The Daily Camera interviewed Hutchinson attorneys Lucy Walker and David Driscoll regarding the firm’s upcoming panel series, delving into racial exclusion in Boulder County and across the state. Read the article here
The first panel in the series, slated for Thursday, February 25, will focus on the ways in which Boulder has excluded Black residents. This free event will be held remotely and is open to the public. Register here
On February 25, 2021, HBC will host the first of a series of four community panel discussions entitled “The Roots of Today’s Racial Exclusion in Boulder County and the Road Ahead.” The series of panel discussions is part of a larger set of racial equity initiatives begun by HBC in the wake of the killing of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter demand for change during the summer of 2020 and was spurred by a recognition of the overwhelming homogeneity of the Boulder community. Other initiatives include a public statement of support for Black Lives Matter by HBC, a firm initiative on mentoring and recruiting of minority attorneys and staff, and a re-dedication and re-invigoration of the law firm’s commitment to provide legal services to underserved communities in Boulder County.
The first three panels will discuss the history of exclusion of Black, Native American, and Hispanic American communities from Boulder County, as well as resistance to exclusion by those groups. The final panel will be a forward-looking discussion on how Boulder County can begin to create a more inclusive community through changes in law and public policy that address past injustices and discrimination.
The programs will be co-sponsored by the BlackPast.org; The Center of the American West; the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Boulder Chapter; the Native American Rights Fund; the University of Colorado School of Law; and CU Law School’s Black Law Student Association.
The February 25 panel discussion focusing on the exclusion of Black residents from the City of Boulder will feature:
· Moderator: Dr. Quintard Taylor, Professor Emeritus of American History, University of Washington, a specialist in African American history in the American West
· Penfield Tate, III, an attorney, former Colorado state legislator and son of Boulder’s only Black mayor
· Dr. Charles Nilon, professor of environmental science at the University of Missouri and son of CU Boulder’s first tenured Black faculty member
· Dr. Polly Bugros McLean, Associate Professor of Media Studies at CU Boulder and author of A Legacy of Missing Pieces: The Voices of Black Women of Boulder County.
The February 25 program will be held via Zoom due to the pandemic. Participation is free to the public, and all are welcomed and encouraged to attend. Register here: https://www.hbcboulder.com/boulderhistorypanel1
HBC is pleased to report that two of its attorneys, Dan Williams and Lauren Groth, successfully partnered with the ACLU of Colorado and a team of civil rights lawyers to resolve a class-action lawsuit brought in the US District Court for the District of Colorado regarding the need to protect medically vulnerable inmates in the Weld County Jail from COVID-19. The resolution includes important safeguards for inmates, and also contains measures to reduce the number of persons detained in the jail during the COVID-19 crisis. Click here for an article appearing in the Denver Post that describes the settlement. https://www.denverpost.com/2020/12/01/aclu-weld-county-sheriff-covid-19-lawsuit/
This spring, HBC partners Lauren Groth, Kimberly Hult, and John Clune settled a Title IX lawsuit against the University of Arizona for claims arising from its failure to respond to notice that a UA football player, Orlando Bradford, had engaged in serious dating violence directed toward HBC’s client and other undergraduate women at the school. For nearly six months after high-ranking officials first documented specific accounts of Mr. Bradford’s dating violence, HBC’s client continued to suffer from severe physical and emotional abuse while the University failed to take action to assist her. In February 2020, the United States District Court for the District of Arizona, in an important ruling for Title IX law, found as a matter of law that the University had the required notice of Mr. Bradford’s dating violence and was deliberately indifferent to that sexual violence. In its ruling, the court concluded that Mr. Bradford’s dating violence was gender-based discrimination that fell squarely within the protections offered by Title IX. The settlement, which is public, is the largest known settlement of Title IX claims against a public university involving a single plaintiff in a dating violence case. The full article from the Arizona Daily Star may be viewed here.
This summer, HBC attorneys, Kimberly Hult and Lauren Groth, wrote an article published by the ABA Civil Right Litigation Section of Litigation that discusses some important and helpful new Title IX rulings that treat interpersonal violence – or dating violence – as actionable under Title IX. Among other notable developments, the article discusses the Arizona federal court’s decision in DeGroote v. Arizona Board of Regents, an HBC case that resulted in a significant ruling recognizing that IPV is sexual discrimination under Title IX. See the full article below.
Continuing to build its depth of expertise in the field of estate planning and trust and estate administration, Hutchinson Black and Cook trumpets the arrival of Marianne Luu-Chen, Esq., as a new member of our team. Marianne’s experience in estate planning was honed as a solo practitioner in Boulder and as an attorney in Denver at both Ballard Spahr, LLP and Donelson Barry, LLC. An active member of the Trust and Estate Section of the Colorado Bar Association, Marianne has spoken on topics such as use of life insurance in estate planning, and serves on the prestigious Committee on the Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct. We are thrilled to add Marianne’s knowledge, energy and enthusiasm to HBC.
The Boulder Community Foundation recognizes Hutchinson Black and Cook for its contribution to the Foundation’s COVID-19 Boulder County Response Fund. Read the full article here
HBC is pleased to report that two of its attorneys, Dan Williams and Lauren Groth, successfully partnered with the ACLU of Colorado and a team of civil rights lawyers to secure a precedent-setting ruling from the US District Court for the District of Colorado regarding the need to protect medically vulnerable inmates in the Weld County Jail from COVID-19. Click here for the press release from the ACLU of Colorado.
HBC is thrilled to announce that Randi M. Grassgreen, Esq., has joined Connie Eyster, Susan Boothby, Jane Paddison and Lisa Willcox as part of the Trust and Estate team. Randi’s expertise in family wealth planning has been honed through 25 years of experience as a lawyer, accountant, and advisor, most recently as Shareholder and Managing Director of Family Wealth Planning at Crestone Capital in Boulder. Given Randi’s deep, long-standing relationship with Crestone and its clients, she will continue providing guidance to those clients on complex wealth planning matters in her role at HBC. As an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado and frequent speaker on estate planning topics, Randi has further developed a well-deserved reputation as an outstanding counselor to high net worth families. We could not be more excited to enhance our estate planning group with Randi’s creative and sophisticated approaches to planning.
Coronavirus: Planning for Contractual Disruptions
By: Lauren Groth, Member
With the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) changing daily, businesses in Boulder and throughout the Front Range are grappling with an increasing number of unpredictable events. Declarations of state emergencies, widespread cancellations, and social distancing measures all have an impact on business operations and revenue. While no one can predict where we will be in the coming weeks and months, planning and preparation are essential to weathering these uncharted waters.
Force Majeure Protections
For businesses providing goods and services pursuant to existing contracts, the first place to look when planning for the unpredictable is your contract’s force majeure provision. Force majeure provisions, by definition, address the parties’ options when dealing with circumstances outside of their control, for example, war, famine or other “acts of God.” Force majeure provisions provide protection to parties unable to perform by allowing the party facing unexpected difficulties to suspend, postpone, or end performance of its duties under the contract.
The language in your contract will provide guidance as to (1) what circumstances allow a party to be excused from performance of obligations under the contract and (2) what the party must do to seek the protection of a force majeure clause. In most contracts, a force majeure clause cannot be invoked simply because an unexpected event occurs. Rather, a party seeking relief must show that an event covered by the contract has occurred and was out of the party’s control and that the event had an effect on the party’s ability to satisfy its obligations under the contract.
If your business is anticipating difficulty in meeting its obligations under a contract in the coming months, it is important to look closely at existing contract language to determine whether the force majeure language is likely to cover current circumstances. While some contracts may explicitly mention plague or pandemic as triggering events, others may have more broadly inclusive language under which coronavirus could arguably fall. From there, you can evaluate what evidence or information you might need to establish the effect of coronavirus on your ability to perform, and when and how your contract requires you to provide notice to the other party.
Proactive Negotiations
We all know that business continues even in the midst of uncertainty. Companies and individuals negotiating new contracts and deals can also reduce their risk of future liability by being sensitive to the need to account for issues such as shutdowns, quarantines, and supply chain shortages in their contract language. Think carefully about whether existing schedules have built in the time necessary to account for possible delays, and whether anticipated costs reflect the likelihood that prices may rise in the coming months. If you are not the party responsible for obtaining the necessary materials or completing a project on time, you may want to consider adding provisions requiring the other party to take reasonable steps to minimize the impacts of a force majeure event such as coronavirus or place a limit on the allowable scheduling changes that can occur.
Although no one can fully anticipate what the future will bring, businesses can review existing contracts with an eye towards possible performance issues, and proactively negotiate to reduce the risk of contractual disputes down the road. If you have questions or concerns about your contractual obligations and how coronavirus may impact your business, please contact us.
The firm represented HOMER Energy LLC in the sale of the company to a subsidiary of UL LLC that closed on December 16, 2019. HOMER Energy provides the leading software platform for microgrid and distributed generation power system design and optimization, and UL LLC acquired HOMER Energy as part of its efforts to provide more services to the renewable energy chain and in microgrids in particular. Peter Lilienthal, the CEO of HOMER Energy, commented, “This transaction was a real challenge for our small company. Never having been through this before, I couldn’t have done it without Jim Carpenter and the HBC team. I’m sure it would have been harder, more stressful, and probably taken longer without their experience and expertise. It’s been a real pleasure to work with Jim and HBC.”
HBC is very pleased to welcome Jane C. Paddison, J.D., LL.M., as of counsel with the firm. Jane brings to HBC over thirty years of experience representing clients in the areas of federal and state taxation, with an emphasis in the estate, gift and generation skipping transfer tax areas. Throughout her career, Jane has represented high net worth clients in complex estate tax planning and controversy matters. Jane is a fellow of the American College of Estate and Trust Counsel and the Colorado Bar Foundation. Jane has been recognized in various publications as being a “top lawyer” in her field, including recognition in “5280 – The Denver Magazine,” Colorado Super Lawyers and Colorado Best Lawyers. Jane is also a current trustee for the Community Foundation of Boulder County.
HBC attorneys Jonathan Boonin and Justin Konrad co-authored a Practice Note for Thomson Reuters Practical Law discussing overall protection of a company’s confidential information and the use of confidentiality agreements (also known as nondisclosure agreements or NDAs) in the context of commercial transactions under Colorado law. The Practice Note provides practical tips on developing internal systems and contract provisions designed to protect a company’s sensitive information, including its business assets and relationships, data security, and trade secrets. Read the full Practice Note here.
HBC attorney John Clune received the 2019 Frank Carrington Champion of Civil Justice Award, presented by the National Crime Victim Bar Association, in recognition of his commitment to civil justice and his effort to give a voice to victims of crime.
The Frank Carrington Champion of Civil Justice Award is presented annually to honor attorneys who share Mr. Carrington’s commitment to justice for victims. John’s regular representation of and commitment to victims through Title IX litigation, civil lawsuits, campus disciplinary proceedings, and sports league and workplace investigations mirrors Mr. Carrington’s lifelong pursuit of justice. HBC applauds John for his receipt of the award and his continued efforts to support victims through some of the most difficult times in their lives.
Frank G. Carrington, often referred to as “the father of the crime victims’ rights movement in America,” was a federal law enforcement official, police legal advisor, and attorney who brought attention to the issue of victims’ rights—a neglected area of the criminal justice system—with the publication of his 1975 book The Victims. Mr. Carrington served on the Attorney General’s Task Force on Violent Crime in 1981 and the President’s Task Force on Victims of Crime in 1982, the final report of which is still used as a blueprint for the fair treatment of crime victims. Through his association with the National Center for Victims of Crime, Mr. Carrington developed a concept that would eventually become the National Crime Victim Bar Association, which provides an association of attorneys and expert witnesses dedicated to helping crime victims seek justice through the civil system.
Hutchinson Black and Cook LLC has been named a Tier 1 firm in Colorado for Commercial Litigation, Corporate Law, Medical Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs, Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs, and Trusts & Estates Law by U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” in 2020.
The U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes the collection of client and lawyer evaluations, peer review from leading attorneys, and review of additional information provided by law firms as part of the formal submission process. The full list of HBC’s ranked practice areas can be found here.
Earlier this year, HBC attorneys Jim Carpenter, David Driscoll, Maureen Eldredge, Connie Tromble Eyster, Chris Ford, Glen Gordon, Kimberly Hult, Baine Kerr, Bill Meyer, and Brad Peterson were selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America© 2020. For the full announcement on HBC’s Ten 2020 Best Lawyers in America, click here.
In addition, Connie Tromble Eyster was recognized as the 2020 Trusts and Estates “Lawyer of the Year” for Boulder by Best Lawyers. Click here for our original announcement of Connie’s “Lawyer of the Year” award.
HBC attorney John Clune and First Assistant District Attorney Katharina Booth will be featured in a conversation on Boulder’s role as a national leader in the fight to end sexual violence at the Museum of Boulder on October 9, 2019 at 6 PM. John and Katharina will share their work at the forefront of the national - and local - movement to combat sexual violence against women by prosecuting crimes and taking on high-profile cases. The discussion will focus on how John and Katharina support survivors and how the #MeToo movement has changed the conversation around sexual assault and holding perpetrators responsible. More event details can be found here.
HBC attorney John Clune gave the opening keynote address for the Association of Title IX Administrators (“ATIXA”) 2019 East Coast Annual Conference. ATIXA is the nation’s largest organization for training and consulting of school personnel in their efforts to implement Title IX. Clune, a founding advisory board member of the organization, presented on the topic of representing complainants in Title IX matters. Read more about the keynote address and conference here.
HBC attorneys Dan Williams and Colleen Koch joined with the ACLU of Colorado in filing a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a Greeley, Colorado ordinance banning pedestrian presence on medians, arguing that the ban is intended to target panhandlers and infringes upon citizens’ free speech rights. Greeley agreed to stop enforcing the ordinance while the lawsuit is pending. More information can be found here.
HBC attorney John Clune has been retained to investigate possible Title IX violations at the University of Wisconsin following the re-admittance of wide receiver Quintez Cephus. Read more here.
The Daily Camera’s front page on September 3, 2019 featured HBC trial team Dan Williams, Chris Ford, Lauren Groth and Lucy Walker, who secured a precedent-setting victory at the Colorado Supreme Court for their client, Rugby International Marketing, setting forth a general rule that a subsidiary company who hasn’t signed an arbitration agreement will not be compelled to arbitrate, even when its parent company has signed such an agreement.
Read the full Daily Camera article here, and click here to read the full Supreme Court opinion. You can see HBC’s original announcement from June 18, 2019 here.
ANNOUNCEMENTS AND BLOG POSTS
