PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 24, 2022
The Colorado Lawyers Committee announced today that Connie Talmage is stepping down as Executive Director after successfully leading the Lawyers Committee for 22 years – half of the 44 years of the Lawyers Committee’s existence. The Lawyers Committee has begun the process of selecting Connie’s successor.
During Connie’s tenure, the Lawyers Committee has grown dramatically both in impact on the Community and scope and size of the organization. Today, the Lawyers Committee plays a critical role in overseeing and helping to coordinate the pro bono efforts of more than 70 member law firms and specialty bar associations in Colorado. Current projects include the Afghan Asylum Project, the Hate Crimes Task Force, conducting clinics for small nonprofits who cannot afford legal services, and the Racial Justice Task Force. The Lawyers Committee usually has about 25 active projects and task forces at any one time and an active Young Lawyers Division. In 2021, over 1,000 attorneys volunteered their time to work on the broad array of Lawyers Committee projects. The lawyers who donate their time focus primarily on major public policy issues and systemic change rather than representation of individuals, unless their issues impact a large number of people.
Connie has served the Lawyers Committee and the Colorado Legal Community with distinction. During her tenure, she has expanded the membership of the Committee, created a vibrant Young Lawyers Division, and greatly expanded and enhanced the Chairs Roundtable. These are just some of the most consequential of her many contributions to the organization. Connie has been the heart and soul of the Lawyers Committee and it will be difficult to fill her shoes.
Connie has been a Board member of the Center for Legal Inclusiveness since 2006 and is on the Executive Committee of the Our Courts Program. Since 2019, she has been a Trustee of the Colorado Bar Foundation. She is a member of the Alumni Council of the DU Sturm College of Law, served two years as Co-Chair of the Council’s Diversity and Inclusiveness Committee, and taught ADR for seven years as an Adjunct Professor at the law school. Connie is a former President and Board member of the Colorado Women’s Bar Association Foundation, and she served on Board of the Colorado Women’s Bar Association for five years. For seven years, she served on the Colorado Access to Justice Commission, two years as Chair. Connie was on the Board of the Colorado Judicial Institute from 1992 to 2012.
Connie has received many prestigious awards. She was the 2009 recipient of the Colorado Bar Association’s Award of Merit, the organization’s highest honor. In 2007 she received the Alumni Professionalism Award from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and the Edwin P. Wolf award from the national Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. In 2010, Connie was honored as a Women Lawyer Nonprofit Leader by the Colorado Women’s Bars Association Foundation. Connie was one of the individuals recognized by Colorado Common Cause with the 2009 Craig Barnes Democracy Award for the establishment of a nonpartisan call center with 100 lawyers on Election Day.
“The Colorado Lawyers Committee is immeasurably grateful for Connie’s distinguished service to the Lawyers Committee and to the thousands of Coloradoans who have been served by the Lawyers Committee through her leadership,” said Lawyers Committee Chair Richard Westfall. “Every person who has worked with the Lawyers Committee or who has benefitted from her stewardship owes Connie tremendous gratitude.”
The Executive Committee of the Lawyers Committee is leading the search for the next Executive Director. The posting for the job and the application form can be found on the Colorado Lawyers Committee’s website.
Questions about the process or about this Press Release should be addressed to CLC Board Chair, Richard Westfall.