The Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel is an independent office of the Colorado Supreme Court, whose building is seen here. (Denver Post file photo)
Jason Legg, a nonprofit attorney with a reputation for successfully suing landlords, resulting in a $13 million jury verdict this past spring, has been suspended from practicing law.
Legg, 40, was sidelined for 60 days beginning Oct. 8 after admitting that he lied to a client for years about a lawsuit that he said he would file against a mobile home park but didn’t. Legg must also attend a one-day ethics school and remain on probation for two years.
“(Legg) was dishonest when he deceived the client into believing a case had been filed,” according to a settlement between the lawyer and the Colorado Office of Attorney Regulation that was made public last week. “His misconduct continued for a period of over two years.”
Legg cofounded the Justice for the People Legal Center in Glendale and serves as its lead attorney. The center practices what supporters call movement lawyering, which combines legal work with liberal social justice advocacy, by representing tenants suing landlords.
Before founding that firm, Legg worked for Cadiz Law Firm in Denver, where he represented a man who had been evicted from the Pleasant View Mobile Home Park in Golden, leaving him homeless. The park also obtained title to his home and sold it.
“Suing them is underway,” Legg texted Michael Crawford in late 2021. “We’re going after them!”
But Legg, who was representing Crawford pro bono, did not sue the park’s owners until late 2024. In the meantime, he repeatedly assured an increasingly frustrated Crawford that the case was moving ahead, records show. “Lawsuit is filed,” he texted in November 2022.
“We’re on track for a resolution through the legal process this year,” he texted in April 2023, according to the Office of Attorney Regulation. “I’m optimistic discovery will be substantially completed over the summer and think we’re going to have a mediation … in May.”
In October 2023, Crawford complained about Legg to the Office of Attorney Regulation.
“I need to know are you going to finish the job you started for me or do I need to find somebody else I need to know Jason please yes or no,” he reportedly texted in November 2023.
But it wasn’t until April 2024 that Legg first demanded that Pleasant View Mobile Home Park pay his client. The park refused and Legg sued in November 2024 but then withdrew as Crawford’s attorney this past March, causing a judge in Golden to dismiss the lawsuit.
The settlement between Legg and the Office of Attorney Regulation explains that Legg met with Crawford in late 2024 and agreed to pay him for the harm he caused. He then made 11 payments totaling $79,500 to his former client between December and April.
“(Legg) made a good faith effort to rectify the consequences of his misconduct by paying Mr. Crawford more than half of Mr. Legg’s annual income,” their settlement notes.
Legg also received a shorter suspension because he had not previously been disciplined, he was cooperative and remorseful, and he is respected.
“The respondent has a well-established reputation for integrity and public service,” their agreement says of Legg. “His practice has focused on helping underrepresented individuals with housing-related issues, often on a no-fee basis. Several leaders in the nonprofit legal community have provided letters of support of the respondent.”
So, Disciplinary Judge Bryon Large suspended Legg for 60 days, effective immediately. Legg’s lawyer, Chris Montville of Haddon, Morgan and Foreman, declined to comment on that.
Legg’s most notable victory of late came in March, when a Denver jury awarded an estimated $13 million to more than 2,000 current and former residents of the Mint Urban Infinity apartment complex at 1251 S. Bellaire St. because conditions there were unlivable for years.
The Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel is an independent office of the Colorado Supreme Court, whose building is seen here. (Denver Post file photo)
Jason Legg, a nonprofit attorney with a reputation for successfully suing landlords, resulting in a $13 million jury verdict this past spring, has been suspended from practicing law.
Legg, 40, was sidelined for 60 days beginning Oct. 8 after admitting that he lied to a client for years about a lawsuit that he said he would file against a mobile home park but didn’t. Legg must also attend a one-day ethics school and remain on probation for two years.
“(Legg) was dishonest when he deceived the client into believing a case had been filed,” according to a settlement between the lawyer and the Colorado Office of Attorney Regulation that was made public last week. “His misconduct continued for a period of over two years.”
Legg cofounded the Justice for the People Legal Center in Glendale and serves as its lead attorney. The center practices what supporters call movement lawyering, which combines legal work with liberal social justice advocacy, by representing tenants suing landlords.
Before founding that firm, Legg worked for Cadiz Law Firm in Denver, where he represented a man who had been evicted from the Pleasant View Mobile Home Park in Golden, leaving him homeless. The park also obtained title to his home and sold it.
“Suing them is underway,” Legg texted Michael Crawford in late 2021. “We’re going after them!”
But Legg, who was representing Crawford pro bono, did not sue the park’s owners until late 2024. In the meantime, he repeatedly assured an increasingly frustrated Crawford that the case was moving ahead, records show. “Lawsuit is filed,” he texted in November 2022.
“We’re on track for a resolution through the legal process this year,” he texted in April 2023, according to the Office of Attorney Regulation. “I’m optimistic discovery will be substantially completed over the summer and think we’re going to have a mediation … in May.”
In October 2023, Crawford complained about Legg to the Office of Attorney Regulation.
“I need to know are you going to finish the job you started for me or do I need to find somebody else I need to know Jason please yes or no,” he reportedly texted in November 2023.
But it wasn’t until April 2024 that Legg first demanded that Pleasant View Mobile Home Park pay his client. The park refused and Legg sued in November 2024 but then withdrew as Crawford’s attorney this past March, causing a judge in Golden to dismiss the lawsuit.
The settlement between Legg and the Office of Attorney Regulation explains that Legg met with Crawford in late 2024 and agreed to pay him for the harm he caused. He then made 11 payments totaling $79,500 to his former client between December and April.
“(Legg) made a good faith effort to rectify the consequences of his misconduct by paying Mr. Crawford more than half of Mr. Legg’s annual income,” their settlement notes.
Legg also received a shorter suspension because he had not previously been disciplined, he was cooperative and remorseful, and he is respected.
“The respondent has a well-established reputation for integrity and public service,” their agreement says of Legg. “His practice has focused on helping underrepresented individuals with housing-related issues, often on a no-fee basis. Several leaders in the nonprofit legal community have provided letters of support of the respondent.”
So, Disciplinary Judge Bryon Large suspended Legg for 60 days, effective immediately. Legg’s lawyer, Chris Montville of Haddon, Morgan and Foreman, declined to comment on that.
Legg’s most notable victory of late came in March, when a Denver jury awarded an estimated $13 million to more than 2,000 current and former residents of the Mint Urban Infinity apartment complex at 1251 S. Bellaire St. because conditions there were unlivable for years.
