Mr. Jurdem's skills as a trial lawyer honed over the course of a 30 year career are well known in the State of Colorado. His achievements include Board Certification as a Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy and selection as a 2006-2008 Colorado SuperLawyer, an honor reserved for the top five percent of Colorado attorneys. His credentials in criminal law include serving as Denver's head public defender, directing the regional Office of the Public Defender in Colorado Springs, selection to the Criminal Justice Act panel providing federal court criminal defense of the indigent, senior trial lawyer in the Jefferson County Public Defenders Office and deputy state public defender in Fort Collins. Mr. Jurdem is also a life member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyer.

Over the course of his career, Mr. Jurdem has tried in excess of 100 criminal jury trials, initially as a deputy state public defender and thereafter as Director of the Offices of the Public Defender in Colorado Springs and Denver, Colorado. Mr. Jurdem took his trial skills into the arena of personal injury, malpractice, and general civil litigation when he joined the law firm of Branney, Hillyard, Kudla & Jurdem in 1988. Mr. Jurdem's success in the personal injury and civil arena was punctuated by many jury verdicts in excess of one million dollars. In the case of a sixth grade student injured in a rollover school bus accident, the jury returned a verdict for Mr. Jurdem and his partner, Joe Branney, in excess of 17 million dollars. This is believed to be one of the largest Colorado verdicts ever achieved for a single Plaintiff.

Scott Jurdem was born in Queens, New York on September 8, 1951 and admitted to the bar in the State of Colorado and the United States District Court for the District of Colorado in 1976. In 1980, Mr. Jurdem was admitted to the bar in the State of New York. Mr. Jurdem received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the State University of New York at Binghamton in 1973 and graduated from the University of Colorado School of Law in 1976 with the degree of Juris Doctor. He served as a Deputy State Public Defender in Fort Collins and Golden, Colorado prior to being appointed as Regional Director of the Colorado Springs Office of the Public Defender in 1983. In 1985, He was appointed to direct the Denver Office of the State Public Defender. He is a member of the Denver, Colorado and American Bar Associations and the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association. Mr. Jurdem was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association and served a lengthy term on the Board of Directors of the Association. Mr. Jurdem practices in the area of serious personal injury and wrongful death, state and federal criminal defense, medical, legal and other professional malpractice, business and commercial litigation, products liability, insurance bad faith, and toxic and environmental torts.

Areas of Practice

• Personal Injury and Wrongful Death
• Federal and State Criminal Defense
• Commercial Litigation and Business Torts
• Legal, Medical and other Professional Malpractice
• Automobile Collisions and Injury
• Insurance Bad Faith
• Products Liability
• Environmental and Toxic Torts
• Defense of Sex and Domestic Violence Offenses
• Driving While Intoxicated and Traffic Offenses

Litigation Percentage

• 100% of Practice Devoted to Litigation

Certification/Specialties

• Civil Trial Advocate, National Board of Trial Advocacy

Bar Admissions

• Colorado, 1976
• New York, 1980
• U.S. District Court District of Colorado, 1976

Education

• University of Colorado School of Law, Boulder, Colorado, 1976
  Juris Doctor
  
  
• State University of New York, Binghamton, New York, 1973
  Bachelor of Arts
  
  

Honors and Awards

• Colorado Super Lawyer, 2006 - 2008

Professional Associations and Memberships

• National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
  Lifetime Member
  
  
• Boulder County Bar Association
  Member
  
  
• NORML
  Member
  
  
• Denver Bar Association
  Member
  
  
• Colorado Bar Association
  Member
  
  
• Colorado Trial Lawyers Association
  Former Director and Member
  
  
• Colorado Criminal Defense Bar
  Member
  
  

Past Employment Positions

• Office of the Public Defender, Fort Collins, Colorado, Deputy State Public Defender, 1977
• Office of the Public Defender, Golden, Colorado, State Public Defender, Senior Trial Deputy, 1977 - 1982
• Office of the Public Defender, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Regional Director, 1982 - 1984
• Office of the Public Defender, Denver, Colorado, Regional Director, 1984 - 1988
• Branney, Hillyard, Kudla & Jurdem, Partner, 1988 - 1993
• Buchanan, Jurdem & Zulauf, P.C., 1993 - 2000
• Buchanan, Jurdem & Cederberg, P.C., 2000 - 2008

Birth Information

• September 8, 1951, Queens, New York, United States of America