The January Spotlight Office: Colorado

 

Clayton Manceaux, Partner

What inspires you?

Dogged advocacy and professionalism by attorneys even in situations where the professional behavior is not reciprocated.  

If you chose a quote to live by, what would it be?

“Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”

What is your greatest accomplishment?

Defense jury verdicts in some adverse situations.  

What experience at Resnick & Louis has been the most fun?

The variety of cases and people we get to work with.  

What advice would you give to a law student?

It is better to be prepared than to have a plan. If you are a trial attorney know your case inside and out so that you can properly react to everything that occurs during discovery or at trial. The Judge and the Jury will deem you more reliable and more likely to consider your arguments. Also, don’t use the word egregious in a brief because the Judge might make fun of you.  

What is your greatest professional success?

Managing disputed specialized and technical issues in litigation despite my markedly non-technical education and helping put together a group of all-stars in our Colorado office.  

What class should you have taken in law school?

I should have taken legal writing at least twice to make the transition to practice a bit easier. The first couple of years were a bit painful.

Who has given you the best advice about practicing law and what was that advice?

A Colorado Supreme Court Justice during my group’s swearing in ceremony asked if the new attorneys remember just one thing, they remember there is no letter “e” after the “g” in the word “judgment”.  

What is the best thing about Resnick & Louis?

Varied and interesting work with a great group of good people at the owner, attorney, and staff level.

 

Kurt Temple, Partner

What inspires you? 

Individual acts of courage, fortitude and self-sacrifice in the face of obvious risks and against the odds. In particular, WWII veterans and astronauts whose achievements stand as irrefutable testimony to the nobility and potential of the human race.

If you chose a quote to live by, what would it be? 

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”  – Oscar Wilde

What is your greatest accomplishment?

Probably completing law school and passing the Bar while working full time and raising a family.

What experience at Resnick & Louis has been the most fun? 

It has been my privilege to handle a wide range of very interesting cases which have given me many opportunities for learning and personal growth.

What advice would you give to a law student? 

The law is not about words or rules. Words and rules are the currency of the law, but fundamentally the law is about relationships. Understand the relationships and how they are governed, and the rest falls neatly into place.

What is your greatest professional success? 

More than sixty solo or first chair jury trials with a 70%+ success rate, plus all of the clients whose lives and outlooks were changed for the better along the way.

What class should you have taken in law school?

Remedies.

Who has given you the best advice about practicing law and what was that advice? 

The practice of law is an elaborate exercise in expectation management. It doesn’t matter whether an attorney is interacting with a client, or a judge, or a jury, or another attorney, or a mediator, expectation management is the goal.

What is the best thing about Resnick & Louis? 

Interesting work in a collegial environment with none of the petty jealousies and rivalries one finds at many other law firms. We just get the job done.

 

Jennifer Palmer, Partner

What inspires you?

Nature. I am always rejuvenated when I spend time in the wilderness. 

If you chose a quote to live by, what would it be?

Be the change you want to see in the world. 

What is your greatest accomplishment?

My children! (And being third in my class in law school J)

What experience at Resnick & Louis has been the most fun?

Getting to know the people at the carriers that I work with the most. 

What advice would you give to a law student?

Carefully evaluate what your day to day life will look like in whatever area of practice you are considering to make sure it’s a good match for you. 

Who has given you the best advice about practicing law and what was that advice?

It’s not a sprint; it’s a marathon. Founding partner of the first firm I worked at in Colorado.  

 

Andrew Kurpanek, Attorney

What inspires you?

The experiences of my father and grandparents – living through post World War 2 Germany, immigrating to America, and building a successful life out of nothing but the clothes on their back. 

If you chose a quote to live by, what would it be?

“Victory is reserved for those who are willing to pay its price” – Sun Tsu

What is your greatest accomplishment?

Professionally, it is how quickly I have been able to progress in my legal career. I have ben given the opportunity to handle multi-million dollar cases, conduct jury trials, and supervise other attorneys – all before most attorneys my age have had the chance to run a case. 

What experience at Resnick & Louis has been the most fun?

Growing my first party/coverage practice.  

What advice would you give to a law student?

Take as many classes with adjunct professors as possible. I both enjoyed and learned more from practicing attorneys than from the many tenured academic professors who do nothing but teach. 

What is your greatest professional success?

Trying my first jury trial 1 year to the day after I was sworn in. 

What class should you have taken in law school?

Tax Law 

Who has given you the best advice about practicing law and what was that advice?

An attorney used to clerk for, as well as several formerly practicing attorneys who taught at law school, always cautioned me to document everything. Everyone in the law is playing their own angle and nobody will be afraid to throw you under the bus if it’s in their own self-interest. You can protect yourself – and your client – by properly documenting what is happening. 

What is the best thing about Resnick & Louis?

The people I work with. It’s a rare environment that judges each member based on their work product and capabilities rather than some well set hierarchy with no basis in fact. 

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