Arbitration, special master and judge pro-tem

Judge Kirk Samelson was appointed to Colorado’s 4th Judicial District Court bench in 2000 where he served until his retirement in 2012.  From 2007 to 2012 he served as the Chief Judge of the District.  Judge Samelson handled a diverse docket in El Paso County that included civil, criminal, water, domestic, and juvenile cases. In 2010, he received the Judicial Excellence Award from the Colorado branch of the American Board of Trial Advocates. In 2013, he started his own settlement conference/arbitration practice in Colorado specializing in civil cases.

Judge Samelson attended the U.S. Air Force Academy and graduated in 1973 with degrees in political science and international relations. He spent two years as a criminal investigator in the Air Force before attending law school at the University of Denver. After law school, Judge Samelson worked as a prosecutor in the Air Force and then as an associate professor of law at the Air Force Academy. In 1984 he entered private practice in Colorado Springs, concentrating on real estate, construction, water law, and business law. During that time until 1995, Judge Samelson maintained his ties with the Air Force, retiring as a reserve lieutenant colonel.

Judge Samelson has extensive community involvement in Colorado. He has served as:

  • Chair, U.S.A. Cycling Safe Sport Committee, 2014-2016
  • Colorado Springs Trails and Open Space working group, 2013-2015
  • Member, Colorado Chief Justice’s Commission on the Legal Profession, 2011-2012
  • Colorado Chief Judges’ Council, 2007-2012
  • El Paso County Bar Association, 1984-present, trustee 1999-2000, President 2006-2007
  • Board Member, El Paso County Bar Foundation, 2005-2007
  • Colorado Bar Association, 1984-present, Board of Governors, 2005-2007
  • 4th Judicial District Judicial Performance Commission, 1999-2000
  • Pikes Peak Highway Commission, 1997-2000
  • President, Air Academy Lacrosse Club, 1997-1998
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Association of Graduates, Board of Directors, 1981-1985, 1989-1995,  vice president, 1991-1993
  • St. Mary’s High School Board, 1985-1986
  • El Paso County Resource Management Board, 1985-1986

 

Judge Samelson has continued his involvement with higher education teaching as well. He is currently a visiting professor at Colorado College and was an adjunct professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law in 2014.  He also taught at Masaryk University in the Czech Republic in 2017, the Universities of Cologne and Heidelberg in Germany in 2015, and Otago and Waikato Universities in New Zealand in 2013 under the Fulbright Senior Specialist Program.   Judge Samelson was a visiting professor at the Odessa Institute of Economics and Law in Ukraine in 1997.

Judge Samelson is a graduate of the National Judicial College, the American Arbitration Association’s course in arbitration and Colorado’s mediation course.  He handles arbitrations and will serve as a judge pro-tem and special master.