From the Vault -- "King of the Mountain"
Ski season eventually has to come to an end each year, but Jim Chalat (Chalat Hatten & Banker PC) is busy year-round. In the 2006 edition of Colorado Super Lawyers Magazine, the man behind skilaw.com took us through the ups and downs of his nationally recognized winter sports personal injury practice.

An excerpt:
Some of the toughest cases for Chalat are the skier-to-skier and snowboarder-to-skier collisions. The out-of-control skier who caused the injury sometimes cannot be found, and if he (and it's usually a he) is found, the penalties are sometimes trivial.
One of the most famous reckless skier cases involved an off-duty Vail employee, Nathan Hall. In the spring of 1997, the 18-year-old ski lift operator was leaving work, taking the last run of the last day of the season and reportedly bombing straight down the mountain, even though other people on the trail were shouting at him to slow down. A mogul toward the bottom of the slope sent Hall airborne and crashing into Alan Cobb, 33, who had the bad luck to ski across Hall's path. Hall's ski fractured Cobb's skull and caused a massive brain injury. Cobb died just hours later. Hall was sentenced to just 90 days for being criminally negligent. The modest sentence was nevertheless the first criminal conviction handed down by a jury in a Colorado ski accident. Chalat was amicus curiae for the people in that case when it went before the state Supreme Court.
But Hall's landmark sentence hasn't seemed to slow down irresponsible skiers. In 2003, Robert Wills was visiting Breckenridge from his native Britain and reportedly skiing at high speed when he caused the collision that killed Richard Henrichs. Chalat represented his widow, Sandra Henrichs, who filed a wrongful death suit. Chalat won what he calls a "substantial settlement" out of court.
Lift tickets held the key to his client's case. Chalat subpoenaed the computer records of when and for which lifts Wills' bar-coded lift tickets had been scanned. "We determined that they got on the lift almost simultaneously." The defendant's companion testified that they had spent about 10 minutes having coffee at the top of the lift. "How did Wills catch up?" Chalat asks rhetorically. "We determined that he was going very fast [when he hit Henrichs]."
Read the rest of the article and be sure to check out the 2018 Colorado Super Lawyers Magazine.
Minnesota Super Lawyers and Rising Stars listees celebrate selections
One-hundred and twenty-five selectees from the 2018 Minnesota Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists gathered in Minneapolis last week to rekindle friendships and celebrate together another year of successful practice.

The reception, held at 514 Studios and co-hosted with Minneapolis-St. Paul Magazine, showcased the variety of selectees attending to network with peers, build their referral networks and celebrate the hard work it takes become a Super Lawyers or Rising Stars listee.
Long-time and first-time selections mingled together, highlighting the peer-learning and interaction available among dedicated attorneys.
"I have been trying to get here for 13 years and I'm so excited to be a Super Lawyers selectee," said Kristin Kingsbury, of Henningson & Snoxell Ltd. "Since before I was a lawyer, I worked in a law firm and when the Super Lawyers lists were announced, I was so excited for those people and I found every Super Lawyers listee in my firm and congratulated them on being selected.
"Then, I went to law school and I've been hot on the trail to be a Super Lawyers selectee ever since. This was my first year getting the designation and I was floored when I found out."
Kingsbury was welcomed into the reception by Ken Abdo, renowned entertainment lawyer and Super Lawyers listee since 2003. Abdo was eager to congratulate Kingsbury and introduce her to fellow attorneys who share their affinity for helping clients.
"I have, for whatever reason, secured the reputation with my peers that they'd select me for this and I'm very appreciative for that," said Abdo.
Abdo also spent time getting to know Lymari Santana, a family law attorney at Mack & Santana Law Offices in Minneapolis and 15-year selection to the Rising Stars and Super Lawyers lists. It was more than a simple discussion of legal issues and referrals. They talked about upbringing and interests (Abdo is a talented musician and Santana grew up in Puerto Rico), highlighting how networking events provide a space to bounce ideas off other lawyers and experience camaraderie.
"You want to see all these people," Santana said. "It shows we have the same values in our practice. It's great to meet people from other practices. I have a lot of different issues in my area of practice and it's always good to have someone to call."
As a result of current immigration issues in the United States, Steven Thal, a top-rated immigration lawyer and 12-time selectee, uses networking opportunities like the Super Lawyers reception to develop business and ask questions of fellow esteemed attorneys. His staff of nine is currently working on staying informed on legal issues and continuing legal advocacy, gearing up for the ramifications of any new national legislation.
At the event, he enjoyed seeing old colleagues and law school classmates. He took time to talk with a friend and former legal opponent in a case when he started out.
"It's a chance to reconnect and make connections with others," Thal said. "It's a resourcing opportunity and I've gotten referrals out of it."
With attorneys spanning practice areas, tenure and firm size, attendees got a taste for the professionalism, work ethic and peer appreciation it takes to be named to the Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists.
"It's great to be here with all these lawyers, who I've known forever," said Charles Lundberg, a selectee in professional liability practice since 2003. "It's good to see these younger people coming up now. I'm really proud that I'm on the list."
Super Lawyers in the News: The Department of Justice, The New Yorker and Donald Trump
A group of Super Lawyers and Rising Stars selectees found themselves at the center of high-profile and high stakes cases in March. The following listees and their clients received exposure on a national scale.

Todd Spodek - Spodek, a criminal defense attorney and Rising Stars selectee in New York City, was retained in an international cyber fraud case centered on members of the Infraud Organization. The FBI deactivated the Infraud website and indicted 36 in the case, with Spodek representing one of the defendants who faces 20 years in prison on a RICO conspiracy. It is the largest fraud case of its kind, with Infraud being one of the longest running websites in the dark web that's been taken down. The case is unique because ownership, leadership and avid users of the site were pursued for criminal activity. According to the Department of Justice press release, the Infraud Organization targeted more than 4.3 million credit cards, debit cards and bank accounts around the world and in all 50 states.
The case is being prosecuted in Las Vegas because law enforcement there has developed expertise in credit card fraud cases and previously obtained indictments against the credit card fraud syndicate known as "Carder.su."
In addition, this is the first case of its kind with cryptocurrency at the forefront. Everyone involved in the case is alleged to have obtained Bitcoin or sold Bitcoin. The government sought to remand Spodek's client, partially due to his exclusively using BitCoin, but he was released on bond and is back in New York.
Take a look at the DOJ's press release.
Chris Dolan - One of the most read articles from the New Yorker this month featured Dolan, a personal injury attorney and Super Lawyers selectee based in San Francisco. It is a complex and emotional story about race, the nature of existence and parenthood when a child is declared dead but the family wants to keep her alive. Dolan took on the case pro bono despite having no experience with legal issues surrounding end of life. An interesting part of the story centers on two states, New York and New Jersey, where families can reject the concept of brain death if it violates religious beliefs.
Take a look at the entire feature.
Michael Avenatti - As more details come out about the alleged affair between Stephanie Clifford, a.k.a. Stormy Daniels, and President Donald Trump, a Super Lawyers listee is now part of the case. Clifford sued the president earlier this month, asking the court to void her nondisclosure agreement and Avenatti is her new attorney. Avenatti is a business litigation lawyer with KPMG in Newport Beach, California, who spent five years at a political consulting firm run by Rahm Emanuel, the former White House chief of staff under Barack Obama.
Listen to Avenatti's interview with NPR.
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