Commentary and Analysis Regarding Colorado Law

The State of Colorado prides itself on its system of water management. Situated in the arid American West, a once novel priority system was established for equitable water distribution. This prior appropriation system allows the delivery of water to senior users basing the order of use on priority date, not location or proximity to the water source. This system is aimed at allowing water to flow to its most valuable use, preventing speculation, while maximizing beneficial use. The Decennial Abandonment List represents one of the system's checks to make sure that water stays in use. Kara Godbehere of Lyons Gaddis recently was interviewed by KUNC, Community Radio for Northern Colorado regarding the Abandonment List. Click here for the full article and interview. 

If you have a water right that appears on the Decennial Abandonment List or would like more information on the process, the best course of action is to hire a water professional to defend your right from abandonment. Consider hiring one of the Lyons Gaddis water team for the best results. 

In addition to serving as Co-Managing Shareholder of Lyons Gaddis, Cameron Grant is also the Chair of the Longmont Housing Authority.  This extracurricular pursuit allows Cameron to bring his real estate and housing expertise into play as he helps the organization serve Longmont residents in need of affordable housing.  Cameron is quoted extensively in this Times Call article regarding the restructuring of the Housing Authority and its new relationship with the City of Longmont.

Jennifer Spitz has been named Tax Law Lawyer of the Year for Boulder for 2021.  The Best Lawyers ®  “Lawyer of the Year” honor is bestowed on a single lawyer in each practice area and designated metropolitan area making this accolade particularly significant. Honorees are selected based on impressive voting averages received during the peer-review assessments.

As of May 1, 2020, after working 6 years on the west side of Louisville, Lyons Gaddis moved the Louisville office downtown. Our new address is 950 Spruce Street, Suite 1B, right across the street from the Louisville Public Library. We look forward to serving and seeing you at our new office.

Clients and Friends:

About 2 weeks ago, Lyons Gaddis began serious planning for the COVID-19 pandemic. Our goals were three-fold: protect the health of our staff and their families, do our part to prevent community spread, and maintain the level of responsiveness our clients have come to rely upon.  We operate with a robust network and fiber-optic web connections.  In normal times, this allows our three offices and remote workers to stay fully connected and engaged from many locations.  During this crisis, our systems will allow Lyons Gaddis to continue to provide you with outstanding client service despite the current situation.

COVID EVENT UPDATE: The Long Peak Council has chosen Lyons Gaddis's Richard "Dick" Lyons as its Distinguished Citizen Honoree for its Longmont Distinguished Citizen Dinner 2020! This dinner benefits the local Longs Peak Council, Boy Scouts of America serving the St. Vrain Valley School District and Northern Colorado. The dinner will be held on Wednesday, August 5, 2020, from 7:00 pm with a movie to follow at 8:30 pm at the D-Barn 136 Main Street, Longmont, Colorado. For more information on the event click here.

Dick was chosen for his longtime commitment to the Longmont community:

Jennifer M. Spitz was selected for inclusion in the 2020 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the areas of tax law and trusts and estates. She’s also listed in Colorado Super Lawyers and is named as a 5280 Top Lawyer for her work in estate planning. Jennifer has practiced law in Longmont since 1998, and joined Lyons Gaddis in January 2019.  Jennifer works for a variety of clients on wills, trusts, and other estate planning documents, and assists with the administration of trusts and estates. She has a particular interest and expertise in tax planning.

Lyons Gaddis congratulates our clients, Pat Hartman and Ron Popma, on the recent sale of CanSource to Broadtree Partners. Chad Kupper, with the assistance of Anton Dworak, headed the legal team to bring this sale together. You can view the full story from the Longmont Times-Call by clicking HERE. Thank you for trusting us to be part of this transaction. If you need help with a similar matter, please contact us directly.

Please join Lyons Gaddis in its celebration of 20 years of service provided by Anton V. Dworak. Anton is a fourth generation Longmont resident, tracing his roots back to his homesteading ancestors. Anton has been with Lyons Gaddis since 1999, and maintains a lively and diverse practice. Before joining our firm, Anton was an active contributor to the Longmont community, a devotion that continues to this day. Anton’s quick wits, passion for the arts, and wonderful sense of humor make him the perfect member of the Lyons Gaddis family. Lyons Gaddis thanks you for 20 years of outstanding service Anton V. Dworak! 

It is with great pride that we honor Dick Lyons's 40 years of outstanding service to Lyons Gaddis. During this time Dick has set the standard of excellence within our firm, made substantial contributions to the Longmont community, and provided superlative legal services to countless clients. Anyone who has had the opportunity to interact with Dick will tell you that he is a deep thinker, a colorful raconteur, and that he has a wonderful sense of humor. Thank you, Dick Lyons, you have provided a benchmark for our firm and the greater Northern Colorado legal community.

I was born in New York City, raised in Charlottesville, Virginia, and went to Cornell College in Iowa (not Cornell U. in Ithaca, NY), where I met my wife, Clare.  When we graduated, she missed her mountains (she grew up in Steamboat), so we moved to Fort Collins.  We bought our house in Loveland in 2007, and adopted our first son, Daniel, in 2012.  We have one cat, Toppers, and are going through the adoption process for our second son, Rhys.  I’ve been in legal support since 2009, most recently focusing on family law and estate planning at Clark, Williams and Matsunaka.  I enjoy hanging out with the kiddos, movies, video games, and playing and running tabletop roleplaying games. 

Lyons Gaddis is pleased to announce some exciting news for 2019. As of January 1, we welcomed Jennifer Spitz as a new Shareholder in the firm along with her team member’s; Denise Poepping, Legal Assistant, Jessica Wagner, Legal Assistant, and Kayleigh Bloodgood as our new receptionist. We are excited for the expertise that Jennifer and her team bring to the firm. Click below to read more about our newcomers. 

Kyna Glover, paralegal at Lyons Gaddis, presented How to Become a Successful Paralegal to the Boulder County Bar Association Paralegal Section at its October 3 meeting.  Kyna shared some best practices and guidelines aimed specifically at new graduate or less experienced paralegals.  Her presentation included professionalism for working in a law firm or legal setting; interaction with attorneys, clients and the courts, and productivity suggestions for handling organization, multi-tasking, and case management.  Kyna has 28 years of experience as a paralegal and presents election trainings for Lyons Gaddis clients. She has been employed by Lyons Gaddis for 14 ½ years as the Government Practice Group’s Special District/School District paralegal supporting litigation, elections, employment, and other client matters.

Anton Dworak volunteered his services to help with the formation of the USS Colorado (SSN 788) Commissioning Committee.  The USS Colorado is the Navy’s newest Virginia Class attack Submarine.  The committee supports the crew and families of the submarine and educates the public about the role of the US Navy.  In recognition of his contribution, Mr. Dworak was named an honorary “plankowner” (part of the first crew) and received special recognition in the commissioning ceremony program.

Adele Reester and Cathy Tallerico will both be presenting at this year's Special District Association (SDA) Conference in September, which will be held in Keystone. They will be speaking on the constitutional and statutory requirements affecting district websites so there is a better understanding of the accessibility compliance under the Americans with Disabilities Act, record retention requirements from the State Archives, and various First Amendment concerns for public forums and employees. 

Steve Jeffers opened an office for the firm in Steamboat Springs, Co in June. Steve plans to work in Steamboat on a part-time basis, in addition to his regular schedule in the Louisville office. The new office will help the better serve our West Slope clients and others while Steve spends more time enjoying the Colorado outdoors with his family in Steamboat. The office is located at 405 South Lincoln Ave., #205.

The firm has been collecting travel size shampoo, conditioner, lotions, etc. These items will be donated to the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless and the Safe Shelter of St. Vrain. Thank you to everyone who has participated as every little bit of these donations will help someone in need. Keep em' coming! 

Congratulations to Longmont’s Team Left Hand for helping to #CrushMS June 23-24 for Bike MS Colorado.  Lyons Gaddis is proud to help sponsor such a great team and support a great cause.

Our very own Brad Hall has been sworn in as the President of the Boulder County Bar Association. Congratulations! 

Lyons Gaddis was a proud sponsor of the 2018 Taste of Louisville & Taste 5K, what a fun day for the Louisville community!