Recruiting

The Firm's History

Hoskin, Farina & Kampf, Professional Corporation, traces its history from Vincent & Vincent, one of the first law partnerships established in western Colorado around the turn of the century.  The modern history of the firm began when James K. Groves returned to Grand Junction after law school to associate with Alexander Bowie in 1935.  James Groves became one of the most prominent attorneys in the Rocky Mountain region, recognized for his particular expertise in natural resources law and was appointed to the Colorado Supreme Court in 1968.  In the 1950's, William H. Nelson joined James Groves.  William H. Nelson carried on the tradition of quality representation as the firm grew to its present day size.

The firm is currently the largest law firm with active attorneys in western Colorado.  There are thirteen attorneys, including nine shareholders and four associates.

The Firm's Practice

The firm is engaged in the general practice of law throughout a large geographic region.  The firm's practice concentrates in the following areas:

1. Business and Commercial:  Legal counsel is provided to corporations, partnerships and individuals involved in commercial business operations or engaged in business or financial transactions.  The firm represents banks and other financial institutions, health care institutions, manufacturers, service industries, and institutional individual investors.
2. Real Estate:  The firm provides legal counsel for acquisitions, sales and leasing of real property, real estate financing transactions, zoning and land use planning, quiet title actions, foreclosure litigation, and commercial and residential real estate development.
3. Health Care Litigation:  The firm provides a broad range of health care legal services including provider and member contraction, transactions, and representation before regulatory agencies and state and federal courts.  These services are provided to a variety of clients including managed care organizations, hospitals, medical groups, individuals physicians and other health care providers.
4. Natural Resources and Environmental:  The firm provides legal counsel for property acquisitions, water rights issues, mineral, oil and gas leasing and development, public land law issues, environmental issues, and representation before local, state and federal land use and regulatory agencies.
5. Estate Planning and Probate:  The firm provides legal counsel for estate planning, preparation of wills and trusts, administration of trusts and decedent's estates, and organization and administration of pension and employee benefit plans.
6. Labor, Civil Rights and Workers' Compensation:  The firm provides employer representation in all aspects of the employment relationship, including labor negotiation and arbitration, civil rights claims, and workers' compensation defense.
7. Litigation:  The firm represents clients in state and federal courts and before administrative and governmental agencies in each of the areas listed above.

The attorneys in the firm come from diverse geographical locations and educational backgrounds, and they represent a broad range of professional and civic interests. Many of the firm's attorneys have made significant contributions to local, state and national bar associations and other organized professional activities.  The firm's present and former attorneys include a Colorado Supreme Court Justice, a Colorado Bar Association President, a Colorado River Water Conservancy District Director, and a Mesa County District Attorney.  Three members of the firm are former presidents of the Mesa County Bar Association.  Attorneys in the firm have engaged in a variety of community activities, including work in civic, cultural, educational, charitable and political fields.  For further information concerning each attorney's professional background, please consult the attorneys page of this website.

Associate Attorneys

The firm's principal goal is to provide quality legal services to our clients.  Achievement of that goal depends upon hiring attorneys qualified to meet the responsibilities of  a sophisticated regional practice. It is expected that an associate attorney will obtain his or her license to practice in Colorado following the earliest available Colorado bar examination.

Compensation for associate attorneys consists principally of salary, which is adjusted annually on an individual basis, and annual contributions to an employee's profit sharing plan.  The firm has historically funded each employee's plan with a generous contribution, computed as a percentage of the employee's salary.  Employees are eligible to enter the plan at the beginning of the next fiscal year following the employee's first anniversary of employment.  Other benefits include group life, health and disability insurance plans, reimbursement for professional dues and expenses, and a travel and expense allowance for continuing legal education and other professional activities.  The firm has no set vacation policy for either associate attorneys or shareholders, and each attorney is free to coordinate personal vacation time consistent with the maintenance of a professional practice.

Associate attorneys can expect to work in a variety of the firm's areas of practice.  In addition to performing research and writing tasks, a new associate is expected to develop skills for effective client communication, negotiations with other attorneys, drafting complex documents and litigation with adverse parties.  Although the time period varies with individual skill and dedication, the firm delegates increased responsibilities to associate attorneys as rapidly as possible, and an associate normally becomes fully and directly occupied with client matters within one year.

No attorney is able to fully specialize in any given area of practice.  All attorneys do, however, have the opportunity to develop some specialization consistent with their individual interests, particular expertise and demands of the firm's practice.  Associate attorneys are also encouraged to participate in community and professional organizations in areas of their particular interest.

Associate attorneys are given feedback by the shareholders as to their performance, and more formal evaluations of all associates are conducted twice a year.  A decision whether to offer an associate attorney an opportunity to become a shareholder is normally made by the beginning of the fiscal year following the sixth anniversary of employment.

The Community and Regional Environment

As the largest community between Denver and Salt Lake City, Grand Junction is the center of transportation, business, professional and cultural activities for an extensive geographic area.  As a result, it maintains the amenities and opportunities of a community several times larger than the urban area population of approximately 120,000.  In addition to the traditional areas of agriculture, energy and tourism, Grand Junction has recently attracted new services and light manufacturing industries to the community, thus broadening its economic base.  The community offers a strong public school system, a four-year college, a symphony orchestra and regional arts center, museums, major hospital and medical center facilities, an extensive parks and recreation program, and several golf, tennis and athletic club facilities.

The Grand Junction area enjoys four distinct seasons, none of which is severe.  Sunny, mild and dry weather prevails most of the year, enabling residents to take advantage of the abundance of outdoor recreational opportunities available in western Colorado and eastern Utah.  The resort areas of Aspen, Vail, Beaver Creek, Telluride and Powderhorn are all easily accessible for winter sports or summer cultural festivals.  Also within a short distance from Grand Junction are some of the finest mountain and canyon areas in the Rocky Mountain region, including several national parks, monuments and recreation areas, for skiing, hiking, camping, hunting, fishing, bicycling, whitewater river rafting and boating.

We are pleased to receive inquiries from persons who may be considering employment with the firm, either through campus interviews or individual visits to the Grand Junction area.