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Maria Brooks

GET TO KNOW THE 2024 RAISING THE BAR HONOREES

On Thursday, September 12, 2024, from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., the Colorado Women’s Bar Association Foundation will hold its 18th Annual "Raising the Bar" celebration at the History Colorado Center. The evening will honor the following five individuals who “Raise the Bar by Fostering Well-Being in the Legal Profession”: Hetal J. Doshi, Helen Norton, Roxane Perruso, Martha Tierney, and Kerry C. Tipper. Each has “implemented well-being strategies, modeled and promoted health and wellness, and taken concrete steps to enable lawyers to thrive.”

 

The 1891 is proud to present their biographies.


Hetal J. Doshi

Deputy Assistant Attorney General


Hetal J. Doshi serves as the Deputy Assistant Attorney General overseeing the Antitrust Division’s civil and criminal litigation efforts.  In this role, she has managed the creation of the Litigation Program, an organization comprised of seasoned trial lawyers with backgrounds in prior government service, plaintiff’s litigation, and private practice.

 

In 2014, Hetal joined the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado as a member of the Department of Justice’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.  In her early tenure as an Assistant United States Attorney, Hetal led investigations of global investment banks for their role in the 2008 global financial crisis.  Those investigations concluded with historic multi-billion dollar resolutions.  In

 

2016, Hetal moved to the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office where she prosecuted complex white collar crimes, including securities and investment frauds, frauds perpetrated through the use or promotion of cryptocurrency, health care fraud, bank fraud, fraud in connection with the sale and marketing of consumer data, and public corruption.  She served as the International Law Coordinator for the District of Colorado which required her to liaise with foreign law enforcement agencies to assist with international criminal investigations and also led efforts in Colorado related to hate crimes and civil rights.  Hetal is the recipient of the 2016 U.S. Attorney’s Award of Excellence for her work with the Department related to election monitoring and the Department’s Civil Division Special Commendation Award for her work on historic data marketing investigations. 

 

Prior to her time with the Department, Hetal was a litigator at three international law firms in Denver, New York, and Atlanta.  In private practice, Hetal focused on government investigations and complex commercial litigation across a variety of industries.  During her legal career, Hetal also spent a year in Nairobi, Kenya where she assisted with efforts to implement a then-new Constitution as well as supported human rights advocacy and education efforts by local and international NGOs.  Prior to law school, Hetal was a strategy management consultant specializing in the communications and technology industry for a global consulting firm. 

 

Hetal earned her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and a B.A. from Emory University. 


Helen Norton

University Distinguished Professor and Rothberger Chair in Constitutional Law


Helen Norton is University Distinguished Professor and Rothgerber Chair in Constitutional Law at the University of Colorado School of Law. Her scholarly and teaching interests include constitutional law (especially First Amendment and equal protection law), and antidiscrimination law. Before entering academia, Professor Norton served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice, on President-elect Barack Obama's transition team, and as Director of Legal and Public Policy at the National Partnership for Women & Families. She currently also serves as Deputy Solicitor General on Constitutional and Civil Rights for Colorado's Attorney General. She has been honored with the Excellence in Teaching Award on multiple occasions and appointed as a University of Colorado Presidential Teaching Scholar. Her work has been published by Cambridge University Press, Duke Law Journal, Northwestern University Law Review, Stanford Law Review Online, and the Supreme Court Review, among others.


Roxane Perruso

Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Power Company of Wyoming LLC and TransWest Express LLC


As Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Power Company of Wyoming and TransWest Express, Perruso leads a diverse, highly effective team of experts working together to develop and construct groundbreaking wind power generation and transmission projects. Perruso oversees all aspects of project development, and the team has successfully navigated the complexities associated with developing multibillion-dollar energy projects spanning numerous jurisdictions across four states.

 

Before becoming COO, Perruso was Vice President and General Counsel of PCW and TransWest. In this role Perruso spearheaded a collaborative approach to the responsible development of renewable energy. The projects were subject to three separate Environmental Impact Statement processes – the highest and most complex level of federal environmental analysis applied under the National Environmental Policy Act. Both projects were designated by federal officials as national priorities and received significant support from diverse stakeholders.

 

Perruso began her career at the law firm of Holme Roberts & Owen, LLP. For five years she represented clients in litigation at both the trial and appellate level. Subsequently, Perruso served six years as an Assistant United States Attorney in the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado. She worked in the criminal division as a federal prosecutor in cases involving firearms, drugs, immigration, and crimes against children, and she served in the civil division litigating a wide variety of cases including those involving federal land use and environmental issues.Perruso graduated from the University of Colorado School of Law in 1997, was named to the Dean’s List every semester and was selected to the Order of the Coif, an honorary scholastic society. She served as Managing Editor of Law Review, 1996-1997 and was recognized for her outstanding work in the Legal Aid Program. Perruso has earned awards and recognition including selection to the North American Power List 2021 and 2022; Denver Business Journal Top Women in Energy class of 2014; a Bureau of Land Management appreciation award in 2008; award for work on Petty Docket, United States District Court for the District of Colorado in 2007; a Certificate of Commendation from the Environment and Natural Resources Division, Department of Justice in 2006; a Director’s Award for superior performance as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in 2005; and an award from the Office of General Counsel, USDA and the Forest Service in 2004.


Martha Tierney

Chair of the National Governing Board of Common Cause


Martha practices in the areas of government relations, election law, employment law, and litigation.

 

Martha is an experienced authority on federal, state, and local election law. The current Chair of the National Governing Board of Common Cause, she has drafted and successfully advocated for some of the most important and sweeping election reform legislation in the nation. Martha engages in lobbying and election policy advocacy with the legislative and executive branches.  No stranger to the courtroom, Martha has led or participated in election law litigation on behalf of the Democratic Party, elected officials, candidates, advocacy organizations, and local governments; and commercial litigation on behalf of businesses, nonprofits, and individuals.

 

Martha guides federal and state candidates and political organizations, as well as nonprofit advocacy groups, through the maze of campaign finance laws and regulations. She also represents individuals and organizations in campaign finance complaints and other campaign-related litigation.

 

Martha is a frequent drafter of and advocate for state and local ballot initiatives, assisting both proponents and opponents through policy drafting, title setting, signature gathering, and issue committee formation and operation.  She assists employers with hiring practices, personnel policies and employee terminations, on avoiding and responding to charges of employment discrimination, and in drafting and seeking enforcement of non-competition, non-solicitation, and trade secrets protection agreements.  She also negotiates executive employment and severance agreements.

 

Martha’s professional recognitions include Best Lawyers in America (2006-2023), Colorado Super Lawyers (2008-2023), 5280 Magazine Denver Top Lawyers (Government Relations/Contracts/Lobbying 2021-2023), and Law Week Colorado, Top Women Lawyers (2012), Lawyers of the Year (2012).

 

In addition to being the Chair of the National Governing Board of Common Cause, Martha is also Co-Chair of the Colorado Lawyers Committee Election Task Force (2009-present), General Counsel for the Colorado Democratic Party (2005-present), and serves on the Colorado Secretary of State Bipartisan Election Advisory Commission (2016-present).


Kerry C. Tipper

Denver City Attorney

 

Kerry C. Tipper serves as the Denver City Attorney. Reappointed to the position by Mayor Mike Johnston in September 2023, she was initially appointed by former Mayor Michael B. Hancock in November 2022. Prior to her work in the City Attorney’s Office, Ms. Tipper was elected in November 2018 to the Colorado House of Representatives. She was on the legislature’s Judiciary, Finance, Appropriations, and Health and Insurance House Committees and was the Treasurer for the Democratic Latino Caucus. Ms. Tipper is a Uniform Law Commissioner, where she represents Colorado at the national level. She also serves on the non-profit boards of The Colorado Children’s Campaign and The Action Center.

 

Before her election to the Colorado House, Ms. Tipper practiced law at Wilmer Hale and as an Assistant Attorney General in Massachusetts and Colorado. Tipper has prosecuted civil rights, antidiscrimination, and consumer protection law violations, represented state agencies regulating healthcare, and defended clients facing litigation and state and federal investigations. Ms. Tipper focused her legislative work on fair representation, consumer protection, reproductive health, and early childhood education.

 

Though born in Colorado, Ms. Tipper spent her early childhood in Mexico and Costa Rica, alternating between her parents’ distinct cultures and languages. Her family returned to Colorado when she was in elementary school and she’s called the Denver area home since then. Ms. Tipper was inspired to become a lawyer after working for several years as a Spanish interpreter at an immigration law firm after college. She lives in Lakewood with her husband and young daughter.

 

Ms. Tipper is a graduate of D’Evelyn High School, the University of Denver, and Northeastern School of Law.

 

These five will be among distinguished company as they join previous award winners (visit https://cwbafoundation.org/RTBHonorees to learn more about prior honorees).

 

 

We look forward to seeing you there!

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