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2963 Dupont Avenue, Suite 3
Jacksonville, FL 32217
P: (877) 367-6963
F: (904) 733-7633

Pinter Friendly Leslie A. Fields
Faegre & Benson, LLP
3200 Wells Fargo Center 1700 Lincoln Street
Denver, CO 80203
Tel:(303) 607-3622 | Fax:(303) 607 3600
lfields@faegre.com | www.faegre.com
Leslie A. Fields

Practice Areas

  • Eminent Domain
  • Land Use
  • Property Tax Valuations

Experience

In the area of eminent domain law, Leslie A. Fields has been active on virtually all sides of the land acquisition and valuation process. Representing both private and governmental entities, her clients include individual and corporate landowners, developers, energy providers, pipeline and transmission line companies, public service corporations, counties, municipalities and special districts. She has counseled and represented her clients through every stage of a condemnation case, from preliminary negotiations for the acquisition of property, to the institution of condemnation proceedings, to the ultimate determination of just compensation through litigation and the appellate process.

During her extensive career, Leslie has been involved in every major governmental project within the state of Colorado, including the Denver International Airport, the Colorado Convention Center, Highways C-470 and E-470, the I-25 Transportation Expansion Project (T-REX) and the Fastracks Lightrail project.

Leslie has argued numerous precedent-setting cases before the Colorado Court of Appeals and the Colorado Supreme Court, resulting in published decisions which include:

  • Representing a private landowner in one of the few reported decisions overturning the right to take property. The case involved a special district seeking to condemn property for primarily private, not public purposes.
  • Representing an office complex to successfully defeat the taking of lake property by an urban renewal authority based on an improper finding of blight.
  • Representing a waste transfer facility owner to obtain significant compensation for the taking of a permitted transfer site based on a valuation methodology that recognized the special purpose attributes of the property and the permit.
  • Representing a mountain resort community in the successful acquisition of a large tract of vacant land for open space and preservation purposes, resulting in a landmark decision upholding home rule eminent domain powers.

Leslie has testified as an expert witness in her area of expertise and has also presented before Colorado judges at their annual Colorado Judicial Conference. She has written extensively on eminent domain law and procedures. In 2007, Leslie authored the Colorado textbook Colorado Eminent Domain Practice published by Bradford Publishing.

Leslie is currently co-chairman of one of ALI-ABA's longest-running national conferences, Eminent Domain and Land Valuation. This annual conference, attended by lawyers, judges, appraisers and right-of-way agents from around the country, has become the go-to forum for the most current updates on the law of eminent domain and the exchange and development of new ideas.

Leslie's experience extends into numerous subareas of the eminent domain and land valuation field, including condemning for private ways of necessity, acquisition of access rights, project enhancement and highest and best use issues, visibility and loss of view damages, parking lot impacts, land use noncompliance impacts, value of special use properties, corridor and utility acquisitions, open space acquisitions, relocation expenses, and appraisal standards and guidelines.

Professional Recognition

  • The Best Lawyers in America, Eminent Domain, Condemnation Law and Real Estate Law, 2007–2010
  • Super Lawyers, Eminent Domain, 2008–2010; Real Estate, 2006 and 2007
  • Super Lawyers, Top 25 Women (Colorado), 2008
  • Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, Real Estate, 2005–2009

Publications

  • Acquiring Land Rights for Pipeline Projects by Negotiation and not Condemnation
    Pipeline & Gas Journal (2009)
  • Colorado Eminent Domain Practice, Textbook
    Bradford Publishing Co., Denver (2007)
  • Annual Survey of Colorado Eminent Domain Law
    Colorado and Denver Bar Association (2004–2008)
  • Receiving Full Compensation for Real Project Impacts
    ALI-ABA Eminent Domain (2009)
  • Taken in Mid-Development: Just Compensation for Land Use Entitlements
    ALI-ABA Eminent Domain (2008)
  • Visibility Loss or Diversion of Traffic
    ALI-ABA Eminent Domain (2007)
  • Resolving Title and Ownership Disputes in a Condemnation Action
    Practical Real Estate Lawyer (2007)
  • National Law Updates
    CLE International (2005–2007)
  • Discovery of Multiple Appraisals and Compelling Testimony of Adversary's Appraisers
    Nichols, Law of Eminent Domain
  • Mock Trial
    Handbook for American Institute of Real Estate Appraisers of the National Association of Realtors
  • Status of Landowner's Property Slated for Condemnation
    Colorado Lawyer (1985)

Trade Organizations

  • American College of Trial Lawyers, fellow
  • Colorado Bar Association Executive Council (1998–2000)
  • Sam Cary Bar Association Advisory Board

Firm Leadership

Leslie is a member of the firm's management committee and serves as the firm's diversity partner. In this role, she helps direct initiatives focused on promoting and maintaining a culture of diversity within the firm and in the extended legal community.

Admitted to Practice (State)

  • Colorado


 

 
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