David R. Little

David was born and raised in Boulder, Colorado. In 1980, he graduated magna cum laude from the University of Colorado, Boulder, with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration (Finance). While at C.U., David was a Boettcher Foundation Scholar, president of the local chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma (Business Honorary Society) and recipient of the Dean’s Award. David received his J.D. in 1983 from Stanford Law School.

After law school, David returned to Colorado from California to work as a law clerk to former Justice Joseph R. Quinn of the Colorado Supreme Court. He then accepted a position as an Assistant Attorney General in the Appellate Section of the Colorado Attorney General’s Office. While working in the Appellate Section, David had many opportunities to file briefs with and present oral arguments to the Colorado Court of Appeals, the Colorado Supreme Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

David then accepted a position as an Assistant Attorney General in the Tort Litigation Section of the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, where he defended a wide variety of state agencies, colleges and their employees against claims for damages in both state and federal court. This assignment provided David with the opportunity to defend many different types of employment, civil rights, contract, administrative law and tort lawsuits before state and federal judges throughout Colorado.

David has been in private practice since 1992 and joined the firm in 1998. In recent years, David’s practice has focused on complex oil and gas and regulatory disputes in Colorado and Wyoming involving, among other things, contract disputes, state and local authority to regulate oil and gas operations, joint operating agreements, farmout agreements, joint interest billings, seismic operations, rights of surface owners, royalty payments, oil and gas leases, trespass claims, lease terms and termination, purchase and sale agreements, drilling contract disputes and claims for removal of operators. David also has continued to handle a wide variety of other matters including general commercial contracts, easements and rights to use property. Many of these disputes have involved litigation in trial and appellate courts in Colorado or other states, and they have also included arbitration before the American Arbitration Association.

David is licensed to practice in state and federal courts in Colorado. He also has appeared in Wyoming courts as co-counsel with members of the Wyoming Bar. David has a scholarly interest in public regulation of oil and gas operations. He is a member of the Colorado Bar Association, and has spoken on oil and gas topics at programs sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation, the American Association of Professional Landmen, and the Natural Resources and Energy Law Section of the Colorado Bar Association. David is listed in the 2009 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the specialty of Energy Law.

David is married, has two children and relishes the opportunity to spend time with his family. He enjoys sports, music, theater, traveling and the outdoors.

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