I am posting here my resume with a description of my work with the Cherry Hills Village municipal government, Arapahoe County government, regional, state, bar, and charitable organizations.
I grew up on the pumpkin farm in Greenwood Village, where I raised cattle, corn, and alfalfa. I attended Curtis Elementary School, a three-room schoolhouse that is now the Curtis Center for the Arts. During summers in high school I drove tractors for South Suburban Park and Recreation District and mowed the banks of the High Line Canal.
10 Sandy Lake Road
303-607-3688
Russell.Stewart@faegredrinker.com
Community Leadership
City of Cherry Hills Village, Denver, CO 2006-
Mayor (2018 -)
City Council District 2 (2006 - 2015)
Mayor Pro Tem (2008-2015)
Quincy Farm Committee, Chair
Residential Design Standards Committee
City Center Citizens Committee
Development Code Revisions Committee
Citizens Undergrounding Utilities Committee
Citizens Panel, Police Chief Search
Citizens Committee for Sales Tax Modernization
Author of CHV Code of Ethics
Author of amendment to Charter requiring voter approval for sale of parks
Colorado Municipal League 2019-
Executive Board Member (elected by members from 270 municipalities)
Policy Committee
Budget and Audit Committee
Housing Committee, Construction Litigation reform
Drafted Roles and Responsibilities for CML Board Members
Conducted Board outreach to municipalities in 14 CML Board Districts, including
Akron, Evans, Thornton, Victor, Golden, La Junta, Monte Vista,
Pagosa Springs, Ouray, Meeker, Rockvale, and Trinidad
Metro Mayors Caucus 2019-
Executive Committee (appointed by Mayors)
CIRCLE Committee
H3C Committee
Habitat for Humanity
Arapahoe County Open Space and Trails Advisory Board 2016-
Chairman
District 1 Representative
Open Space Sales and Use Tax Reauthorization Committee
Recipient: Our Progress Takes Flight Stewardship Award
Arapahoe County Transportation Forum Executive Committee 2019-
Highline Canal Collaborative Forum Executive Committee 2022-
Region 9 Opioid Settlement Governance Committee 2022-
I-25/Belleview Interchange Project Executive Committee 2019-
Hampden Avenue Mobility and Safety Advisory Committee 2022-
Arapahoe County Mayors, Managers and Commissioners 2019-
Arapahoe County Metro Mayors Group 2019-
Cherry Hills Village Police Foundation 2021-
Drafted By-laws and Articles of Incorporation for the Foundation
First Donor to the Foundation
Denver Area Council of Boy Scouts 2008-
Trustee
Vice-President Community Relations
Executive Board
Frontier District Chairman
Troop 712 Committee Chair
Troop 712 Advancement Chair
Silver Beaver Award
Frontier District Award of Merit
James West Award
Cherry Hills Land Preserve 2015-2018
Executive Board and Executive Officer
Representative to the Highline Canal Working Group
Buell Mansion Owners Association 2004-
President
Architectural Committee
Legal Background and Focus
Retired Colorado civil litigation and appellate attorney with a focus on medical drug and device defense, First Amendment, eminent domain, and constitutional property rights. National coordinating defense counsel in mass vaccine and pharmaceutical tort cases responsible for all aspects of national litigation matters including trial, trial preparation, science and Daubert strategy, settlement negotiations, and selection, management, and coordination of regional and local counsel. Appointed by the Colorado Supreme Court to subcommittee IV of the Committee on Pattern Civil Jury Instructions. Expert in contract law, eminent domain, governmental immunity, 42 USC § 1983, and parliamentary procedure
Work Experience
Faegre Baker Daniels LLP, Denver, CO 1988-2014
Partner
Chair Denver general litigation group
Chair Denver appellate practice group,
Chair, legal personal committee,
Chair, associate training and summer clerk programs
Represented clients in litigation matters ranging from commercial disputes to product liability and mass torts. Representative cases involving First Amendment, property rights or economic liberty include:
St. John’s Church in the Wilderness v. Scott, 194 P.3d 475 (Colo. App. 2008); after remand, 296 P.3d 273 (Colo. App. 2012), cert. denied,133 S.Ct. 2798 (abridgment of right to free exercise of religion)
City and County of Denver v. L.C. Fulenwider, et al., 88-CV-24566 (Denver) (represented landowners in condemnation proceedings taking property for the Denver International Airport)
Save the Scenic Santa Ritas v. United States Forest Service, 4:11-CV-00094 TUC (D. Ariz. 2011) (represented Northwest Mining Association resisting argument that the Federal Advisory Committee Act applies to NEPA review proceeding)
Conover McClearn & Heppenstall P.C. Denver, CO 1986-1987
Associate
United States Judge Richard P. Matsch, Denver, CO 1984-1986
Judicial Clerk
Professional Activities
Colorado Supreme Court 2010-present
Appointed Member, Committee on Pattern Civil Jury Instructions
Subcommittee IV Contracts and Fraud
International Association of Defense Counsel 2004-present
Trial Academy Faculty, Stanford Law School
State Membership Chair
Chair, Toxic and Hazardous Substances Litigation Subcommittee
Vice Chair, Class Actions and Multiparty Litigation Subcommittee
Faculty of Federal Advocates, Denver Colorado 2014-
Immediate Past President
President
President-elect
Secretary
Treasurer
Professional Honors
“The Best Lawyers in America” 2012-2014
Selected for Mass Tort Litigation and Product Liability Litigation
Publications
American Bar Association 2011
A Practitioner's Guide to Class Actions, Co-Editor
The Colorado Lawyer, Vol. 40, No. 9
“Legal Trends and Best Practices in Class Arbitration”, Co-Author 2011
Defense Counsel Journal, Vol. 76, No. 4 2009
“CERCLA Contribution Claims and the Collateral Source Rule”
Legal Education Presentations
International Association of Defense Counsel Member Meetings 2007-2014
“Comcast v. Behrend, A Sea Change for Rule 23(b)(3)?”
“Arbitration of Federal Statutory Claims: The DOJ Weighs in on 'Effective Vindication’”
“Managing the Global Law Firm”
“The Summitville Mine, CERCLA Contribution and the Collateral Source Rule”
“Recent Experience with Express Preemption Defenses Following Bates v. Dow”
Bar Admissions (Inactive)
United State Supreme Court
Federal Circuit Courts: Fifth, Eighth, Ninth and Tenth
Federal District Courts: Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Texas
State District Courts: Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas
Education
University of Michigan, J.D. 1984
Colorado College, B.A., Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa 1981
Interests
Tennis, gardening, skiing, travel
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