Lawyer Overview

Mr. Cohen grew up in Denver. He earned his BA in economics at Whitman College 1980, then returned to Colorado and received his law degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1983.  From 1983 to 1987 Mr. Cohen served as a Judge Advocate in the U.S. Air Force. He also served two years as a Special Asst. U.S. Attorney in Nebraska. In 1986, he won the American Bar Association's Outstanding Young Military Service Lawyer award.

From 1987-1995 Mr. Cohen practiced law in Nebraska, where he represented an agricultural lender in collection and bankruptcy matters throughout the state. He also successfully represented defendants in several high profile criminal cases.  In twenty-four years as a trial lawyer Mr. Cohen has conducted more than 100 jury trials.  He has served as an on-demand military law expert for MSNBC, and also appeared with one of his clients on The Today Show, Inside Edition, and other nationally televised programs.

Mr. Cohen and his family returned to the Denver area in 1995.  He served as a Prosecuting Attorney for the Denver suburb of Westminster for seven years, and served as Interim Municipal Judge for the City of Boulder for eighteen months.  He today serves as Municipal Judge for the Town of Lochbuie, portions of which are in Adams County and portions of which are in Weld County.  He also served on the Executive Board of the Colorado Municipal League in Denver.  He served as an elected member of his town's Board of Trustees and on his town's Board of Zoning Adjustment.  He has tremendous experience in all aspects of local government.

Because of his diverse background, Mr. Cohen has experience in many areas of the law, but his practices emphasizes agricultural and equine law, business litigation, intellectual property and unfair competition, municipal law and special districts, real estate law and litigation, and tax-exempt organizations and trade associations.  He currently serves as General Counsel for the National Association of Certified Home Inspectors, a 501(c)(6) trade association with more than 8,000 members.

An accomplished writer, Mr. Cohen has authored six articles in the prestigious American Jurisprudence Proof of Facts series, including the primary article on piercing the corporate veil.  One of his interests is the use of "Plain English" rather than legal jargon in legal writing.  Mr. Cohen also wrote two mysteries published by Time/Warner.  His first mystery, The Fractal Murders, was a Book Sense mystery selection and a finalist for the Colorado Book Award.  The sequel, Bluetick Revenge, won widespread praise from well known authors, including Kinky Friedman and Margaret Coel.

Mr. Cohen is a member of the Board of Directors of and a volunteer instructor for DART, Inc., a non-profit that offers training in preventing and responding to workplace violence, and with that background he drafts and reviews workplace violence policies.

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" If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking".

                                              Gen. George Patton

Areas of practice

• Agricultural Law
• Business Litigation and Business Torts
• Commercial Law and Litigation
• Construction Law and Litigation
• Contracts and Contract Litigation
• Copyright and Copyright Litigation
• Corporate Veil Litigation
• Creditor's Rights
• Deceptive Trade Practices
• Easements and Easement Litigation
• Employment Law -- Employer
• Equine Law
• Farm and Ranch Law
• Fire Districts
• Firearms Negligence
• Government Contracts
• Intellectual Property Law and Litigation
• Internet Law
• Litigation & Appeals
• Martial Arts and the Law
• Municipal Law
• Nonprofit Organizations
• Real Estate Law and Litigation
• Security Clearances
• Special Districts
• Trade Associations
• Trademarks and Trademark Litigation
• Unfair Competition

Representative Clients

• National Association of Certified Home Inspectors
• The Children's Diabetes Foundation at Denver
• The Space Science Institute
• Twisted Pine Brewing Company
• High Country Fire Protection District
• Gilpin Ambulance, Inc.
• Power Screening, Inc. (Henderson, Colorado)
• RealPro Real Estate and RealPro Mortgage (Fort Collins, Colorado)
• Snowline-Skydale Property Owners Association
• Defense Awareness Response Training, Inc.

Representative Cases

• United States v. Moore, 978 F.2d 1029 (8th Cir. 1992)

West Practice Categories

Administrative Law, Administrative Hearings & Adjudication, Administrative Investigations, Agriculture Law, Equine, Farms & Ranches, Livestock, Deceptive Trade Practices, Unfair Competition, Bankruptcy Law, Collections & Repossessions, Creditors' Rights, Business & Commercial Law, Commercial Leasing, Contracts, Debtor/Creditor, Franchising, Secured Transactions, Transactions, Uniform Commercial Code, Warranties, Business Organizations, Closely Held Businesses, Directors' & Officers' Liability, Formation & Business Planning, Limited Liability Companies, Non-profit & Tax-exempt Organizations, Trade Associations, Collections, Advertising, Internet, Construction Law, Construction Contracts, Construction Liens, Housing & Construction Defects, White Collar Crimes, Employment Law -- Employer, Employee Rights -- Employer, Employment Contracts -- Employer, Wrongful Termination -- Employer, Government Contracts, Intellectual Property Law, Copyrights, Trade Secrets, Trademarks, Internet -- Cyberspace, Computer Law, Domain Names, Litigation & Appeals, Bankruptcy Litigation, Federal Trial Practice, State Trial Practice, Military Law, Courts-Martial & Discharge, Military Justice, Personal Injury -- Plaintiff, Firearms, Real Estate Law, Commercial Real Estate, Condominiums & Cooperatives, Conveyancing, Landlord/Tenant, Residential Real Estate, State, Local & Municipal Law

Bar Admissions

Colorado, 1983
Nebraska, 1985
U.S. District Court District of Colorado, 1984
U.S. District Court District of Nebraska, 1985
U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit, 1985
U.S. Court of Appeals 10th Circuit, 1984
U.S. Tax Court, 1990
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, 1984
U.S. Court of Veterans Appeals, 1991
U.S. Supreme Court, 1990
U.S. District Court Eastern District of Michigan, 2006

Professional Associations and Memberships

Colorado Bar Association
Boulder County Bar Association
Federal Bar Association
DART, Inc., 2001 - Present (Board of Directors)
Town of Nederland, 1998 - 2002 (Board of Trustees)
Colorado Municipal League, 2000 - 2001 (Executive Board)
Colorado Bar Association (Agricultural Law Section)
Colorado Bar Association (Military Law Committee)
National Institute for Military Justice
Colorado Municipal Judges Association
Town of Nederland Board of Zoning Adjustment, 1996 - 1997

Honors and Awards

• Recipient, American Bar Association Outstanding Young Military Service Lawyer Award (1986)
• Community Service Champion Award (with other Board members), Town of Nederland (2002)
• 2nd Prize, 2004 National Legal Fiction Writing Competition for Lawyers
• Air Force Squadron Officers School Award for Excellence in Writing (1985)
• Finalist, Colorado Book Awards (Fiction)
• Book Sense Top Ten Mystery Selection Author (2002)
• Two Time Finalist, Nebraska Toastmasters State Speech Contest

Classes and Seminars

• An Ounce of Prevention, How Home Inspectors Can Minimize the Risk of Claims, Toronto, Canada (2007), National Association of Certified Home Inspectors
• An Ounce of Prevention: How Home Inspectors Can Minimize the Risk of Claims, Orlando, FL (2006), National Association of Certified Home Inspectors
• Legal Self Defense for Martial Arts Instructors, Estes Park, CO (2006), Martial Arts Services, Inc.
• Multiple appearances on MSNBC in 2004 and 2005 as a military law expert
• Appearances on the Today Show, the Jimmy Kimmel Show, and Inside Edition
• Prosecuting in a High Volume Court, Colorado Municipal League, Fall 2002
• Panelist, Forum On Gays In The Military, Creighton University, March 1993
• The Soldiers' & Sailors' Civil Relief Act, 1991 Family Law Seminar of the Nebraska State Bar Association
• Faculty member, Collection Law, Lorman Business Seminars, November 1993 & 1994
• Garnishment of Federal Employees And Military Members, International Credit Association of the Midlands, Dec. 1993
• A Civilian Attorney's View Of The Military Justice System, University of Nebraska at Omaha, January 1994

Pro Bono Activities

• Instructor, DART (Defense Awareness Response Training) (Boulder, CO), 2001 - Present
• Editor, Newsletter of the Military Law Committee of the Colorado Bar Association
• Colorado Agriculture Ambassador Program

Past Employment Positions

Private Practice of Law, Denver/Boulder/Nederland, 1995 - 2005
City of Boulder, Interim Municipal Judge, 2001 - 2002
City of Westminster, Municipal Prosecutor, 1996 - 2003
Cohen, Vacanti, Higgins & Shattuck, Omaha, Partner, 1990 - 1995
Dwyer, Pohren, Wood, Heavy & Grimm, Omaha, Attorney, 1987 - 1990
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, Nebraska, 1985 - 1987
USAFR, Captain, 1987 - 1990
USAF/JAG Corps, Captain, 1983 - 1987

Education

University of Colorado School of Law, Boulder, Colorado, 1983
Juris Doctor
Whitman College, Walla Walla, Washington, 1980
Bachelor of Arts (Economics)
U.S. Air Force Squadron Officer's School, Montgomery, Alabama, 1985
Honors: Commandants's Award for Excellence in Writing

Offers Free Initial Consultation

Accepts Credit Cards

Published Works

• Entrapment by Estoppel, 53 POF3d 249
• Grounds for Disregarding the Corporate Entity and Piercing the Corporate Veil, 45 PO3d1
• Negligent Operation of Boxing Gym, Martial Arts School, or Similar Establishment, 43 POF 3d 195
• Negligent Operation of Health Club or Similar Facility, 40 POF3d 111
• Proof of Negligent Sale, Entrustment, or Storage of Firearm, 37 POF3d 1
• Entitlement to a Stay or Default Judgement Under the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act, 35 POF3d 323
• Entrapment by Estoppel, The Colorado Lawyer, February, 2002
• Elements of an Effective Workplace Violence Program, The Colorado Lawyer, July, 2004
• Legal Self Defense For School Owners, Inside Kung-Fu, July, 1997
• Trial Preparation & Organization, 27 Air Force Law Review 29, 1987
• The Fractal Murders (A Book Sense Top Ten Mystery Pick) and Finalist for the Colorado Book Awards, Mysterious Press (Time/Warner), 2005
• Bluetick Revenge, Mysterious Press (Time/Warner), 2005
• CAUSE OF ACTION TO ESTABLISH LIABILITY OF CORPORATE DIRECTOR OR OFFICER, 36 COA2d 441, 2008

Address

1942 Broadway
Suite 314
Boulder, CO80302

Office Hours

8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Other Appointments Upon Request.

Phones

(303) 546-7937 (Boulder Office)

Faxes

(303) 258-7893 (We strongly prefer email to fax correspondence)

Emails

Contact Us

Internet Urls

http://www.cohenslaw.com

Firmsite Urls

http://www.boulderbusinesslawyer.com