The David C. Japha Commentaries

On a recent Price of Business show, Host Kevin Price interviewed David C. Japha, Levin Jacobson Japha, P.C.

Early Legal Issue Identification: Many of the most serious legal problems facing small and mid-sized businesses do not arise from bad conduct, but from ordinary business decisions that quietly carry legal consequences

Legal risk often enters a business invisibly — through routine hiring practices, informal authority structures, outdated agreements, data handling, or long-standing operational habits that no longer align with current law or business realities. Because these issues do not feel like “legal problems” at the time, they are frequently ignored until stress, money, or conflict brings them to the surface.

Issues which are inexpensive and easy to address early can become costly and rigid once disputes emerge and leverage hardens. The most effective business lawyers are not obstacles to decision-making, but advisors who help owners understand which risks are worth taking and which ones quietly compound over time. The segment highlights why early legal judgment is less about technical compliance and more about preserving options before problems arise.

Over  his  more  than  three  decades  of  practice,  David  Japha  has  earned  a  reputation  for resolving difficult and complex matters, sometimes being the second or third lawyer to take on a case. David has tried many criminal and civil cases to conclusion and argued numerous appeals, post-conviction cases and cases involving mental health issues. He also  currently represents clients in federal and state administrative matters, including ongoing matters before the Consumer Products Safety Commission. David got his start in litigation before leaving the University of Denver College of Law, where he tried his first DUI case in state court through a program called the student law office.  He also negotiated settlements and argued his first administrative appeal  before the Social Security Administration in the winter of 1984, before his law school graduation in May of that year. Soon after starting out, David shared office space with his current partners, Don Jacobson and Daniel Levin at Ptarmigan Place.  There he learned law office management hanging out his shingle and doing evictions, collections and court-appointed federal criminal cases.  And, it was there, in federal court, that David truly cut his teeth in criminal defense litigation, culminating in his appointment  to  the  Criminal  Justice  Act  committee  (which  oversaw  the  appointment  of  conflict counsel in federal court) by then-Chief Judge Richard Matsch. Over 30 years of practice has given David the opportunity to be involved in some amazing cases,  including  taking  depositions  in Katmandu,  Nepal  in  a  complex  criminal  case  in  1991; representing  a  witness  in  the  trial  of  Timothy  McVeigh  (where  David  was  also  a  credentialed reporter for the Intermountain Jewish News); handling criminal matters in Nebraska, Kansas and California and appearing in Washington State.  David has been an expert witness for the Colorado Supreme Court Office of Regulation Counsel in the area of attorney fees for court appointed counsel.

Learn more at https://www.ljjlaw.com/attorney-profiles/david-japha/.

Connect with David on social media:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-japha-23937912/