Swearing-In Ceremony

About 500 attorneys were sworn-in on Oct. 15 at the Temple Buell Theater. Congratulations to our new attorneys!

Nominating Committee

The nominating committee is still looking for your comments about the officer nomination process. See the November issue of The Docket on page 8 that discusses the current nomination process, the election system or the proposed slate system. Send your comments to Diane Hartman at (303) 861-5274 (fax) or e-mail dianeh@cobar.org.

Members of the nominating committee are: David Furgason (chair), Tom DeMarino, Susan Fisher, Paul Chan, Michelle Lucero, Dawn Adeletti and Charles Garcia.

Left: Authors Robert Baldwin and Esteban Martinez sign each other’s books.

‘Disturbing the Peace’ makes a great gift for the holidays (hint hint).

On Oct. 3, the LoDo Tattered Cover hosted almost 200 fans for a reading and book signing of “Disturbing the Peace: Writings by Colorado Attorneys.” Some of the 25 authors read part of their fiction and non-fiction stories, including Rob Baldwin, John Kane, Marianne Wesson and Manuel Ramos.

This almost 300-page book is only $14.95 and proceeds go to the Colorado Lawyers for the Arts, a nonprofit group of attorneys committed to helping artists. Please call or e-mail Karen Bries at (303) 824-5303 or kbries@cobar.org to order this great holiday gift.

Above: Nearly 200 people gathered at the “Disturbing the Peace” book signing.

Lawyers Fight it Out Without Help

Lawyers often have disputes among themselves, but they are missing the opportunity to turn to the Denver Bar for help to resolve these disputes.

The DBA Intraprofessional Committee was formed 20 years ago to assist lawyers in arbitrating or mediating lawyer-to-lawyer disputes. Over the years, the committee’s members have held hearings, either individually or in panels of two or three, in the following types of situations:

1. Allocation of legal fees between initial and subsequent attorneys on the same case.
2. Dissolution of a law firm and division of cases, receivables, and contingent fee receivables.
3. Determination of an attorney’s competence and the appropriateness of his or her firm’s attempt to oust the attorney.
4. Division of firm office furniture and assets other than cases and receivables.
5. Determination of compensation due to a firm when an attorney leaves and takes clients with him or her.
6. Dispute between law firms where one firm borrowed the services of the other firm’s paralegal and then refused to pay for the services.
7. Payment of counsel in another state after engagement by a Denver-area firm.

The members of the Intraprofessional Committee make themselves available on a volunteer basis. Most matters are heard as arbitrations, although mediation is available. In all cases, the parties must all agree in writing to participate in the hearing process. For arbitrations, the parties must also agree to be bound by the decision of the arbitrating attorney or panel. Hearings are generally limited to one day in length and the parties may present testimony and exhibits to support their positions. After the hearing officer or panel have made a ruling, the ruling is presented to the full committee for confirmation. The chair of the committee then provides a written decision to the parties, which is fully enforceable in the case of arbitration.

The Intraprofessional Committee has seen a decline in its caseload in recent years and is currently seeking new disputes to hear and resolve. The committee members provide their services at no cost to the parties and they would like to continue to assist bar members in this unique manner. In a time when alternative dispute resolution is urged or mandated for clients, it is surprising that more attorneys do not look for similar alternatives for their own disputes. Therefore, before taking your next lawyer-to-lawyer dispute to court, consider utilizing this valuable resource to resolve it. Call committee chair Scott W. Stauffer at (303) 337-2323 to obtain further information and hearing agreement forms.

Bob Phares, George Hopfenbeck, Attorney Bob Hawley speaks in his defense at the Seniors Roast.

Bob Phares, George Hopfenbeck, Bill Waggener and Ira Tanner share a laugh at the roast for Bob Hawley.

Seniors Roast

Bob Hawley, was roasted on Oct. 24. About 50 members of the Seniors Committee were in attendance at the University Club to honor the man and his career. Hawley, a Wyoming native, practiced law in Colorado as an oil and gas attorney.

Wine Tasting to Benefit Legal Aid, Dec. 5

The DBA YLD Annual Wine Tasting to Benefit the Legal Aid Foundation will be Dec. 5 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at La Rumba, 99 W. Ninth Ave. Tickets are $25 in advance or $28 at the door. call LAF at (303) 863-9544.