Colorado

DOJ Sues Attorney, Says Law Office Banned Service Dog, Violating ADA

The U.S. Department of Justice announced today that it has filed a disability discrimination lawsuit against a Colorado attorney for allegedly barring a woman from giving a deposition in his law office because she was accompanied by her service dog. The animal, an Australian shepherd, is trained to help the…

Nov 3, 2009 11:19 PM CST

3 Partners Depart Otten to Form New Denver Litigation Firm

Three partners and an associate are leaving Otten Johnson Robinson Neff & Ragonetti to form their own four-lawyer litigation boutique. It will focus on commercial litigation, eminent domain and construction law. Although sorry to see the group, which includes partners Darrell Waas, Patricia Campbell and Mikaela Rivera, depart, the Otten…

Oct 22, 2009 10:45 PM CDT

‘Balloon Boy’ Parents to Be Charged in Alleged Hoax Promoting Reality TV Show

The sheriff of Larimer County, Colo., says he plans to file felony and misdemeanor charges against the parents of a 6-year-old boy who made international headlines last week after he was incorrectly reported to be thousands of feet in the air in an experimental helium balloon built by his father…

Oct 19, 2009 5:13 PM CDT

Boy, 6, Reported Aloft, Alone in Balloon, Found Alive at Home

An accidental launch today of an experimental helium balloon reportedly sent a 6-year-old boy high into the air above Fort Collins, Colo., alone, as authorities—including the Colorado National Guard, the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Air Force—pulled out the stops as they scrambled to try to figure out a…

Oct 15, 2009 10:18 PM CDT

Bad Dog! ‘Vicious’ Pomeranian is Banned from Aspen, Colo.

After years of alleged bad behavior that allegedly includes a history of biting, a “vicious” dog has been banned from Aspen, Colo., by a municipal court judge. Gizmo, who is reportedly a Pomeranian, will be seized by animal control officers and euthanized if he returns to the resort town, Judge…

Sep 25, 2009 7:51 PM CDT

Addicted Surgical Technician May Have Infected at Least 23 Patients With Hepatitis

Addicted to a powerful painkiller, Kristen Diane Parker admittedly stole fentanyl from empty operating rooms at the Denver, Colo., hospital in which she worked. But by substituting syringes of saline solution for syringes of fentanyl, the 26-year-old surgical technician didn’t just put patients at risk of inadequately treated pain, according…

Aug 17, 2009 6:56 PM CDT

Army, Newspaper Examine Brigade’s High Crime Rate After Return from Iraq

A Colorado newspaper has investigated the crime rates of a U.S. Army unit once deployed to Iraq, finding that some members were responsible for a crime wave that triggered the launch of a military task force to examine the issue. The Washington Post reports that the Fort Carson, Colo., combat…

Jul 28, 2009 12:17 PM CDT

Colo. Governor Gave No-Bid Contract to Hogan & Hartson, His Ex-Firm

Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter hired his former law firm, Hogan & Hartson, to analyze the federal stimulus bill and make sure the state gets its share of federal funds. Ritter hired Hogan & Hartson under a no-bid contract and has so far used $40,000 in federal funds to pay the…

Jul 14, 2009 1:21 PM CDT

Perkins Coie Says It Won’t Hire New Partner After All

Last Wednesday, Perkins Coie announced with some fanfare that politically connected Denver lawyer Willie Shepherd was leaving the firm he co-founded and chaired to become a partner in Perkins Coie’s Denver office. Never mind. Late on Friday, Perkins Coie issued a press release saying Shepherd won’t be joining the firm…

May 18, 2009 12:19 PM CDT

U of Denver Law Prof Dies Today After Bicycle Accident

An assistant professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law died today after a bicycle accident early yesterday. After initially saying in an e-mail to students that 32-year-old Erik Bluemel had been assaulted, law school officials later announced that police had determined he had a bicycle accident early…

May 6, 2009 10:15 PM CDT

Lawyers, Firms Note Green Milestones on Earth Day

Although recession-weary lawyers may find it harder to go green this Earth Day when they’re focused on making green, environmental lawyer Claudia Rast says attorneys have more reason to celebrate the planet now than ever. Rast, chair of the American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy and Resources, and a…

Apr 22, 2009 10:31 PM CDT

Denver Firm Lays Off 37, Spares Others Thanks to Pay-Cut Volunteers

A well-known Denver-based law firm is laying off 15 attorneys and 22 staff members. But the cuts would have been deeper at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Shreck, its managing partner says, if the remaining troops hadn’t agreed to take pay cuts to spare some of their colleagues the ax, reports Above…

Apr 10, 2009 7:23 PM CDT

Colo. Lawyer Died in Murder-Suicide, Shot By Ex-Husband

A 30-year-old Colorado lawyer died almost immediately after she was shot in the head by her ex-husband last week. Boulder officials said today that Katelin “Katie” Oakley, who once worked at Davis Graham & Stubbs, was apparently lured by Robert Bryant Oakley to his home there on April 1. He…

Apr 7, 2009 12:06 AM CDT

Colo. Law Partner’s Rallying Call: SOS Could Create Many Individual Jobs

What if every business that had the ability to create just one job did so? That’s the premise for an unusual idea to help improve the global economy that is described by a Colorado lawyer in an op-ed piece in the Denver Post. Partner Larry Pozner of the Reilly Pozner…

Apr 6, 2009 11:37 PM CDT

‘Little Eichmanns’ Prof Wins Case, Is Awarded One Dollar

A controversial former ethnic studies professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder has won his wrongful dismissal case against his former employer after a state court jury apparently found that Ward Churchill’s termination was because of his political views. But the jury awarded Churchill only $1 in damages. Nonetheless,…

Apr 2, 2009 11:45 PM CDT