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Laura J. Hazen

Director

Biography

Ms. Hazen is a Director with the law firm of Ireland Stapleton Pryor & Pascoe, PC. She serves as the head of the Child Care / Early Education Practice Area, and focuses on regulatory, licensing and employment issues.

In her employment practice, she provides day-to-day advice to public and private companies on allegations of employment discrimination, non-compete agreements and other labor and employment matters. Ms. Hazen works with her colleagues to provide training for public and private companies on issues such as diversity, management strategies, electronic document management and sexual harassment, and drafts employment documents, including employee handbooks and contracts.

Ms. Hazen helps all employers, but focuses considerable attention on child care providers and the unique problems that face that industry. Ms. Hazen also enjoys working with small and emerging businesses, to help them grow. After receiving many calls from small business owners asking about business plans, funding, marketing plans and other "non-legal" services, Ms. Hazen designed a series of lunchtime workshops, called the Small Business Toolkit, planned with the small business owner in mind. Her business skills were recognized in a nomination for the Denver Business Journal?s Outstanding Women in Business Award, and in her inclusion in the Denver Business Journal's list of "Top 40 under 40" in 2009.

Ms. Hazen's litigation practice concentrates on representing businesses in all aspects of complex business disputes. Ms. Hazen represents public and private companies in cases involving contractual and partnership disputes, employment litigation and landlord/tenant issues, construction defect disputes, trade secrets, and other commercial issues. She also devotes a significant amount of time to alternative dispute resolution, including mediation. Ms. Hazen is dedicated to providing clients with excellent representation in the courtroom as well as out. In 2007, Ms. Hazen completed an 8-day workshop with the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. She volunteers with the DU Lawyering Process Program to help others develop strong litigation skills.

She is admitted to practice in Colorado and Massachusetts, and before the U.S. District Courts of the Districts of Massachusetts and Colorado, as well as the First and Tenth Circuit Courts of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. Ms. Hazen received a B.S.S. cum laude from Cornell College, a J.D. degree from Northeastern University School of Law, and has a MS Business Management degree from the University of Colorado at Denver.

Accomplishments

Ms. Hazen was named a "Rising Star" by the Super Lawyers publication in 2008.

Ms. Hazen regularly publishes articles in human resources and childcare trade journals, and lectures for the University of Colorado, Bard Center for Entrepreneurship, and many trade organizations.

Specifically, Ms. Hazen published the following articles:

• Early Childhood Education Association of Colorado. "Managing a Content Workforce," 2010
• Early Childhood Education Association of Colorado. "Taking the Fear Out of Firing: Orchestrating Trouble Free Terminations," 2010
• American Bar Association. "Flip Flops Are Not Business Casual," 2010
• Colorado Human Resource Association. "The Legal Implications of a Technological Work Place: It's Midnight, Do You Know Where Your Employees Are?," 2010
• Early Childhood Education Association of Colorado. "Accommodation of Drug and Alcohol Use," August 2010
• Early Childhood Education Association of Colorado. "Employing Family," June 2010
•  Early Childhood Education Association of Colorado. "Avoid Sexual Orientation and Transgender Discrimination Claims," April 2010
•  Early Childhood Education Association of Colorado. "Extension of Emergency Unemployment Compensation," February 2010
•  Early Childhood Education Association of Colorado. "Safeguard Employee Records from Identity Theft," December 2009
•  Colorado Bar Association. Co-presenter of "Personal Expressions at Work: Tattoos, Piercings and Blogging, Oh My!," October 2009
•  Early Childhood Education Association of Colorado. "Managing Through a Pandemic: Implications of the Swine Flu (H1N1) On Your Business," October 2009
•  Jobbing.com. Employer focused legal blog, (http://denver.jobing.com/blog_author.asp?author=75023)
•  Early Childhood Education Association of Colorado. "The Fair Labor Standards Act: Why Do YOU Care?," August 2009
•  Early Childhood Education Association of Colorado. "Keeping Licensing Visits Short and Sweet: Avoidable Mistakes," June 2009
•  Early Childhood Education Association of Colorado. "Taking the Fear Out of Firing: Trouble Free Terminations in Topsy Turvy Times," April 2009
•  Early Childhood Education Association of Colorado. "Email Use Policy and Enforcement," February 2009
•  Members' Newsletter (Early Childhood Care Association of Colorado). "When Holiday Cheer Goes Too Far," December 2008
•  Members' Newsletter (Early Childhood Care Association of Colorado). "Safeguarding Employee Records from Identity Theft," August 2008
•  Members' Newsletter (Early Childhood Care Association of Colorado). "Trendy, but Troubling: Self-expression and the Modern Employer," June 2008
•  Members' Newsletter (Early Childhood Education Association of Colorado). "Conducting an Effective Investigation," a three part article - April 2008, February 2008, December 2007
•  Hospitality News (Colorado Restaurant Association). "'I Quit!' and Other Reasonable Reactions to Managing Problem Employees," November 2007
•  Members' Newsletter (Early Childhood Education Association of Colorado). "I Quit! ? and Other Reasonable Reactions to Managing Problem Employees," October 2007
•  Members' Newsletter (Colorado Child Care Association) Small Business Corner, August 2007
•  The Advisor (Colorado Human Resource Association). "'We're Like a Family,' and Other Lies Small Business Owners Tell Themselves about Discrimination and Harassment Claims," October 2006
•  The Docket (Colorado Bar Association). "Lookin' for Love in All the Wrong Places (legal issues surrounding intraoffice dating)," December 2004

Ms. Hazen lectured on the following topics:

•  Colorado Bar Association. Co-presenter, Social Media Panel, 2010
•  Colorado Human Resource Association. Co-presenter, "Developing Sound Strategic HR Policies in a Large Minefield EEO, AAP, ADA, FLSA, EFCA ?What Does It All Mean?," 2009
•  Colorado Human Resource Association. Co-presenter, "Corporate Social Responsibility: The Legal, Ethical, and Political Issues Affecting HR Strategy, Keeping It Real," 2009
•  Early Childhood Education Association. Co-presenter, "Nuts and Bolts of the FLSA and Trouble-Free Terminations," 2009
•  Legal Marketing Association ? Rocky Mountain Chapter. Speaker, "R U Linked In?," 2009
•  Society for Human Resource Management. Speaker, "Employer or Big Brother: A Legal Perspective on Managing Employee Expressions in the Workplace," 2009
•  Employment Law Series. "Personal Expressions at Work: Tattoos, Piercings and Blogging, Oh My!," October 2009
•  Employment Law Series. "Taking the Fear out of Firing: Orchestrating Trouble Free Terminations," February 2009
•  Colorado Restaurant Association. "Thriving in 2009: Trouble Free Terminations," February 2009
•  Colorado Human Resource Association (CHRA). "Developing Sound Strategic HR Policies" and "Corporate Social Responsibilities," January 2009
•  Colorado Human Resource Association. Speaker, "Piercings, Blogging and Tattoos, Oh My!," 2008
•  Employment Law Series. "FLSA Update," August 2008
•  Association of Legal Administrators. Presentation: "Personal Expression in the Workplace," June 2008
•  Employment Law Series. "Hiring and Firing," June 2008
•  Hospitality Human Resource Association. "Hiring and Firing," May 2008
•  Early Childhood Education Association of Colorado. "Personal Expression in the Workplace" and "Hiring and Firing," May 2008
•  Sterling Education Services, Inc. "Immigration and Employment Law," April 2008
•  Colorado Restaurant Association. "Employment Law 101," March 2008
•  CHRA Conference. "Blogs, Piercings and Tattoos, Oh, My!: Personal Expression in the Workplace," January 2008
•  ISPP Small Business Toolkit. Four-Workshop Series: "Creating Your Empire: Choosing a Business Entity;" "Lights, Camera, Action: Developing and Protecting Your Intellectual Property;" "Maximizing Value: Real Estate, Financing, Buying and Selling a Business;" "Help Wanted: Hiring Employees," 2007
•  Sterling Educational Services. Speaker, "Employment Issues in the Paperless Workplace: Electronic Storage, Identity Theft Protection, Best Practices and E-Discovery," 2007
•  Lorman Education Services. "Personal Liability and the HR Professional in Colorado," January 2006
•  CHRA Conference. "Employment Law Update," January 2006
•  ISPP Small Business Toolkit. Four-Workshop Series: "Getting Started: Heading in the Right Direction;" "Light the Way; Finding Your Four Key Advisors;" "Employee Makes Three: What Every Employer Must Know;" and "Green Thumb: Managing Your Growth and Marketing Your Business," 2005-2006

Affiliations

Ms. Hazen is involved in many civic, community and volunteer activities. Ms. Hazen is a trustee with the Legal Aid Foundation and sits on the YMCA Metro Board of Advisors. Ms. Hazen was the YMCA Metro Board of Advisors Volunteer of the Year in 2007, and continues to sit on the Special Events Committee.

She is a board member of the Colorado Early Education Association of Colorado, and a member of the Society of Human Resource Management and the Colorado Human Resource Association Mile High Chapter. Ms. Hazen is active in the Alliance of Professional Women, the Colorado Women's Bar Association, and the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce (Chamber 100, Class of 2006-7).

Interests

Outside of the office, Ms. Hazen spends as much of her time as possible with her husband and daughters and their hyper Siberian Husky, Beta. Ms. Hazen enjoys cooking, running, and community service.