Two Denver area middle school students will travel to Washington, D.C. this summer after winning a writing contest about youth violence in a program formed with the help of the attorneys and staff at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.

A full release is below.

The Colorado Do the Write Thing Challenge Program hosted its annual awards celebration on Thursday, May 10 at the Mile High Station to recognize 28 local student semifinalists who participated in this year’s program by submitting an essay, short story, or poem, addressing each of the following three questions: How has youth violence affected my life? What are the causes of youth violence? What can I do about youth violence?

Two students were selected by judges to attend the Do the Write Thing National Recognition Ceremony held each summer in Washington, D.C. The students are Treya Dabney from Blessed Sacrament Catholic School and Yonathan Fisseha from South Middle School.

The awards celebration featured a presentation by Terrance Roberts, Founder and Executive Director of the Prodigal Son Initiative in Denver, who highlighted the potentially disastrous effects of youth violence in Colorado and offered advice to the semifinalists on how they can actively prevent violence in their communities. Lisa Cone of the National Campaign to Stop Violence also remarked on the importance of Do the Write Thing’s mission.

The Colorado Do the Write Thing Challenge Program is an initiative of the National Campaign to Stop Violence, which seeks to encourage middle school students to consider the impact of youth violence on their lives and their communities. The local celebration and national gala provide an opportunity to celebrate youth who have made a meaningful commitment to non-violence and encourage them to serve as leaders in their schools and communities.

The Colorado program was formed with the help of the attorneys and staff at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.

DENVER — Alan Friedberg at the end of last month moved from Pendelton Friedberg in Denver to Berg Hill Greenleaf & Ruscitti in Boulder. Friedberg was a named partner with Pendleton Friedberg Wilson & Hennessey, which on May 1 changed its name to Pendleton Wilson Hennessey & Crow.

Friedberg, who practices business litigation, securities and appellate law, attended Yale Law School and has been listed as a Super Lawyer since 2006.

COMPILED BY LAW WEEK COLORADO’S NEWS STAFF

WAS THIS SPECIAL SESSION WORTHLESS? Gov. John Hickenlooper called the General Assembly into a special session to address a host of issues, including 30 bills that remained in limbo at the end of the regular session, yet only four of the 11 bills filed for the special session remain. Killed last night was bill creating benefit corporations.

SEE THE LIST OF THE 11 BILLS AND THEIR CURRENT STATUSES HERE.

MORE ON THE BILL ADDRESSING UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE in today’s Denver Business Journal.

YOU KNOW YOU NEED FREE CLE CREDITS, so why not join us for a free CLE and breakfast next week to learn more about buying, leasing and selling property. And avoiding some of the pitfalls that comes with the process. Join Ireland Stapleton and Law Week Colorado for a free CLE on Thursday, May 24 at the Warwick Hotel from 8 to 9 a.m. Email events@circuitmedia.com to RSVP.

WE’RE LOOKING FOR A FEW GOOD LAWYERS: For our Top Women Lawyers, our Compleat Lawyers and any stories you may have about how lawyers balance practice with life outside work. Submit your nominations or ideas today.

IN MEMORIAM: A prominent Colorado Springs adoption attorney, former Colorado Springs School District 11 board member and avid cyclist was killed Saturday when he was hit by a car in Pontoon Beach, Ill. William Thomas Beltz, known to his friends as Tom, was riding a bike behind his wife when he was hit by a car while crossing a road, according to the Belleville News Democrat. He was pronounced dead at a hospital. Witnesses said the 84-year-old driver of the car had a green light and police said that no charges are expected to be filed. Beltz was 64.

MYRL SERRA TO BE RELEASED MAY 29.

NOW THIS IS JUST GETTING UGLY: The divorce battle between a former hand surgeon and his estranged wife is making their attorneys do and say some nasty things.

HAS SHE PROMISED MORE THAN SHE CAN DELIVER? The strange lawsuit over Siri’s performance.

WELL, WE DIDN’T WANT YOU ANYWAY: The Denver Post reports that Facebook execs skipped their stop in Denver as talk of their impending IPO heats up.

SPEAKING OF THAT IPO, the company has listed $2.6 million in legal fees in preparation for the offering.

AS LAWYERS DISPERSE lawsuits begin to add up against Dewey.

GREENLIGHT FOR $11 BILLION QUI TAM SUIT.

BEST LEGAL DEPARTMENT as voted by Corporate Counsel magazine. They range in size from a department that features 140 attorneys in the United States to a department with just one. We didn’t go looking for a department that small just to make a point, but we’re kind of glad it worked out that way. This year, size really didn’t matter.

PROPS IF YOU ALREADY KNEW THIS WORD: Dictionary.com’s word of the day is spruik.

AND HERE’S SOMETHING NEW FOR YOUR TO LEARN.

TODAY’S 10TH CIRCUIT DECISIONS

COLORADO COURT OF APPEALS’ oral argument schedule.

LATEST LAW WEEK SURVEYS

THE NEWS SEEN

Heading out on the town? Tweet us at @BarefootPRDen or email us at barefootpr@me.com to let us know about it. And if you’re lucky, we will swing by!

Send tips for this column to newsroom@lawweekcolorado.com.

DENVER — Myrl Serra, the former Montrose district attorney who pleaded guilty to crimina extortion last year, is set to be released May 29, reports the Montrose Daily Press. Serra, who had been sentenced to a year in prison for criminal extortion, unlawful sexual contact, and bail bond violations served just four months of his sentence. He pleaded guilty to charges stemming from his time as DA when he  abused his female employees and threatened their jobs if they didn’t perform sexual favors for him

Serra last year was disbarred as an attorney for the same conduct that gave rise to the charges. He had served as district attorney for the 7th Judicial district which includes Montrose, Delta, Gunnison, Hinsdale, San Miguel and Ouray counties.

DENVER — Gov. John Hickenlooper called the General Assembly into a special session to address a host of issues, including 30 bills that remained in limbo at the end of the regular session, yet only five of the 11 bills filed for the session remain.  The five bills that remain include a bill addressing unemployment revenue bonds, registration of special mobile machinery, water conservation board assembly, benefit corporations and an appeal of unconstitutional provisions of the Colorado Constitution.

See a list of all bills introduced during this special session and their current status here.

COMPILED BY LAW WEEK COLORADO’S NEWS STAFF

‘MASSIVE DISRUPTION’ IN LEGAL HIRING AS DEWEY CONTINUES TO UNFOLD: The troubles at Dewey & LeBoeuf, which once had more than 1,000 lawyers, have caused what recruiters describe as a “massive disruption” in the job market, with some firms engaging in a “feeding frenzy” while others put associate positions on hold while hoping to attract Dewey lawyers. One former Dewey partner, who says he began being “besieged by calls from recruiters” months ago, has suggested that recruiters contributed to Dewey’s decline. A recruiter called those comments comparable to blaming the U.S. Coast Guard when a captain runs his ship up a reef.

TIMELINE OF DEWEY’S DEATH SPIRAL

YOU KNOW YOU NEED FREE CLE CREDITS, so join us for a free CLE and breakfast next week to learn more about buying, leasing and selling property. And avoiding some of the pitfalls that comes with the process. Join Ireland Stapleton and Law Week Colorado for a free CLE on Thursday, May 24 at the Warwick Hotel from 8 to 9 a.m. Email events@circuitmedia.com to RSVP.

WE’RE LOOKING FOR A FEW GOOD LAWYERS: For our Top Women Lawyers, our Compleat Lawyers and any stories you may have about how lawyers balance practice with life outside work. Submit your nominations or ideas today.

WELL THAT CLEARS THINGS UP: The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday gave broad scope to the rule that protects prosecutors’ opinions about cases from disclosure. The decision stems from an El Paso County case in which a criminal defendant sought disclosure of the prosecutor’s work in a different but related case.

DIRECT FILE CONSEQUENCES FELT IN EAGLE COUNTY: A Colorado district attorney said his office wants to try two juveniles accused of conspiracy to kidnap and murder another youth as adults. Eagle County District Attorney Mark Hurlbert said Friday he is preparing motions for a judge to consider if the cases should be moved from juvenile court to district court.

CAMPING BAN PASSED by Denver City Council last night.

IN OTHER CITY COUNCIL NEWS, Ortega questions legality of reducing United lease payments.

BUSINESS EFFICIENCY BILL NOW LAW.

FOR THE SPECIAL SESSION SEE THE BILLS UP TODAY on our quick-look calendar.

NOW THAT’S A SHORT ORDER (pun intended)

LATE START IN THE HOUSE TODAY: 10 a.m.

DENVER POST USES CIVIL-UNIONS DEFEAT TO CALL OUT MCNULTY. It editorialized: “House Speaker Frank McNulty steamrolled majority opinion Monday and saw to it that a bill legalizing civil unions was killed on the first day of a special legislative session. McNulty, R-Highlands Ranch, showed a complete disdain for honesty, spinning a fairy tale whereby Democrats brought the legislature “to a grinding halt” and demanded “that a bill creating same-sex marriage in Colorado be prioritized and forced to the front of the line.”

MCNULTY SAID HICKENLOOPER is the divisive one.

YES, THAT WAS QUARK CO-FOUNDER TIM GILLspotted watching the testimony.

TODAY’S 10TH CIRCUIT DECISIONS

COLORADO SUPREME COURT ARGUMENT SCHEDULE

COLORADO COURT OF APPEALS’ oral argument schedule.

LATEST LAW WEEK SURVEYS

COMMUNITY LEGAL EVENTS CALENDAR is here.

Heading out on the town? Tweet us at @BarefootPRDen or email us at barefootpr@me.com to let us know about it. And if you’re lucky, we will swing by!

Send tips for this column to newsroom@lawweekcolorado.com.

The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday gave broad scope to the rule that protects prosecutors’ opinions about cases from disclosure.

The decision stems from an El Paso County case in which a criminal defendant sought disclosure of the prosecutor’s work in a different but related case.

Last September, Brittany Angel was in a car with three other people as sheriff’s deputies attempted to serve an arrest warrant on one of the passengers.

The driver tried to drive away and allegedly ran over a deputy’s foot. The deputy shot him and Angel then allegedly pushed the wounded driver out of his seat and drove the car away. The car was found hours later outside an emergency room with the driver’s dead body inside. An arrest warrant was issued for Angel and she eventually turned herself in.

Angel, who faces a host of charges from the incident, asked for the prosecutor’s investigation and findings regarding the shooting by the deputy. The prosecutor refused, but the trial court ordered that the information be disclosed.

The trial court said that the prosecutor’s exemption from disclosing work product under Colorado’s Code of Criminal Procedure applies only to work related to the case at hand — here the prosecution of Angel.

In his ruling overturning the trial court, Chief Justice Michael Bender first noted that it is well established that the work product exemption applies only to prosecutors’ opinions and impressions about a case, and not to factual matters, which must be disclosed to a defendant.

But whether the exemption applies only to work product prepared for the case at hand or to all cases remained an open question. In other words, can a defendant in one case force a prosecutor to turn over opinion work product prepared in another case.

Bender said the answer is no.

“We hold that the protection of prosecutorial work product, under Crim. P. 16(I)(e)(1), extends to opinion work product prepared by the prosecution in anticipation of any criminal prosecution,” Bender wrote.

“If we were to hold that Crim. P. 16(I)(e)(1) applies only to protect opinion work product created in anticipation of the case before the court, then a prosecutor, when investigating a criminal episode in the future, would have a substantial incentive to refrain from candidly and thoroughly evaluating a case for fear that her mental impressions, legal analysis, and trial strategies would be discoverable by defendants in future cases.”

The case is 2012-CO-34.

COMPILED BY LAW WEEK COLORADO’S NEWS STAFF

GOV. JOHN HICKENLOOPER will forgo the traditional in-person address to the legislature when Monday’s special session starts, The Post’s Tim Hoover writes. Instead, he is sending lawmakers a letter with a simple message: Coloradans deserve better than they got last week. “Transparency, accountability and the virtues of good government are compromised when the legislative clock is used to avoid consideration of important legislation,” Hickenlooper wrote in the letter to lawmakers. “We owe it to the people we serve to do better.”

FROM THE L.A. TIMES: Will Colorado special session on civil unions even address them?

HE SAID IT: The 68th session made history, but not in a good way. — Fred Brown.

HE SAID IT: Divided government has been good for Colorado. — Vince Carroll.

JOIN US! As a corporate counsel, you’re responsible for a lot of things, including the possibility of buying, leasing and selling property. And that process can be fraught with pitfalls and potential liabilities, like being stuck holding the bill on an environmental cleanup or remediation. Join Ireland Stapleton and Law Week Colorado for a free CLE on Thursday, May 24 at the Warwick Hotel from 8 to 9 a.m. Email events@circuitmedia.com to RSVP.

WE’RE LOOKING FOR A FEW GOOD LAWYERS: For our Top Women Lawyers, our Compleat Lawyers andany stories you may have about how lawyers balance practice with life outside work. Submit your nominations or ideas today.

DAY OF PRAYER UNCONSTITUTIONAL says Colorado Court of Appeals.

HOT DOG NEGLIGENCE? (Yes you read that correctly).

THE COLORADOAN TALKS PROBOPAT and how the pro bono clinic will help local inventors.

INTERESTING COLUMN ABOUT MOTHERS AND MARIJUANA

WELL THAT’S ONE WE HADN’T THOUGHT OF BEFORE: Man accused of staging accidents to defraud insurance companies gets 20 years.

WORTH A READ: The federal government reduced contracts to all businesses last year, but companies owned by blacks and Hispanics were hit the hardest, The Washington Post reports.

WE CAN UNDERSTAND WHY: ‘Ex-Dewey Staffers Feel Thrown Under Bus’ reports Law.com.

ANOTHER LOOK AT DEWEY NEWS.

AND ANOTHER.

NOTHING LIKE POINTING FINGERS in the long wait for federal judicial nominations.

GOOD FOR YOU: CU to honor Prof. Helen Norton.

ANOTHER NEW SEAT ON THE BENCH: This one in JeffCo.

AN FCPA UPDATE FOR YOU (because who doesn’t love reading about the FCPA on Monday morning?)

10TH CIRCUIT ARGUMENT SCHEDULE

COLORADO SUPREME COURT ARGUMENT SCHEDULE

COLORADO COURT OF APPEALS’ oral argument schedule.

THIS WEEK’S CBA CALENDAR

LATEST LAW WEEK SURVEYS

COMMUNITY LEGAL EVENTS CALENDAR is here.

THE NEWS SEEN

THIS WEEK’S FEDERAL COURT CALENDARS available here.

Heading out on the town? Tweet us at @BarefootPRDen or email us at barefootpr@me.com to let us know about it. And if you’re lucky, we will swing by!

Send tips for this column to newsroom@lawweekcolorado.com.

DENVER — The Colorado Judicial Branch announced a new judgeship in the First Judicial District. The position, which is in Jefferson County Court, was created by Senate Bill 12-1073, which becomes effective July 1.  To be eligible for appointment to fill the vacancy, an applicant must be a qualified elector of Jefferson County and must be admitted to the practice of law in Colorado.  The annual salary for this position is $123,067.

Application forms are available from the office of the ex officio chair of the nominating commission, Justice Nancy E. Rice, 101 W. Colfax, Suite 800, Denver, CO 80202; and the office of the district administrator, Caren Stanley, 100 Jefferson County Pkwy., Golden, CO 80401.  Applications are also available on the court’s home page at http://www.courts.state.co.us/Careers/Judge.cfm. Applications are due no later than Monday, June 4.

A full press release is below.

First Judicial District Announces New Jefferson County Court Judgeship

Commission to select nominees on June 27, 2012

                The First Judicial District Nominating Commission will meet at the Jefferson County Courthouse, 100 Jefferson County Pkwy., Golden, CO 80401, on Wednesday, June 27, 2012, to interview and select nominees for appointment by the governor to the office of county judge for Jefferson County.  The new county court judgeship was created pursuant to House Bill 12-1073 and is effective July 1, 2012.

To be eligible for appointment to fill the vacancy, an applicant must be a qualified elector of Jefferson County and must be admitted to the practice of law in Colorado.  The annual salary for this position is $123,067.  The initial term of office of a county judge is a provisional term of two years; thereafter, the incumbent county judge, if retained by the voters, has a term of four years.

Application forms are available from the office of the ex officio chair of the nominating commission, Justice Nancy E. Rice, 101 W. Colfax, Suite 800, Denver, CO 80202; and the office of the district administrator, Caren Stanley, 100 Jefferson County Pkwy., Golden, CO 80401.  Applications are also available on the court’s home page at http://www.courts.state.co.us/Careers/Judge.cfm

The original, signed application and an identical copy stored electronically as a PDF (please see the attached instructions for further details) must be filed with the ex officio chair no later than 4 p.m. Monday, June 11, 2012.  Late applications will not be considered.  Any person wishing to suggest a candidate to fill the vacancy may do so by letter to be submitted to any member of the nominating commission, with a copy to the ex officio chair, no later than 4 p.m. Monday, June 4, 2012.

The members of the nominating commission for the First Judicial District are: Michelle Stermer and Betsy Anderson of Lakewood; Scott Browning of Evergreen; Penni Van Horn of Littleton; Scott Hutchings of Golden; Franz Frechette of Black Hawk; and Dennis Brown of Wheat Ridge.

DENVER — The University of Colorado Law School will Associate Professor and Associate Dean Helen Norton with the 2012 Clifford Calhoun Service Award, which annually recognizes “persons who contribute to the public service of the law school in the spirit and tradition of the contributions Professor Calhoun made in his career at the law school.”

Norton, whose scholarly pursuits include constitutional law, civil rights, and employment discrimination, serves as the associate dean of academic affairs.  Before joining the CU’s faculty, Norton taught at the University of Maryland and University of Wyoming, served as the deputy assistant attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, and was director of the National Partnership for Women and Families.

A full press release is below.

 2012 Clifford Calhoun Service Award Honors Professor Helen Norton 

The University of Colorado Law School will honor Associate Professor and Associate Dean Helen Norton with the 2012 Clifford Calhoun Service Award in recognition of her dedication to public service and to the Colorado Law community.

“Helen Norton has lived a life of service and is a natural for the Calhoun Award,” said Phil Weiser, dean of the law school. “After working with Helen as an Associate Dean over the last year, I am very impressed with her commitment to helping our students, supporting the faculty and staff here at Colorado Law, and serving the public. She is a wonderful asset to the law school and our community.”

Norton’s scholarly pursuits include constitutional law, civil rights, and employment discrimination. She is the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, a member of the Law School’s public service committee, and involved in numerous campus committees. Before joining the Colorado Law faculty, Norton taught at the University of Maryland and University of Wyoming, served as the Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the United States Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, and was Director of the National Partnership for Women and Families.

Since joining Colorado Law, Norton has demonstrated her commitment to public service in several ways, leading President Obama’s transition team charged with reviewing the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, regularly testifying before and consulting with Congress and federal agencies on civil rights law and policy issues, and serving as a volunteer firefighter.

Norton’s contributions to the Colorado Law community, along with a number of other awardees, will be recognized with faculty and staff on Tuesday, May 15. Calhoun, the inspiration for this award, served Colorado Law for 29 years as a faculty member, associate dean, and acting dean. The award is presented to a faculty or staff member who epitomizes the giving spirit of Calhoun.

An anonymous donor established the Clifford Calhoun Service Award in 1998 and designated it for “persons who contribute to the public service of the law school in the spirit and tradition of the contributions Professor Calhoun made in his career at the law school.”