Hon. Peter F. Michaelson(Ret.)
Senior Special CounselJudge Michaelson received a bachelor’s degree from the Pennsylvania State University in 1979 and his J.D. from the University of Denver in 1982. He has litigated cases as a lawyer across the state of Colorado, including in federal court, the Colorado Court of Appeals, the Colorado Supreme Court and as both a litigator and judge conducted more juries than he can count. His litigation experience accelerated when he became the elected District Attorney in the Fifth Judicial District in 1988. After being reelected twice more to that position, Pete opened a law office in Westcliffe, Colorado where he focused on real property, large ranch, rural subdivisions, access problems, adverse possession claims, and related fence law and livestock disputes.
In 2003 Governor Bill Owens appointed Judge Michaelson to the part-time County Court bench in Custer County where he continued his private practice while developing a mediation practice and becoming Of Counsel to the firm (then known as Hamre, Rodiguez, Ostrander and Dingess, P.C.). In 2015 Governor John Hickenlooper appointed Judge Michaelson to the District Court bench in the Eighteenth Judicial District, at which time he became a full-time judicial officer. Judge Michaelson managed criminal, domestic relations, and civil cases for almost eight years before choosing to return to specialized private practice with the firm, and offering focused mediation through the newly formed Land and Water Dispute Resolution Services, L.L.C. (LAWDRS.NET).