Colorado Law Holds 30th Alumni Awards Banquet
The 30th Annual University of Colorado Law School Alumni Awards Banquet, held last week at the Hyatt Regency in Denver, was attended by almost 500 of the law school’s alumni and friends, who all came together to celebrate the accomplishments of some of their most distinguished colleagues.
Four alumni were honored—Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Water and Science Anne Castle ’81, private practitioner Mark Fogg ’79, former Chief Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court Larry Naves ’74 and 2011 William Lee Knous Award recipient Dick Bratton ’57.
Tribute was also paid to retiring Colorado Law professor Bill Pizzi and former professor Judge Jim Carrigan for their contributions to Colorado Law over the years.
Dean Getches was also honored by those in attendance, as he will be stepping down from his post as Dean this summer.
“The greatest honor of this Banquet is to all of us associated with Colorado Law,” said Dean David Getches. “We get to bask in the reflected glory of the people receiving awards tonight.”
This year’s banquet raised over $44,000 for student scholarships, thanks to generous contributions from law firms, businesses, nonprofits, alumni and friends.
Law Alumni Board Chair Jan Steiert ‘78 opened the banquet, greeting the guests and recognizing the current and past Law Alumni Board members. Then Banquet Chair and Master-of-Ceremonies Kristin Rozansky ’78 recognized the previous alumni award winners and thanked the sponsors and advertisers for their generosity.
Dean Getches updated the alumni and guests about the last year at Colorado Law. He highlighted accomplishments such as 90 percent of the 1L class signing a public service pledge, thereby committing themselves to 50 hours of community service. Dean Getches also lauded the success of the recently established Loan Repayment Assistance Program, which assists former students who have taken low paying jobs in the public sector to repay their student loans through funds collected from grants and generous donations.
Former Colorado Secretary of State Bernie Buescher ’74 presented the Distinguished Achievement Award for Public Sector to Anne Castle.
Hugh Gottschalk ’79 of Wheeler Trigg and O’Donnell presented the Distinguished Achievement Award for Private Practice to Mark Fogg.
Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Bender ‘67 presented the Distinguished Achievement Award for Judiciary to Judge Larry Naves.
University of Colorado Regent Michael Carrigan ’94 and his sister Sheila Carrigan ’82 presented their father Jim Carrigan with a Special Recognition award.
Professor Bill Pizzi was honored and presented with an award by one of his former students, Judge Morris Hoffman ’77.
The chair of the Law Alumni Board, Jan Steiert ’78, spoke about Dean Getches’ tremendous contributions to the law school before presenting him with his award.
Finally, following a video of testimonials from Dick Bratton’s friends and family, Marvin Woolf ’57 presented the William Lee Knous Award-- the highest Colorado Law alumni award -- to Bratton, a pioneer in the field of water and natural resources law in the state of Colorado. He has practiced law in Gunnison, Colorado for 50 years and has been an active community member on a variety of boards and commissions throughout Colorado’s western slope.
Colorado Law thanks the Banquet’s sponsors:
- Capstone Sponsor: Holland & Hart
- Keystone Sponsors: Exxon Mobil and Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell
- Flagstone Sponsors: Arnold & Porter; Colorado & Denver Bar Associations; BarBri; Denver Water; Gibson Dunn; Kennedy Childs and Fogg; Miller & Steiert PC; NITA; Colorado State Bank & Trust; Davis Graham & Stubbs; Faegre & Benson; Hoskin, Farina & Kampf; Husch Blackwell Sanders; Moses Wittemyer Harrison & Woodruff; Otten Johnson Robinson Neff & Ragonetti; Qwest Communications; Robinson Waters & O’Dorisio; and Snell & Wilmer; Jan and Bob Steiert; Perkins Coie; Senter Goldfarb & Rice.