Donald E. Cordova Papers

Collection

Identifier: WH2028

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection includes an assortment of materials including letters, photographs, yearbooks, lecture tapes, plaques, awards and newspaper clippings documenting the professional life of Chief Judge Donald F. Cordova.

Dates

1954-2002

Creator

Cordova, Donald E. (Person)
Cordova, Patricia J., (Person)

Language of Materials

Material is in English.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Copyright

All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from material in the collection should be discussed with the appropriate librarian or archivist. Permission for publication may be given on behalf of the Denver Public Library as the owner of the physical item. It is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained by the customer. The Library does not assume any responsibility for infringement of copyright or publication rights of the manuscript held by the writer, heirs, donors, or executors. Reproduction restrictions are decided on a case-by-case basis.

Biographical / Historical

Attorney Donald E. Cordova was born in Trinidad, Colo. in 1938 to Benigno and Eloyda Cordova, and attended Holy Trinity High School, before serving in the United States Army. In 1961, he graduated from Regis College and went on to attend the University of Colorado School of Law and was admitted to the Colorado bar in 1964.

Cordova served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Colorado from 1964-1968, before joining the law firm of Zarlengo, Mott and Zarlengo, specializing in insurance defense and civil litigation. From 1982 until 1988 Cordova operated as a solo practitioner focusing on health law and products liability before founding the law firm of Cordova, DeMoulin, Harris and Mellon, P.C. in 1988.

In 1990, President George H. Bush appointed Donald E. Cordova to the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado. Chief Judge Donald E. Cordova served as the President of the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association and Denver Bar Association. He was the Vice President of the Colorado Bar Association and a member of the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association. He was a Fellow of the American and Colorado Bar Foundations and was the former president of the University of Colorado Law Alumni Board and the Law Club of Denver. In 2000, the Law Club of Denver presented him with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Donald E. Cordova and his wife Patricia had four daughters: Annie, Amy, Jill, and Jennifer. He passed away on February 16, 2003, in Hermosa Beach, California.