Board & Chair Positions
Memberships
Author
Lecturer
Honors & Awards
Education
Appearances
Personal
  • 2017 NORML Distinguished Counsel's Circle. For his years of work with the marijuana legalization efforts nationally and in Colorado, Lenny was awarded the “Distinguished Counselor’s Circle” recognition by the NORML Legal Committee on 12-9-2017. This is one of the highest awards given by the NORML Legal Committee, of which Lenny is a life member.
  • 2011 Colorado Super Lawyer
  • Cicero Award of Excellence for 2011, for demonstrated effectiveness and distinction in my field (American Biographical Institute)
  • Martindale-Hubbell AV and Preeminent Lawyers (highest possible rating) attorney rating.
  • Courage Under Fire award for political activism, from SAFER and SENSIBLE Colorado.
  • Nominated three times for the Olom Award, the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar's highest honor.
  • National Register of Who’s Who
  • Global Directory of Who’s Who
  • Who's Who in American Law.
  • His big horn sheep photograph appeared on the cover of the June 2007 Colorado Lawyer, the monthly publication of the Colorado Bar Association.
  • He has also guest performed on lead guitar with The famous Boulder Fornikators, Patrick and the Dinosaurs and with a number of other bands over the years in various states.
  • During the NORML Legal Committee conference in Aspen, June 2006, he played with Jimmy Ibitson (formerly of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) both on the patio of the Woody Creek Tavern, and the following afternoon at Owl Farm, home of the late Dr. Hunter S. Thompson.
  • Volunteer of the Year, 1995, Boulder Action for Soviet Jewry
  • Lafayette Art Show, third place watercolor, 1995
  • Critter Crunch Table Top Battle Robots, 1st place, 1993, 3rd place 1994, "Nifty Critter" award, 1996.
    
Lenny Frieling Moderating 2013 NORML Aspen Legal Seminar
Lenny Frieling Moderating
2013 NORML Aspen Legal Seminar
Business Card from The Cochran Firm
Lenny Frieling Business Card from The Cochran Firm
  • First Chair of the first state bar association Cannabis Law Committee. Liaison to other states following the Colorado example in setting up state bar association CLC committees.
  • The Colorado Lawyer Board of Directors 7/2014 to Present
  • Colorado NORML Board Member Emeritus
  • Colorado NORML Executive Director 9/2011 through 6/2013, Board of Directors 6/2013 - 6/2014
  • Former Associate Judge, City of Lafayette, Colorado
  • NORML.org Life Member, NORML Legal Committee, Life Member
  • Twice Chair, 2004-2005, 2005-2006, Executive Council, Criminal Law Section, Colorado Bar Association. Sitting on this board is an extremely high honor. No one else has chaired it twice, consecutively.
  • Colorado Criminal Defense Bar Board of Directors (completed a two year term ending June, 2001, and elected to a new term starting June, 2003)
  • Life Member of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar.
  • Colorado Municipal Judges Association, Board of Directors (completed a two year term). Currently a presenter for ongoing legal education.
  • Boulder Criminal Defense Bar, Past Chair, 8 years service, from 1996 to 2004).
  • Colorado Center for Modern Psychoanalytic Study, Board of Directors (retired from board after 9 years)
  • Original Webmaster of Jeralyn Merritt's fantastic legal information site, Crimelynx
  • Served as liaison from Colorado Criminal Defense Bar Board to the Colorado Death Penalty Resource Center for two years.
  • Public Education and Law Committee, Boulder County Bar Association, 1997-2002.
  • Boulder County Bar Association, past member of the Board of Directors, served five years.
  • Victim and Law Enforcement Board (VALE), charter member, served three years, function of the VALE Board is to distribute victim services grants.

He wrote a regular column in the RAP SHEET, the publication of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar for several years, and has regularly published articles on legal and non-legal topics.

He worked as co-editor, with Judge Morris Hoffman, ongoing editor of the Colorado Lawyer criminal law articles for over five years.

Lenny's published articles include:


  • Book review of Colorado DUI Defense: The Law and Practice published in the March 2014 Colorado Lawyer.
  • Email E-tiquette; a multi-part series being published in the Docket, Denver Bar Association.
  • "How to Stay Married" to an attorney was published in March, 2005, in The Docket, a publication of the Denver Bar Association.
  • Scientific and Other Expert Testimony, Daubert, Kumho Tire Co., and Colorado Rules of Evidence 702 and 403. (The Rap Sheet)
  • E Mail Etiquette: making E mail mean "effective mail." (Colorado Lawyer)
  • Courtroom Etiquette (Colorado Lawyer)
  • Firearm Rights and Criminal Defense (The Rap Sheet)
  • Alcohol Related Driving Offenses: Some Basics
  • The Federal Aviation Administration and Your Client (co-authored with J. Scott Hamilton)
  • The Dilemma of the [child abuse] Reporting Statute
  • Tuberculosis in the Prison System
  • He is working to complete a self-help psychology book, "Gista Bista," started and inspired by his late father, Ed Frieling. A "pre-publication" self published edition was given to family members as a gift on what would have been his Dad's 80th Birthday in January, 2005. (Gista Bista translates from Yiddish to "he who gives, is."

Lenny speaking in Cheyenne, WY
Lenny speaking in Cheyenne, WY
  • Co-Host on Time4Hemp Radio Show 2015 - Current.
  • Guest lecturer, Univ of Colorado, Boulder Campus, October 20, 2014 , Global Studies Academic Program, Caroline S. Conzelman, Ph.D.
  • Multiple appearances on Hawaiian Radio/Internet Show Jeff Davis the Solar Guy
  • Lenny gave a presentation on DUI marijuana at the DPA International Reform Drug Policy Conference in Denver, October 2013.
  • On Demand legal consultant for the Boulder Daily Camera on a variety of topics
  • Driving Under the Influence of Cannabis, Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, 2011 DUI conference, Keystone, Colorado
  • Kansas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, “Prosecutorial Ethics” followed by “Advanced Cannabis Motions.” May 2011
  • Panel, NORML National Conference, Denver, April 2011, “Police Encounters.”
  • University Of Colorado, Boulder, LEAP presentation on the failure of the “war on drugs.” March, 2011
  • Cannabis Law Update, June 2009, for the Boulder Criminal Defense Bar
  • Lorman CLE, Search and Seizure Law update and trends, December 2008
  • National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
  • Math computations for the attorney to help talk to forensic experts, for the Colorado Bar Association, October 31, Halloween, 2008. This one was done in costume, with the help of my wife, Debi Dodge, as the Sorceror and the Sorceror's Apprentice.
  • Colorado Bar Association, March 2008, Criminal Law Update, (program chair and presnter).
  • Speaking at a NORML Conference, Key West, FL
    Lecturing at a NORML Legal Committee Education
    Program, Key West, FL
  • Kansas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, March, 2008, presenter at their Spring Conference, Lawrence, Kansas
  • Colorado Bar Association, February 2007, DUI Motions Practice. I assisted in designing the entire program on DUI law.
  • NORML, June, 2006, Aspen, Colorado, (ethics and investigation)
  • December 2006, Key West, Florida, (Advanced Motions Practice)
  • CLE International (July 15, 2005) Advanced DUI Motions
  • Various police agencies, "mountain" counties, How to Write A Search Warrant"
  • Denver University School of Law, criminal law clinic. Lectures on negotiation techniques and strategy last year, and this year, criminal defense ethical considerations.
  • Bird
    Are You Talking to Me?
  • 3rd Annual Public Defender Las Vegas Retreat to a National audience in Nevada, March 28-30, 2003. "How to Win Every Case." March, 2004, 4th Annual Public Defender Retreat, on General Criminal Legal Ethics as well as on Sentencing Techniques and Ethics.
  • 2nd Annual Public Defender Retreat, Las Vegas, "Effective Negotiating Techniques, or "How to Win Every Case Every Time."
  • Ethical Handling of Evidence by the Criminal Defense Attorney, or "What to do with the smoking gun." December 2003
  • Sex Assault Post Conviction Remedies; A Creative New Approach
  • Internet investigative tools for death penalty investigators, and paralegals
  • How To Win Every Case (sponsored by the Boulder County Bar Association)
  • Child Sex Assault Allegations in the Divorce Context (sponsored by the Interdisciplinary Committee on Child Custody)
  • Domestic Violence Restraining Orders and No Contact Orders: The Criminal Defense Perspective (summer, 1999, Glenwood Springs 9th Judicial District)
  • "Gadgets" For The Computer and Law Office for the Colorado Bar Association Solo Practice Committee.
  • Internet Investigation Tools for the Defense Attorney, December 2000 in Key West, invited by the NORML Legal Committee.
  • Use of Fairy Tales in the Treatment of Incest Victims, 1988, Amsterdam (presentation by invitation)
Lenny shaking hands with Cheyenne, WY Chief of Police, Brian-Kozak
Lenny discussing drug policy with the
Cheyenne, WY Chief of Police, Brian Kozak

Lenny has “appeared” on numerous radio programs.

He has been a legal consultant for CNN, as well as for ABC News.  Lenny has been interviewed for TV, (local and national), radio, podcast, and more.  

He played a lawyer on TV for FOX, nationally, for their show “Power of Attorney.” 

        

Lenny served for five years on the Board of Directors of the Boulder County Bar Association.  He teaches numerous continuing legal education courses to other lawyers and judges throughout the state and nationally, (including Las Vegas, Key West, and Lawrence, Kansas) as well as having been an occasional guest lecturer at Denver University College of Law and at New Mexico Highlands University, as well as at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs.

 

He has presented “Trends in Search and Seizure Law” for Lorman Education Services. Lenny has done education programs for the Boulder County Department of Social Services, sexual abuse team, and have served as a Special County Attorney for Boulder County numerous times. 

Lenny is pleased to be a mentor to other newer attorneys statewide, and to be an informal advisor to many senior members of the criminal defense bar, statewide and nationally. 

He served on the Board of Directors for the Colorado Center for Modern Psychoanalytic Studies for many years, as well as on the V.A.L.E. Board of Directors (supportive of victims’ services).  

A partial list of classes he has taught includes  “Advanced Pre-trial Motions” for an advanced DUI seminar in Denver, 7/05, (CLE International). 

The District Attorney’s Office for Eagle County had Lenny do a presentation on “How to Write A Search Warrant” to local police officers.  He has tried to teach them why it works better not to lie. 

He has been writing and lecturing on various Medical Marijuana related issues. He taught for the NORML Legal Committee education program for Key West, 12/06, “Advanced DUI Motions Practice,” and presented for the NORML Aspen meeting in July of 2006.  02/07, “Advanced DUI Motions Practice” for the Colorado Bar Association CLE (Continuing Legal Education) program.  (He also helped design the entire program).

He have chaired the Spring Criminal Law Update for the Colorado Bar Association, including helping to design the program, as well as presenting a segment on mental condition and criminal responsibility.

He has presented to groups including the Colorado Municipal Judges Association on topics including medical marijuana, the science of marijuana, and related topics.

        

Lenny is a lifetime member of the National Register of Who’s Who, listed in the Global Directory of Who’s Who and in Who's Who in American Law. 

Lenny was privileged to be named Volunteer of the Year by Boulder Action for Soviet Jewry (1995).  

He has served as a presiding judge for the 15th & 16th Annual Colorado Mock Trial Competition, and for the University of Colorado Appellate Moot Court competition in 2003, and at numerous Moot Court trials since then. 

Lenny is truly honored to have been nominated three times by my peers for the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar Olom Award, the highest criminal defense honor in Colorado. 

Lenny was a presenter at the Third and Fourth Annual Public Defender’s Retreat, an international program for criminal defense lawyers, in Las Vegas, as well as for the Kansas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. 

        

He is a Colorado speaker for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, LEAP.cc  This organization of former judges, prosecutors, law enforcement officers, wardens, and civilians is opposed to the ongoing failed war on drugs.  It is a public health problem, and should not generally be a criminal issue problem.  The war on drugs is lost, and legalization and regulation/taxation are the path to better control of dangerous drugs and to a concomitant reduction in direct and related crime.


Juris Doctor, Rutgers University Law School, 1975.  Bachelor of General Studies, (most significant areas in physics, math, psychology, English, and accounting), cum laude, from Ohio University, 1972.  Colorado attorneys are required to obtain 45 hours of continuing legal education (CLE) each three years. In a typical year, including teaching credits. I generally earn between 100 and 200 hours of CLE credit every three years.

Lenny Frieling with Parrot on Head in Key West, FL.
Parrot Head Key West, FL

Lenny has been married for over 25 years, and have a very wide range of interests.  He perceives myself as a “Renaissance man” with skills in the fine arts, music, sciences, literature, and also with hands-on types of work. 

In his home shop, he works with wood, metal, and plastic, with projects ranging from spinning wooden pens on the lathe, creating wood turning accessories for spinning wheels, and building table top battle robots (1st place in 1993, 3rd place in 1994 Critter Crunch, “Nifty Critter” ribbon, 1996). 

A watercolor of his took a third place ribbon in the 1995 Lafayette Art Show.  

Lately, he has re-focused on guitar and photography, a photo of his was selected for the cover of the Colorado Bar Association monthly publication for 06/07). 

He is the co-creator of and past webmaster for the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar website and was webmaster at Crime Lynx

Having played for over 40 years, and he thinks he is finally getting the hang of it. He has sat in with Patrick and the Dinosaurs, and with the Legendary Fornikators several times, and in June 2006, he sat in with Jimmy Ibbotson (formerly of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band).  In May, ‘07, he attended Fur Peace Ranch guitar camp for the third time (Jorma Kaukonen, headmaster, Bob Margolin instructing).  Bob and Lenny performed a song that he wrote at the Student Concert.

He did several TV shows for Fox TV (Power of Attorney) in 2001 until the show was cancelled in early 2002 because of the impact of 9/11.  He made it to the “short list” of judges being considered for a new TV show (which would have been the “Judge Lenny Show.”)  The current status is that the syndicators and the producers are not on the same page, so that adventure is on “hold.”