Robert Celt
New Member
As an attorney, Styduhar spent his formative days in private practice with Koncilja and Koncilja doing personal injury cases, criminal defense and Social Security work, he'd access three or four of Colorado's voluminous law books.
Now, 12 years later, when he talks about the areas of law he has to be familiar with, he smiles and gestures to a full shelf of tomes.
"It's so broad it's unbelievable," he said. "I love it. It's what makes the job so exciting."
Styduhar is a native of Pueblo. The son of a steelworker and bank teller, his parents taught him the value of hard work at an early age.
In the past few years, Styduhar has been working hard to advise the Pueblo Board of County Commissioners and other county officials on a bevy of topics, from complicated water matters to planning issues to cutting the legal cloth for marijuana policy that serves as a model for other communities and states looking at their own pot regulations.
The marijuana work is an ideal example of what Styduhar considers the mission of the office.
"We don't implement policy in the county attorney's office," Styduhar said. "When I interviewed for this position, that was the one thing I pointed out. I'm not a policy-maker. I'm an attorney. And that clear demarcation is healthy. It means the policy-makers can rely on the county attorney's advice being unbiased and clear."
Styduhar's office worked with attorneys from the Denver firm Vicente Sederberg to provide the best legal advice possible as the county commissioners moved ahead with voter-approved marijuana policy three years ago.
Even two years after those policies were put into effect, when the first recreational marijuana was sold in Pueblo, marijuana continues to takes its place among the main topics facing his staff and the county's contract attorneys.
Styduhar said marijuana has proven particularly interesting because defending the county policy has required delving deeply into case law to find arguments that fit the issues, even if the facts of the case law aren't concerned with cannabis.
But from day-to-day to moment-to-moment, Styduhar and his staff can be working on anything from zoning variances to public works contracts.
"I love it," he said. "The beauty of this job is that I consider it the absolute multidisciplinary practice of law."
When Styduhar graduated from Central High School in 1992, being a lawyer wasn't on his mind.
He went to Colorado State University-Pueblo (then-University of Southern Colorado) with an eye toward being an ecologist. He graduated from the Belmont campus with a degree in biology.
He worked one summer in Albuquerque, N.M., with the National Science Foundation and the University of New Mexico and had every intention to get an advanced degree in ecology.
But after graduation, Styduhar said, he took some time off, kicked around as a river guide and bicycle mechanic before the idea of the law started to take hold.
Even still, Styduhar said, his interest in the law started "specifically in the nexus between the law and environmental science."
But when he found himself at Creighton University's law school, he was introduced to other avenues of the profession.
"You didn't get the opportunity to pigeonhole yourself, and my interests expanded," he said.
After his second year at law school, Styduhar won an internship with the 10th Judicial District Attorney's office in Pueblo working for then-District Attorney Gus Sandstrom.
Under state law, second-year law students are allowed to practice in county court under the supervision of licensed deputies and Styduhar got hours of valuable courtroom experience, conducting hearings and even trying cases.
After his third year in law school, Styduhar wanted to come home and eventually landed a job with the Koncilja firm.
He said he applied to work with the city attorney's office because he wanted the change to work on a broad variety of topics and then, two years later, came to work at the county in 2013.
Styduhar leads an office of nine people, including four other attorneys. But the office also works closely with contract attorneys on topics such as planning, water and marijuana.
"When we get big projects, we work together," he said. "It's a team effort. What comes out of this office is a lot of work from a lot of people."
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Colorado: Lawyer Greg Styduhar Advises Pueblo County On Many Issues
Author: Jeff Tucker
Photo Credit: None found
Website: The Pueblo Chieftain
Now, 12 years later, when he talks about the areas of law he has to be familiar with, he smiles and gestures to a full shelf of tomes.
"It's so broad it's unbelievable," he said. "I love it. It's what makes the job so exciting."
Styduhar is a native of Pueblo. The son of a steelworker and bank teller, his parents taught him the value of hard work at an early age.
In the past few years, Styduhar has been working hard to advise the Pueblo Board of County Commissioners and other county officials on a bevy of topics, from complicated water matters to planning issues to cutting the legal cloth for marijuana policy that serves as a model for other communities and states looking at their own pot regulations.
The marijuana work is an ideal example of what Styduhar considers the mission of the office.
"We don't implement policy in the county attorney's office," Styduhar said. "When I interviewed for this position, that was the one thing I pointed out. I'm not a policy-maker. I'm an attorney. And that clear demarcation is healthy. It means the policy-makers can rely on the county attorney's advice being unbiased and clear."
Styduhar's office worked with attorneys from the Denver firm Vicente Sederberg to provide the best legal advice possible as the county commissioners moved ahead with voter-approved marijuana policy three years ago.
Even two years after those policies were put into effect, when the first recreational marijuana was sold in Pueblo, marijuana continues to takes its place among the main topics facing his staff and the county's contract attorneys.
Styduhar said marijuana has proven particularly interesting because defending the county policy has required delving deeply into case law to find arguments that fit the issues, even if the facts of the case law aren't concerned with cannabis.
But from day-to-day to moment-to-moment, Styduhar and his staff can be working on anything from zoning variances to public works contracts.
"I love it," he said. "The beauty of this job is that I consider it the absolute multidisciplinary practice of law."
When Styduhar graduated from Central High School in 1992, being a lawyer wasn't on his mind.
He went to Colorado State University-Pueblo (then-University of Southern Colorado) with an eye toward being an ecologist. He graduated from the Belmont campus with a degree in biology.
He worked one summer in Albuquerque, N.M., with the National Science Foundation and the University of New Mexico and had every intention to get an advanced degree in ecology.
But after graduation, Styduhar said, he took some time off, kicked around as a river guide and bicycle mechanic before the idea of the law started to take hold.
Even still, Styduhar said, his interest in the law started "specifically in the nexus between the law and environmental science."
But when he found himself at Creighton University's law school, he was introduced to other avenues of the profession.
"You didn't get the opportunity to pigeonhole yourself, and my interests expanded," he said.
After his second year at law school, Styduhar won an internship with the 10th Judicial District Attorney's office in Pueblo working for then-District Attorney Gus Sandstrom.
Under state law, second-year law students are allowed to practice in county court under the supervision of licensed deputies and Styduhar got hours of valuable courtroom experience, conducting hearings and even trying cases.
After his third year in law school, Styduhar wanted to come home and eventually landed a job with the Koncilja firm.
He said he applied to work with the city attorney's office because he wanted the change to work on a broad variety of topics and then, two years later, came to work at the county in 2013.
Styduhar leads an office of nine people, including four other attorneys. But the office also works closely with contract attorneys on topics such as planning, water and marijuana.
"When we get big projects, we work together," he said. "It's a team effort. What comes out of this office is a lot of work from a lot of people."
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Colorado: Lawyer Greg Styduhar Advises Pueblo County On Many Issues
Author: Jeff Tucker
Photo Credit: None found
Website: The Pueblo Chieftain
