Fiduciary Lessons from…Lance Armstrong?

by Jean Stewart

Lance Armstrong, the road cycling legend who recovered from testicular cancer to win the grueling 2-week European bicycle race known as the Tour De France seven times has recently been revealed as a failed fiduciary. 

In his two-part interview last week with Oprah Winfrey, Lance reports that among the hardest punishments so far meted out to him, is the decision of his Livestrong Foundation, the cancer research and victim’s support foundation that has raised and distributed millions to cancer causes, to ask him to step down as the Chairman and a member of the Board after the doping evidence piled up against him. 

 Every time we paid $1 for one of those iconic yellow rubber bracelets we were supporting the foundation in Lance’s fiduciary hands.  By all reports, he was a fiduciary in the cycling world alike, as the leader of the several world-class teams he headed over the years.  We invested him with fiduciary powers and his spectacular fall from grace teaches us some simple lessons about assuming positions of trust.   

Some fiduciary lessons from Lance:

  1. If you breach a fiduciary duty, admit it as soon as you can—to yourself and to those who have been harmed or disappointed by your actions;
  2. Take steps to amend your breach promptly; eventually you will be found out and it will look worse and be harder to fix the situation;
  3. Don’t engage in name calling or accusations against those who have tried to bring your breaches to light; they usually get the last word;
  4. Step aside voluntarily from your fiduciary positions if it appears you will be forced to do so by the people you have wronged or by an independent fact-finder; and
  5. Put aside some funds; you will probably need to pay some people back. 

A New Blog, the New Year and the New CBA Litigation Subcommittee!

by Kelly Dickson Cooper

As many of you know, the Colorado Bar Association has many wonderful and active subcommittees that provide important services to the legal profession and the public. Building on that great tradition, the Trust & Estate Section and the Elder Law Sections have approved the formation of a joint subcommittee to address litigation issues. The first meeting of the new Litigation Subcommittee is scheduled for January 17, 2013 at 10am at the offices of the Colorado Bar Association, 9th Floor.

The goals for the Litigation Subcommittee will be discussed and developed further at the first meeting, but was proposed with the following aspirations:

  • An opportunity to foster and increase collegiality among practitioners that come from varying areas of expertise and different areas of Colorado
  • A united voice to advocate for the resolution of issues affecting counsel and parties in probate litigation matters
  • Assist in development of best practices and consistent practices throughout Colorado to increase efficiency and certainty in probate litigation matters
  • Work with other subcommittees whose work affects probate litigation matters (Rules & Forms, Statutory Revisions, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Continuing Legal Education, etc.) and provide a viewpoint that is different
  • Continued development and education of members on issues of particular interest to probate litigation practitioners (e.g. creating a bank of district court orders from around Colorado)

We hope you will join us!

Introduction

The Fiduciary Solutions group here at Holland & Hart wanted to communicate with current and potential clients in a new way that is accessible, efficient and useful.  We hope you will enjoy and appreciate our new blog. Much of the content will find shared interests in the community of estates and trusts attorneys.  Please visit our website at www.hollandhart.com/fiduciarysolutions/ to learn more about our practice group and for contact information.