Legal Defense Plan
When you join the Fraternal Order of Police in Colorado you automatically are covered by our Legal Defense Plan.
Full Legal Defense coverage is part of your dues structure. The Colorado FOP State Lodge Legal Defense Fund is partnered with the National Fraternal Order of Police Legal Defense Fund. Colorado LDF provides coverage for all duty related administrative incidents. The National LDF covers all duty related incidents involving civil or criminal actions against the officer. The National LDF Plan has approved our Colorado Attorneys so members have direct access to high quality law enforcement legal representation.
There is No Better Legal Plan or Coverage Available in Colorado!
When compared side by side with other plans the FOP legal defense plan is by far superior. It has no caps or limitations on duty related offenses that will financially burden a member. But an even bigger draw is the quality of attorney offered when it comes down to the defense of a law enforcement officer. That defense is viewed not only at an administrative level but more importantly at the civil and criminal level.
In today's world our profession is under attack from ill informed politicians, an anti-police biased media, and activists promoting a false narrative in regards to our interactions with the public. Our profession is unique and the legal problems officers find themselves in are even more unique. To successfully defend you it takes an attorney with experience and expertise in this specialized area of law to consistently provide adequate defense of a law enforcement officer. The fact of the matter is FOP has those attorneys. Proper defense and representation is where attorneys, whose practice specializes in the defense and representation of law enforcement officers, factors in. The legal defense of law enforcement officers is a specialized area, and one that takes knowledge of our profession and the difficult legal issues officers at time find themselves in.
Our LDF Attorneys are screened and approved based on their experience, knowledge and reputation in defending law enforcement officers. Unlike other Legal Defense Plans that you may find offered to law enforcement officers in Colorado, we don’t settle for just any attorney. Our plan approved attorneys have demonstrated extensive knowledge in the area of law enforcement officer defense. Our top law firms have years of experience defending officers in all of the complex areas this profession brings. They are thoroughly familiar with internal affairs investigations, use of force issues, and statutory issues involved when dealing with officer involved incidents.
Unlike some plans out there, the FOP Legal Defense Plan has NO hidden CAPS on the amount of coverage available for "Duty Related" incidents. This gives officers in the plan the peace of mind that they will be represented and protected without personal worry of financial obligation. We do not cap our attorneys, nor do we cap our coverage.
It is our experience that cheaper Legal Defense Plans that claim no caps on their coverage do cap the amount of reimbursement paid to their plan attorneys. The attorney is only paid to the cap amount. After that they can try and get a waiver for additional work, or begin charging the officer for continued coverage. Plans that operate that way almost always result in poor or limited representation for cases that involve extensive professional representation. Plans that subscribe to that practice do so to keep costs down thus reducing the rate an officer pays. Something they will never admit to and something their bylaws do not reflect. However, like everything else in this world you get what you pay for. With FOP legal Defense you get the best legal defense plan bar none.
Legal Defense Fund Services:
• Critical Incident
• Pre-Disciplinary Hearings
• Internal Affairs Investigations
• Criminal Proceedings Arising from a covered incident
• Administrative Actions
Plan Attorneys:
Our team of attorneys offers our membership a choice of attorney depending on the flavor of the case and the expertise of the attorney. Our attorney's have been hand selected due to their expertise in dealing with the complex issues of law surrounding the defense of peace officers in Colorado. They specialize in both Labor/Management issues and the expert representation of members involved in Administrative actions, Criminal actions, and Civil Litigation. Below is the contact information of FOP LDF plan approved attorney's.
Full Service & Critical Incident Attorneys - (For *Critical Incidents*contact any one of the attorney's at the asterisked numbers listed below!!)
Elkus Sisson & Rosenstein P.C.
http://www.elkusandsisson.com/ 501 S0. Cherry St. Suite #920, Denver, CO 80246
Office Number - 303-567-7981
24 hr Critical Incident Response 855-879-7068*
Bruno, Colin, & Lowe
http://www.brunolawyers.com/ 1999 Broadway Street #4300 Denver, Colorado 80202
24 hr Number: 303-831-1099* (24 hr Critical Incident Response)
Foster, Graham, Milstien, & Calisher LLC
http://www.fostergraham.com/ 360 S Garfield St; Suite 6 Denver, CO 80209
Office: 303-333-9810
24 hr number: 303-669-4762* (24 hr Critical Incident Response)
Law Office of Doug Jewell, LLC
www.djewell-law.com 3800 Youngfield Street Suite 185 Wheatridge, CO 80215
Office: 720-484-5760
Cell: 303-482-7665* (24 hr Critical Incident Response)
FAX: 720-484-5761
Jonathan P Datz, LLC
www.datzlawfirm. 340 E. 1st Ave, Suite 205 Broomfield, CO 80020
Office: 720-879-1114 - FAX: 720-222-5122
Datz cell: 720-883-7658* (24 hr Critical Incident Response)
Hall & Evans - Keith Goman
www.hallevans.com/ gomank@hallevans.com
Office: 303-628-3423
Cell: 720-839-1159* (24 hr Critical Incident Response)
1001 17th Street, Suite 300 Denver, CO 80202
Brian Reynolds Attorney at Law
Brian@ReynoldsLawLLC.com 955 Bannock St. Denver, CO 80204
(Cell Number) 720-442-8100* (24 hr Critical Incident Response)
The Law Office of Walter Bradley
bradleylawfirm@msn.com 12365 Huron Street #1800 Westminster, CO 80234
Office 303-301-7107
24hr Number: 720-206-7894*
Non-Critical Incident Attorneys Contact Info:
Nora Kelly: 303-866-9868
Jonathan Abramson (Kissinger & Fellman): 303-320-6100
Nathan Chambers & Thomas Mulvahill: 303-825-2222
Gerald Lackey (Colorado west slope only): 303-963-8708
How to file a claim
Unlike all other plans Legal Plans available to peace officers in Colorado we have NO third party administrator that has to be contacted before you get an attorney!! Just pick an attorney from the list below and call their law firm directly. Let them know you are an FOP member in good standing and advise which lodge you are a member of. That's it!!! The attorneys will take it from there. Easy and simple with no third party delay.
The Colorado Legal Defense Plan partnered with the National Legal Defense Plan to provide the best legal defense option for our members. As a result the claims are processed internally depending on the initiating incident. All on duty incidents that could result in a disciplinary action against the member and/or civil or criminal action are processed initially by our plan attorneys.
If you have a situation covered by legal defense all you need do is contact one of our plan attorney firms and advise them you are an FOP member, what lodge you belong to, and that you need an attorney. All of the law firms contracted by the FOP are familiar with the terms and conditions of the FOP LDF Plan. You will be asked to give a brief synopsis of your issue. The law firm will handle the claim filing.
