Agricultural, Equine, and Wildlife Law

Agricultural Law
Although Colorado’s population grew from 2.2 million people in 1970 to more than 4.7 million people today, Colorado remains an agricultural state. The Cohen Law Group takes pride in Colorado’s agricultural heritage and advises clients on a wide range of agricultural law issues. Attorneys practicing in this field know that “Agricultural Law” encompasses many legal disciplines. Ag lawyers must know bankruptcy, business law, business planning, contracts, cooperatives, criminal law, environmental law, estate planning, insurance law, landlord/tenant law, livestock law, negotiable instruments, real estate law, regulatory law, secured transactions, tax law, tort law, and water law.

Mark Cohen grew up just outside of Denver and has witnessed Colorado’s transformation over nearly forty years. After leaving the Air Force, he joined an Omaha law firm and represented creditors in Chapter 12 bankruptcies throughout Nebraska. During those years he acquired a solid understanding of agricultural financing, workouts, and bankruptcy law. Since returning to Colorado in 1995, he has advised clients on issues that include farm and ranch liability, USDA regulations, easements and access, the Colorado Estray Law, statutes and ordinances governing fencing, boundary disputes, treatment of animals, and agister’s liens. He is a member of the Agricultural Law Committee of the Colorado Bar Association.

Susan Horner, who is of counsel to TCLG, was also raised in Colorado. Her legal experience, including her expertise in environmental law, wildlife law, public lands, conservation easements, compliment Mark’s skills so that TCLG is well equipped to meet the needs of clients involved in any aspect of agriculture.

Also of counsel to TCLG is Jeff Cohen. Jeff earned his law degree at Michigan State University and earned an LL.M. in taxation from New York University. He is also a Colorado Certified Public Accountant. Jeff’s expertise enables TCLG to provide sound guidance to farm and ranch owners in the areas of business planning, estate planning, and taxation.

Equine Law
Mark Cohen and his family live in Nederland, Colorado, a mountain town eighteen miles west of Boulder that is home to many horse enthusiasts. Mr. Cohen advises clients concerning the liability of those engaged in equine activities. He drafts and reviews boarding agreements, sales contracts, and liability waivers. He advises clients concerning agister's liens and prepares related documents. In one case he successfully defended the operator of a stable in a civil suit arising out of the death of a horse. In another case he successfully represented the purchaser of a horse in a civil suit brought by the seller after the transaction had been completed in which the seller claimed there had been a misunderstanding as to which horse had been sold; the trial court awarded attorney’s fees to the firm’s client in that case, and the entire decision was affirmed on appeal.

Wildlife Law
Ms. Horner’s credentials in the fields of environmental and wildlife law are exceptional. From 1993 to 1996 she served as a Legal Fellow of the National Wildlife Federation and as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Colorado School of Law Natural Resources Litigation Clinic. Her publications and presentations in this field include: Embryo, Not Fossil: Breathing Life Into the Public Trust In Wildlife, 35 Land & Water Rev. 23, 2000; Co-author, Colorado Environmental Handbook, The State of the State, Cactus Communications, 1996; Wildlife Management in the Public Trust: Can we trust them? Missouri Natural Resources Conference, Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri, February 2, 2006; “Legal Perspective On the Public Trust in Wildlife Management It's Not Just A Good Idea, Wildlife Society Symposium, Des Moines, Iowa, December, 2001; Public Trust Doctrine: Application and Implications, Montana Wildlife Symposium, Bozeman, Montana, 1999; Living Permits, What Do You Have When the Ink Dries? University of Colorado Natural Resources Law Center/Boulder County Bar Association, 1996.