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Law firm updates
Spencer Fane LLP announced May 7 that Jeff Clarke joined the firm’s Denver office as an associate in the litigation and dispute resolution practice group. Clarke’s practice focuses on insurance, commercial and class action litigation, with prior representation experience spanning transportation, premises liability, public entity and sports and recreation law. After completing his undergraduate studies at the University of Colorado, Clarke earned his law degree from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, where he received recognition for excellence in multiple legal categories, including alternative dispute resolution, negotiation and mediation and privacy and data protection law.
Fisher Phillips announced that Rassa Ahmadi has joined the firm as a partner in its Denver office. Ahmadi is licensed to practice in both Colorado and California and most recently served as assistant general counsel for a global Fortune 500 foodservice company. In that capacity, she managed a portfolio of employment litigation matters, including a large number of class and PAGA-related California actions. Ahmadi earned her law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School and her Master of Public Administration from New York University. She also earned her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Irvine, after which she held various public service roles and was a paralegal at a prominent Am Law 100 firm before attending law school.
The judiciary
Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Monica Márquez appointed Judge Nancy Salomone to serve as the next chief judge of the 20th Judicial District, serving Boulder County. Salomone will replace Judge Ingrid Bakke, who was appointed as district judge in 2010 and has served as chief judge since 2017. Bakke recently announced her upcoming retirement and will continue to serve as chief judge until her retirement on July 12. Salomone was appointed to the district court bench in October 2017. She previously practiced as a partner in the Boulder law firm Malkinson Salomone, and as a solo practitioner and owner of the Law Office of Nancy W. Salomone. Her law practice focused primarily on criminal defense, including as a contract attorney on behalf of the indigent accused through the Colorado Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel. Prior to entering private practice, Salomone served as a deputy public defender in the Denver trial office. Salomone earned her law degree from the University of Michigan Law School in 1998.
Gov. Jared Polis on May 7 appointed Magistrate Michal Lord-Blegen to the 17th Judicial District Court, filling a vacancy from the retirement of Judge Rayna Gokli. The appointment is effective June 7. Lord-Blegen is a magistrate in the 17th Judicial District, a position she’s held since 2020. Her docket consists of juvenile matters. Previously, she was a magistrate in the 2nd Judicial District from 2016 to 2020; managing partner at Wohl Stetler Lord-Blegen PLLC from 2012 to 2016; sole practitioner at Michal Lord-Blegen from 2010 to 2012; and associate attorney at Mitch Baker from 2010 to 2011. Lord-Blegen earned her undergraduate degree from Hood College in 1990, and her law degree from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law in 2009.