Holland & Hart News

Holland & Hart Announces Major Expansion of Salt Lake City Office

Nine partners from Holme, Roberts & Owen will soon be joining  the Salt Lake City office of Holland & Hart. Blaine Benard, George Haley, Eric Maxfield, Rick Flint and Chris Hogle will join the firm’s Commercial Litigation Group. Mark Buchi and Steve Young will join the firm’s Tax Group, and John Davis and Shawn Welch will practice with the Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Group.

“This is a very impressive group of attorneys who will assist Holland & Hart in our mission to not only be the very best firm in the Mountain West, but one of the great firms in the United States,” said John Husband, Chair of Holland & Hart’s Management Committee. “Our vision for growth has always been tied to promoting the success of each of our offices. Salt Lake City is an important business center--we took steps long ago to accommodate the expansion of our offices there.”

Colorado Rep. David Balmer Cleared of Complaint

An ethics committee this morning dismissed a complaint against Holland & Hart's client, Rep. David Balmer, saying there is no evidence the Centennial Republican acted inappropriately during his race for minority leader. The House Ethics Committee, comprised of three Democrats and two Republicans, unanimously voted to dismiss the complaint.

The dismissal is a great victory for attorney Jon Anderson and other members of Holland & Hart's White Collar team. One member of the committee mentioned the work of Holland & Hart as having resolved any concerns and providing the basis for the dismissal.

"I don't think we have probable cause to go any further," said the committee chairwoman, Rep. Claire Levy, D-Boulder.

Committee members were satisfied with the redacted records Anderson then provided. Personal and business calls were noted out.

Read more in the Rocky Mountain News, here.

Salzar Suggests Holland & Hart Partner as Judicial Candidate

Outgoing U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar has suggested the names of nine Colorado lawyers to incoming senator Michael Bennet and Sen. Mark Udall as possible nominees for federal judgeships.

Among those suggested is Holland & Hart's own Gregory Goldberg, a partner and a former assistant U.S. attorney. Goldberg was nominated for one of the vacancies last year by President George Bush, but his confirmation was caught up in a political fight between Salazar and Sen. Wayne Allard and never went forward.

Salazar, who is set to become Interior Secretary in Barack Obama's administration, said some of the suggested names came through a bipartisan selection panel that he used last year to screen applications for then-unfilled vacancies on the court. Others, came as suggestions made to him of people who were seeking a lifetime appointment to the court.

Read about Salazar's other suggestions in The Denver Post, here.

Former Prosecutor Comments on Skilling's Resentencing

January 6, a U.S. appeals court upheld ex-Enron Corp. Chief Executive Officer Jefferey Skilling's fraud conviction while ordering him resentenced due to a procedural mistake. Holland & Hart partner, Cliff Stricklin and other experts chime in on Bloomberg.com about how this will affect Skilling's 24-year prison sentence.

“It was a technicality, but it likely could result in a lower sentence for Skilling, as much as a five-to-seven-year reduction,” said Stricklin, one of Skilling's original prosecutors, on the procedural mistake. “But that will result in him spending 15 to 19 years in prison.”

On the whole Stricklin was optimistic on the ruling, “It’s a win for the government in that all the convictions were upheld.”

Read the full article, "Skilling's Conviction Upheld, Resentencing Ordered," here.

CI Lists Carrigan as Candidate for Colorado U.S. Attorney

Much speculation exists over who will become Colorado's next U.S. attorney to president-elect Barack Obama. It is unlikely that Colorado’s current U.S. attorney, Troy Eid, will continue in that role. However, neither Sen. Ken Salazar, who would be charged with submitting recommendations for Eid's successor, nor his spokesperson will not disclose the possibilities.

Yet rumors fly about the replacement. Several names have been mentioned as possible candidates for Colorado U.S. attorney: among them is Holland & Hart's Michael Carrigan.

Carrigan is a former Denver deputy district attorney. When asked about the position, Carrigan told PolitickerCO.com early this month, “It’s something I’m seriously considering, and (it’s) flattering to have some people mentioning my name.”

Read more about Colorado's next U.S. attorney in The Colorado Independent, here.

Bankrupcy Filings in Colorado

Bankruptcy attorney, Risa Wolf-Smith was quoted today in The Denver Post on the escalation of bankruptcy filings across the nation, especially in Colorado. According to statistics released Monday from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Colorado recorded 5,916 filings in the third quarter, a 42.7 percent increase from the 4,145 counted in the third quarter of 2007.

The tight credit conditions behind the rise in bankruptcies make it harder to finance a restructuring, forcing more liquidations. "People are trying to get whatever they can," Risa said, "There aren't a lot of people willing to step in."

Read the full article "Colorado filings for bankruptcy accelerate," here.

Holland & Hart Named Finalist for Business-Ethics Awards

Holland & Hart was listed as one of 16 for-profit businesses, as a finalists in the annual Colorado Ethics in Business Alliance awards. Holland & Hart was the only law firm to be included in the list of finalists.

Since its 1991 start, the CEBA annual awards program has grown to become the largest single event of its kind in the United States. The organization has honored over 100 business organizations from the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors, as well as business and civic leaders.

The CEBA awards recognize organizations and individuals who strive to operate ethically and honorably.

Read more about the award and the other finalists in the Denver Business Journal, here.

Founder of Holland & Hart's predecessor firm in Colorado Springs Remembered

The Colorado Springs community lost a prominent lawyer, a crusader for the developmentally disabled and an old-fashioned gentleman with the death of J. Donald Haney on Thursday. He was 97.

Holland & Hart is proud to recognize the contributions that Haney made to the practice of law and to the firm. Haney joined his father, John Turner, in his practice to form Haney & Haney in 1937. For 46 years, Haney served his clients, fellow attorneys, and the city of Colorado Springs. He retired in 1983, just three years before merging with Holland & Hart.

Family friend John Hazlehurst, described Haney as an attorney guided by personal integrity who served other people before himself. "He was a moral and ethical voice," Hazlehurst said.

We fondly remember this special man who helped establish the deep legal roots from which Holland & Hart has grown.

Read Haney's tribute article in the Colorado Spring Gazette, here.

Funeral arrangements are pending. Contributions can be made to the Stephen S. Haney Endowment Fund, in care of Mosaic, 4980 S. 118th St., Omaha NE 68137.

PS Contributes to Holland & Hart Attorneys' Success in Court

   

Trials can often be long and tedious for jurors, so it is important that counsel keeps their attention and presents their case as efficiently as possible.

Holland & Hart attorneys, Timothy Getzoff and Andrea Anderson represented the French company Babolat, specializing in tennis and other racquet sports, against a trademark infringement suit brought by Unique Sports. Getzoff and Anderson faced the challenge of presenting the breadth of other companies using the blue overgrip tape that Unique claimed customers associate with only their company. 

They turned to Persuasion Strategies, Holland & Hart's in-house graphics department, to convey how many other companies - even Prince, Wilson, and Head - had a similar product. Nick Bouck built a transportable rack himself, using copper tubing, that held all the racuqets wrapped in various blue tape.

Instead of going through almost 60 racquests individually, Getzoff and Anderson could demonstrate all other blue overgrip products in the market. This compelling evidence refuted Unique's claim that the blue tape was their's alone, and the case was settled that day.

Read Law Week Colorado's article, "Rack Helped Jurors Get a Grip" for more about this victory.

Legal Insights 2008: Hidden exports, hidden risks

Beware violating U.S. export laws
By Ivan P. Koves

You’ve just hired a brilliant engineer! She has two degrees from Cal Tech and can run circles around your current staff. She’s applied for her green card and can remain in the U.S. on her H-1B visa until the green card comes through. She has made it through all of your background checks and signed your standard employment agreements.

Your company has not been able to gain any overseas customers. However, a potential large customer in China is sending a representative to your plant in Colorado to evaluate your operations and products. You are ready to roll out the red carpet and show him your modern technology.

You take the specifications for your latest product to Canada to meet with potential customers at an international trade show in Toronto.

The common factor in each of these scenarios is that they put your company at risk of violating U.S. export laws.

Read the full article in ColoradoBiz Magazine, here.