Member Spotlight, 0720 COBJ, Vol. 49, No. 7 Pg. 96

PositionVol. 49, 7 [Page 96]

49 Colo.Law. 96

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Vol. 49, No. 7 [Page 96]

Colorado Lawyer

July, 2020

Joseph G. Michaels

Joseph Michaels is a senior assistant attorney general and the vice chair of the Colorado Lawyer Advisory Board.

What's the best advice you've ever been given?

Learning is a lifelong pursuit.

And the worst advice?

It doesn't bear repeating!

What do you like best about your practice area?

The mental/academic rigor to appellate practice. Even run-of-the-mill cases bring unique challenges, and it's a privilege to be able to engage in constitutional challenges and novel questions of statutory interpretation.

What is one of the most positive experiences you've had as a lawyer?

I was working on an emotional and challenging appeal. The victim's family showed up unexpectedly at oral argument, and we had a long debrief after. They were profusely thankful and it was inspiring talking with them, yet I couldn't help but think how backward that was. It reminded me of the legal system's great emphasis on those intertwined with it and how, at heart, it is a service industry. That experience—and others like it—underscores the responsibility we bear as lawyers.

Outside the law, what are your hobbies?

I like to hike, write, run, read, and swim, as well as watch films, enjoy coffee, and spend time with my family. In these times, some are more feasible than others.

Who's your favorite writer and why?

I'm going to cheat and give several: I was an English major undergrad, so this is a big question! I still enjoy F. Scott Fitzgerald, who did things with the English language few have done before or after him. That said, I always look forward to novels by Michael Ondaatje, who has a unique lyricism to his writing. And then there's John Williams—no, not the composer, but the Colorado writer who quietly authored three books in his lifetime to little fanfare but much critical acclaim (and that are all excellent, particularly Butcher's Crossing). Next, by framing Between the World and Me as a letter to his adolescent son, Ta-Nehisi Coates sharply, but accessibly, challenges the reader as a proxy recipient to grapple with the impact of racism on generations. Finally, Carson McCullers was only...

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