McDermott Law Firm, LLC law clerk Heather Glover just returned from the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association 2011 Auto Accident and Personal Injury Blockbuster held in Denver, Colorado on January 27 and 28.

CTLA annually presents a two day seminar covering the most recent case preparation methods and trial techniques in representing plaintiffs in automobile injury, wrongful death and other cases. 

Topics this year included jury issues, new laws, recovering for psychological injuries, dealing with insurance companies and damages  

Heather Glover is the firm’s law clerk who specializes in car crash and other personal injury cases handled by the firm, as well as general litigation conducted by the firm on behalf of its clients.

 “It is critically important that personal injury lawyers keep up to date on the rapidly changing automobile accident and related personal injury fields,” McDermott said.  “The McDermott Law Firm places great importance on the continuing legal education opportunities offered by seminars such as this.”

 Mr. McDermott is a life-long member of the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, having previously served on both the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of CTLA.  He has practiced law in Canon City since 1973. 

 The McDermott Law Firm is a Fremont County law firm that specializes in serious personal injury and wrongful death cases throughout southern Colorado.  Other practice areas include probate, wills and estate planning, real estate and property law, and business and employment law. For more information go to the firm’s web site at www.mcdermottlawfirm.com.

The week of December 13, 2010 was “Probate Education Week” at the McDermott Law Firm, LLC.

On Wednesday of that week, McDermott Law Firm legal assistant Debbie Wilkerson attended a seminar entitled “The Probate Process from Start to Finish” held in Grand Junction, Colorado.  Topics studied included all steps of the administration of the probate estate proceeding.  Everything from opening an estate through closing the estate were covered.

On Thursday, McDermott Law Firm attorney John A. McDermott attended another seminar hosted by the National Business Institute entitled “Your Step by Step Guide Through Troubled Probate”, held in Denver, Colorado.   Among the many topics covered were challenges to the appointment of a personal representative, determining heirs and heirship, and insolvent estates.  The current law and recent changes concerning conservatorships and guardianships were also discussed.

“Probate itself is the final result of the firm’s wills, living wills and estate planning practice,” McDermott said.  “Nobody wants to talk about it, but everyone needs to prepare for the legal and financial issues involved in the end of life.”

The McDermott Law Firm, LLC is a Canon City, Colorado (Fremont County, Colorado) law firm that specializes in several areas of law including probate, wills, estate planning, real estate and property law, and business and employment law.  One of the firm’s other specialties is personal injury work, including automobile accidents, negligence, wrongful death and insurance law.  For more information go to the firm’s website at www.mcdermottlawfirm.com.

SHAWN E. McDERMOTT has practiced personal injury law, wrongful death law, workers compensation law, disability law and ERISA law in Denver since 1992. He has an “Of Counsel” relationship with the McDermott Law Firm in Canon City, Colorado.

Shawn is a 1992 graduate of the University of Colorado Law School, where he also received his Bachelor of Science degree in architectural engineering in 1988. His first year of law school was spent at the University of San Francisco.

While in law school, Shawn was a member of the Rothgerber Moot Court winning team and received the Austin W. Scott, Jr. Award for Excellence in Oral Argument.

In an effort to share his expertise in the area of Disability Law (ERISA) with fellow members of the legal profession, Shawn authored the article “Group Long-Term Disability Coverage and ERISA” which appeared in the May 2004 issue of the Colorado Lawyer.

Shawn is a member of the Denver Bar Association, the Colorado Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. He is also active in the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, and has served on its Board of Directors. He is also a member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.

Click here for Shawn’s Denver office website

Shawn represents Denver and Northern Colorado-area personal injury clients out of the firm’s Denver Branch Office.

Colorado has updated its living will statute.

The 2010 Colorado General Assembly has totally revised the Colorado Medical Treatment Act, with the adoption of House Bill 10-1025.

“This is long overdue,” said John McDermott of the Canon City McDermott Law Firm, LLC.

“Ever since the Terry Schiavo case five years ago, Colorado law has been out of date,” McDermott said.

The new law does away with the previous statutory declaration as to medical and surgical treatment form, and gives people more flexibility in expressing their own death and dying decisions.

For the first time terms such as what constitutes a ‘terminal condition’ and ‘persistent vegetative state’ are now defined in Colorado.

“While these are the kinds for things most people do not want to think about or talk about, they really need to deal with this,” McDermott added.

 Declarations under the new law must be in writing to take effect.

“People think the drafting of a living will is a simple proposition.  It is not.  An attorney should be consulted, as with the drafting of any life and estate planning documents.  The law is always changing, trying to keep up with advances in science and medicine, and with changing social and personal values,” McDermott concluded.

Further information may be obtained by contacting the McDermott Law Firm, LLC located in Canon City, Colorado, at 275-4126, or 1-800-850-0050.

On April 28, 2010 Governor Ritter signed House Bill 10-1168, a new law of great importance to people hurt in automobile and motorcycle accidents in Colorado.  The new law is scheduled to take effect on August 11, 2010.

It has now been made clear that if people injured in Colorado recover their losses from the at fault driver’s insurance company, they will be entitled to keep those benefits.

Under the previous law, if the innocent driver recovered from his or her losses from the bad driver’s insurance company, they would have to turn that money over to the injured party’s health insurance carrier. 

This was true even if the innocent, injured person had already paid many years worth of premiums to his or her health insurance carrier out of their own pocket.

This often resulted in the injured party receiving nothing at all for their injuries suffered as a result of the accident.  In other words, the driver who caused the accident would pay another insurance company, instead of the insured person, leaving the innocent, injured driver out in the cold.

“This is extremely important legislation,” said John McDermott, a local attorney who practices accident law.

“Until now, the innocent, injured driver often received nothing from the responsible driver’s insurance company.  Those payments were merely exchanged between insurance companies, leaving the victim of the accident out in the cold.  This was flat wrong,” he added.  “With new legislation, payments by the bad driver’s insurance company will go directly to the people they hurt.”

“The new law is not as simple as it sounds, however”, McDermott confided.

There are stringent notice requirements contained in the new law.  If those notice requirements are not met, people may end up with no future help regarding the future costs they face following an automobile accident.

“It is more important than ever that someone who has been injured in an auto accident or motorcycle accident  meet with a competent personal injury lawyer before settling with the other driver’s insurance company. This is especially true if the at fault driver’s insurance company is offering policy limits” McDermott said.

The new law is of no effect altogether if certain very strict notice requirements are not met.

Further information may be obtained by contacting the McDermott Law Firm, LLC located in Canon City, Colorado, at 275-4126, or by visiting www.mcdermottlawfirm.com.

John McDermott and Heather Glover just returned from a Colorado Trial Lawyers Association Auto Litigation Seminar held in Denver, Colorado on January 21 and 22.

CTLA annually presents a two day seminar covering the most recent case preparation methods and trial techniques in representing plaintiffs in automobile and other cases. 

Topics this year included  how to assess juror attitudes, conducting jury selection questioning, handling semi-truck/automobile collisions, medical issues and the proper handling of insurance claims by automobile insurance companies. 

 John McDermott is the principal attorney in the McDermott Law Firm, LLC, which is located in Canon City, Colorado.  Heather Glover is the law clerk within the firm who specializes in car crash and other personal injury cases handled by the firm, as well as general litigation conducted by the firm on behalf of its clients.

 “It is critically important that personal injury lawyers keep up to date on the rapidly changing automobile accident and related personal injury fields,”  McDermott said.  “The McDermott Law Firm places great importance on the continuing legal education opportunities offered by seminars such as this.”

 Mr. McDermott is a life-long member of the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, having previously served on both the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of CTLA.  He has practiced law in Canon City since 1973. 

 The McDermott Law Firm is a Fremont County law firm that specializes in serious personal injury and wrongful death cases throughout southern Colorado.  Other practice areas include probate, wills and estate planning, real estate and property law, and business and employment law. For more information go to the firm’s web site at www.mcdermottlawfirm.com.

On May 7, 2010 the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association (CTLA) held its annual subrogation seminar at the Sheraton Denver Tech Center Hotel located in Englewood, Colorado.

 John A. McDermott and Heather Glover, of the McDermott Law Firm, LLC, attended the seminar.

 The main topic this year was Colorado’s new subrogation statute.  Also, two important cases presently pending before the Colorado Supreme Court were discussed, along with Medicare subrogation issues, ERISA subrogation issues, and ethical requirements for plaintiff’s personal injury lawyers practicing in Colorado.

“This is an excellent seminar put on by CTLA every year,” McDermott said.

“I try to send at least one member of the McDermott Law Firm to this annual educational seminar.”

 The McDermott Law Firm, LLC is a Fremont County and Chaffee County, Colorado law firm located in Canon City, Colorado. 

The firm practices in the areas of automobile accidents and motorcycle accidents, and all personal injuries, and wrongful death law, as well as general civil litigation. 

 The firm also engages in estate planning, will drafting, estate administration and probate, along with real estate law and business law, and collections.

 For further information contact the McDermott Law Firm, LLC located in Canon City, Colorado, at 719- 275-4126 or at 1-800-850-0050, or by visiting www.mcdermottlawfirm.com.

McDermott Law Firm probate legal assistant Jessica Schmelzle just returned from a paralegal seminar concerning probate in Colorado.

The seminar, entitled “Estate Administration Procedures: Why Each Step Is Important”, took place in Denver, Colorado on October 27, 2009.

Attorney David W. Kirch and legal assistant Linda Moon taught the course.

Topics included small estates administration, the differences between informal and formal administration, locating the will, appointment procedures and the duties of a personal representative.

Claims against an estate, including Medicare claims, Medicaid claims, and credit card debt, were discussed.

“The McDermott Law Firm invests heavily in training”, said firm attorney John A. McDermott. “All staff of the McDermott Law Firm attends continuing legal education courses on a regular basis.”

“Given both the complexity of the law and the changes which always seem to be taking place, it is hard to conceive of providing competent legal services to clients without this kind of continuing education, “McDermott added.

Jessica Schmelzle joined the McDermott Law Firm as a legal assistant for wills, probate, guardianships, conservatorships and elder law in June 2009.

The McDermott Law Firm, LLC is a full service Canon City, Salida and Southern Colorado law firm representing auto accident, personal injury, and wrongful death clients, along with providing services regarding wills, trusts and probate throughout its Fremont County, Chaffee County and Custer County practice area. For further information visit www.mcdermottlawfirm.com.

Asset protection is something that is needed by virtually everyone in this day and age.

John A. McDermott of the McDermott Law Firm, LLC, has just returned from a day-long seminar entitled “An Attorney’s Guide to Asset Protection” presented by the National Business Institute.

This course is held periodically by the Institute to bring lawyers up to date on the latest techniques in asset protection and insolvency planning.

Speakers included Edward D. Brown, Frank J. Danzo, III and Andrew G. Oh-Willeke, attorneys practicing in this area in Denver, Colorado.

Topics included how to integrate asset protection with estate tax planning.

“This proved to be an especially invaluable seminar,” according to John A. McDermott. ” ‘Asset Protection’ is not a separate legal discipline, but overlaps many other areas of the McDermott Law Firm’s practice, including estate planning, litigation, personal injuries and automobile accidents, insurance law, and debtor/creditor relations.”

The McDermott Law Firm, LLC is a Fremont County, Colorado law firm located in Canon City, Colorado. The firm practices in the areas of asset protection, wills, probate and estate planning, personal injury, automobile accidents and wrongful death law, as well as general civil litigation. Further information can be obtained by calling (719) 275-4126 or 1-800-850-0050 or by visiting the firm’s website at www.mcdermottlawfirm.com.