2022 Inaugural Graciela Olivárez Latinas in the Legal Academy ("GO LILA") Workshop
Dolores Atencio
Dolores received her J.D. from the University of Denver College of Law and B.A. from Colorado College.
In 2015, Dolores became the first Visiting Scholar at the University of Denver Latinx Center | Sturm College of Law where she founded the national legal history project, Luminarias de la Ley | Luminaries of the Law™ (Luminarias Project) to identify and chronicle the accomplishments of the first Latina lawyers in the country, circa 1880-1980.
Licensed in Colorado for 40 years, Dolores has worked within and outside the legal profession. She started as a Reggie Fellow, served as an Assistant Attorney General, Administrative Law Judge and Director of the Colorado Division of Administrative Judges. She ended her legal career in private practice, specializing in employment litigation. Dolores was the first Development Director for public bilingual radio station KUVO 89.3FM, and was Vice President and General Counsel for the Denver Grand Prix Auto Race, Inc. Throughout her career, she has been involved as a bar leader and in community work. Notably, she was president of the Hispanic National and Colorado Bar Associations, served on the American Bar Association’s Commission on Women, and chaired the Denver Women’s Commission, initiating and completing an assessment of critical issues facing Denver women and girls, “Windows into Denver’s Women and Girls” (2014). She is immediate past Chair of DU’s Law Alumni Council and leads the Latinx Law Alumni Chapter. In 2011 she was appointed by the Colorado Supreme Court’s Chief Justice to the Colorado Reapportionment Commission.
Dolores has earned recognition as the national expert on Latina lawyers in the United States. She has taught, produced and/or spearheaded numerous works on Latina lawyers, including Las Primeras, a 50-minute slide show on 21 Latina trailblazers (1993) and video documentary (1994); and taught honors research classes resulting in the first two published pieces on Latina lawyers: “100 Years of Achievement: Un Historia Abogada” (2013) and “Saluting Hispanic Women Lawyers in the 50 States” (2014). While chairing the HNBA Latina Commission, she spearheaded the first two national studies on Latina lawyers, “Few and Far Between: The Reality of Latinas in the Legal Profession” (2009), and Challenges and Rewards in Serving the Public Interest (2010). In 2015, she created the Luminarias Project and created the first exhibit on Luminarias, shown nationwide at law schools and firms. Dolores is completing Phase II of the research and plans to write a Young Adult Series and books documenting their contributions to U.S. jurisprudence.
For her work, Dolores has been honored with the 2021 HNBA President’s Award, HNBA’s Latina Commission Primera Abogada Award (2018), the prestigious Ohtli Award, Mexico’s highest honor bestowed to American citizens of Mexican descent (2014) and three CHBA awards: Outstanding Attorney Award (1992), Outstanding Law Firm Award for reapportionment litigation (2001), and Lifetime Achievement Award (2016). Dolores was one of four national bar presidents who received the Founders Honor (2016) for establishing the national Coalition of Bar Associations of Color (CBAC) during her tenure as HNBA President.
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