James D. Evans, Attorney

James D. Evans has been in private practice serving clients in Aurora, Denver, Greeley, and the Front Range communities since 1979.  He is a shareholder and partner in the law firm of Benson & Case, LLP.  He has been helping clients in matters involving estate planning, wills, trusts, tax planning, retirement planning, Medicaid and incapacity issues, guardianships, conservatorships, trust settlement and administration, probate, business succession planning and charitable giving.  

He has served as the Deputy Public Administrator for the 18th Judicial District of the State of Colorado. Mr. Evans was a volunteer Judge for the Aurora “Teen Court” for the City of Aurora, Colorado.  He served as staff aide from 1971-74 for Congressman Don Brotzman (2nd District- Colorado), Mr. Evans has been a Commercial Arbitrator serving on the National Panel of Commercial Arbitrators for the American Arbitration Association.  He is a member of the Thomas G. Marsh Inns of Court (affiliated with the American Inns of Court.)  He has served on the Board of Directors for:  the Institute of Creative Aging; the OASIS Institute (Older Adult Service and Information System), the Arapahoe County Bar Association; the Centennial Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors; the St Therese School Board; St Michael’s Parish Council; and Buckingham Jaycee’s; . He has participated in the Colorado Guardianship Alliance and Colorado Planned Giving Round Table.  He served for five years on the Colorado Probate Rules and Forms Committee and Colorado Bar Convention Committee.  As an attorney, he is rated as “AV” by Martindale-Hubble on their Directory of Legal Counsel Listing, by virtue of an attorney-judge peer review process conduced by Martindale-Hubble.

Mr. Evans is a featured speaker and lecturer for numerous organizations, churches, civic groups, senior citizen centers, and retirement communities addressing various topics related to aging, elder law and estate planning. He has been a guest lecturer for The Institute for Advanced Legal Studies sponsored by the University Of Denver College Of Law. He has been an instructor for Continuing Education of Colorado and Professional Education Systems Institute, LLC (PESI), National Business Institute (NBI) and Continuing Legal Education of Colorado (CLE).  He is an instructor and facilitator for The American College which provides graduate and professional continuing education in the Denver area for financial professionals.  Mr. Evans is also an instructor for National Network of Estate Planning Attorneys. He was the featured columnist for the column entitled “From the Legal File”, for The Beacon newspaper.  He has also been a guest legal columnist for the The Greeley Tribune.  Mr. Evans was also the legal commentator for a weekly radio program entitled “The Senior Showcase” for KEZW AM 1430.

He received his B.A. degree from the University of Denver; his Master of Governmental Administration degree and his Master of Business Administration and Master of Governmental Administration degrees from Georgia State University; his Juris Doctorate from South Texas College of Law.  He is a graduate of the Master Advocate Program of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy.  He is a member of The National Network of Estate Planning Attorneys, The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, The Southeast Area Estate Planning Council, The American Bar Association, The Texas Bar Association and The Colorado and the Denver Bar Associations, Colorado Elder Law Committee, the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors and the Centennial Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors. Mr. Evans is licensed to practice before the United States Supreme Court, as well as the Federal and State Courts of Texas and Colorado.

Mr. Evans is also an active volunteer in the community through his church and local school and has enjoyed helping coach his daughter’s softball and basketball teams, as well as High School Mock Trial Team.  He had volunteered for over 10 years for the United States Swimming Association as a nationally certified swimming official.  He enjoys recreational swimming, biking, hiking, golf and tennis and is married to his college sweet heart of 35 years, Diane, with whom he has been blessed with four children and one granddaughter.

If you are in need of an experienced estate planning, or business services attorney, please contact Jim Evans today at 303-757-8300 or james@bensoncase.com

Francis P. Brown, JD, MIM, LLM

Davis Schilken, P.C. Law Offices

Education

- Juris Doctor (JD), Sturm College of Law – University of Denver
- Master in International Management (MIM), Daniels College of
    Business - University of Denver
- Master of Laws (LLM) in Taxation, University of Denver
- B.S.B.A. – Finance, University of Denver

Experience

Teacher / Presenter

Professional Affiliations

Personal

Mr. Brown is a third generation Colorado native and lives in Littleton with his wife Megan and two daughters, Madeline and Catherine

523 Park Point Drive • Suite 101 • Golden, CO • 303-670-9855  • www.davisassocpc.com

Michael J. Bland, Attorney, Partner

Bryan Cave

Michael Bland is a partner in the Tax Department, and is the practice group leader for the Private
Client Services group, concentrating his practice in all areas of trusts and estates law. Specifically,
Mr. Bland counsels business owners, executives, professionals, and high-net-worth families on tax
and estate planning strategies, wealth transfer and preservation tactics, business succession
planning, and charitable giving methods, while integrating those techniques with each client's
business, tax, and personal goals and values.

He also represents trustees, personal representatives, and beneficiaries in the administration of
trusts and estates. In this area, Michael advises on matters including the appointment and
discharge of fiduciaries, tax and valuation issues, the filing of necessary tax returns, the distribution
of property to beneficiaries, trust compliance requirements, the reformation of trusts and estates,
and controversies involving fiduciaries and beneficiaries.

PROFESSIONAL AND COMMUNITY AFFILIATIONS
Member, Colorado Bar Association

• Member, Trust and Estate Section
• Member, Taxation Law Section
• Member, Elder Law Section
• Member, Statutory Revisions Committee

Member, Illinois Bar Association

• Member, Trusts and Estates Section

Member, Denver Bar Association
Member, Denver Estate Planning Council
Member, Rocky Mountain Estate Planning Council
Certified Public Accountant (Inactive)

ACCOLADES
2011 Denver Five Star Wealth Manager, 5280 Magazine

EDUCATION
J.D., Thomas M. Cooley Law School, cum laude, 1993

• Law Review

B.S., Illinois State University, 1990

LICENSURES/ADMISSIONS
Admitted Colorado, 2000
Admitted Illinois, 1993
Admitted U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois
Admitted United States Supreme Court

Holme Roberts & Owen LLP
1700 Lincoln Street, Suite 4100, Denver, CO 802030-4541

Practice Group(s):
Private Client Services
Tel 303.861.7000
Fax 303.866.0200
Direct 303.866.0247
Email: michael.bland@bryancave.com

Reserve Your FREE Seat(s) Today!

GUEST LECTURE SERIES

We look forward to meeting you soon.

Sincerely,

Ken Stiefler, CLU, ChFC, CExP™
President eXITS LLC