Partner
1675 Broadway, Suite 2300
Denver, Colorado 80202
Telephone: (303) 825-7000
Fax: (303) 825-7005
Cell phone: (303) 885-4042
skaplan@kaplankirsch.com
Vcard

Throughout his professional career, Mr. Kaplan has participated in the negotiation of complicated public-private partnerships from several different perspectives: as a client, as counsel to a municipality, and as a representative of the United States government. From 1993 to 1995,
Mr. Kaplan was the General Counsel of the United States Department of Transportation.
Mr. Kaplan managed over 500 attorneys with responsibility for advising and representing the Department and its various agencies including, among others, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Transit Administration and the Federal Highway Administration. He supervised policy on issues ranging from airport revenue diversion to privatization and from regulatory reform to the implementation of environmental policies. Among other agreements, Mr. Kaplan negotiated the U.S. – Canada Aviation Bilateral Agreement signed by President Clinton and Prime Minister Chrétien in February 1995.

Mr. Kaplan also served for seven years as the City Attorney of Denver, Colorado, where he supervised 60 attorneys with responsibility for the entire range of municipal representation.
Mr. Kaplan also was actively involved in negotiations which led to the development of the new Denver International Airport, the Colorado Convention Center and the governance structure and financing for Denver’s Major League Baseball stadium.

Mr. Kaplan’s recent experience includes representing the master developer of the redevelopment of the 4,200 acre former Stapleton International Airport, representing the authority created to finance, build and operate an 1,100 room convention center hotel, participating on the master planning team on land use and governance issues for the redevelopment of a downtown train station into a regional multi-modal facility, advising private and public entities on transit and highway matters, and representing airports on matters ranging from access issues to noise issues.

Recent Seminars and Publications

  • Frequent speaker at Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute
  • 21st Annual Basics of Airport Law Legal Update, American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) (2005)
  • Frequent speaker at American Bar Association Forum on Air and Space Law
  • EPA’s Brownfields 2002 Conference, "The Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund Experiences"

Education and Clerkships

  • A.B., cum laude, Harvard College, 1969
  • J.D., Harvard Law School, 1973

Bar Admissions

  • Colorado
  • Oklahoma

Professional and Civic Activities

  • Board of Directors and former President, Colorado I Have a Dream Foundation
  • Chair, Denver Public Schools Citizens’ Bond Committee (2003)
  • Vice-Chair, National Civil Aviation Review Commission (Mineta Commission) (1997)
  • Airports Council International Award for Outstanding Leadership (1996)
  • FAA Award for Extraordinary Achievement (1995)
  • Former Member of the Board of the Denver Zoo, Childrens’ Museum and SafeHouse