Indian Law
Commercial Litigation
Environmental Law
Water Law
Oil and Gas and Natural Resources Law
Banking and Creditors’ Rights
Real Estate
Business Law
Estate Planning, Probate and Tax Law
Health Care Law
Electric Cooperative and Public Entity Law
Our firm enjoys a history of more than fifty years of practicing law in Colorado and the Four Corners region. In 1961, Frank E. (Sam) Maynes went to work as a young attorney for Lawrence McDaniel and Byron Bradford, whose firm maintained a respected general practice in Durango. Several years later, Sam formed a new firm, Maynes and Anesi, with his younger cousin, Frank J. Anesi, who had returned earlier to Durango as Colorado’s second public defender. Not only were they partners in a law practice, they also owned a liquor store together and bought a long-time, local drinking establishment, The Gold Slipper, from their cousin, Otto. In 1965, Sam became the lawyer for the Southwestern Water Conservation District, and, in 1968, he was hired as general counsel to the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, a federally recognized Indian Tribe headquartered in Ignacio, Colorado. In the meantime, Byron Bradford became the District Court Judge for the Sixth Judicial District.
The Maynes and Anesi firm grew in size and reputation in the early 1970s, but, ultimately, the cousins divided their practice into two firms.
After retiring from the District Court bench and spending several years on the local ski patrol, Byron Bradford rejoined Sam and lawyer, Sarah Duncan, in a new firm, Maynes, Bradford & Duncan. Even then, the firm had earned a solid reputation in Colorado for its expertise in water and Indian law. In 1979, the firm hired Tom Shipps, a new law school graduate and former graduate of Fort Lewis College. While in law school, Tom had co-authored a casebook on Indian law, and his legal interests fit well with the firm’s major areas of practice. In 1982, Janice Sheftel, a distinguished law school graduate, joined the firm where she specialized in water and natural resources law. In 1985, Byron Bradford passed away, and, in 2004, Frank E. (Sam) Maynes died.
Over the years, the firm and its skilled lawyers have become nationally and locally recognized in a variety of areas including Indian law, water law, natural resources law, banking and creditors rights, health care law, business law, real estate, estate planning and probate, and litigation. In addition to those mentioned above, past firm partners have included Patricia A. Hall, who continues to serve the firm in an “of counsel” capacity. The firm has a branch office in Denver, Colorado to accommodate its expanding practice in the areas of business and real estate law.
