CLC Volunteers Make a Difference
2022 has been a busy year for Colorado Lawyers Committee, even amid all the challenges the year has presented! Due to the tremendous support from our volunteers and contributors, CLC has been able to respond quickly to pressing systemic issues and to make an important difference in the lives of children and the underprivileged, even during a pandemic. This year, more than 1,200 volunteers worked on our 29 task forces and projects and enjoyed some significant successes:
Back to In-Person. The Colorado Lawyers Committee staff came back to the office and many of our projects returned to in-person, after working virtually since March 2020. We are grateful that we were able to respond to the ongoing needs in our community and that our volunteers were so flexible.
2022 Annual Luncheon. On September, 14 2022, over 300 lawyers and community leaders gathered in-person to celebrate the accomplishments of Colorado Lawyers Committee volunteer attorneys and law firms, many of which were honored at the CLC annual Awards Luncheon. Keynote Speaker Kristen Clarke, the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice, inspired the luncheon audience. Ms. Clarke leads the Justice Department’s broad federal civil rights enforcement efforts and works to uphold the civil and constitutional rights of all who live in America. The Outstanding Sustained Contribution Award was presented to Jerome A. DeHerrera (Achieve Law Group) for his extensive pro bono representation of the plaintiffs in the famous Taylor Ranch class-action lawsuit (Lobato v. Taylor).The Board of Directors selected Hernandez & Associates, P.C. as the Colorado Lawyers Committee Law Firm of the Year. The Individual of the Year Award was presented to the Pascal C. Schunk (Schunk Law Firm P.C.). Special Recognition Awards were presented to: Angela Reyes; the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT); and Seigneur Gustafson LLP. To see a recap of this year’s luncheon, including pictures and videos, please visit our website.
Helping Our New Afghan Neighbors Apply for Asylum. In early March, the CLC partnered with Catholic Charities Denver to create a program where lawyers and non-lawyers worked with resettled Afghan families to complete their applications for asylum. We held 12 workshops on Saturdays from April through October. 355 volunteers and 41 interpreters spent almost 5,500 hours helping complete 604 asylum applications. It was an incredible effort!
Helping Small Businesses. Early in the pandemic, the CLC partnered with other organizations to find attorneys for more than 250 small businesses adversely impacted by COVID. In August 2021, the CLC partnered again with the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade and several other organizations to create the Small Business Legal Assistance Program. The program is designed to help small businesses with their economic recovery and success. Volunteer attorneys provide one hour of free legal assistance to answer questions from small businesses on a range of legal issues, including real estate, contracts, employment, government benefits, and bankruptcy. Nearly 100 volunteer attorneys have already agreed to participate!
Engaging Young Lawyers in Pro Bono Work. The CLC Young Lawyers Division, established in 2015, was created to “empower passionate young lawyers to make a difference for children and the underserved through education, advocacy, and systemic change.” YLD membership has increased to almost 350 members. Under the leadership of the YLD Board, the YLD has directed successful fundraising efforts, taken over leadership of Denver Legal Night, expanded and strengthened the Hate Crimes Education Program, created a grant program to provide financial support to young lawyers in their pro bono efforts, developed a series of Zoom lunch talks with prominent Colorado judges, lawyers and public officials (Lunches with Legends) to help inspire young lawyers on their path to greatness, and added energy and enthusiasm to numerous other projects.
Young Lawyers Division Hosts Racial Justice Summit. In 2021, the YLD and University of Denver Sturm College of Law hosted a Racial Justice Summit focused on the Colorado criminal system. The event was so successful, that a second Racial Justice Summit was held in September 2022, this time on the subject of voting rights. Attendees heard from: Judd Choate, Director of Elections, State of Colorado; Denise S. Maes, Founder of Maes Solutions LLC; Olivia Mendoza, Deputy Director of Litigation and Policy, National Redistricting Foundation; Douglas Spencer, Associate Professor and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Research, University of Colorado Law School; and Martha Tierney (Tierney Lawrence LLC) and Richard Westfall (Westfall Law, LLC), Co-Chairs of the Colorado Lawyers Committee Election Task Force.
Racial Justice Task Force Makes a Difference. In response to events in our country, including the tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and so many more, the Colorado Lawyers Committee formed the Racial Justice Task Force in the Summer of 2020, to reassess our internal and external racial justice practices. The Racial Justice Task Force has focused on strengthening our relationships with the specialty bars and with the diversity organizations at the law schools. They are currently working on a survey for CLC law firms to identify best practices for expanding inclusiveness.
Providing Resources for the Underserved. Hundreds of volunteers provided legal information and referrals at our Legal Clinics in 2022. Due to the pandemic, Project Homeless Connect was canceled again this year. At the beginning of the pandemic, Denver Legal Nights pivoted to offering a remote clinic. The virtual clinics were a success and served almost 2,000 people since switching formats in April 2020. In July 2022, we were delighted to return to in-person clinics at Centro San Juan Diego. Since the clinics began, our volunteers have served more than 32,000 people.
Helping the Nonprofits That Help Others. Twice each year, the CLC partners with the Colorado Nonprofit Association to host a Nonprofit Legal Audit Clinic, which matches teams of attorneys (both in-house and in firms) with representatives from small nonprofits to assess the nonprofits’ legal health. In 2021, the clinics were held virtually. We were able to return to in-person for the July 2022 clinic and had a record turnout of more than 30 nonprofits.
Educating Students About Hate Crimes. For the last 28 years, Colorado Lawyers Committee volunteers have presented fictional trials to almost 9,000 students to teach them about Colorado’s Hate/Bias-Motivated Crimes Statute, help them understand the law, and encourage them to speak out against intolerance and injustice. Schools going remote or having a hybrid learning plan since March 2020 prevented the team from having presentations in schools during 2020. In response, the Hate Crimes team modified the presentations so it can be presented via Zoom. In late 2021, we were pleased to return to in-person presentations.
Protecting Non-Citizens from ICE Arrest. In 2020, CLC supported legislation (SB20-083) that protects individuals from civil arrest while they are present at a courthouse, or while going to, attending, or coming from a court proceeding. These arrests have had a chilling effect on the judicial system, as victims and witnesses of crimes have been reluctant to appear in court for fear of arrest. After the passage of the bill, the Subcommittee worked with the Immigration Law & Policy Clinic (ILPC) at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law to spread awareness and educate law enforcement officers and court officials about the new law. As courts begin to reopen after the pandemic, the CLC will monitor ICE’s compliance with the law and will pursue litigation to enforce the statute, if necessary
Helping Immigrants Seek Asylum. In January and February 2022, the Colorado Lawyers Committee partnered with the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN) to host a free virtual program to train attorneys to provide pro bono representation to asylum-seekers in Colorado. The program specifically focused on representing children, parents, and other individuals in civil immigration detention in Colorado and was designed for attorneys who are new to immigration law. More than 160 people signed up for the training which was free for anyone who agreed to take a pro bono asylum case.
Denver Immigrant Legal Services Fund Advisory Committee. The Denver Immigrant Legal Services Fund was established in 2018 by Mayor Hancock’s Executive Order 142, which affirms Denver’s commitment to stand with immigrants and refugees and maintains Denver as a welcoming city where everyone can feel safe and thrive. The Denver Foundation distributes grants to nonprofit organizations providing direct legal representation to Denver residents for defense of removal proceedings and for assistance with affirmative immigration relief. Nancy Elkind (Palmer Polaski P.C. (retired)) is the Colorado Lawyers Committee representative on the Fund’s Advisory Board.
Preparing Asylum Seekers for Success Program. In 2019, the Colorado Lawyers Committee, in partnership with RMIAN (Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network) launched a pilot program called the Preparing Asylum Seekers for Success (PASS) Program. Four law firms (Davis Graham & Stubbs, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, and WilmerHale) participated in the program which aimed to train attorneys to prepare asylum seekers for their “Credible Fear Interviews”, the first step in determining whether detainees are eligible for asylum. The PASS Program also sought to ensure that every asylum seeker detained in the Aurora Immigration Detention Facility had the chance to meet with a participating attorney—a milestone the program achieved. Many of the attorney volunteers not only prepared asylum seekers for their Credible Fear Interviews, but also represented individuals later in the asylum process. Each firm was matched with an experienced immigration lawyer who assisted the lawyers. This model put the expertise within each firm and allowed the lawyers to collaborate with one another on these cases. All four firms continue to engage with the program.
Defending Landowner Access in the San Luis Valley. The case which was originally filed in 1981 involves the right of landowners in the San Luis Valley to access a 77,500-acre mountainous parcel known as Taylor Ranch. After much litigation (including several trips to the Colorado Supreme Court), in 2018, the ranch owner filed an appeal (the third time the case was before the Colorado Court of Appeals). The Court issued a 90-page opinion rejecting the ranch owner’s efforts to limit the rights of the landowners and remanded the case back to the trial court to finish identifying landowners with rights. This decision was not appealed by the ranch owner, essentially ending most of the legal issues which had been litigated for almost 40 years. In recent years, the ranch owner has engaged in numerous practices which we assert limit the rights of the landowners. A stellar team from Ballard Spahr filed a motion on behalf of Plaintiffs objecting to these harassing practices and the court held a two-day hearing. At the end of the hearing, the judge made findings and ordered Ballard Spahr and the attorneys for the Ranch to come up with a stipulation to govern the parties’ future interactions. Here’s a link to a PBS story on this hearing and to two stories in Law Week Colorado (September 21, 2021 and October 18, 2021). In the interim, the ranch owner has filed several lawsuits against individual landowners, including a trespass action that is asking for declaratory relief that specifically impacts the class rights as well as a quiet title action of a class member. The individual landowners cannot afford to defend these actions. We are deeply concerned that these individual actions may erode (and conflict with) the rights we have been working to preserve for the last 40 years. A new team of pro bono lawyers is exploring representation for these individuals and the possibility of consolidating these actions with the main lawsuit.
With your help, we expect to continue and expand these efforts. We look forward to another successful year in 2023!