How We Work
Curtis, Justus, & Zahedi, LLC believes the best results come from working closely with our clients. We start by learning about their business, their goals, and the issues at hand. We work together to identify short- and long-term issues. We also identify areas of uncertainty, which can be significant in water and natural resources. In these areas, we help our clients decide which issues are worth further investigation and develop a cost-effective approach. Our clients welcome our global view of dispute resolution.
Curtis, Justus, & Zahedi, LLC is truly a team of lawyers, and our collaborative approach goes beyond the cliché. We work together on nearly every client issue. This often takes the form of cooperation to share past experiences and develop creative approaches to new issues. However, we also constantly challenge each other by playing devil’s advocate, setting up moot courts, and critiquing drafts of legal documents. We avoid duplication of work and assign a lead lawyer to each matter, yet that lawyer’s advice and work is supported by collaboration among the entire firm.
This team approach has the additional advantage that if a new issue suddenly arises or an existing project becomes a top client priority, we can quickly assign additional lawyers who will already have the background necessary to tackle the problem at full speed.
Our team frequently extends beyond the firm. We have a long history of working across disciplines with engineers and scientists to understand complex systems. Based on this experience, we can recommend consultants in Colorado and other states for their scientific and technical abilities as well as their skill as expert witnesses in the courtroom. We are also experienced at integrating into a client’s existing team of experts.
Curtis, Justus, & Zahedi, LLC routinely works with lobbyists, political consultants, and public relations staff when the scope of a problem warrants such an approach. We find that large water and natural resources disputes are increasingly fought on three fields at once: in the courtroom, the legislature, and the media. In these situations, we have experience coordinating a broad team to keep all players up to speed on the latest developments and moving toward the common goal.
Tackling complex issues also involves working with attorneys who concentrate in other areas of practice, including in-house counsel. We are experienced in briefing multiple levels of staff and management within our client organizations, ranging from temporary staff hired to assist with discovery to senior managers, general counsel, executives, and boards of directors or city councils.
Curtis, Justus, & Zahedi, LLC takes a long-term view of our clients’ issues. They invest substantial sums in infrastructure, adjudication, and water rights and cannot tolerate a stop-gap solution. For example, our municipal clients require dependable supplies year after year regardless of variations in climate and hydrology. We leverage our team and deep understanding of each of our client’s issues to manage risks and create a durable and achievable plan of action.