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Rebecca Love Kourlis

Executive Director
303-871-6600
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Rebecca Love Kourlis served Colorado’s judiciary for nearly two decades, first as a trial court judge and then as a Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court. She resigned from the Supreme Court in January 2006 to establish IAALS, where she serves as Executive Director. 



The author of more than 200 opinions and dissents during her tenure as a judge, Kourlis also spearheaded significant reforms in the judicial system relating to juries, family law and attorney regulation.



Kourlis began her career with the law firm of Davis, Graham and Stubbs. She then started a small practice in Northwest Colorado where she developed an expertise in natural resources, water, public lands, oil and gas and mineral law. 



In 1987, Kourlis was appointed as a trial court judge with a general jurisdiction docket.  She served as Water Judge and later as Chief Judge of the District. In 1994, Kourlis returned to Denver and worked as an arbitrator and mediator for the Judicial Arbiter Group. She was appointed to the Colorado Supreme Court in 1995.



Justice Kourlis accepted the 2007 Legal Reform Organization of the Year honor from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. She has also received numerous individual honors, including the American Bar Association (ABA) Justice Center's 2012 John Marshall Award, the ABA Judicial Division’s 2009 Robert B. Yegge Award For Outstanding Contribution In The Field Of Judicial Administration and the 2008 Regis College Civis Princeps citizenship award. Kourlis and her husband Tom have been named the 2010 Citizens of the West by the National Western Stock Show.

Kourlis earned a BA in English from Stanford University and a J.D. from Stanford University Law School. She is a Colorado native and daughter of former Governor John A. Love.