The University of Colorado Law School is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2017 alumni awards. Selected for their contributions to the legal profession and dedication to the law school, the honorees will be recognized at the 36th Annual Colorado Law Alumni Awards Banquet on March 15, 2017, at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.
The Honorable Bill Ritter, Jr. (’81) will receive the William Lee Knous Award, Colorado Law’s highest alumni honor. Awarded annually since 1960, the Knous Award recognizes outstanding achievement and sustained service to Colorado Law. Ritter is the former governor of Colorado, the former district attorney of Denver, and the founder and director of the Center for the New Energy Economy (CNEE) at Colorado State University.
Colorado Law will honor four alumni with Distinguished Achievement Awards for demonstrated excellence in their professions:
- Gary B. Blum (’71), director, Silver & DeBoskey, P.C.
Distinguished Achievement—Solo/Small Practice
- Hugh Q. Gottschalk (’79), partner and president, Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell LLP
Distinguished Achievement—Private Practice
- Beverly E. Ledbetter (’72), vice president and general counsel, Brown University
Distinguished Achievement—In-House Counsel
- The Honorable Pat Steadman (’91), senator, Colorado General Assembly
Distinguished Achievement—Public Service
Dean S. James Anaya will also present the Dean's Choice Award, recognizing exceptional contributions to Colorado Law:
The Honorable Christine M. Arguello, judge, United States District Court, Colorado
Dean’s Choice—Richard Schaden Adopted Alumna Award
For more information on the Colorado Law Alumni Awards Banquet, including details on sponsorship opportunities and ticket sales, please visit colorado.edu/law/banquet. Biographies of the honorees are below.
The Honorable Bill Ritter, Jr. (’81) was elected as Colorado’s 41st governor in 2006, and served in office from 2007 until 2011. During his four-year term, Ritter established Colorado as a national and international leader in clean energy. Ritter is also credited with making significant progress in Colorado on health care, human services, transportation funding, and higher education funding, even while serving during the Great Recession. Prior to serving as governor, Ritter was the Denver district attorney for 12 years. He served on the executive committee for the National District Attorneys Association and was chair of the board of the American Prosecutors Research Institute. Presently, Ritter is the founder and director of the Center for the New Energy Economy at Colorado State University. In that capacity, he has worked with the White House as well as with governors, state legislators, and other stakeholders to provide strategies and technical assistance that will facilitate America’s transition to a clean energy economy. He serves on the board of directors for the Energy Foundation and is a senior fellow and board member of the Advanced Energy Economy Institute. Ritter earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Colorado State University in 1978, and his law degree from Colorado Law in 1981. With his wife Jeannie, he operated a food distribution and nutrition center in Zambia from 1987 to 1990.
Gary B. Blum (’71) is a director at Silver & DeBoskey, P.C. He holds both a BS and JD from the University of Colorado. He practices actively as a trial lawyer and dispute resolver whose major areas of trial practice include complex civil litigation, health care matters, and representation of health care professionals and legal professionals involving regulatory and disciplinary matters. Blum is active in the ethics committee of the Colorado Bar Association (past chair), American Board of Trial Advocates (past president Colorado Chapter), and various local, state and national attorney associations. He was appointed by both the Colorado Supreme Court and United States District Court for the District of Colorado to serve on and chair lawyer conduct committees for lawyers practicing in those courts.
Hugh Q. Gottschalk (’79), partner and president of Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell LLP, has handled hundreds of cases and taken more than 75 trials to verdict in his 30-year litigation career. An elected fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, Gottschalk employs his decades of litigation experience, accumulated knowledge, and science education background to effectively present complex and technical information at trial. Gottschalk has served as national or regional trial counsel to several large and well-known companies in industries as diverse as oil and gas, automotive, information technology, manufacturing, and consumer and professional services.
Beverly E. Ledbetter ('72) is vice president and general counsel for Brown University (since 1978). Prior to Brown, she was legal counsel for the University of Oklahoma and an adjunct professor at the University of Oklahoma College of Law and at the Center for Higher Education, College of Education. She has been on the faculty of the Management Development Program at Harvard University, where she has also taught as an adjunct professor. She lectures frequently on higher education issues including employment, civil rights, sexual and racial harassment, and federal regulatory compliance and is regarded as an expert in the field of higher education law.
The Honorable Pat Steadman (’91) was selected in May 2009 to fill a vacancy in the Colorado State Senate, and in 2012, was reelected to a full four-year term. As a senator, Steadman has built his career around fighting for progressive causes and giving voice to those communities and issues that for too long have been marginalized and under-represented in the state legislature. In 2013, he was honored at the White House with the Harvey Milk Champion of Change Award, recognizing his more than two decades of advocacy for equal rights.
The Honorable Christine M. Arguello is a federal judge on the United States District Court for the District of Colorado. Arguello earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado Boulder in 1977, and earned her law degree from Harvard Law School in 1980. Prior to taking the bench, Arguello enjoyed a varied and successful career in public and private practice and academia. Arguello joined the court in 2008 after receiving a nomination from George W. Bush. Arguello is the first Hispanic United States district court judge for the district of Colorado. Arguello’s passion for mentoring young people plays out in Law School . . . Yes We Can, an organization she founded to provide mentoring, inspiration, and training to diverse undergraduate students interested in attending law school.
