John Leonard Watson's commercial litigation practice spans 35 years. He appears in Colorado state courts, federal courts throughout the country, and before federal, state and local administrative agencies and commissions. He has tried to verdict several multi-week jury trials and trials to Court. As both defense trial attorney and counselor, John represents clients in a variety of complex commercial, land development, mining, oil and gas, wildlife, toxic tort, Superfund, and air, water, and waste environmental cases. He advises landowners as well as facility owners and operators on increasingly complex federal, state and local environmental and land use regulations and ordinances. John served twice as Chair of the Colorado Bar Association's Environmental Law Section (1979 and again in 2003). He served as Chair of the Committee on Toxic Torts and Environmental Litigation of the Section of Environment, Energy and Resources of the American Bar Association. In addition to his publishing and teaching engagements related to complex commercial litigation, John teaches seminars on air, water, and waste environmental regulatory programs throughout the country. Since 1987, he has served as the principal author and presenter at over 150 environmental regulation training bootcamps. He participates in several conferences each year addressing a variety of air, water, hazardous waste, Superfund, and safety and health regulatory programs. Several multi-day conferences each year focus solely on the Clean Air Act. John participates each year as trial tactics faculty at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) in Boulder, Colorado, 2002—. He also served as adjunct faculty for five years at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law where he taught environmental law. John was honored to serve as visiting faculty as the Distinguished Practitioner in Natural Resources and Environmental Law at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law in 2004. Publications & Speaking Engagements: Environmental Regulations and Clean Air Act Bootcamps. Mr. Watson has served as the principal author and presenter at over 150 environmental training bootcamps throughout the country. He participates in between 6 and 8 conferences each year making presentations addressing every level of air, water, hazardous waste, Superfund, and safety and health regulatory programs. Several multi-day conferences each year focus solely on the Clean Air Act. Discovery of Electronically Stored Data: Zubulake and the New Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, August 5, 2006, annual conference of the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association (CTLA); and August 11, 2006, annual conference of the Colorado Defense Lawyers Association (CDLA). Avoiding Litigation in Real Property Development, February 14, 2006, Denver Board of Realtors. Electronic Discovery: Zubulake's Impact on the Duty to Avoid Spoliation of Evidence, September 28, 2005, Environmental Law Section of the Colorado Bar Association. Purchase and Sale of Real Property - A Case Study, June 17, 2005, Annual Law Conference, Agricultural and Rural Law, Natural Resources Law, Environmental Law, and Water Law sections of the Colorado Bar Association. Mr. Watson served as the Distinguished Practitioner in Natural Resources and Environmental Law teaching the upper-class law seminar, University of Denver Sturm College of Law, Spring semester, 2004. Toxic Tort and Environmental Litigation, National Business Institute, January 9, 2004, Denver, CO (primary author and presenter); Daubert and Expert Evidence in Colorado, March 21, 2004, First Annual Conference of the Environmental Law Section of the Colorado Bar Association; Watson, The "New" OSHA: Reinventing Worker Safety and Health, 12 Natural Resources & Environment 3, at 183 (Winter 1998); Watson, Ground Water Protection, Colorado Water Law Conference, CLE International, (1997); Watson and Mangone, Voluntary Environmental Cleanup: The EPA's Buy-in to Colorado's Program, 25 Colorado Lawyer 105 (1996); Colorado Environmental Law Handbook (co-author), Government Institutes, Inc. (1995, 1996, 1997); Watson and Lane, The New World of Natural Resources and Environmental Litigation - How the Rules of Evidence and Procedure Have Changed, (Chairman of Program and co-author), Natural Resources and Environmental Litigation II, Paper No. 1, (Rocky Mt. Min. L. Fdn. 1996); Watson, Viewpoints on Ethics and the Environment, Legal Ethics in Water and Environmental Law, Colorado Water Congress (1996); Watson, Mineral and Oil and Gas Development in Wilderness Areas and Other Specially Managed Federal Lands in the United States, 29 Rocky Mt. Min. L. Inst. 37 (1984); Watson and O'Brien, The American Law of Mining, co-author of Chapter concerning public land withdrawals and reservations in mining law treatise published by the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation; Watson and Danielson, Environmental Mediation, XV Natural Resources Lawyer 687 (1983); Watson, The Federal Coal Follies - A New Program Ends (Begins) a Decade of Anxiety, 58 Denver L.J. 65 (1980); Watson, The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, Monograph 3A, Energy Law Service (Callaghan) June 1979; Mr. Watson also served as an Instructor at the University of Denver College of Law where he taught Environmental Law from 1979 to 1985. Professional & Civil Memberships & Associations Chair of the American Bar Association's Committee of Toxic Torts and Environmental Litigation of the Section of Environment, Energy and Resources (2000-2002) Chair of the Colorado Bar Association's Environmental Law Section (1979, 2003) Recognized in the International Who's Who of Environment Lawyers (2004—) Member, Board of Trustees, Colorado Legal Aid Foundation, Inc. (1994-2000) Member, Board of Directors, Denver Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) (1996-2002) Member, Defense Research Institute (DRI); Colorado Mining Association (CMA); Colorado Petroleum Association (CPA); Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry (CACI); National Association of Counsel for Children (NACC). Trial Tactics Faculty and Instructor, National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA), 2002—; Member, Doyle Inn of Court, Wheeler Pupilage.