Frequently Asked Questions
"Where do I even begin?" You're likely wondering. When it comes to the law, the first steps can be the scariest. We've provided the information below in response to some of the questions we receive most often from potential and actual clients. Don't see your question addressed? No worries. Feel free to contact us here and we'll get back to you as quickly as possible.
Q: What areas of law do you handle and what kind of lawyer do I need?
A: To ensure that you find the right lawyer for you, your business or your family, it's critical to first correctly diagnose the challenges and opportunities you actually face. Lawyers and non-lawyers alike frequently group real world legal problems or objectives into overly simplistic categories such as "family law" or "litigation". But what do such terms really mean?
You must get specific and you must avoid getting blindsided. Domestic violence charges, for instance, may be dismissed in criminal court at the same time the parties face multiple other possible courts of jurisdiction jumping into the mix (such as through a custody action, a temporary protection order, a tort action for money damages or a child protective services investigation).
Bottom line: you must be prepared. It is imperative that you and your legal team are on the same page when it comes to what exactly you seek to achieve. To see more specifics as far as our practice areas, please click here.
For non-emergency matters, we help our clients develop and implement customized approaches to strategic planning: Let's assume you are facing the tough prospect of any ugly divorce. We'll help you plan not just for tomorrow but for all the tomorrows your family will face years from now. This means that before you ever enter the courtroom for the first time, you'll be armed with a game plan that includes consideration of the important variables, options and stages of life to be impacted by the decisions you make now or in the near future. Today, while we may be discussing forensic financial evaluation or selection of a child custody expert, we'll also make sure that you fully understand how negotiations here are intertwined with future estate planning and small business/asset restructuring years down the road.
Q: Do you handle mediation and arbitration?
A: We are trained and seasoned in diverse aspects of alternate dispute resolution ("ADR"), including but not limited to court-ordered negotiations, cross-cultural communications, and voluntary settlement efforts. When it comes to family law, we are well oriented with the quickly emerging approaches to ADR, including but not limited to one-time and ongoing dispute resolution. We can act as your lawyer in negotiations and we can also handle mediation sessions on a one-time retainer through which we provide neutral oversight over negotiations and are also available to draft full settlement agreements.
We've represented clients before arbiters, mediators, court-appointed decision makers with and without parenting coordinator capacities ("PC/DM"), federal civil rights bodies, and many others. We have successfully resolved non-family law disputes before municipal bodies, regulatory agencies, administrative courts and other entities. We are adept at drafting good neighbor agreements, parenting plans, non-disclosure agreements, operating agreements, and settlement agreements.
We have been lauded for our innovative approach to dispute resolution in the political arena as well, such as in scenarios where a party alleges a civil rights violation, wrongful termination, grade retaliation, sexual harassment, or improper HOA enforcement actions.
Regardless of case specifics, we approach every client matter with the same determination: it is possible and essential to be both aggressive and respectful. We're ready and eager to take every case to trial but we will never dismiss opportunities for creative settlement as a more cost-effective, less adversarial option.
Q: How much will this cost me?
A. We will never blindside you with surprise charges or we don't charge clients to answer billing questions. We get that this process can be complicated and overwhelming. Ask away.
As we tell every person who walks through our doors, we offer three different types of fee agreements based on the type of legal services needed. These include hourly fee agreements, contingency agreements and flat rate agreements.
In determining what kinds of fee services we can provide you, we must always comply with Colorado law. As a general matter, most clients can assume that if a case is a civil matter (non-criminal) and is the type that will go to court with the prospect for trial, we will charge hourly.
While we can't guarantee victory and we can't tell you exactly how much a case will cost in the end (beyond flat rate retainer packages) we can and do provide each and every client an honest and detailed financial plan from day one. We often provide step-by-step strategy memos that start with today's needs but also address questions that may arise years down the road. While your longterm legal needs may exceed your financial capacity today, we'll help you develop a legal plan that accounts for future changes to your bank account.
Q: Do you provide discounted or pro bono legal services?
A: We are actively committed to meeting the legal needs of non-profit organizations and important community campaigns. We are also devoted to partnering with indigent members of our community who have unmet legal needs that desperately need assistance. If you are struggling to find legal counsel you can afford, please drop us a note to tell us about your case or cause. If we can't provide you discounted or free legal services, we may be able to still provide a zero-interest payment plan,
a free or discounted one-time consultation, or referrals to other viable need-based legal service providers. Drop us a note and let's see if we can help you.
If you believe you need only limited legal representation, such as with a landlord-tenant dispute over a security deposit or if you need an attorney to conduct a one-time document review, we are happy to discuss with you the prospect of a limited representation (or a la carte) fee agreement, where you will not be required to provide a retainer deposit. In some cases, we provide for pay-as-you-go fee agreement plans.