Trial Advocacy School 2012

Trial Advocacy School 2012 

We hope you will join us for this great event, the first of its kind since 1976.  Don't miss out on your chance to refresh  your Trial Ad skills, while earning CLE credits.  A great faculty has been assembled, from whom you will learn what judges, DAs, and attorneys want to see from the art of Trial Advocacy.  Here's more info about this 12 credit program:

The 2012 Trial Advocacy School is scheduled for 4 consecutive nights: February 27, 28, 29 and March 1, 2012. 

6:00 – 9:00 pm each night, all sessions held at the Courthouse

·         Monday the 27^th will be a presentation on the 7 Deadly Sins of Trial Advocacy with Dave Johnson and Judge Thomas Kane– followed by short presentations by various judicial officers on the specialty courts here in the 4^th Judicial District (drug court, veteran’s court, protective orders court, etc.)

·         Tuesday the 28^th will be a primer on evidence – with Dan Edwards from the State Attorney General’s Office.

·         Wednesday, the 29^th is a track day with the option for the student lawyers to attend a specialized track in civil, criminal, juvenile or domestic.

·         Thursday the 1^st features a judges panel with structured comments and Q & A with a sizable judges panel.

12 CLE Credits

$75 for Bar members, $100 non-Bar members, $50 for New Lawyers (practicing 5 or fewer years)

Download the registration flyer here!

Pro Bono Attorney of the Month: Susan Marhoffer

We are proud to recognize our Pro Bono Attorney of the month, Susan Marhoffer.  Hear from Susan in her own words, about why she does Pro Bono work:

 "I do pro bono work as I am disturbed by the fact that access to the legal system is out of the reach of the average person.  It seems very unjust that actionable wrongs go unresolved and people are taken advantage of due to their inability have their claims brought before the courts.

Being a lawyer is not only and honor but also a profession that has afforded my family and myself a wonderful lifestyle and I volunteer for pro bono work so that I can engage in the practice of law to help those in need and without regard to the business of practicing law"

 ~Susan Marhoffer

Golf Tournament is back and coming soon!

Here at the Bar, we are always striving to make our Association the best that it can be. This coming year, our focus is on collegiality and fun.  This is all kicking off with the return of our annual golf tournament. 

El Paso County Bar Association Golf Tournament

Friday, September 9, 2011

The Broadmoor Golf Club, Colorado Springs, CO

1:00 pm Shotgun Start

Flyer can be downloaded here. 

To register, email info@elpasocountybar.org or  call 473-9700 with the names of your foursome.

Now's your chance to play the BEAUTIFUL West Course at the prestigious Broadmoor Hotel at a great rate with your friends and colleagues.  Join us afterwards for a complimentary cocktail and hors d'oeuvres, for time to socialize and relax with your fellow players!

Document Shredding & Hard Drive Destruction Event for the Legal Community

The Bar is excited to bring this great and important event to you, the local legal community which we serve.  Bring outdated client files, old hard drives, and other files with confidential information and have them properly and securely destructed. 

PROTECT YOUR CLIENTS. PROTECT YOUR IDENTITY.
DOCUMENT SHREDDING & HARD DRIVE DESTRUCTION EVENT

Saturday, August 20, 2011, 10 am – 1 pm
Juror Parking Lot, 310 South Cascade Avenue
FREE with a suggested donation to our event partners.

Suggested Donations: $5 per box of paper, $5 per hard drive

We are excited to announce our collaboration with two great local organizations:
Blue Star Recyclers and Mobile Record Shredders

About Mobile Record Shredders:

Mobile Record Shredders has been in business for over 7 years, providing secure document destruction to both commercial and residential customers.
The company provides on-site or off-site shredding, whether it is on a regular basis or just as a one-time purge. 
Locally owned and operated, the company is licensed, bonded and insured and is a certified member of NAID (National Association for Information Destruction) www.naidonline.org.
Schedules for regular service with a container(s) are tailored to fi t your needs and the container(s) of your choice is delivered and setup free of charge.
One-time purges are also available for those who just need an occasional shred of their documents. All material shredded is 100% recycled.
Our service benefi ts include:
Serving all of southern Colorado and Raton, NM
Secure on-site or off-site document destruction 
Locally owned and operated; licensed, bonded and insuredAAA NAID certified
Southern Colorado BBB Accredited 
BusinessFree cost analysis of scheduled service and/or one-time purges
Free delivery and setup of container(s) with scheduled service agreement
100% recycling State-of-the-art mobile trucks with cross-cut shredding equipment and cameras and monitors for customer viewing 
HIPAA compliant
Excellent customer service

About Blue Star Recyclers:

Blue Star Recyclers provides Southern Colorado businesses and residents the most convenient and affordable electronics recycling services available — as a way to serve, sustain and create community. By choosing to recycle your electronics with Blue Star you help our economy, our environment, and enable our business to produce positive triple bottom-line results People, Planet and Profit.

People
The objective of Blue Star Recyclers is to recycle e-waste, serve its communities, and create jobs in Southern Colorado. Blue Star Recyclers partners with Community Intersections
that operates an Electronics Collection Depot & Work Skills Program at 601 Wahsatch in Colorado Springs. The Depot provides basic work skills training to individuals with developmental disabilities. Some individuals transition to self suffi ciency through paid employment at Blue Star Recyclers — creating more jobs in the community. The more businesses and residents clear out unwanted electronics and recycle them with Blue Star Recyclers, the more jobs are created to fuel the economy and protect the environment. We don’t employ people to process e-waste. We process e-waste to employ people.

Planet
No hazardous or toxic electronic waste material collected by Blue Star will be land-fi lled, incinerated, or shipped abroad to be dumped. Blue Star Recyclers provides ethical, safe, secure, and responsible e-waste recycling services.

Profit
Blue Star Recyclers is a locally owned and operated electronics recycling company that serves and supports other local businesses. Most recycling companies operate branches in Colorado Springs and send profi ts off to other states. Blue Star Recyclers is here to help southern Colorado grow.  As more businesses realize outdated electronics can “fuel” our economy by recycling, Blue Star will hire additional employees and keep revenue and profit earned in the Colorado Springs community.

Public Outreach Services

Public Outreach Services from the El Paso County Bar

Did you know?  The Bar provides a multitude of public outreach services to assist you, the Colorado Springs community, with your legal needs. 

Legal Services:

Call- A- Lawyer

On the third Thursday of each month*, from 7-9 pm, volunteer attorneys from the El Paso County Bar Association answer telephone calls from the public.  All calls are anonymous and confidential.  The number to call for this service is (719) 471-0380.  This number is only in effect from 7-9 pm on the third Thursday of each month.

*During the months of February, July, November and May, Call-A-Lawyer is held on KKTV Channel 11 as a part of their Ask An Expert program.  From 4:30-6:30 pm, the number to call for this service is 719-457-8211.

Ask-A-Lawyer

On the second Saturday of each month from 10 am – 12 pm, volunteer attorneys from the El Paso County Bar Association answer legal questions from the public, in person, at the Citadel Mall or the Chapel Hills Mall in Colorado Springs from 10 am – 12 pm. 

April- Chapel Hills Mall

May - Citadel Mall

June - Chapel Hills Mall

July- Citadel Mall

August- Chapel Hills Mall

September - Citadel Mall

October- Chapel Hills Mall

November- Citadel Mall

December-Chapel Hills Mall

 

Post Decree Pro Se Clinic

On the second Tuesday of each month from 5:30 – 7:30 pm at Colorado Legal Services, attorneys are available to assist and answer questions for Pro Se (self represented) clients with Post Decree matters.  Appointments are required, at least one week in advance.  Call  471-0380 x121 to make an appointment. 

 

Lawyer Referral Service

Looking for a qualified attorney?  The Lawyer Referral Service is a service of the El Paso County Bar Association which matches pre-screened attorneys with clients at the attorneys customary rates and fees.  The LRS charges $40 for an initial 30 minute consultation with an attorney, who has been prescreened by our service and meets our criteria for participation, including ongoing legal education, having an insured practice, and relevant case work in specific areas of the law.  After the 30 minute consultation, the attorney’s regular rates apply.  The LRS can be reached at (719) 636-1532.

 

Community Services:  

Fee Dispute Committee

The El Paso County Bar Association Fee Dispute Committee sets up panels of attorneys that will arbitrate disputes for free between attorneys and clients involving legal fees.  For information call the Bar Association at (719) 473-9700.

Attorney Nonprofit Connection

The Attorney Nonprofit Connection connects lawyers willing to provide Pro Bono assistance with established local nonprofits seeking legal support.  For more information about the ANC, visit our website at www.elpasocountybar.org  and click on ‘Organizations’ or call 719-636-1532.

Public Services:

Lawyers Reading 

The El Paso County Bar Association provides attorneys to come to elementary school classrooms and read to children, books related to the law, the constitution, and the legal profession.  To arrange a free reader, call the Bar Association at (719) 473-9700.

Speakers Bureau

The El Paso County Bar Association provides attorneys willing to speak on legal topics to schools, churches, and other community groups without charge. To arrange for a free speaker, call the Bar Association at (719) 473-9700.

 

PLEASE NOTE:  The Bar Association cannot give legal advice or assist in filling out paperwork.

 

Don't forget to visit our website for more information!

Why I Do Pro Bono Work

Here at the Bar Association, we're incredibly fortunate to have a great group of attorneys who work with our Pro Bono program, the Pikes Peak Pro Bono Project, to provide access to justice to those in our community with limited means or who are indigent.  One of our most active attorneys, Jon Hertzog, recently penned a short piece about why he does Pro Bono work.  It so described our culture of Pro Bono work, and truly captured why we do what we do, that we wanted to share it with all of you.  Enjoy.

Why do I take Pro Bono cases?

To give you a good answer I have to go back in time.  It all started in 1963, as an eight year-old kid, I sat in a movie theater spellbound by the great Stanley Kramer Oscar winning movie, Judgment at Nuremberg.  I watched a lawyer and a judge, played by actors Richard Widmark and Spencer Tracy, speak for those who couldn’t speak for themselves…the victims of Nazi persecution.  I decided then and there I wanted to be that man…Richard Widmark…the lawyer who makes a difference in people’s lives and makes justice available to people who otherwise wouldn’t have it.  

Jump forward 37 years.  After a really fun 25 year career as an Army Officer, I was given the opportunity to go to law school and I jumped on it.  Now I am a lawyer and living my childhood dream through my Pro Bono work.  No Nazi victims but the people I represent are generally under great personal stress, disparate, and feel they have nowhere to turn.  They need a Richard Widmark…they need you and me.

Pro Bono work is a precious privilege we have been given as lawyers to make a difference in peoples’ lives, our community, and our society.  Money is an important thing.  We all need it to pay our bills and send our kids to college.  But there is no amount of money that can give you the same feeling of satisfaction, value and personal accomplishment you get when one of you Pro Bono clients gives you heartfelt and tearful thanks for the help you have given her and her family. 

 In the four years or so I have been doing Pro Bono work, I have learned two things that most people don’t know:  (1) there is a whole disadvantaged segment of our community, out of sight and out of mind, who are silent, suffering and desperately need advice and guidance from an attorney.  These people will never gain access to legal advice and the legal system unless you and I make that happen through our Pro Bono work; and (2) contrary to what you may have heard or believe, on an individual basis, we lawyers are widely respected and held in great esteem, particularly by those less fortunate among us.  In talking with my Pro Bono clients, I am constantly humbled by the reverence I am shown.  I am no Earl Warren but my Pro Bono clients make me feel like I am.  They will make you feel that way too.

I want to ask each of you to think back on that day when you graduated from law school.  Recall your Richard Widmark moment of that day.  We all had it or we wouldn’t have made it through law school. That determination as a new lawyer to get out there and make a difference…to speak for those who can’t speak for themselves.  You can still make that happen.  It will make you a better person and a better lawyer.  Call Mary Ann Corey or Colorado Legal Services and volunteer to take on a Pro Bono case or participate in one of the many Pro Bono programs we have in El Paso County.  It will be one of the best decisions you will ever make.