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President

Erin Gust

erin@first-fourteenth.com
Colorado Federalist Society Christmas Party 2026
Register
Dec 17 2026
Thursday 6:00 p.m. MST    

Colorado Federalist Society Christmas Party 2026

Colorado Lawyer Chapter

First & Fourteenth PLLC (DTC Office)
88 Inverness Circle East, Suite L107
Englewood, CO 80112
Sponsors:
Colorado Lawyer Chapter
  • In-Person Event
Colorado at SCOTUS
Register
Jan 27 2027
Wednesday 6:00 p.m. MST    

Colorado at SCOTUS

Colorado Lawyer Chapter

Ruth's Chris
7001 E. Bellview Ave
Denver, CO 80237
Speakers:
Andrew Nussbaum • Frederick Yarger
Sponsors:
Colorado Lawyer Chapter
  • In-Person Event
2027 Western Chapters Conference
Mar 19 2027
Friday 7:00 p.m. PST    

2027 Western Chapters Conference

Simi Valley, CA
Sponsors:
Sacramento Lawyer Chapter • San Diego Lawyer Chapter • Orange County Lawyer Chapter • San Francisco Lawyer Chapter • Los Angeles Lawyer Chapter • Silicon Valley Lawyer Chapter • Colorado Lawyer Chapter • Las Vegas Lawyer Chapter • Puget Sound Lawyer Chapter • Fresno Lawyer Chapter • Salt Lake City Lawyer Chapter • Phoenix Lawyer Chapter • Northern Arizona Lawyer Chapter • Portland Lawyer Chapter • Wyoming Lawyer Chapter • Alaska Lawyer Chapter • Idaho Lawyer Chapter • Hawaii Lawyer Chapter • Southern Arizona Lawyer Chapter • Montana Lawyer Chapter • Reno Lawyer Chapter • New Mexico Lawyer Chapter
  • In-Person Event
The Midterm Elections and Judicial Nominations
This event has concluded.
Nov 5 2026
Thursday 12:00 p.m. MST    

The Midterm Elections and Judicial Nominations

Colorado Lawyer Chapter

Englewood, CO
Speakers:
Edward Whelan
Sponsors:
Colorado Lawyer Chapter
  • In-Person Event
Election Law 2026: Issues, Trends, and Practice
This event has concluded.
Sep 21 2026
Monday 12:00 p.m. MST    

Election Law 2026: Issues, Trends, and Practice

Colorado Lawyers Chapter

Maggiano's Little Italy Denver
500 16th Street, Ste 150
Denver, CO 80202
Speakers:
Michael Francisco • Christopher O. Murray
Sponsors:
Colorado Lawyer Chapter
  • In-Person Event
Private Freedom Plane Exhibit Viewing: Celebrating America 250 & Colorado 150
This event has concluded.
Jun 3 2026
Wednesday 5:00 p.m. MST    

Private Freedom Plane Exhibit Viewing: Celebrating America 250 & Colorado 150

Colorado Lawyer Chapter

History Colorado Center, Martin Foundation Room
1200 Broadway
Denver, CO 80203
Sponsors:
Colorado Lawyer Chapter • The American History & Tradition Project
  • In-Person Event
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Speaker Information
Andrew Nussbaum

Andrew Nussbaum

Partner, First & Foremost PLLC

Biography

Andrew is one of the leading young litigators in the state of Colorado and the West. His practice focuses on the representation of religious institutions, public figures and political organizations, and small and large businesses. He regularly appears in state and federal courts across the country on behalf of clients in a range of complex commercial, constitutional, and civil-rights disputes. His advocacy has been described by commentators as “excellent,” “nothing short of brilliant,” and “compelling.” 

Andrew’s approach was formed by his service as a law clerk to Chief Judge William H. Pryor Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and Judge Daniel Domenico of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado. Andrew’s clerkships exposed him to  nearly every area of law, from election issues, to trade-secret and contract protections, copyright, and First Amendment disputes. His practice is similarly broad. He represents clients at all levels of the judiciary on an array of substantive legal issues, including defamation and reputational torts; religious freedom, and the rights to freedom of speech and association; TABOR; trade secrets; legal ethics; the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act; and contractual rights. His clients run the gamut and include large religious institutions; colleges and universities; corporations of all sizes; and public figures.

Andrew graduated first in his class from Tulane University Law School. Before joining First and Fourteenth, he worked for one of the largest law firms in the world, where he litigated large commercial disputes throughout the country.

Andrew is a fourth-generation Coloradan, an adjunct professor of constitutional law at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, a husband to his college sweetheart, a lover of the theology of the Desert Fathers, a board member of Catholic Charities of Central Colorado, a mediocre trout fisherman of the small streams of Colorado’s Greenhorn Valley, an officer of the Colorado Lawyer’s Chapter of the Federalist Society, and a former teacher of ancient Greek philosophy and early Christian theology at a private school in the Twin Cities.

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Speaker Information
Frederick Yarger

Frederick Yarger

Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP and former Solicitor General for the State of Colorado, Colorado Attorney General

Biography

Fred Yarger is a partner in the Denver office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where his practice focuses on complex litigation in trial and appellate courts, including cases involving administrative law and regulatory matters. Before joining the firm, Mr. Yarger served as Solicitor General for the State of Colorado, one of the three senior leaders in the 450-person Department of Law. In that role, his primary responsibility was to lead or oversee the most challenging and high-profile trial and appellate litigation facing the state. Mr. Yarger has argued multiple merits cases and filed dozens of briefs before the United States Supreme Court, and many of his cases have received intense national media attention.

Some of Mr. Yarger’s most significant matters have involved complex federal and state regulatory issues. He has successfully challenged several nationwide federal regulations, earning victories at both the preliminary injunction and merits stages. Mr. Yarger’s commercial litigation experience includes transnational business disputes, multi-jurisdiction class actions, and securities matters.

In 2018, Law Week Colorado named Mr. Yarger one of the “Top Litigators” of the year, and the Denver Business Journal recognized him as a “Who’s Who in Energy” for his experience litigating issues affecting the oil and gas industry. He is a three-time winner of the National Association of Attorneys General “Best U.S. Supreme Court Brief” award, which the Colorado Attorney General’s Office had not won before his tenure. He also received two “Exceptional Performance” awards from the Colorado Attorney General.

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Speaker Information
Edward Whelan

Edward Whelan

Distinguished Senior Fellow and Antonin Scalia Chair in Constitutional Studies, Ethics and Public Policy Center

Biography

Edward Whelan is a Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center and holds EPPC’s Antonin Scalia Chair in Constitutional Studies. He is the longest-serving President in EPPC’s history, having held that position from March 2004 through January 2021.

Mr. Whelan directs EPPC’s program on The Constitution, the Courts, and the Culture. His areas of expertise include constitutional law and the judicial confirmation process. As a contributor to National Review Online’s Bench Memos blog, he has been a leading commentator on nominations to the Supreme Court and the lower courts and on issues of constitutional law. He has written essays and op-eds for leading newspapers—including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and the Washington Post—opinion journals, and academic symposia and law reviews. The National Law Journal has named Mr. Whelan among its “Champions and Visionaries” in the practice of law in D.C.

Mr. Whelan is co-editor of three volumes of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s work: Scalia Speaks: Reflections on Law, Faith, and Life Well Lived  (Crown Forum, 2017), a New York Times bestselling collection of speeches by Justice Scalia; On Faith: Lessons from an American Believer  (Crown Forum, 2019), a collection of Justice Scalia’s writings on faith and religion; and The Essential Scalia: On the Constitution, the Courts, and the Rule of Law  (Crown Forum, 2020), a collection of Justice Scalia’s views on legal issues.

Mr. Whelan, a lawyer and a former law clerk to Justice Scalia, has served in positions of responsibility in all three branches of the federal government. From just before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, until joining EPPC in 2004, Mr. Whelan was the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel in the U.S. Department of Justice. In that capacity, he advised the White House Counsel’s Office, the Attorney General and other senior DOJ officials, and departments and agencies throughout the executive branch on difficult and sensitive legal questions. Mr. Whelan previously served on Capitol Hill as General Counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. In addition to clerking for Justice Scalia, he was a law clerk to Judge J. Clifford Wallace of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

In 1981 Mr. Whelan graduated with honors from Harvard College and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. He received his J.D. magna cum laude in 1985 from Harvard Law School, where he was a member of the Board of Editors of the Harvard Law Review.

For more on Mr. Whelan’s background, see this interview.

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Speaker Information
Michael Francisco

Michael Francisco

Partner, First & Fourteenth PLLC

Biography

Michael Francisco is a public and commercial litigator with extensive appellate experience who often serves as a strategic advisor to clients facing acute legal challenges. He has represented clients nationally for public impact litigation, bet-the-company lawsuits, and in defense of constitutional rights. Michael served as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and Judge Timothy Tymkovich of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

Michael regularly takes on challenging matters where citizens must rely on the judiciary to vindicate their rights. His experience runs the gambit from successfully seeking injunctive relief, winning critical legal motions, defending judgments on appeal, overturning multi-million-dollar judgments, and obtaining discretionary high court review. He relishes the opportunity to develop a well-crafted legal strategy to solve the most novel and complex problems that may arise.

Michael has deep experience with political litigation representing candidates, voters, political parties, and advocacy organizations for ballot access, election administration, campaign finance, and for the unfortunate trend of criminalization of political activity.

After deciding to pursue a legal career to defend religious liberty, Michael has regularly engaged in constitutional litigation under the religion clauses and the free speech clause. He has been involved in many recent U.S. Supreme Court cases involving these core freedoms, including Groff v. DeJoy, 303 Creative v. Elenis, Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, National Institute of Family & Life Advocates v. Becerra, Trinity Lutheran Church v. Pauley, and similar cases in lower courts on topics ranging from the ministerial exception, church property disputes, to religious land use disputes.

As an appellate advocate Michael frequently handles matters before the U.S. Supreme Court, federal courts of appeals, and Colorado appellate courts. He has argued four times before the Colorado Supreme Court and briefed 19 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Michael also frequently advises clients on strategic public matters challenging federal government authority and overreach. He has regularly litigated business disputes, employment matters, as well as represented clients before state and federal administrative agencies or arbitration panels.

Prior to joining First & Fourteenth, Michael was a partner at McGuireWoods, LLP in Washington D.C., representing litigation, white collar, and government investigation clients.

At home Michael is married with four children and he enjoys many outdoor activities, ranging from competitive shooting to fixing his jeep.

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Speaker Information
Christopher O. Murray

Christopher O. Murray

Partner, First & Fourteenth PLLC

Biography

Chris Murray is a nationally recognized public litigator. His practice focuses on litigating high-stakes cases with significant policy or political implications, and he excels in matters involving novel or rarely litigated legal issues.

When the case is both controversial and has potentially significant impacts on the public, clients call Chris. His unique combination of experience in commercial and public law matters allows him to advise on and litigate high-stakes issues from emergency actions in elections and political matters to strategic commercial and public litigation involving issues of first impression or novel fact patterns. Chris represents a broad range of clients including businesses, political parties, trade associations, nonprofits, and even individuals in high-profile matters, both in trial and appeals. He advises on and regularly litigates federal and state constitutional issues touching on public policy, in contexts ranging from election recounts to strategic litigation against governments to preparing amicus briefs for appellate courts.

Chris also regularly advises clients on strategy for political participation and compliance with federal and state political disclosure laws.

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