Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP is pleased to announce that Shalyn Kettering will be honored with the Denver Bar Association’s Volunteer Lawyer of the Year Award at a ceremony on June 28, 2019. The award is presented annually to an attorney member of the DBA who has impacted and inspired through a demonstrated commitment to pro bono legal representation.
Ms. Kettering is an associate in the Natural Resources Department at DGS. She assists clients
with environmental aspects of business transactions, regulatory compliance, and environmental litigation matters. Her leadership roles span the legal and broader communities. Notably,
Ms. Kettering currently serves on the Warren Village Board of Directors. She is also a member of the Power of Extended Philanthropy Committee and the Impact Investing Giving Circle for the Women’s Foundation of Colorado. Additionally, Ms. Kettering contributes her time and energy to the Human Services Committee of the Kettering Family Foundation and to the “Personal Board of Directors” Project, through which she and a small group of other women support each other’s careers, side hustles, and aspirations. She is also the founder and former board chair of the Rose Andom Center Young Professionals Council and is a former member of the governing board of the Denver Children’s Advocacy Center.
“Shalyn’s commitment to volunteer work is an inspiration to us all,” said DGS Co-Managing Partners Kristin Lentz and Chad Williams. “Her efforts have changed lives, confirming how lawyers are uniquely positioned to make a difference in our communities.”
Ms. Kettering has worked on a number of significant pro bono projects. She has collaborated with DGS partner Kenzo Kawanabe to lead the firm’s Credible Fear Interview Program in partnership with the Colorado Lawyers Committee and the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network. In addition, she serves on the Immigration Task Force of the Colorado Lawyers Committee. Ms. Kettering independently represented an 18-year-old asylum seeker from Guatemala and was able to successfully secure his release from detention. Most recently, she and DGS senior of counsel Tom Johnson served as pro bono counsel for an asylum seeker from Cameroon who is part of the anglophone community that is being viciously targeted by the Cameroonian government. Upon being falsely associated with anglophone separatist groups, he was tortured and imprisoned. After escaping from prison and journeying through 11 countries to reach the U.S.–Mexico border, he was detained and transferred to the Aurora ICE Detention Center, where he remained for over six months while the DGS team worked on his asylum case. On June 4, the immigration judge granted him asylum.
“Shalyn epitomizes what each of us should strive to do—to use our legal skills to enhance the human dignity of others by improving or delivering volunteer legal services to the poor and disadvantaged,” said Mr. Kawanabe, who leads the firm’s pro bono activities. “This work supports the rule of law, helps our clients, and brings out the best in us and our profession.”
DGS is proud that Ms. Kettering is being recognized alongside this year’s other honorees: Janet Drake (Award of Merit); Professor Lucy Marsh (Education in the Legal System); the Honorable Beth Faragher and the Honorable Elizabeth Starrs (Judicial Excellence Award); and Learn Your Rights in Colorado (Outstanding Programs/Projects).