lawyers within 20 miles of Denver Colorado

Meet Carolyn Duncan Committed to addressing the most pressing concerns of our clients, I recognized the need to concentrate my focus on the estate planning strategies. Helping people through their most complex and often emotional decisions, I bring together thoughtful strategic planning, extensive knowledge of the latest legal thinking and economic policies and the foresight I’ve developed in over two decades of practice. I understand the emotional toll major life decisions can take. When my husband of 17 years fell ill and passed away, I was left wrestling with many wrenching decisions and complex legal hurdles. And when my mother was diagnosed with dementia and needed to be moved into an assisted living facility, the decisions, and legal ramifications were huge—as were the potential costs. These difficult experiences have shaped my approach to estate planning and family law, and they powerfully reaffirmed my commitment to helping my clients through their complex legal challenges. Whatever your unique situation may be, I am dedicated to sharing my knowledgeable and trusted voice as a fiercely advocates for your interests. My approach is deeply human, designed to amicably resolve disagreements as a first option, reducing the stress and mitigating many emotional triggers that death, business dissolution, or other shift in family or financial dynamics can release. By planning strategically and helping to eliminate the unknown, I offer peace of mind, ensuring protections for your family and the knowledge that your legacy is being preserved according to your wishes.

Dan has been practicing law since 1986. He began his career with the District Attorney’s Office followed by a term with the Enforcement Division of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Later, he became in-house counsel for an OTC securities registered Broker / Dealer. Prior to the formation of Levin Jacobson Japha, P.C. he counseled clients in private practice for many years. Dan has extensive experience in and focuses his practice on counseling businesses and handling partnership disputes; corporate law; private placement financing; regulatory compliance; business succession matters; mergers, acquisitions; employment issues; corporate and regulatory compliance; health care provider law; wills, estate and probate administration matters; divorce, custody family law and domestic partnership issues; personal injury accidents; and administrative law matters. He holds a B.A. from the University of Colorado and a J.D. from the University of Denver College of Law. Dan is a member of the Trust and Estate, Family Law, and Business Law sections of the Denver, Colorado, and American Bar Associations, has been admitted to the U.S. District Court, U.S. Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. He has written numerous articles on business law matters and has served on the boards of several non-profit organizations, and represents a wide range of companies, commercial enterprises, medical providers, business owners and individual clients. Accomplishments over his 30-year career include obtaining a multi-million dollar jury verdict against a major telecommunications company; obtaining a million-dollar business saving verdict on behalf of a family-owned metal fabricating company; achieving a six-figure settlement in a restaurant personal injury case involving dangerously hot coffee spilling on a customer; negotiating numerous multi-million dollar private placement financings, mergers and acquisitions; negotiating and litigating numerous company partnership disputes and settlements, and negotiating purchase, product and supply contracts on behalf of many prodigious businesses.

Dave began his career as a prosecutor in the Denver District Attorney’s office. He then went to the US Attorney’s Office in Denver where he was the Coordinator for the Mountain States Drug Task Force as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force newly formed in 1982. In 1985, Dave was appointed by then Governor Lamm as the District Attorney for the First Judicial District of Colorado that includes Jefferson and Gilpin Counties. He was elected in 1993 and remained as the elected DA until 2005 when he was term limited. In 1987, Dave was appointed by Governor Romer to be the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Public Safety. He held that position until he was elected District Attorney in 1993. During his tenure, he attended the Harvard University Executive Course for Senior Government Executives. Dave was the Executive Director of the District Attorney’s Council for three years in 2005. During that period, he was appointed by the Chief Judge for the Fifth Judicial District to be the Acting District Attorney in the Fifth Judicial District that includes Huerfano and Las Animas Counties. Dave joined Defense Attorneys Maureen O’Brien and Fred Bibik in 2008 where he practiced criminal defense until 2022. Dave joined with his daughter, Attorney Carrie Kollar, in October 2022 to January 2024. Dave’s background includes litigating sex crimes, DUIs, drugs, murder cases, crimes against children, felonies, traffic and financial crimes.

Over his more than three decades of practice, David Japha has earned a reputation for resolving difficult and complex matters, sometimes being the second or third lawyer to take on a case. David has tried many criminal and civil cases to conclusion and argued numerous appeals, post-conviction cases and cases involving mental health issues. He also currently represents clients in federal and state administrative matters, including ongoing matters before the Consumer Products Safety Commission. David got his start in litigation before leaving the University of Denver College of Law, where he tried his first DUI case in state court through a program called the student law office. He also negotiated settlements and argued his first administrative appeal before the Social Security Administration in the winter of 1984, before his law school graduation in May of that year. Soon after starting out, David shared office space with his current partners, Don Jacobson and Daniel Levin at Ptarmigan Place. There he learned law office management hanging out his shingle and doing evictions, collections and court-appointed federal criminal cases. And, it was there, in federal court, that David truly cut his teeth in criminal defense litigation, culminating in his appointment to the Criminal Justice Act committee (which oversaw the appointment of conflict counsel in federal court) by then-Chief Judge Richard Matsch. Over 30 years of practice has given David the opportunity to be involved in some amazing cases, including taking depositions in Katmandu, Nepal in a complex criminal case in 1991; representing a witness in the trial of Timothy McVeigh (where David was also a credentialed reporter for the Intermountain Jewish News); handling criminal matters in Nebraska, Kansas and California and appearing in Washington State. David has been an expert witness for the Colorado Supreme Court Office of Regulation Counsel in the area of attorney fees for court appointed counsel.

Milo Schwab is a civil rights attorney who has spent his career advocating against government and corporate interests. Milo takes on the hard cases that others won’t take. Milo graduated from the University of Michigan Law School and has been practicing law for over 10 years. In 2020 Milo was the recipient of the Colorado Trial Lawyers Case of the Year Award in Abay v. City of Denver. Milo is licensed to practice in Colorado, New Jersey, New York and in the 7th and 10th Circuit respectively.

Eric Staton lived in Illinois until he was in the second grade, then in Spring, Texas, until his junior year in high school. His family moved to Littleton, Colorado in 1990, where he finished high school at Heritage High School. After high school, Eric studied English and Philosophy in Regis University, so the practice of Law appealed to him because he wanted a career that utilized his strengths in writing and analytical thinking. Eric studied Law at Rutgers School of Law. Eric was mentored in the area of workers’ compensation by one of the best lawyers who ever practiced in that area in Colorado, and he focuses his legal practice primarily on workers’ compensation claims, wrongful death claims, and injury claims of all types. Eric Staton has been a licensed Colorado lawyer for over twenty (20) years and has been with the Mintz Law Firm, LLC since March 2005 as a personal injury lawyer.

Eric developed his passion for law as an undergraduate in Austin, Texas. During law school at the University of Indiana at Bloomington, Eric focused his studies on business law and contracts because he knew that he wanted to assist small and medium sized business owners realize their entrepreneurial dreams. After law school, Eric completed his M.B.A. in Germany at the University of Stuttgart in 2008. As an attorney Eric has experience practicing in front of the Colorado Court of Appeals and in courts throughout the Denver metro area. Eric has also successfully navigated the bureaucratic morass of federal and Colorado state administrative law on behalf of his clients. He has also dedicated a portion of his time pro-bono legal work with Denver Metro Volunteer Lawyer’s Family Law Court Program, a program which assists and represents litigants in family proceedings who may otherwise be unable to afford representation. Eric understands the complexities of starting and maintaining a business and can guide a small business through the start up process, acquisition of capital, employer/employee relationships, changing business entity status, mergers, and handling international disputes. As a German speaker and a former resident of Germany, Eric also has an advanced understanding of German business practices and economics that he uses to assist clients as they develop their businesses in the German market.

Erika Gebhardt practices exclusively family law and estate planning. Erika began her career in family law when she worked as an extern at the firm during the summer after her first year of law school (2010). After realizing her passion for this area, Erika continued by serving at the firm as a law clerk in the summer following her second year of law school (2011). Erika has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in International Political Economy from Colorado College, Colorado Springs, and was a 2012 graduate of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, where she was a member of the Order of St. Ives. Erika has worked as a judicial intern in a courtroom with a domestic and civil docket. She also interned for Denver District Court Judge Robert McGahey, Jr., of the Second Judicial District, where she was able to gain valuable experience in motions practice and courtroom procedure. After graduating from law school, Erika worked at a local law firm practicing family law. Licensed to practice in the State of Colorado, Erika is a member of the Colorado Bar Association and the CBA Young Lawyers Division. Originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Erika moved to Colorado in 2005. Erika enjoys volunteering and supporting her community through Metro Volunteer Lawyers and local events.

Fred A. Dunsing attended law school after employment in the E&C, software, and manufacturing industries. He attended school at night while working full-time during the day. Even though he attended school at night, he managed to gain a significant amount of client representation and trial experience through the Student Law Office operated by the University of Denver and sanctioned under Colorado law.{newline}{newline}After graduation, Fred practiced mainly in the areas of business organizations, criminal defense, civil litigation and family law. Fred currently maintains a litigation practice and limits that practice to family law, which he has done for nearly 20 years. Fred’s family law practice includes the areas of divorce, legal separation, annulments, child custody disputes, property settlements, post-decree modifications, paternity and visitation, grandparent rights, and (pre)marital agreements. Fred is rated “AV-Preeminent” by Martindale Hubbell, which is the highest rating an attorney can receive.{newline}{newline}Fred strives to find cost-effective solutions for clients during negotiations, in litigation, or on appeal. It is his goal to provide personal service at a reasonable cost, and Fred most enjoys the opportunity to help Colorado families through difficult times.