Curriculum Vitae

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

2002 - Present.

Attorney
Burns, Figa & Will, P.C., Denver, Colorado.

Private practice of water, environmental and governmental law and related litigation and appeals.

1985 - 2002.

Attorney
Fairfield and Woods, P.C., Denver, Colorado.

Private practice of water, environmental and governmental law, litigation and appeals.

Steve represents the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District and various other public agencies and private parties on a variety of water and governmental matters. He has been involved in hundreds of Water Court cases. He is experienced in drafting and negotiating complex water rights transactions and settlement agreements. His environmental experience includes state and federal water quality and Endangered Species Act matters.

EDUCATION:

Legal: Stanford University Law School, Stanford, California, J.D., 1985

Undergraduate: Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, B.S.C.E. with honors, 1982

ADMISSION TO PRACTICE:

Colorado 1985

MEMBERSHIPS:

Member: American Bar Association; Colorado Bar Association (Water Law Section, Ethics Committee 1988-1996); Colorado Water Congress (State Affairs Committee); Christian Legal Society (Board of Directors 2000-2003)

PUBLICATIONS AND SPEECHES:

Colorado Water Congress – Workshop on Legal Ethics in Water and
Environmental Law – "Professional Conduct: Rules, Values and Obligations" (December 2002, November 2003, November 2004)

Colorado Water Congress, Colorado Water Law Seminar – "Legal Ethics in Water Law Practice" (September 2001, 2002 and 2004)

Colorado Water Congress, Workshop in Initiatives – "Title Board Action, Supreme Court Review and the Single Subject Requirement" (November 2002 and October 2000)

CLE International, Colorado Wetlands Seminar – "Ethics Considerations: Counseling and Representing Clients on Wetlands Issues" (November 2001 and September 2000)

Stephen H. Leonhardt & Brent A. Waite, The Public Trust Doctrine: What It Is, Where It Came From, and Why Colorado Doesn’t (and Shouldn’t) Have One, COLO. WATER RESOURCES RES. INST., INFO. SERIES NO. 78, 190, 205-07 (1995).

Continuing Legal Education in Colorado – Advanced Real Estate Seminar – "Current Ethical Issues in Real Estate Transactions" (November 1997)

Colorado Water Rights (Colorado Water Congress) – "Court Rejects Public Trust Initiative" (Summer 1995)

Colorado Water Congress, 37th Annual Convention – Debate on the "Public Trust Doctrine – What It is – Is It Headed For Colorado?" (January 1995)

"Abandonment of Water Rights: Is ‘Use It or Lose It’ the Law?" – The Colorado Lawyer (November 1989)