Three CU Law School Alumni to Be Honored Thursday

Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, Fourth Judicial District Judge Steven T. Pelican and Neil C. King will be honored at the 27th Annual University of Colorado Law School Alumni Awards Banquet at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Hyatt Regency Denver.

The banquet is the law school’s single largest fundraising event for student scholarships. It is expected to raise an estimated $40,000 from contributions by law firms, businesses, nonprofits, alumni and friends of the law school, according to law school officials.

“In order to provide access to a legal education to people regardless of their means and to continue attracting a first-rate, diverse student body, the law school must significantly increase its scholarship funding,” said David Getches, dean of the law school. “This year’s awardees epitomize the commitment of our alumni to serving the public interest.”

Getches will open the evening’s events. Law Alumni Board banquet chair Brian Meegan will be the master of ceremonies and there will be special tributes to former law school dean and professor Don W. Sears and alumnus Daniel B. Barash.

Ritter, a 1981 law school graduate, is receiving the Distinguished Alumni Award for Public Service. He has served the public as a federal prosecutor, a missionary, Denver’s district attorney, vice president of the National Association of District Attorneys, chairman of the American Prosecutors Research Institute, chairman of the board of Promoting Anti-Violence through Education and as governor.

King, from Boulder, is a 1956 law school graduate and is receiving the Distinguished Alumni Award for Solo/Small Firm Practitioner. He is considered one of the region’s most recognized legal figures in land use and real estate development. He has worked at a number of prominent law firms, been a partner of private development enterprises and served on the boards of professional associations.

Pelican, of Colorado Springs, is a 1971 law school graduate and will receive the Distinguished Alumni Award for Judiciary. He has been on the bench for 22 years and is one of the highest-rated judges by attorneys and nonattorneys in the Fourth Judicial District.

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