Current Employment Position(s)

Sole Practitioner, since 1990In practice, since 1980

Lawyer Overview

Lakewood and Denver area attorney James L. Finegan has over 29 years of legal experience helping clients in all types of cases with personal attention and care.  He is admitted to practice in Colorado state and federal courts, as well as in New York.

A tenacious advocate and litigator, Mr. Finegan represented the prevailing party in Schlitters v. State , 787 P.2d 656 (Colo. Ct. App. 1989).  In that case, Mr. Finegan's client sued the state and the highway department for negligent design, construction, maintenance, and improvement of a piece of a highway where a boulder hit the client's car.  The trial court dismissed the case, but Mr. Finegan's appeal resulted in the Colorado Court of Appeals overturning that decision, and holding that a motorist was allowed to sue the government for dangerous conditions on a highway.  This ruling represented a major shift in the law in favor of private citizens due to Mr. Finegan's advocacy skills. 

Mr. Finegan is a graduate of the University of Denver College of Law, and serves as a member of the American Bar Association, the Colorado Bar Association, and other organizations. 

Areas of Practice

• Motor Vehicle Accidents -- Plaintiff
• Personal Injury -- Plaintiff

Representative Cases

• Schlitters v. State, 787 P.2d 656 (Colo.App. 1989)

West Practice Categories

Personal Injury -- Plaintiff, Motor Vehicle Accidents -- Plaintiff

Bar Admissions

• Colorado, 1980
• New York, 1992
• U.S. Court of Appeals 10th Circuit, 1981
• U.S. District Court District of Colorado, 1980

Professional Associations and Memberships

• American Bar Association (Member, Tort, Insurance and Litigation Sections)
• American Association for Justice, formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (Member, Motor Vehicle and Workers Compensation Sections)
• Colorado Bar Association (Member, Litigation, Workers Compensation and Criminal Law Sections)
• Colorado Trial Lawyers Association (Member)
• Colorado Criminal Defense Bar (Member)
• First Judicial District Bar Association (Member)
• New York State Bar Association (Member)

Education

• University of Denver College of Law, Denver, Colorado, 1979
  J.D.
• University of Denver, Denver, Colorado, 1976
  M.A.
• Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York, 1974
  B.F.A.

Address

165 South Union Boulevard
Suite 660
Lakewood, CO 80228

Phones

(303) 980-5511
(888) 980-5511 (Toll Free)

Faxes

(303) 988-3878

Emails

Contact Us

Websites

http://www.fineganlaw.com