By Allie Winter, LAW WEEK COLORADO
The Colorado Bar Association holds its semiannual board of governors meeting 9:30 a.m. tomorrow at Estes Park’s Stanley Hotel.
Three initiatives on Colorado’s 2010 ballot —Proposition 101 and Amendments 60 and 61 — are expected to stimulate discussion among the more than 100 governors attending, President David Johnson said. The full board packet is published below this story.
“Those three ballot initiatives are aimed at reducing the number of taxes, and essentially it will be reducing the income stream that the state has to pay its bills with,” Johnson said. “Included in these bills is the judicial branch. The bar is always very concerned about properly funding courts so they can address the needs of citizens.”
The association is staying abreast to this issue, Item No. 16 on the meeting’s agenda, because the “sense is there’s going to be a dramatic impact on the revenue stream the state receives, which will eventually impact the court’s ability to do their job.”
Discussion typically lengthens whenever anything political is addressed, Johnson said, specifically if the bar is asked to take a position. As an example, Johnson referenced Amendment 40. That was a proposed amendment to the constitution that would have imposed term limits on appellate court judges.
“The bar association opposed that,” he said. “It was not terribly controversial within the bar, but it was hot topic in the media.”
The amendment ultimately failed.
Also tomorrow, a representative from each of the local bar associations will be present to discuss basic information and housekeeping items. This is done quickly. Each topic is designated anywhere from five to 15 minutes discussion. The governors try their very best to stick to the schedule, but at the end of the day the allotted time is just a guideline, Johnson said.
“Because the agenda is so large we stick to [it],” Johnson said. “If there are some discussions, that’s fine, but a lot of time is spent making routine decisions.”
The day’s agenda includes an array of topics including the introductions of new members, the approval of the 2010-11 CBA budget, a president’s report and membership survey results. However, Johnson expects this meeting to basically act as a recap of last year. He assumes they’ll be interested in Item No. 8, the bar’s economic task force’s progress, and Item No. 13, Chuck Turner’s report on the status of the “Clear the Bench” campaign on the agenda.
“If we do have any sort of decision to make that needs to be given good discussion, we have an incredibly talented group of people,” Johnson said.
The next board of governors meeting will be Saturday, Nov. 6.

BOG 5.08.10

LAW WEEK COLORADO

The Colorado Bar Association will holds its semiannual board of governors meeting on Saturday, May 8, at 9:30 a.m. in the concert hall at Estes Park’s Stanley Hotel. The approximately 100 governors will discuss action topics, administrative matters and informational reports.

The day’s agenda includes an array of topics including the introductions of new members, 2010-11 CBA budget approval, a president’s report, and membership survey results. Each topic is designated anywhere from five to 15 minutes discussion.

The next governors meeting is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 6.

The agenda for the May 8 meeting is published below.

BOG 5.08.10

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.

LAW WEEK COLORADO
Siddhartha Rathod of the Colorado Public Defender’s Office has been selected to receive the 2009 Gary McPherson Outstanding Young Lawyer Award. The annual award goes to a young lawyer (generally under 37) who is a Colorado Bar Association member. The award recognizes the civic and professional achievement of lawyers early in their careers.
Rathod is a graduate of the University Of Colorado Law School. Among other achievements, he started the School of Law Diversity Committee as part of CU’s Diversity Initiative and volunteered with Colorado Legal Services providing civil legal services to low income individuals in Colorado. He now serves indigent clients in his position as deputy state public defender.
The executive council of the CBA’s Young Lawyers Division reviews the nominations, and invites finalists to a meeting to discuss their achievements. The other finalists for the award were Denise Hoffman of Rothgerber Johnson & Lyons and Jennifer Wascak of the Adams County Attorney’s Office.
The council honors the McPherson recipient at a holiday dinner in December.
The award is named for the retiring member of the Colorado House of Representatives who died in an airplane crash shortly before the November 2000 election.

Recent recipients:
Jennifer N. Good – 2008
Jack Patten III – 2007
David R. Ball – 2006

LAW WEEK COLORADO
Barbara J. Kelley, a partner at the Denver law firm Kamlet Reichert, was named today by Gov. Bill Ritter to serve as the new executive director of the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies. She succeeds another lawyer, Rico Munn, who was named executive director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education.
Kelley’s appointment is effective Dec. 1.
Kelley is a member of the American, Colorado, Denver and Sam Cary bar associations. Earlier this year, Law Week Colorado honored her as one of “2009 Top Women Lawyers.”
“Barbara is a strong leader whose dynamic set of skills, knowledge and experience will be of great value to the people and businesses served by the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies,” Ritter said. “In this tough economy, we need leaders like Barbara whose fresh ideas and new approaches will help protect consumers, support small businesses and guide us toward a quick, strong and sustainable recovery.”
Kelley received her bachelor’s and law degrees from Indiana University in Bloomington. At Kamlet Reichert, she specializes in corporate and financing transactions, commercial banking, commercial real estate, as well as general commercial and business matters. She heads the firm’s secured transactions practice area.

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By Don Knox, LAW WEEK COLORADO
DENVER — The medical marijuana situation in Colorado has gotten so bad that the venerable Colorado Bar Association has taken notice.
The Denver-based bar association, through its continuing legal education division CLE In Colorado Inc., next week will convene a one-hour program to deal with issues surrounding the proliferation of dispensaries and attempts by governments and courts to interpret their role.
The session is dubbed “Medical Marijuana: Legal Chaos.” It will be taught by Boulder lawyer Leonard Frieling and Denver lawyer Ann Toney. Both practice criminal defense law, and both are lifetime members of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML.
The bar association is starting to do more quick presentations that are on issues “that are hot because of a new decision, statute or regulation,” said Gary Abrams, CLE in Colorado’s executive director. “We put this together with faculty just last week, and we also are planning a full day to follow up in early 2010.
The program is to cover:
* The Facts, the Law and the Media
* Federal Government vs. States Rights
* Uniquely Colorado: Home Rule, Constitutional Provision Art 18 Sec 14.
* Caregivers before and after August 20, 2009
The Colorado Board of Health moved in recent days to change its definition of a “caregiver” in the wake of a late October Colorado Court of Appeals case that said a Longmont woman convicted on charges of growing pot didn’t qualify for caregiver protections because she didn’t personally know her clients.
The case is People v. Clendenin.