As an attorney I advocate for the goals of my clients. But counseling comes first: not how but whether to act. I can’t be a mindless gun for hire: that avoids my own responsibility and poorly serves clients. At the same time, I strive not to impose my own values. Really, attorneys are just social janitors: we organize things and clean up messes.

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 not regularly challenged in court is mostly philosophy.

For 19 years, I trained at a Zen Buddhist monastery and worked as a carpenter. I then completed 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 important.

I enjoy hand-making books, crosswording, urban bicycling, and playtime with kids.

Click to see me drawn by children who go to the same coffeehouse.

Casey with Sadie the Turtle, Colorado 2022

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 Public Member (since 2019)

Ethics
UC Hospital Medical Ethics Committee (since 1999)
Mercy Medical Center Ethics Committee (1994 – 1995)
Colorado Healthcare Ethics Forum Board (2016 – 2017)
Life Quality Institute (Palliative Ed) Board (2013 – 2014)

Academic
UC Forensic Psychiatry Program faculty (since 2006)
UC Center for Bioethics and the Humanities faculty (since 2004)
Co-Editor, Health Law Column, the Colorado Lawyer (since 2006)

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