As an attorney I advocate for the goals of my clients. But counseling comes first: not how but whether to act. A mindless gun for hire avoids my responsibility and poorly serves clients. At the same time, I have biases, and strive not to impose them. The best description is that we are social janitors: we organize things, clean up messes and sometimes prevent them.
 
Trial experience — dealing with disputes that end up in court — has honed my sensibilities. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., said it best: “The prophecies of what the courts will do in fact, and nothing more pretentious, are what I mean by the law.” Legal advice never challenged in court becomes mainly ungrounded opinion.
 
For 19 years, I had trained with Roshi Philip Kapleau at the Rochester Zen Center, and worked as a carpenter. I was involved in anti-nuclear weapons advocacy, through public speaking, marching, getting arrested, and voter registration. I realized that those doing most of the social engineering in America had law degrees.
 
So, I got a BA in American Studies from the University at Buffalo, a law degree from Northeastern University in Boston, and a Masters from the Colorado School of Public Health. Click here to see my diplomas, starting with the most basic.

I also hand-craft books & cards, bicycle in the city, and enjoy coffeeshop playtime with kids (click here to see their portraits of me).
Colorado Supreme Court Annual Pro Bono Award Ceremony, 2025

Affiliations

Legal
Courts of Colorado (admitted 1991)
Colorado Federal District Court (admitted 1993)
Colorado Federal Bankruptcy Court (admitted 1993)
Courts of Massachusetts (admitted 1991)
Colorado & Denver Bar Associations (joined 1991)
Colorado Board of Pharmacy (2019 – 2023)

Ethics

UC IPED Education Facilitator (1999-2024)
UC Hospital Medical Ethics Committee (1999 -2024)

Mercy Medical Center Ethics Committee (1994 – 1995)
Colorado Healthcare Ethics Forum Board (2016 – 2017)
Life Quality Institute (Palliative Ed) Board (2013 – 2014)

Educator
Sole attorney on faculty and creator of the legal curriculum:
     UC Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship (2006-2023)
     CMHI-Pueblo Forensic Psychology Fellowship (2015-2023)
     Denver FIRST Forensic Psychology Fellowship (2015-2023)
UC Center for Bioethics and the Humanities faculty (since 2004)
Co-Editor, Health Law Column, the Colorado Lawyer (since 2006)
Pro Bono Spotlight Columnist, the Colorado Lawyer (since 2025)

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