The joint management committee of the Colorado Bar Association and Denver Bar Association announced Feb. 3 Amy Larson was appointed as the new executive director and CEO of both organizations. Larson previously served in the CBA and DBA as deputy executive director and COO as well as interim executive director and CEO.
“We look forward to continuing efforts to grow and enhance both the CBA and DBA in the years ahead,” said Catherine Chan, committee chair of the joint management committee.
Larson has more than 25 years of experience in association, corporate and inter-governmental leadership roles and has significant experience in organizational structure and decision-making, especially during times of change.
Over the past 14 years, she has become involved with the CBA’s goals, leadership structure, budgetary resources, communications and external partnerships, first as CBA’s contract lobbyist and then as deputy executive director and COO.
Previously, she was the director of public affairs for Storage Technology Corporation, the executive director for the American Electronics Association, a marketing and public relations professional for Price Waterhouse in its dispute analysis and corporate recovery practice group and the manager of government affairs at the Institute of Certified Financial Planners.
She received a bachelor’s degree and an MBA from the University of Southern California.
LATERAL WATCH
Greenspoon Marder announced Wednesday that the firm added partner Nick Richards to its cannabis and tax practice groups in Denver.
Richards represents individuals and businesses in tax audits and trials, mergers and acquisitions, in managing tax debt, and he advises cannabis companies, owners and investors in tax and regulatory compliance matters.
He has been a tax attorney for more than 20 years beginning with the IRS where he was a leading trial attorney, a chief counsel advisor and a special assistant U.S. Attorney.
He received a law degree from Lewis & Clark College and a bachelor’s degree from the University of California Santa Barbara.
JUDICIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
The 2nd Judicial District Nominating Commission has nominated three candidates for a Denver Juvenile Court judgeship created by the retirement of Judge Donna Schmalberger, effective April 4. Nominees Lisa Gomez, Pax Moultrie and Jessica Perrill, all of Denver, were selected by the commission on Wednesday.
The governor has 15 days from Feb. 6 to appoint one of the nominees as Juvenile Court judge for the 2nd Judicial District.
Comments regarding any of the nominees may be sent via e-mail to the governor at [email protected]
The 1st Judicial District Nominating Commission will meet at the Jefferson Combined Court in Golden on March 18 to interview and select nominees for appointment by the governor to the office of county judge for Jefferson County. The vacancy will be created by the resignation of Judge Jean Woodford, effective April 4.
Application forms are available from the office of the ex officio chair of the nominating commission, Justice Monica Márquez, 2 E. 14th Ave. in Denver, and the office of the court executive, Gail Pickarts, 100 Jefferson County Parkway in Golden. Applications also are available on the court’s home page at http://www.courts.state.co.us/Careers/Judge.cfm.
Applications must be submitted by 4 p.m. March 2. Any person wishing to suggest a candidate to fill the vacancy may do so by 4 p.m. Feb. 24.
The members of the nominating commission for the 1st Judicial District are: John Lee and Jeanie Vela, both of Arvada; Nicole Dews of Lakewood; Allison Zinn of Littleton; and Linza Douglas of Golden. The commission currently has two vacancies.
BOARD APPOINTMENTS
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck announced that Sarah Auchterlonie, a shareholder in the firm’s Denver office, has joined the board of directors of Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver.
As part of her role, Auchterlonie will help the organization with its strategic planning. She has been involved with Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver for several years, providing pro bono legal services.
J. Matt Thornton, a litigation associate in the Denver office of Ballard Spahr, has been named to the advisory board of Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, a nonprofit located in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood that provides programming centered around dance, theater and education and aims to “leverage the universal language of dance to honor African American heritage.”
Thornton will serve a three-year term. His practice focuses on commercial litigation in federal and state courts, including individual actions and class action defense, privacy and cybersecurity matters, product liability and mass tort, and disputes implicating the First Amendment.