Rebecca Love Kourlis

 
 

Click above to watch Becky describe her approach to arbitration.
Click here to learn about her approach to mediation.

Becky Kourlis understands the law from all angles, including the one she built to help improve the legal system itself.

Becky spent nearly two decades on the bench—first as a Colorado state trial judge and then on the Colorado Supreme Court. After practicing law for a decade and handling a wide range of cases including natural resources, water, public lands, oil and gas, and mineral law, Becky was tapped to serve as a Colorado state trial court judge with a general jurisdiction docket. She also served as Water Judge and finally, Chief Judge of the district. Becky then arbitrated and mediated civil disputes at Judicial Arbiter Group (JAG). In 1995, Governor Roy Romer appointed Becky to the Colorado Supreme Court. There, she authored seminal opinions and dissents in criminal, domestic relations, water, and complex civil cases.

“Top notch lawyers and judges across the country recognize Becky’s stellar track record for clearing logjams, parsing the most difficult legal questions and caring deeply about serving the system’s end user at every turn.”

~ Ozzie Ayscue, former President,
American College of Trial Lawyers

She left the bench to found and lead the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (IAALS) at the University of Denver. She pioneered a data-driven, collaborative process to tackle some of the legal system’s most entrenched problems including discovery, civil rules reform, judicial performance, attorney regulation, and access to justice. She helped to forge true consensus among natural adversaries and built the broad coalition of support necessary to implement long-needed reforms. Her focus on clear, inclusive process, deep listening, and practical solutions achieved real change across the country.

Her entire career has focused on serving litigants in a respectful, effective way with active case management and a commitment to efficiency. Her public policy work over the years has involved court procedures, legal ethics, regulation of the legal profession, water, oil and gas, jury trial reforms, and education issues.

Now, Becky serves as a full-time neutral at Decisioncraft. Becky is available for arbitrations, mediations, public policy facilitations, and court and moot court services.

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AAA Panelist

Awards

  • American College of Trial Lawyers, Samuel E. Gates Litigation Award for contributions to the improvement of the litigation process, 2016

  • American Bar Association John Marshall Award for extraordinary improvements to the administration of justice, 2012

  • Honorary Diplomate of the American Board of Trial Advocates

  • Top Lawyer in Alternative Dispute Resolution, 5280 Magazine, 2023

  • Citizens of the West Award (with husband, Tom) from the National Western Stock Show, 2010

  • American Bar Association Yegge Award for Outstanding Contribution in the Field of Judicial Administration, 2009

  • Colorado Judicial Institute Judicial Excellence Award, 2006

  • Colorado Women’s Bar Association Mary Lathrop Trailblazer Award, 2001

Publications

  • Rebecca Kourlis, The Journey from Judge to Neutral, 78 Dispute Resolution J. 5 (Jan. 2025).

  • Andrew Schepard, Marsha Kline Pruett, and Rebecca Love Kourlis, If We Build It, They Might Come: Bridging the Implementation Gap Between ADR Services and Separating and Divorcing Families, 24 Harvard Negotiation L. Rev. 25 (2019).

  • Rebecca Love Kourlis and Brittany K.T. Kauffman, The American Civil Justice System: From Recommendations to Reform in the 21st Century; 61 Kan. L. Rev. 877 (2014).

  • Rebecca Love Kourlis and Dirk Olin, Rebuilding Justice: Civil Courts in Jeopardy and Why You Should Care (Fulcrum Publishing 2011).

Affiliations

  • Federal Judicial Center Foundation Board Member (by appointment of Chief Justice John Roberts), 2018-present

  • Colorado Forum, 2021-present

  • Boettcher Foundation Board of Trustees, 2021-present

  • American Arbitration Association panelist, 2021-present

  • National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals, 2023-present

  • Graland Foundation, 2022-present

 Education

  • Juris Doctor, Stanford University

  • Bachelor of Arts, Stanford University

  • Honorary Juris Doctor from the Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver

Areas of Experience:

Becky has handled cases in many subject matters as a mediator/arbitrator, Supreme Court justice, trial judge, and attorney. Those subject matter areas include: 

Property and natural resources

• Oil and gas
• Water
• Coal
• Public lands
• Easements and property disputes
• Transmission
• Green energy
• Real estate

General commercial disputes

• Partnership and other business entity disputes
• Commercial contract disputes
• Banking
• Joint ventures