Law Firm Overview

Born to a military family, Skip came to Colorado Springs in 1962, graduating from Mitchell High School, and then from the U.S. Air Force Academy as a Distinguished Graduate. After earning a masters degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (Harvard and Tufts Universities) he served as an intelligence officer in Southeast Asia during the closing days of the Vietnam War.

Awarded a scholarship in the Air Force's Funded Legal Education Legal Program, Skip graduated with high honors from the University of Texas School of Law, was a member of the Texas Law Review, and his senior year was admitted to the highest academic honors society at the University, Chancellors, ranked third in his class of over 400 students.

Skip spent the remainder of his 30-year USAF career as a judge advocate, where he was assigned as one of 16 select attorneys authorized by the Department of Justice to represent the Air Force in federal court, spent four years in Legislative Liaison, four years in Special Operations, and two years on the bench of the Air Force's highest court, the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals. While on the Court he was acknowledged as the most productive judge in the Court's history, authoring over 200 opinions in just two years, 18 of which were selected for publication.

Following a two-year assignment as the general counsel to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Skip returned to Colorado Springs where he concluded his career as the Head of the Department of Law, Dean of Faculty, at the Air Force Academy. While at the Academy he also took charge of the Air Force's Personal Estate Planning team, and was lauded by the The Judge Advocate General of the Air Force as the best estate planning attorney in the Air Force. Following retirement in July of 2002, Skip has engaged in the solo practice of law, specializing in estate planning and the needs of the military family and community.

The hallmarks of Skip's practice are personal attention to the client, competence, and integrity.   He is experienced in all aspects of military law, including courts-martial, administrative boards, disability, Armed Forces Correction Board actions, promotion passovers, marital property rights, military medical malpractice, and security clearance appeals. He is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the Federal District Courts of Colorado and Wyoming, and is licensed to practice and admitted to the State bars of Colorado, Wyoming, and Texas.

Married to former Jane Boyer of Indianapolis, Indiana, a retired Navy captain, Skip has five children one of whom is a sergeant with the Colorado Army National Guard and another is a USAFA 2005 graduate and active duty lieutenant. He is an avid history buff, and enjoys working on the restoration of classic cars and houses.  He is active with the Air Force Academy Association of Graduates and the Military Officers' Association of America (MOAA); is on the Board of Trustees of the Pikes Peak Hospice & Palliative Care Foundation; and on the Board of Directors of the East Colorado Springs Rotary Club.

Areas of Practice

• Estate Planning
• Military Law, courts-martial, BCMR
• Probate & Estate Administration
• Trusts
• Wills
• Military medical malpractice
• Constitutional Law, Torts

Honors and Awards

• "Outstanding Attorney in USAF", Kuhfeld Award, HQ USAF Winner, January 1, 1984 - December 31, 1984
• Most Productive Appellate Court Judge, July 1, 1996 - July 1, 1997

Published Works

• Law of Commanders (Senior Editor), USAFA Textbook, 2000
• Computer Crimes Investigator's Handbook (Editor and Contributing Author)

Classes and Seminars

• Course Director, Sole Instructor, Constitutional Law

Representative Cases

• United States v. Shavrnoch, 47 M.J. 564 (A.F. Ct. Crim. App. 1997)
• United States v. Haymaker, 46 M.J. 757 (A.F. Ct. Crim. App. 1997)
• United States v. Williams, 46 M.J. 820 (A.F. Ct. Crim. App. 1997)
• United States v. Erby, 46 M.J. 649 (A.F. Ct. Crim. App. 1997)
• United States v. Earle, 46 M.J. 823 (A.F. Ct. Crim. App. 1997)
• United States v. Pedrazoli, 45 M.J. 567 (A.F. Ct. Crim. App. 1997)
• United States v. Dvonch, 44 M.J. 531 (A.F. Ct. Crim. App. 1996)
• United States v. Bush, 44 M.J. 646 (A.F. Ct. Crim. App. 1996)
• United States v. Clinkenbeard, 44 M.J. 577 (A.F. Ct. Crim. App. 1996)
• United States v. Stadler, 44 M.J. 566 (A.F. Ct. Crim. App. 1996)

West Practice Categories

Constitutional Law, Estate Planning, Trusts, Wills, Military Law, Probate & Estate Administration