Introducing CBA President John Vaught, 0718 COBJ, Vol. 47, No. 7 Pg. 4
| Author | BRENDAN BAKER, J. |
| Position | Vol. 47, 7 [Page 4] |
CBA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
BRENDAN BAKER, J.
John Vaught is more than prepared to be the next president of the Colorado Bar Association. Early in his career, he served as chair of the Denver Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, and oversaw the first-ever DBA YLD meeting in Denver. He previously served as president of the Denver Bar Association from 2014 to 2015. In that time, Vaught oversaw several initiatives, including a campaign to increase membership in the DBA by 15%, and the 2014-15 Bar Ambassador program. Now he is eager to apply this experience to CBA governance, with an ambitious platform covering several statewide initiatives.
Vaught has had a long and distinguished career in Colorado, but his path to leadership began in Texas. He graduated from Stephen F. Austin University in Texas, with a degree in business and economics, before joining the U.S. Navy and serving as an officer in the Vietnam conflict. After a year in Vietnam, Vaught was stationed in Naples, Italy. He remained there for several years before leaving active duty to return to Texas, where he enrolled at St. Mary’s University School of Law. Vaught graduated summa cum laude and then moved to Colorado to clerk for the late Robert H. McWilliams, Jr., a Tenth Circuit judge and former justice of the Colorado Supreme Court.
Following his clerkship, Vaught became an associate at Holland & Hart in Denver. He made partner in six years and stayed there for nearly two decades. He then joined Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, and eventually became a partner at Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell, a position he stepped down from on January 1 to take on CBA leadership. Vaught’s areas of practice include antitrust law, securities fraud, class action law suits, and insurance.
In addition to his successful practice, Vaught has been very involved in work to support veterans, including helping to found Colorado Lawyers for Colorado Veterans, an organization currently under the aegis of the CBA Military and Veterans Affairs Section that matches CBA volunteer attorneys with veterans who cannot afford legal assistance. In 2016, Vaught was awarded the Governor’s Award for Outstanding Veteran Volunteer. In recognition of his service to the profession, St. Mary’s recently named Vaught as a Distinguished Graduate for 2018.
During his time...
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