2026 Awards Luncheon
On September 24, 2026, 350 lawyers, judges, and community leaders gathered at The Ritz-Carlton, Denver, to celebrate the accomplishments of Colorado Lawyers Committee volunteer attorneys and law firms, many of which were honored at the CLC annual Awards Luncheon. During 2025, 1,210 volunteers donated 8,525 hours through the Colorado Lawyers Committee’s 29 active projects in the areas of Children’s Rights & Education, Civil & Criminal Law, Poverty & Public Benefits, Community Development, and Immigration.
Grow your Impact with CLC: Four Project Leads Share their Stories
Moderator: Tess Hand-Bender
Partner, Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP
Secretary/Treasurer, Colorado Lawyers Committee Board of Directors
Denver District Court Ask-A-Lawyer Clinic: Maxwell Hamilton, Associate, Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP
Family Preparedness Clinics: Christine M. Stroup, Associate Attorney, Brown Law Firm
Nonpartisan Election Call Center: Alyssa McCain, Associate, Holland & Hart LLP
Special Master Project: Richard A. Harris, Managing Partner, The Harris Law Firm
Timothy R. Macdonald, with the ACLU of Colorado, received the Outstanding Sustained Contribution Award. The Outstanding Sustained Contribution Award is presented each year to an individual whose participation with the Colorado Lawyers Committee over many years has significantly and positively promoted its mission, making an important difference in the lives of children and the underprivileged.
Another highlight of the luncheon was the announcement of this year’s award recipients:
A Community Partner Award was presented to the San Luis Valley Immigrant Resource Center for its partnership with the Colorado Lawyers Committee working as a federally accredited representative aiding immigrants in the geographically remote area in South Central Colorado for the last 30 years.
A Special Recognition Award was presented to Hill & Robbins, P.C., for its support of a law student public interest fellowship, alternating between host programs at the Colorado Lawyers Committee and Colorado Legal Services, since 1996.
Law Firm of the Year Award. The Board of Directors selected Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP as the Colorado Lawyers Committee Law Firm of the Year. Other nominees for the 2025 Law Firm of the Year were Ballard Spahr LLP, Cooley LLP, and Holland & Hart LLP. CLC appreciates the strong dedication of all these attorneys.
Task Force of the Year Award. The Board of Directors selected the Immigration Task Force as the Colorado Lawyers Committee Task Force of the Year, recognizing the Immigration Task Force for its extraordinary commitment to supporting immigrant and refugee communities across Colorado.
To see information on previous Awards Luncheons, click here.
2026 AWARDS LUNCHEON (PHOTOS COURTESY OF BEAR GUTIERREZ PHOTOGRAPHY)
2026 AWARDS LUNCHEON VIDEOS
2026 sponsors
Thank you to our many sponsors and partners who support our Awards Luncheon and help us further our mission to increase opportunities for children and other disadvantaged communities through pro bono legal advocacy, negotiation, and litigation.
platinum sponsors
Holland & Hart LLP
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP
gold sponsors
Bartlit Beck LLP
Buchalter
Colorado Lawyer Trust Account Foundation (COLTAF)
Cooley LLP
Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
The Morrison & Foerster Foundation
Polsinelli PC
Snell & Wilmer
Vinson & Elkins LLP
silver sponsors
ACLU of Colorado
Ballard Spahr LLP
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP
Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP
Hogan Lovells Cadwalader US LLP
Judicial Arbiter Group, Inc.
Olson Grimsley Kawanabe Hinchcliff & Murray LLC
Stinson LLP
Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP
The Harris Law Firm
Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP
Friend Sponsors
Garnett Powell Maximon Barlow & Farbes
Haynes and Boone, LLP
Husch Blackwell LLP
Ireland Stapleton Pryor & Pascoe, PC
JAMS Denver
Otten Johnson Robinson Neff + Ragonetti PC
Arnold & Porter
Colorado & Denver Bar Associations, and CBA-CLE
Colorado Nonprofit Association
Fennemore.
Senn Fortis
Fox Rothschild LLP
Reed Smith LLP
Richards Carrington, LLC
University of Denver Sturm College of Law
Western Union
Wheeler Trigg O'Donnell LLP
Print sponsor
Connelly Law LLC
video SPONSOR
Kaplan Kirsch LLP
Awards SPONSOR
Anderson Hemmat, LLC
Dessert SPONSOR
Tierney Lawrence Stiles LLC
OTHER CONTRIBUTORS
A2JTech
Colorado Women’s Bar Association Foundation
Hill & Robbins P.C.
Institute for the Advancement of the American
Legal System (IAALS)
PNC Bank
Rathod | Mohamedbhai LLC
Schunk Law Firm P.C.
The Madden Firm
University of Colorado Law School
special thanks
Cuttlefish Arts for the layout and design of the Awards Luncheon Program and Annual Report
Bear Gutierrez for providing pro bono photography service for the Colorado Lawyers Committee
Trey the Video Guru for preparing the special video presentations for this special event
Butler Snow LLP for sponsoring the Award Honorees & Speakers Dinner