Partner
1675 Broadway, Suite 2300
Denver, Colorado 80202
Telephone: (303) 825-7000
Fax: (303) 825-7005
Cell phone: (303) 898-1665
pkirsch@kaplankirsch.com
Vcard

Mr. Kirsch's practice emphasizes environmental and land use law, public-sector development and large infrastructure projects. He has represented clients ranging from municipalities and local governments to private industry and public interest groups in environmental and land use negotiations. Mr. Kirsch has litigated cases before administrative agencies, numerous state and federal trial and appellate courts and the U.S. Supreme Court. Most of his practice focuses on federal regulatory matters and on local land use regulation with a particular focus on transportation projects.

The matters in which Mr. Kirsch has been involved are frequently large projects which engender intense public and political debate. Mr. Kirsch has experience advising clients on the interplay among legal, policy and legislative solutions to local government land use and transportation problems. For more than 20 years, a large part of Mr. Kirsch's practice has concentrated on airport development issues. He has represented dozens of clients on the panoply of land use, regulatory and environmental issues that arise in complex airport development projects. He regularly advises airports on federal law and on airport financial and operational issues. He has represented clients in precedent-setting federal and state court litigation relating to the powers of airport proprietors, control of airport noise and preventing encroachment of incompatible land uses. He also has been involved in other important cases such as the allocation of water in the Platte River in Nebraska and Wyoming; the adoption of growth management legislation in Colorado; the restoration of the Kennebec River in Maine; and the construction of new airports in Southern Nevada and Central Idaho.

Recent Publications and Seminars

    Publications
  • "The Airport Noise Act: Safe Harbor or Procedural Hurdle," 16 Air and Space Lawyer 14 (2002)
  • "Sharing the Wealth from Airport Expansions," Urban Land 34 (1998)
  • "Understanding Historic Preservation Issues," Chapter in ICMA Base Reuse Handbook (1997)
  • "Using Formal Agreements to Provide Certainty in Airport-Community Relations," Airports 95 (Institution of Engineers-Australia Pub. No. 95/07) (1995)
  • "Defining the Scope of Alternatives in an EIS after Citizens Against Burlington," 21 Environmental Law Rep. 10701 (1991)
  • "Environmental Protection Through Federal Preemption of State Water Laws," 20 Environmental Law Rep. 10438 (1990)

    Selected Seminars
  • Frequent speaker at, and program committee member for, Annual University of California Airport Noise and Air Quality Symposium (1990 - Present)
  • Frequent speaker at Florida Airports Council annual conference and environmental/noise issues conference
  • Frequent speaker at Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute
  • American Association of Airport Executives: Airport Planning Conference (2003 - 2007); Resort Airports Conference (2003, 2004, 2005, 2007); Annual Airport Law Conference (2005 - Present)
  • Frequent speaker at Airports Council International - North America conferences and committee meetings
  • National CLE (Real Estate) (2000, 2001, 2002, 2008, 2009)
  • American Bar Association Forum on Air and Space Law (2001)

Education and Clerkships

  • B.A., with highest honors, Oberlin College, 1979
  • J.D., University of Chicago, 1984
  • Judicial Law Clerk, Judge Alfred T. Goodwin, U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit

Bar Admissions

  • Washington
  • District of Columbia
  • Maryland
  • Colorado
  • Many Federal District Courts, Courts of Appeals
  • U. S. Supreme Court

Professional and Civic Activities

  • Board of Trustees, Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (2004 - Present) (Chair 2006 - Present)
  • Board of Trustees, Museum of Contemporary Art - Denver (2005 - Present)
  • Board of Trustees, Oberlin College (2000 - 2007)
  • Board of Directors, Colorado Conservation Voters (2004 - 2006)
  • Bromwell School CDM [Governance] Committee, Chair (2002 - 2004)
  • Board of Trustees, River Network (1993 - 2002) (Chair 1999 - 2001)
  • Chair, Transportation Section, International Municipal Lawyers Association (1996 - 1997)