Colorado Supreme Court

Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel

Promoting Professionalism. Protecting the Public.

And the award goes to…

Attorney Regulation Counsel Jim Coyle honored with President’s Award at NOBC Annual Meeting

By Zak Bratton

Jim Coyle, Attorney Regulation Counsel for the Colorado Supreme Court, received a distinguished honor this month from the National Organization of Bar Counsel (NOBC), a 900 member organization.

Formally accepting the award at the NOBC 2017 Annual Meeting in New York on August 8, 2017, Coyle said he was humbled to receive such a highly-accredited mark of recognition.

“This is a great honor,” Coyle said.

Inaugurated in 2001, the President’s Award is bestowed once a year to individuals who demonstrate exemplary service in the field of lawyer regulation, professionalism and ethics.

William D. Slease, former 2016-17 NOBC president, touted Coyle in a recent NOBC President’s Award press release (found here: 2017 President’s Award goes to James C. Coyle) as a visionary, leader and mentor for the legal community.

 “Jim epitomizes all that is best about NOBC,” he wrote, “He conducts himself at all times with his mantra of ‘promoting the public interest’ as his guiding principle, thereby improving the profession while protecting the public that all attorneys serve.”

The NOBC is a non-profit organization of legal professionals. Its members enforce regulating the professional conduct of lawyers who practice law in the United States, Canada and Australia.

Coyle was also honored by University of Colorado Law School as the Alumni of the Month for September 2017. Serving as a member of the NOBC since 1990, Coyle stated his organization, the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel, routinely plays a large part in his success.

“This office continues to be a national leader in how to regulate the practice of law and has been instrumental in developing innovative programs that have subsequently been adopted by other jurisdictions,” he said. “We continue to do so to this day, being involved in proactive regulatory programs that help lawyers successfully navigate the practice of law.”

Coyle joined the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel, then known as the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, in 1990 and served as Assistant Regulation Counsel until 2002.

From 2002 to 2010, Coyle served as Deputy Regulation Counsel and was named Chief Deputy Regulation Counsel in 2010. He served in that role until 2013 when he was selected from a field of more than 100 applicants to be named Attorney Regulation Counsel for the Colorado Supreme Court.

Zak Bratton is the Education and Outreach Coordinator in the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel.