Upcoming Programs

March 24, 2021 – An Online Presentation – Courts, Cops, and Consequences, Part 2, The Colorado Edition

Program Materials / CLE Accreditation Notice

February 17, 2021 – An Online Presentation – Courts, Cops, and Consequences: The Effects of Qualified Immunity on the National Interest in Racial Equity.

This program will be presented by the Harrell/Castle pupilage of the Rhone-Brackett American Inn of Court using the Zoom.com platform. With the increasingly mainstream visibility of racial equality movements, such as Black Lives Matter, public interest in and discourse around qualified immunity has grown. Those in favor of qualified immunity indicate that many government officials, particularly police, need to have the reassurance of no-liability discretion to address emergencies. Those that would like to abolish or limit qualified immunity argue that it poses a known threat of unchecked abuse, particularly by un-elected officials, and reinforces institutionalized racism. The Inn has invited Judge Reeves from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi to discuss Jamison v. McClendon, a case that he decided August 4, 2020. The court granted qualified immunity; however, Judge Reeves’s opinion provided a strong factual and historical rebuke of the law the court was required to apply.

Program Materials / CLE Accreditation Notice / Recording

In Memoriam – Robert Gifford Heiserman

For members who were unable to attend the January, 2018 meeting, please see the attached obituary for our esteemed and beloved colleague, Bob Heiserman.  Members shared their fond and funny memories of Bob, and many paid homage to Bob’s memory by wearing bow ties to the meeting!

In Memoriam – Heiserman

At the meeting, the members unanimously voted to rename our mentorship program The Robert Gifford Heiserman Mentoring Program in tribute to Bob’s extraordinary contributions to mentoring young lawyers both within the Inn and in the legal community at large.

Practical Skills in Civil Litigation 2018-2019 — Doyle Inn of Court

Colleagues, I would like to invite you to a series of informal trainings focusing on basic practical skills in civil litigation sponsored by the Doyle Inn of Court.   We are applying for 2 CLE’s for each of our sessions.  There is no charge for attendees.

These sessions will be held from 4:00 – 6:00 PM on the third Wednesday of each month beginning in September at the downtown office of Ryley, Carlock & Applewhite located at 1700 Lincoln Street, Suite 3500, Denver, CO 80203.  A list of the sessions is set forth below.

Materials will be distributed ahead of time so participants will have examples for future use.  We hope this will be an interactive process with participants feeling free to ask questions and contribute experiences.  We also invite experienced practitioners to share experiences as well as sample pleadings and outlines.

Please let me know if any of your Inn members, young lawyers or law clerks may be interested in attending.  Also please have them RSVP to randy.bramer@ogc.usda.gov. I hope these talks will help further the Inns’ purpose of educating and mentoring young lawyers.

Practical Skills Schedule

How to Take and Defend a Deposition: What You Need to Know. September 26, 2018.   This session will offer practical advice and suggested models for taking and defending depositions.

Negotiation, Settlement and Alternative Forums for Resolution: What You Never Learned in Law School. October 24, 2018. The session will help young attorneys learn more about early evaluation of a case and examine ways to resolve cases early in litigation and provide an overview of the various forums for resolution of cases.

So You Are Going to Be Witness –Now What? November 28, 2018.  This session will focus on the successful preparation of witnesses to testify at deposition and trial in civil cases.

Direct Examination – How Do You Do It?  January 29, 2019. This session will focus on the conducting direct examination of witnesses at deposition and trial in civil cases.

Cross Examination – What You Need to Know.  February 20, 2109. The will provide young lawyers with practical advice on cross examining a witness at trial.

How to Navigate Private Practice-What You Need to Know- A Panel Discussion. March 20, 2019. This session will focus on what lawyers need to know before entering into private practice.

Legal Writing – Process and Product. April 17, 2019.  This session will focus on effective legal writing and improving persuasion skills through writing.

A View from the Bench:  Practical Advice for Young Lawyers. May 15, 2019. A panel of judges from state and federal courts will offer their perspective on what young lawyers need to know.

COMMUNITY SERVICE SUB-COMMITTEE!!

 This year the Inn has established a Community Service Sub-Committee which will be chaired by Ellen Giarratana who can be reached at ellen.giarratana@judicial.state.co.us.  So far, three activities are planned for this year:

          Stuffed Animal Drive for 1st Responders– October & November.  Bring a cuddly stuffed animal or two for our drive.  These will be delivered to 1st Responders, who will use them to comfort toddlers and children they might encounter on accident scenes or domestic violence responses.

          Professional Clothing Drive (Lightly Used)– February & March.  This is our annual drive to assist those in need of professional attire.  If you have a suggestion for a service provider or charity who could utilize these items this year, please contact Ellen at ellen.giarratana@judicial.state.co.us.  

           Brothers’ Redevelopment Paint-A-Thon.  Plan to join your fellow Inn members for a day of painting and fix-up for a low income senior’s home, in conjunction with Brothers Redevelopment.  Our day of action will likely take place in April or May, and will require 15 to 25 volunteers.  For a better idea of the fun and satisfaction we will have in store, take a look at these two short vignettes:

King Street: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2ZBfVEgQjU  

Kristen/IHS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vms3xudrPdo

 

PROGRAM AWARDS CRITERIA

The American Inns of Court Program Awards recognize exceptional programs created and presented at local Inn meetings between July 1, 2017 and June 30, 2018.  The top three programs are recognized with plaques that are presented at an Inn meeting and with special lapel pins presented to each member of the pupilage team that presented the program. 

More information is available at: https://home.innsofcourt.org/ or by checking out the Program Awards PDF attached. Program Awards Criteria

All pupilages are encouraged to submit their program presentation to the national office of the American Ins of Court.   (Note: The submission must be made within 60 days of the presentation date.)

 

PUPILAGE PRESENTATION SCHEDULE

The Inn’s theme for the 2017 – 2018 year is “The Bill of Rights in Modern Times”.  Pupilage presentations will be in the following order:

October        Woods/Drake Pupilage–  1st Amendment

November     BCH Pupilage –  8th Amendment

December     No presentation–  Holiday Party

January        Rodgers Pupilage–  2nd Amendment

February       Harrell Pupilage–  4th Amendment

March           Cain/Alvarez Pupilage–  6th Amendment

April             McDermott/Kutcher Pupilage– 21st Amendment