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• POSTPONED: Thriving in Times of Change

  • When
    Friday, November 07, 2025
  •  
    1:30 PM - 4:30 PM
  • Location
    Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street, Denver, CO 80202

  DUE TO THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN, WHICH WILL PROHIBIT JUDGES AND SOME FEDERAL PRACTITIONERS FROM PARTICIPATING IN THE FORUM, WE HAVE MADE THE DECISION TO POSTPONE THE FORUM UNTIL EARLY 2026. STAY TUNED.

   

  The Faculty of Federal Advocates
  presents the
  
  THE FORUM

  Friday, November 7, 2025
  1:30-4:30 p.m.
  
  Westin Denver Downtown
  1672 Lawrence Street, Denver

  "THRIVING IN TIMES OF CHANGE: Strategies for Enhancing Professional Presence, Communicating Constructively Across Diverse Viewpoints, and Excelling in Stressful Times"

  1 Ethics/4 General CLE credits granted.
  

  Please join us for the 2025 FFA Forum! The Forum provides an inspiring, interactive, and collaborative setting in which to address challenges that we face in the legal profession. It is intended to promote deeper awareness and understanding of ourselves, and to offer real-life tools for managing difficult issues that often receive less attention in traditional legal education and conversation among lawyers.

  Judges who have accepted the invitation to participate include:

  U.S. District Court Chief Judge Philip Brimmer
  U.S. District Court Judge S. Kato Crews
  U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte Sweeney
  U.S. District Court Chief Magistrate Judge Scott Varholak
  U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Cyrus Chung
  U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Tim O'Hara
  U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Kathryn Starnella
  U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Michael Romero
  Colorado Supreme Court Justice Richard Gabriel

  This year’s Forum will focus on showing up and leading with confidence and resilience amidst times of change. Attendees will learn practical tips on communicating effectively across different viewpoints, and managing stress for growth and well-being in challenging and changing environments. 

  Keynote speaker Suzanne Stoller of the University of Colorado Leeds School of Business will draw on her 25 years of experience working with professionals and leaders across multiple industries. Ms. Stoller is uniquely qualified to speak about successful strategies for navigating times of change, growth, and unprecedented challenges, and is skilled in working with professionals of all levels and subject matters. Ms. Stoller will offer attendees insight on professional presence, effective communication, and stress management for workplace well-being and success. 

  Following Ms. Stoller’s presentations, Forum attendees will break into small group sessions, facilitated by our judicial officers and FFA Board Members, to discuss strategies for thriving in times of change. Our group discussions will focus on presenting as our best professional selves, effective communication, and managing stress.  Conversations between members of the Bench and Bar will additionally include discussion of Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct 1.4 (Client/Lawyer Communication), 1.9 (Duties to Former Clients), and 3.3 (Candor to the Tribunal), and how times of change can affect these ethical responsibilities.
  
  $135 for 2025 FFA Members
  $170 for Non-FFA Members
  
  Business casual attire.

  
  

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• POSTPONED: 2025 FFA Bankruptcy Bench-Bar Roundtable

  • When
    Friday, November 14, 2025
  •  
    1:30 PM - 5:00 PM
  • Location
    Polsinelli PC, 1401 Lawrence Street, Suite 2300, Denver

  DUE TO THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN, WHICH WILL PROHIBIT JUDGES AND CLERKS FROM PARTICIPATING IN THE ROUNDTABLE, WE HAVE MADE THE DECISION TO POSTPONE THE EVENT UNTIL MID-2026.
  STAY TUNED.
  
  
  The 2025 Bankruptcy Bench-Bar Roundtable

  Friday, November 17, 2025

  1:30-4:30 p.m. Program
  
  12:30 p.m. Registration Opens

  Polsinelli, PC
  1401 Lawrence Street, Suite 2300, Denver
  

  Please join us for an afternoon of open discussion of bankruptcy law and practice in Colorado. This will be a group discussion format. As an attendee, you will participate in three successive discussion groups on wide-ranging issues relating to bankruptcy law and practice in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Colorado. Topics will include: Recent Trends in Sub-Chapter V and SARE Cases; Economic and Filing Statistic Updates; Chapter 11 Plan and Disclosure Statement Drafting; Courtroom Technology and Use of AI; and Defending the Negotiating Chapter 5 Avoidance Actions.

  Judicial Participants Confirmed to Participate:

  The Honorable Kimberley Tyson
  The Honorable Cathleen Parker (Wyoming)
  The Honorable Michael E. Romero
  The Honorable Joseph Rosania, Jr.
  
  $135 for 2025 FFA Members
  $100 for 2025 FFA Government/Non-Profit Members
  $170 for Non-Members
  $135 for Government/Non-Profit Non-Members

  
  A happy hour will follow the program; details to be provided soon.

  4 General CLE Credits have been requested.

  Show details
• The Schoolhouse Gate Reimagined: Legal Boundaries of Student Expression

  • When
    Thursday, November 20, 2025
  •  
    12:00 PM - 1:15 PM
  • Location
    WEBINAR

  Register

  FACULTY OF FEDERAL ADVOCATES
  presents
  
  THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2025
  
  WEBINAR ONLY
  

  "The Schoolhouse Gate Reimagined: Legal Boundaries of Student Expression"

  JAMIE HUBBARD, Esq.
  Stimson LaBranche Hubbard, LLC

    12:00 - 1:15 p.m.

  Attorney Jamie Hubbard will explore the evolving legal landscape governing student speech in public schools, focusing on the intersection of First Amendment protections and schools’ authority to maintain order, regulate bullying, and uphold educational values. Drawing on key precedents such as Tinker v. Des Moines, Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L., and recent lower court decisions, the session will provide attendees with a framework for analyzing when and how schools may regulate student expression—whether it occurs in the classroom, on social media, or beyond the schoolhouse gate.

  2 general CLE credits granted.

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• Attorney Fees in Federal Court: A Colorado Perspective

  • When
    Tuesday, December 02, 2025
  •  
    12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
  • Location
    Alfred Arraj Courthouse, 901 19th Street, Denver

  Register

  FACULTY OF FEDERAL ADVOCATES
  presents
  
  TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2025
  

  
  "ATTORNEY FEES IN FEDERAL COURT:
  A COLORADO PERSPECTIVE"

  
  SENIOR JUDGE WILLIAM J. MARTINEZ
  U.S. District Court, District of Colorado
  
  PAUL SCHWARTZ, ESQ. 
  Shoemaker Ghiselli & Schwartz, LLC
  
  MICHAEL J. LASZLO, Esq.
  Clark Hill, PLC

  
  12:00 - 1:30 p.m.

  Alfred A. Arraj Courthouse Jury Assembly Room
  901 19th Street, Denver
  (This will not be offered as a webinar.)

  
  

  Join us for a special 1.5-hour CLE on everything you need to know about getting—and fighting—attorney fees in federal court. This practical program will review common statutory and contractual fee-shifting provisions and the “prevailing party” standard, before providing detailed guidance on calculating the lodestar, documenting fee applications, and ethical considerations under Colorado Rules of Professional Responsibility 1.5 and 3.3.
  
  

  We’ll also explore recent developments including Colorado’s new HB25-1090 (effective January 1, 2026) and the addition of subsection (2) to CRS § 13-17-201. The panel will conclude by sharing best practices for both seeking and defending against fee applications, common pitfalls that cost applicants, and what judges really look for when reviewing fee petitions under the Rules of Civil Procedure. 
  
  

  Whether you represent plaintiffs or defendants, this program will equip you with practical strategies and local insights to navigate attorney fee issues more effectively in both our district and on appeal.
  
  NOTE: This program will go until 1:30 p.m. rather than the usual time of 1:15 p.m.

  .4 Ethics/2 General CLE credits granted.

  Show details