The Boulder County Bar Association honored Rich Irvin ('73) with the Ron Porter Award of Merit at its annual meeting and reception on June 6, 2019.
The Ron Porter Award of Merit is the highest honor given to a member of the Boulder County Bar Association. It is given annually to a Boulder County lawyer who exemplifies dedication to the legal practice and community service and sets a high standard of professionalism for lawyers.
Irvin graduated from the University of Colorado Law School in December 1973 and was admitted to the Colorado Bar in May 1974. He participated in Clinical Professor Emeritus Norm Aaronson鈥檚 Legal Aid & Defender Clinic as a law student. Aaronson is a 2010 recipient of the Ron Porter Award of Merit.
Irvin became a Colorado public defender in May 1974, where he had a jury trial the second day on the job. He left the public defenders鈥� office in 1980 and opened a private practice specializing in criminal defense work.
He recalls the moment he knew he wanted to be a public defender/criminal defense attorney: "I had been falsely charged with a major traffic offense in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. The police tried to force a confession. As he dismissed the case, the judge berated the police for wasting his time and putting me through this ordeal when they had no evidence. At that point, I realized if this could happen to me, it could happen to anyone," he said.
Irvin served as president of the Boulder County Bar Association from 2010 until 2011 and retired from practice in December 2016.
"If I had to do it over again, I would do it exactly the same way," Irvin said. "As Joe Walsh has said, 'It鈥檚 been a good life so far.'"
Pictured: Irvin and Hon. David Archuleta ('89)