Commentary and Analysis Regarding Colorado Law

The Special District Association (SDA) hosted its annual conference in Keystone in September 2022. In attendance this year were over 1,000 special district board members, district leaders, and administrators, as well as attorneys and other professionals who work with these local governmental entities.  The SDA conference provides three days of education from experts and professionals on a wide variety of topics and issues relevant to special districts. Two of the sessions this year were led by attorneys from Lyons Gaddis. John Chmil spoke on Construction Projects: From RFP to Completion, and Adele Reester and Cathy Tallerico teamed up to teach about Don't Let Your Grievance Procedure Let You Down. 

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our colleague and friend, Anton Dworak.  He was recently diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), a very rare and fatal condition, and passed away on August 3^rd at the age of 54.  Anton leaves a significant hole in our firm, this community, and the Colorado legal scene. 

Anton began work at Lyons Gaddis in 1999.  He became a shareholder on January 1, 2004, and served on the firm’s management committee and as the firm’s President.  He was Past-President of the Boulder County Bar Association and a Vice President of the Colorado Bar Association.  He was also a member of the tax, business, and estate planning sections of each association, and assisted Bar Association members as a volunteer on the Professionalism Committee.

Barefoot Lakes

Lyons Gaddis represents Brookfield Residential and its affiliates in connection with the 1,300 acre Barefoot Lakes master planned community located adjacent to the St. Vrain River and immediately east of I-25 in Firestone, Colorado. With over 1,000 homes already built or under construction, when completed, Barefoot Lakes will contain a new residential community consisting of over 3,500 single-family homes, 100 acres of lakes, miles of trails, new regional water and wastewater utility systems, new regional roadways, and 350 acres of parks, trails, and open spaces for public use. Lyons Gaddis attorneys Cameron Grant, Suzan Fritchel, Jeff Kahn, and Sean Stewart assisted Brookfield Residential with entitlements on the project, including the annexation of the property to Firestone, preparation and approval of Planned Development zoning, subdivision platting, and third-party negotiations crucial to project success. Several of the unique components of this complex land use and development project are summarized below:

Lyons Gaddis – is thrilled to announce that Chad Kupper and Jeffrey Rose have been elected shareholders in the Firm effective January 1, 2021.

This class of new shareholders represents the next generation in the Firm’s region-leading legal team.  Managing shareholder, Cameron Grant, stated, “I could not be happier to have Chad and Jeff as shareholders at the firm.  Each has continuously shown their talent in delivering stellar legal work, providing value to clients on the business side, and carving out niches for themselves in their practice areas.  In addition, they are simply great people, exhibiting qualities that make them leaders in the legal industry and within the firm.  Congratulations!”

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.

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.

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!

Dick Lyons (third from left) was one of 40 U.S. observers who joined 400 other international observers for the March 18 Russian presidential election.  After two days of training and briefing in Moscow by the O.S.C.E., Dick and his international  team from Armenia and Finland were flown further east to observe polling, counting, and tabulation procedures in rural areas outside of Perm, Russia near the Ural Mountains where they endured three days of bitter cold, wind, and snow.  The adverse weather did not deter the turnout!

June 23-24, 2018

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