University of Arizona,
B.S. in Business Administration., 1966
Howard B. Gelt, is Vice Chair
of the firm's Real Estate practice group, chairs the Real Estate and Business
practice groups for the Denver office and is a member of the
Telecommunications and New Technology practice group.
Howard's real estate practice includes representation on issues
relating to:
- Governmental approvals (entitlements, zoning, land use,
annexation)
- Acquisitions, including property assemblages
- Development and construction lending
- Commercial, industrial and retail leasing
- Syndications and entity formation
- Foreclosures, loan restructuring and problem property
workouts
- Property dispositions and other related issues
His Telecommunications and New Technology practice includes
representation on issues relating to:
- The formation and representation of JNET, a public
private group dedicated to delivering high speed telecom services to the
business and residential communities in Jefferson County, Colorado.
- The representation of buyers and sellers of cable systems
in various jurisdictions of the U.S.
- The creation of SMATV systems in the Czech and Slovak
republics.
- Represented lenders of Telecom operators in the financing
of a variety of telecommunications facilities.
Howard is knowledgeable in all phases of business formation.
He served as President and General Counsel for Beauty Express, which he and
his partners started with one store in Denver and grew to 72 stores in nine
states. Howard's business law practice focuses on representation of start-up,
small and medium size businesses, serving essentially as outside general
counsel on:
- Appropriate entity structure
- Financing, including raising public and private capital
- Lending documentation
- Asset purchase and sales transactions
- Acquisitions and mergers
- Employment and regulatory matters
- Corporate restructuring
Prior to entering the practice of law, Howard served as the
Deputy Director of the Clinical Education Program at the University of Denver
College of Law from 1969-1973; then as a Clinical Professor at Duke University
from 1973-1975, where he held a joint appointment at the Law and Medical
Schools. He also served as a senior staff member to Colorado Governor Richard
D. Lamm (1975-1977) before entering private practice in 1977.
Howard also has had a lifelong commitment to community
service. Examples of that commitment include his service as Board Chair of
the Denver International Film Society, the Colorado Democratic Party, Metro
Transit!, a community based advocacy group aimed at improving transit
opportunities in the Denver Metro Area, and other civic organizations. He is
Past Chair of the Jefferson Economic Council, the economic development arm for
Colorado's largest county. Howard is also a member of the Downtown Denver
Partnership Economic Development Task Force, a board member of the Aurora
Economic Council and has served as a convener of the Colorado Cooperation
Conference. He also serves as an advisor or board member for other civic,
political and economic development oriented organizations in Denver and in
Colorado.
