets to the Department of Law. They have successfully developed and implemented best practices at other top companies and will provide a fresh perspective to our office” Weiser said. “They will play a key role in helping the Department of Law reach its full professional potential so that we effectively serve the people of Colorado.”
Lee joins the office from Hewlett Packard, where she was counselor for intellectual property transactions.
She has also served as a senior associate at Wilmer Hale and as an associate at Faegre Baker Daniels.
Beyond her legal expertise, Lee was the hardware product manager for Tendril Networks and previously worked as a market analyst at Ford Motor Company.
Lee is president-elect of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Colorado, sits on the board of the Colorado Intellectual Property Inn of Court, and was vice chair of the American Bar Association software and cloud computing committee.
Walker serves in a volunteer role as executive in residence at the department. Most recently, he was the executive director of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment in the Hickenlooper administration and chaired the workforce and education cabinet.
Prior to his return to public service, Walker was the longest-serving chief legal officer for Molson Coors Brewing. He has also served as a partner at Wiley Rein & Fielding and held several federal posts under both the George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush administrations.
Walker began his tenure at the Department of Law on Sept. 3. Lee started work on Oct. 7.
Associate Watch
Kate Sanford has joined the natural resources department of Davis Graham & Stubbs as an associate.
Sanford’s practice will focus primarily on environmental litigation. She previously clerked for Justice Richard Gabriel of the Colorado Supreme Court and also worked as a litigation clerk for a boutique natural resources firm and the Animal Legal Defense Fund.
While completing her clerkships, she gained experience with the Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 and the Endangered Species Act.
Sanford received a law degree from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Denver.
Judicial Announcements
The 12th Judicial District Nominating Commission has nominated three candidates for a district court judgeship created by the retirement of Judge Pattie Swift effective Jan. 15, 2020. Nominees Jason Kelly of Alamosa, James McDonald of Gunnison and Crista Newmyer-Olsen of Mosca were selected by the commission on Oct. 4 .
The governor has 15 days from Oct. 7 to appoint one of the nominees as district court judge for the 12th Judicial District (Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Mineral, Rio Grande and Saguache counties).
Comments regarding any of the nominees may be sent via e-mail to the governor at [email protected].