FGMC'S LATEST NEWS & UPDATES
The Nomination of Brett Kavanaugh
This is NOT a political post!

 I can’t believe I have to put that down before my article begins, but in this day and age of the social media blitzkrieg I do feel compelled to state that just so everyone can feel a little less anxious. Whatever your legal, ideological, personal or political leanings, my guess is you have had an opinion about what is currently going on in Washington DC and basically throughout our divided and battered country. 

As a lawyer I have always taken great interest in any judicial appointment, but obviously, like most Americans, the US Supreme Court appointment is of greater interest to me because this appointment impacts us all in significant and life-changing ways. That is why so much of the country has been riveted by the events of the Kavanaugh hearings. 

Is this a man who committed a sexual assault or is this a man unjustly accused and caught up in the #MeToo juggernaut? Are the Democrats simply trying to delay the vote with the hope of winning back the Senate and/or to get revenge for Republicans’ refusal to vote on the Merrick Garland nomination or are the Republicans trying to ram through a nominee without sufficient background investigation just because they are afraid of losing the Senate? As a Senator on the judiciary committee just stated “there is no currency in compromise”. Truer words have never been uttered. It is both the Truth and the Problem with our current political climate. It is what we have come to expect in the USA in 2018. Just when I thought we couldn’t become more polarized and that we had reached peak-vitriol, BOOM, we seem to have collectively achieved a new level of mutual outrage and discontent. 

But there is hope. 

We must resist the desire to hate our friends, family and fellow citizens with such ease. I recently had lunch with a former colleague from many years ago. We have been Facebook friends for years, but our political differences had made us say hurtful things to each other. I demanded that we get together and just have lunch (and a cocktail to boot). It turns out that politically we agreed on much more than would have been apparent from our Facebook arguments. We realized that we both want the same things, we just disagree on the best way to achieve those things. We refused to let our old friendship wither because of political disagreements. We agreed to be cordial and not take everything so personally. I left that lunch feeling better than I had in many months because we knew if the two of us could find common ground, then many other people in our city and nation could also. 

So my friends, whatever your take on the Kavanaugh hearings, I simply urge you to dial down the rhetoric and dial-up an old friend or relative with whom you disagree. Take them to lunch. Have a mid-day cocktail, and re-discover that common ground that you know exists.


Warmly,
IN THIS ISSUE


SERVICE · EXPERIENCE · RESULTS
BUYING PROPERTY TOGETHER: A PRIMER ON CO-OWNERSHIP IN COLORADO


Raise your hand if you own a home. Keep it raised if you own that home together with another person. Now, continue holding that hand up if that other person is not your husband or wife. I’m willing to bet that if I scanned the crowd, quite a few hands would still be in the air. Perhaps not surprisingly, it is becoming more and more common for unmarried people to purchase real estate together. Part of the reason is because real estate prices in the Denver-metro area have increased significantly, with the average price of a single-family home in metro Denver selling for $502,986 in February of 2018, which 11.8% greater than it was in February of 2017, according to Steve Danyliw, chairman of the Denver Metro Association of Realtors market trends committee. Such high prices create an environment where it is financially challenging for one person to purchase a home on his or her own. 

HOW TO BE AN EFFECTIVE CLIENT


When you find yourself in need of a civil litigation attorney, it can be a daunting experience. Choosing an attorney to represent you is an important first step, but your role in the process certainly should not end there. Clients often underestimate how critical it is to stay engaged in their cases throughout litigation. While hiring a good lawyer is of course important, you will achieve the best results if you approach litigation as strategically and as disciplined as your attorney. There are five general traits I have observed in clients who have been able to alleviate the stress associated with litigation and achieve a successful outcome. 

SHARKS, MINNOWS, AND STRONG FISH IN BETWEEN: WHAT I LEARNED IN THE COLORADO BAR ASSOCIATION LEADERSHIP TRAINING


Lawyers are supposed to be sharks – ferocious predators circling the legal waters of the courtroom, looking for their next unsuspecting meal. This is what popular TV shows tell us. When we see lawyers depicted in films, they are often yelling, pounding on podiums, and destroying everyone in their path to satisfy their competitive appetites. In the real world, we expect lawyers to be leaders in the community. I’ve always liked the idea of leadership. That is one of the reasons why I was so eager to join FGMC – I saw so much leadership from the attorneys in this firm and wanted to be a part of it. But, I still had questions. Does a lawyer need to be a shark to be a leader? If you are not a shark, does that make you a minnow? Will you get eaten? Is there a happy medium in the sea? 

LATEST NEWS
FGMC Attorneys Recognized in the 25th Edition of The Best Lawyers in America©

We are very pleased to announce that three of our firm’s lawyers, Lara Marks Baker, Gary Lozow, and John Chanin have been chosen to be recognized in the 25th Edition of The Best Lawyers in America©. Ms. Baker is recognized in the area of Criminal Defense: General Practice; Mr. Lozow is recognized in Criminal Defense: General Practice and Criminal Defense: White-Collar Defense; Mr. Chanin is recognized in Criminal Defense: White-Collar Defense and Litigation – Banking and Finance. The firm is proud of the high caliber of its attorneys in its criminal defense practice and litigation practices!

David Canter at Arapahoe County Bar Association Summer BBQ
 
David Canter and attorney Tom Henderson share a laugh at the ACBA End of Summer BBQ.
P: 303.333.9810 | fostergraham.com   | F: 303.333.9786