Legal Counsel in Fort Collins & Denver
Minor Keele Parke serves the Fort Collins & Denver markets with a full team of experienced attorneys and legal staff. Visit one of our branches to for comprehensive representation in either location.
Minor Keele Parke is a Colorado-based law firm representing and providing legal services to privately-owned businesses in every industry, profession, and their respective entrepreneurial owners. MKP Law offers you and your business the advantage of over 45 years of successfully helping entrepreneurs build, expand, protect and position your company for success. For us, representation is personal: we encourage owners to shift the weight of challenging circumstances from their shoulders to ours.
As an MKP Law client you can expect:
- A commitment to streamlined problem-solving that addresses the issues and reduces risk as quickly as possible.
- Creativity and passion that drive lawyers’ ownership of the problem, diligent project management and client service approach.
- Lawyers who are “easy to do business with” and have the clients’ backs from the first conversation until a matter has reached its conclusion.
- Lawyers who are zealous first about the person – then the matter.
- Practical lawyers who will work hard and aggressively to get the job done.
- Lawyers who have reputations for technical depth in their fields.
FOCUSED ON YOUR FUTURE
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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Working at MKP Law
Working Here
By an Associate who wishes to remain Anonymous
Let me begin in reverse order.
The Ugly. There are not many firms in America, large or small, where your idiosyncrasies and foibles are meticulously documented for use at the annual Christmas party. This is just the case at MKP Law where the MKP Law Awards are an annual occurrence and you can expect any missteps during the course of the year to result in a grotesquely contrived trophy, which will, at some point after ponderous and humorous reflection gain a place of honor on your bookshelf.
The Bad. Most people do not have great singing voices. Nor is kazoo playing a natural talent for most. These are just facts of life. This does not stop attorneys and staff at MKP Law, however, from gathering periodically to regale each other with the most inauspicious of firm theme songs “Happy Boy” by the Beat Farmers. I would wager that no other law firm in the country has a Managing Partner who willingly gargles at the appropriate portion of their firm’s theme song. I would also wager that very few firms, if any, have a theme song to begin with.
The Good. If you want to come to work with a smile on your face and leave with a smile on your face, this is the place. This cannot be said of many law firms, but MKP Law is a fun place to work. The work is challenging, the pace can be furious, but the work is rewarding, the clients are inspiring in their entrepreneurial spirit and laughter is an everyday occurrence in the halls of MKP Law. In short, if you don’t have a sense of humor, MKP Law is not the place for you.
Guide Dogs
Barb Wells has been a puppy raiser for Guide Dogs for the Blind for more than 20 years and has raised 21 puppies so far, with number 22 in the works. As a leader of a local guide dog puppy club, Barb has worked with many, many more pups as they begin their career as a Guide Dog.
The puppies are born in San Rafael, California, and then shipped to volunteer raisers in nine Western states. The puppies usually arrive at two months of age, which makes falling in love with them immediately easy. Barb describes her role by saying, “my job is to socialize the pup, and to teach it the basics of good behavior in all kinds of situations and to ignore things and people that could distract the dog from its work.”
The raisers keep the pups for a little over a year. Of course, returning them at about 15 months of age is heart-breaking and hard on every puppy raiser, but Barb knows that they are going into a beautiful world of work and love with their new "best buddy."
After the puppies leave their raiser, they go on to Puppy College at either the Oregon campus or the California campus, where professional trainers spend about three months teaching them how to actually work in a harness. The work of a guide dog is to help their handler to go from point A to point B safely. For example, it is not the dog's job to decide when to cross the street but rather to cross the street safely, to find the door even though the person may have tried to turn too early, to avoid potholes and stumbling on obstacles such as curbs, and to get their handler out of the way of drivers who aren't paying enough attention.
Guide Dogs for the Blind, “GDB,” is the industry-leading guide dog school, preparing highly qualified guide dogs to serve and empower individuals who are blind or have little vision. GDB then matches each dog with an individual user; the dogs and the services of training the dogs and post-graduation assistance are provided to individuals free of charge. GDB is supported by donations and volunteers including the puppy raisers like Barb; GDB receives no government funding.
Barb loves each of her dogs in a very special way and wants you to know a little bit about each of her special friends:
Army
Army was the first, and like every first child, he had to teach me how to do my puppy raising job. He lived, loved and worked with Phil outside of Toronto, Canada.
Larrabee
Larrabee was #2, and he had to learn to "love but don't lick." Of course, when he went to work with Cliff in Nebraska he forgot all about that training, but was a great guide and best buddy for Cliff.
Cuba
Cuba (#3) was a pup that Barb raised for the first 6 months, and then he went to Utah for their "school program," and he was with a high school girl for the second half of his raising. He went to work with Cathy in Washington, and then retired to become her family’s beloved pet for the rest of his life.
Pavarotti
Pavarotti was #4 and a big boy, and he went to work in North Vancouver, Canada with Barry. Barry changed his name to Yukon. Yukon was a wonderful best buddy for Barry.
Pete
Pete (#5) was a full-bred Lab, but with those long ears, people thought he might be part hound. He graduated from Puppy College and worked with Matt in Pennsylvania.
Teton
Teton was a sweet little fellow (#6) and went off to live, love, and work with Danny in Missouri. Danny said he always acted like a young and fun pup.
Anthony
Anthony (#7) was a tall, strapping fellow. He went on to become the best buddy (and a wonderful friend and guide) for Al in Oregon. Al said that Anthony was a family name and he just could not say “Anthony, sit” with a straight face, so Al called him Sable.
Usher
Usher (#8) was only with Barb for a few weeks before we found that he had a defective kidney, so he left at 12 weeks of age, they removed that defective part, and he is now happily living and loving with Kate in Oregon. He isn't working, but he has a wonderful life, including his “sister” who was also a “career changed” GDB pup.
Tyson
Tyson was #9 and a sweet fellow with big dark eyes. He graduated from Puppy College and then went off to Human College in Virginia with Tyler. Tyler is now graduated and together they have gone on to work. Tyler thought it was great that Tyson’s name was so close to his own.
Newhart
Newhart was Barb’s #10. The first part of his training was done by a raiser in Utah, and he was transferred to Barb at 10 months of age. He is a sweet, friendly fellow - and he went to work as a guide dog with Shaun. But after a short working career, Newhart decided that he was not cut out for guide work. He is now the beloved pet of Shaun and his family.
Jax
Jax (#11) turned into a laid-back, calm fellow and found that working requires more energy than he could maintain. So he got to stay with Barb forever with a slight name change to Jack - Sweet boy!
Lafitte
Lafitte is Barb’s #12 and is a small, short and stocky guy, who loves his belly rubs. Lafitte is now living in Ohio and working with Aaron at OSU - Go Buckeyes!
Lipton
Lipton was a BIG, fluffy, sweet little boy. He grew up to be a big strapping fellow, but not quite meant for guide work so he is now living with Kim Ritter and LOVES his new family!
Halifax
Halifax came just a few weeks before Lipton was ready to go. Halifax had BIG ears, and even now those ears are, well, BIG. Hal also decided that guide work was a bit much for him, and he is now living with Travis Viles and thinks that life is so great!
Waldo
Waldo is Barb’s #15. He was really on his way to becoming a guide dog when they found out that he has a genetic mutation that might affect his sight a bit as he ages. So instead he went on to train at Dogs for Better Lives and became a Certified Hearing Dog and is doing a great job!
Jedi
Jedi was next, and he decided to follow in Waldo’s footsteps. He just had too much fun with his toys to become a working guide dog, but he does a great job as a Certified Hearing Dog and he is also just the best buddy in the world!
Norway
Norway is #17 and still working his way through school. Although he didn’t quite meet the physical requirements for a guide dog, he is now working his way through training with PAVE (Paws Assisting Veterans) and plans to become a service dog for a US veteran with PTSD. He is a big and handsome fellow and everyone loves him – and he loves them too.
Stimson
Stimson came next – and wonderful guy with flowing locks of golden hair. He tried hard, but decided that service dog work was not for him, so he became a beloved pet for Michael, who is also a GDB Puppy Raiser. Stimson is now known as Samson – you know, those flowing locks!
Lucca
Lucca is #19, and coming along nicely in his training. He is actually Norway’s nephew and yes, you can see family traits! Lucca is a sweet fellow, loved by all, and does a great job in so many ways. But he is a bit too sensitive for guide work, and now he is known as Luke and lives with Megan Deas I our office, and loves his new life.
Montague
Montague (sometimes we call him Monte) is #20, and coming along nicely in his training. He is a big boy, easy to work with in all ways, and very calm until told “OK” and then he can have such fun. He is off to Puppy College soon, and then we shall see… we have high hopes for him!
Henny
Henny came to Barb as a “starter pup” – Barb raised Henny for the first few months with the plan that she would be transferred to another raiser who really wanted Henny but could not take her initially. Henny has been a great girl, sometimes charging to have fun and sometimes just sitting or walking along slowly to see what is going on. She will finish her time with the other raiser, and Barb will get to see her from time to time… and yes, Henny will be thrilled to see Barb every time.
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