Prior to his retirement in 2023, Stephen A. Bain practiced environmental and natural resources law for Welborn Sullivan Meck & Tooley for over 20 years. After graduating with his law degree from Cornell, he returned to Colorado to practice environmental and natural resources law with Holland & Hart. In 1994, he and his wife, Lisa, joined the U.S. Peace Corps in the Czech Republic, where they worked as consultants for the Czech Ministry of Environment. After the Peace Corps, Steve joined Welborn Sullivan Meck & Tooley’s office in Almaty, Kazakhstan for two years, working on post-Soviet privatizations. Steve was a Distinguished Natural Resources Practitioner in Residence at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and taught International Petroleum Law there for several years. He is the Managing Editor and a contributing author for Environmental Regulation of Colorado Real Property, published by the Colorado Bar Association. He served on the Board of Governors for the Colorado Bar Association, the Executive Committee of the Colorado Mountain Club, and as President of the Colorado Mountain Club Foundation. He currently serves on the Board of Reach Out and Read Colorado and the Advisory Council for the Association for Native American Sacred Trees and Places.
Q: What does being an ABF Fellow mean to you?
Being an ABF Fellow has been an honor and a privilege, particularly with regard to associating with lawyers of the highest caliber who are dedicated to improving the profession and society at large.
Q: Where do you consider your hometown and what is your favorite thing about it?
I was born and grew up in Denver, where my family has been for the last 150 years. The city is big enough to offer pretty much everything one would want in an urban center while remaining small enough to feel like a real community. Proximity to the mountains is also a plus.
Q: Why did you decide to pursue a career in law?
Law school attracted me as a way to learn about how the world works, and how it should work. Legal systems are not perfect, but they are the best hope we have for improving society.
Q: If you hadn’t pursued a career in law, what would you have done?
I likely would have gone into teaching. I very much enjoyed teaching International Petroleum Law for several years at the University of Denver Law School. The students from DU, Colorado School of Mines, and various countries around the world brought fresh insights to class, and we had many stimulating discussions.
Q: Who is your professional hero?
Bob Welborn, one of the founders of the firm from which I recently retired, has been a role model by focusing in later life on philosophical questions relating to nature, the environment, and humanity’s proper place in the world. Although he was an outstanding water lawyer, his true passion lay in exploring music, the nature of God, and the effect of people on the planet. His humility prevented him from proclaiming he found any definitive answers, but he never stopped thinking big.
Q: What do you do in your free time?
Read, volunteer, hike, ski, travel, and try to learn Spanish.
Q: Anything else you’d like to share with us?
At a time when Americans’ trust in government and politicians is especially low, I hope the ABF continues to pursue important foundational issues relating to civil society and rebuilding trust in institutions.