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William Perry Pendley
Contact William Perry Pendley by E-mail

President and Chief Operating Officer
Born and raised in Cheyenne, Wyoming, he received B.A. and M.A. degrees in Economics and Political Science from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He was a Captain in the United States Marine Corps, after which he received his J.D. from the University of Wyoming College of Law, where he was Senior Editor on Land and Water Law Review. He served as an attorney to former Senator Clifford P. Hansen (R-Wyoming) and to the House Interior and Insular Affairs Committee. During the Reagan Administration, he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy and Minerals of the Department of Interior, where he authored President Reagan's National Minerals Policy and Exclusive Economic Zone proclamation. He was a consultant to former Secretary of the Navy John F. Lehman, Jr., and was engaged in the private practice of law in the Washington, D.C., area before his return to the West in 1989. He has argued cases before the Supreme Court of the United States as well as various federal courts of appeals; he won what Time called a "legal earthquake" when the Supreme Court ruled in his favor in the historic Adarand (equal protection) case. His monthly column, Summary Judgment, appears throughout the country; he is the author of three books: It Takes A Hero (1994); War on the West (1995); and Warriors for the West (2006). He is admitted to practice law in Wyoming, Colorado, Washington, D.C., and Virginia.



Steven J. Lechner
Contact Steven J. Lechner by E-mail

Vice President and Chief Legal Officer
Mr. Lechner graduated from the Colorado School of Mines with a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering. In 1990, he received his J.D. degree from the University of Colorado. He served as a Staff Attorney with MSLF from January 1991 until March 1998, when he entered the private practice of law. In November 2000, Mr. Lechner rejoined MSLF as Managing Attorney. In 2009, Mr. Lechner became Vice President and Chief Legal Officer. Mr. Lechner’s practice areas include private property rights, oil and gas, mining, public lands, and environmental laws. His published decisions include Mann v. United States, 86 Fed. Cl. 649 (2009), Shuler v. Babbitt, 49 F. Supp. 2d 1165 (D. Mont. 1998), Northwest Min. Ass’n v. Babbitt, 5 F. Supp. 2d 9 (D.D.C. 1998), United States v. Jenks, 129 F.3d 1348 (10th Cir. 1997), and Larson v. Lujan, 976 F.Supp. 1406 (D. Utah 1992). Mr. Lechner is licensed to practice law in State of Colorado and is admitted to practice before, inter alia, the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, numerous U.S. Courts of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court.



Janice K. Alvarado
Contact Janice K. Alvarado by E-mail

Vice President of Administration
Ms. Alvarado was born and raised in Englewood, Colorado. Employed with Mountain States Legal Foundation since March 1982, she now is responsible for soliciting and responding to major donors; planning and preparing meetings of the Board of Directors and Board of Litigation; and overseeing the upkeep of MSLF’s national headquarters. Ms. Alvarado is an avid fly fisher person and enjoys landscaping and gardening.



J. Scott Detamore
Contact J. Scott Detamore by E-mail

Managing Attorney
Mr. Detamore graduated from the University of Colorado with a B.A. in philosophy and English literature. In 1975 he received his J.D. from the University of Kansas School of Law, where he graduated cum laude and served on the Law Review. From 1975 to 1996 Mr. Detamore was in private practice, concentrating in commercial, bankruptcy, civil rights and employment litigation. He joined MSLF in 1996, where his practice areas include constitutional law generally, including Equal Protection of Law, Due Process of Law, Separation of Powers, Enumerated Powers and federalism, statutory civil rights law; and federal Indian law. Mr. Detamore is licensed to practice law in the State of Colorado and is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, numerous U.S. Courts of Appeal, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, and the U.S. Supreme Court.



James M. Manley
Contact James M. Manley by E-mail

Staff Attorney
Mr. Manley was born and raised near Detroit, Michigan. In 2004, he received a B.A. in Political Science and a B.A. in Journalism from Arizona State University. Before attending law school, he worked for the Goldwater Institute in Phoenix, Arizona, and was a professional ski instructor in Telluride, Colorado. In 2008, he received a J.D. from the University of Colorado Law School, where he served as an Associate Editor of the Law Review and President of the Federalist Society. Mr. Manley joined MSLF in September 2008. He is admitted to practice law in Colorado.



Mr. Jeffrey McCoy
Contact Jeffrey McCoy by E-mail

Staff Attorney
Mr. McCoy was raised in Woodland Park, CO. In 2007, he received his B.A. in political science and philosophy from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He returned to the University of Colorado for law school, where he served as an associate editor on the Colorado Journal of International Environmental Law and Policy and as a member of the Rothgerber Moot Court Board. Mr. McCoy received his J.D. in 2011 and joined MSLF in January 2012. He is admitted to practice law in Colorado.




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