Some of the nation’s largest corporations are pledging $30 million to hire women- and minority-owned law firms as outside counsel, the National Law Journal reports.
The initiative was part of the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms’ semiannual business meeting. Experts at the meeting say that because those types of law firms tend to be smaller than their larger Big Law competitors, making the move a way to cut costs.
The list includes: Prudential Financial Inc., DuPont, Accenture, American Airlines Inc., Comcast Corp., Exelon Corp., General Mills Inc., GlaxoSmithKline PLC., Microsoft Corp. and Prudential Financial Inc.

Denver Post Building

By Matt Masich, LAW WEEK COLORADO
DENVER — In a little more than a month, Colorado’s highest state courts will be located in a ground-floor storefront. It’s the court’s first move since 1977, when it moved from the Capitol.
The Colorado Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and Supreme Court Law Library will open for business on April 19 in temporary quarters next door to Heidi’s Brooklyn Deli in the Denver Post building near Colfax Avenue and Broadway. The Colorado Judicial Building, the courts’ home for the last three decades, soon will be demolished to make way for the Ralph L. Carr Judicial Complex, where the courts and other state legal agencies will move in 2013.
The Supreme Court will hear its last arguments in its current courtroom later this month, after which the court’s wooden bench will be moved to the Post building. The temporary courtroom will be shared by both appellate courts.
“The [Court of] Appeals will be holding hearings pretty much until the moving weekend,” said Fred Schultz of Trammell Crow Co., which is managing construction of the Carr complex, “but there’s a window in the Supreme Court hearing schedule to take the old bench apart and put it in here.”
The first oral arguments after the move-in date are scheduled for April 26.
The temporary courtroom will have an entry area near Broadway, to the left of the Post building’s parking ramp. “That’s where security screening will happen,” Schultz said. “Then there’s a vestibule area with public toilets, and then there’s the courtroom itself.”
“The courtroom seats about 35 people,” said Trammell Crow’s Bill Mosher. “It has a speaker area and it has a dais for the seven judges.”
The law library will close April 5 and reopen in its temporary location April 19. The new 1,500-square-foot space “is just going to have the most heavily-used books, three tables that seat four each and a couple tables that seat one each,” Mosher said. About 75 percent of the library’s approximately 100,000 volumes will be stored off-site, but will still be made available with a day’s notice.
Preparations for demolition of the current judicial building will begin May 3.
“We’ve given everybody until May 1 to get out of there,” Mosher said.
But people anticipating a dramatic implosion or a wrecking ball smashing into the old Supreme Court may be disappointed.
“I would call this more a dismantling than a demolition,” Mosher said. “Today there’s so much recycling.”
Steel, stone and bricks will all be recycled, he said.

By Allie Winter, LAW WEEK COLORADO
A collection of Colorado bar associations, legal organizations and law professionals has collaborated to donate $110,885 to earthquake survivors in Haiti. 
Contributors include the Colorado Bar Association, the Colorado Defense Lawyers Association, the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, the Colorado Women’s Bar Association, the Denver Bar Association and the Sam Cary Bar Association along with local chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel and other organizations statewide.
“I was just watching the news on TV and I felt sick. I got on the phone with the Colorado Trial Lawyers and soon we began the discussion and the Colorado Bar and everyone joined in,” said Scott Landry, president of the Colorado Defense Lawyers Association.
Seventy-five percent of the money will be split between the American Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders. The remainder will go to other charities in Haiti.
“Our hearts are with the people of Haiti who are desperately trying to survive,” said David Johnson, the CBA’s president.
To continue the effort of supporting Red Cross, the Mile High chapter announced a Bench and Bar Society, a membership circle of private practitioners, legislators, judges and corporate counsel who want to make a difference in people’s lives by supporting the local chapter.

LAW WEEK COLORADO
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck named department chairs for 2010. They are Adam J. Agron, corporate and business department; Michael F. Feeley, government relations group; and Ana Lazo Tenzer, real estate group.

Brownstein_20100222

Morrison Foerster, a global firm with an office in Denver announced that first-year associates’ salaries will raised to $160,000 from $145,000. The raise is retroactive to Jan. 1.
Read the details of the “beefed-up” compensation as well as a copy of the firm-wide email here.

Denver-based firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck announced that it joined the CleanLaunch, a “technology incubator” for start-up businesses in the renewable energy sector.
Brownstein shareholder Kevin Cudney was appointed to the board.
Denver firm Fairfield and Woods is one of the founders of the initiative. Firm directors John Leonard and Peter Edwards serves on CleanLaunch’s board of directors and as a legal adviser, respectively.

By Allie Winter, LAW WEEK COLORADO
It didn’t take long for Mary Dilworth to find work once her previous employer, law firm Stern Elkind Curray & Alterman, broke into two firms in December of last year; she went back to her roots at the Colorado Bar Association.
“I’m back,” she laughed Wednesday. Dilworth has stepped in as marketing manager for the Continuing Legal Education, sister organization of the nonprofit CBA. Dilworth originally worked as director of marketing for the CBA for eight years. She left in 2007  to try something different.
“I just thought I should try and do some new things. I had been there for eight years; it was time for a change.”
After a few different positions Dilworth ended up at Stern, working in marketing. But when the firm divided, it couldn’t afford to keep a full-time marketing employee on board, she said. Dilworth had been doing freelance work already for CLE, and when news came that her position might be disappearing she coordinated with the association for a new job.”There was an opportunity,” Dilworth said. “I just wanted to make sure there was a position, but I knew that’s what I was going to do.” Dilworth started in January and said the CLE is busy with many projects. “Boy, there’s a lot of work.”

According to financial figures released by Colorado 25 law firm, Greenberg Traurig’s figures have stayed within the $1.2 billion range since 2008. However, total lawyer headcount dropped 1.56 percent in 2009. The firm acknowledged layoffs of non-equity partners and associates, but did not specify how many.

By Allie Winter, LAW WEEK COLORADO
The Colorado Bar Association has announced its officer nominees.
They are Paul Chan, former president-elect who works for the University of Denver, president; David Masters, of the Masters Law Firm, president-elect; and Andrew Toft, senior vice president.
There are six vice president nominess including: Andrew Contiguglia, Ian McCargar, James Croshal, Paul Hurcomb, David Scanga and Robert Gavrell.
All nominees were selected by a committee. However, should others want to be considered they can be nominated by an outside source or nominate themselves. These nominations must be submitted in writing, and they require at least 100 signatures of CBA voting members.
This request must be turned in by March 15. Elected officials begin their new roles on July 1.

By Matt Masich, LAW WEEK COLORADO
DENVER — Six attorneys have left Denver law firm Kamlet Reichert to join Washington, D.C.-based Wilkinson Barker & Knauer, a firm that does not currently have a Denver office. Leaving Kamlet Reichert’s Denver office are Raymond L. Gifford, Eric D. Gunning, Adam M. Peters, Philip J. Roselli and Mark A. Walker. Leaving the D.C. office is Kyle D. Dixon.
Gifford, the former head of Colorado’s Public Utilities Commission, was for the last three years in charge of Kamlet Reichert’s communications, Internet and intellectual property practice. From 2003 to 2006, he led the Washington, D.C.-based Progress & Freedom Foundation think tank. Gifford was chairman of the PUC from 1999 to 2003, serving as an appointee of former Gov. Bill Owens. Last year he led a successful pro bono legal push to get PUC approval for Union Taxi to operate.
Wilkinson Barker & Knauer bills itself as one of the nation’s leading communications law firms. The firm does not now list a Denver office. Its clients range from the largest communications companies in the world to small start-ups. Kathleen Abernathy, a partner in the firm, previously served as a Commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission.
Kamlet Reichert’s attorney roster has shrunk from a firm-wide 48 in 2008, to 35 in 2009, to 21 at present, according to Law Week Colorado research.