Meet Andrew Contiguglia | Owner and founder of the Contiguglia Law Firm.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Andrew Contiguglia and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Andrew, Let’s talk about principles and values – what matters to you most?
I am a business lawyer based in Denver, CO. I have been a practicing attorney for over 25 years. I am licensed in Colorado, California, and New York. In counseling small and medium-sized businesses, I strive to provide original, success-focused strategies to help businesses grow. I accomplish this by educating new or established business owners with general knowledge and information about the legal issues that affect them in business. I believe that business owners can be more successful if they maintain a more detailed understanding of the legal issues they can encounter while running their businesses.

I spend substantial time helping businesses adapt to changes in their business environment, compete against their strongest competitors, and achieve the highest degrees of success. I have seen many companies succeed and many fail. Between these two, I have found a common denominator: Good planning and education improve your potential business success and growth. Businesses that thrive include a lawyer as part of their startup and success team. The importance here is that those who consider the legal implications before they need the help of a lawyer can save themselves a ton of time and trouble. The key here is getting educated about the legal needs of the business.

Entrepreneurs, startups, and established companies must each consider many of the same business and legal issues before setting up a new business or moving forward with an existing one. Business owners should use this information to help facilitate a more detailed understanding of the legal pitfalls one can encounter while running and managing a business in the US.

I strive to promote the idea of “LEGAL FITNESS”. This is the concept of preventive law, which is not only one of the most important keys to a successful business, it is the basis of security and peace of mind. Businesses that think they have no time for legal planning will sooner or later have to find time for legal disputes.

I am a firm believer that proper planning prevents future problems. The old adage that “failing to plan, is planning to fail” holds firm for the business owner. It’s a long road between startup and success. Legal issues are so frequently overlooked and neglected. Just understanding the basic needs and legal concepts associated with starting and running a business can lead the business owner down a path to success.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
If you find yourself going through hell, keep going. — Sir Winston Churchill (attr.)

I’ve been a lawyer since 1996. Although I had dabbled in my own law firm over the years, I finally went “all in” in 2007, starting my own law firm. In 2008 I brought on a friend of mine from law school as my business partner. It was a cordial relationship, to say the least, but my frustrations grew with her over the years and in 2013 I bought out her interest in the company. She stayed on as an employee. Overall, I wasn’t happy with where the company was headed and I needed a firm and strong change in direction.

By the summer of 2013, my new direction had become smooth sailing and the company grew exponentially. With some incredible help from new staff added to the firm, we were prospering. Things were looking great coming out of the second quarter of 2014. We were on target to exceed our expectations again from the previous year.

Then, all hell broke loose.

In September 2014, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Two days following my diagnosis, my former law partner decided she wanted to leave the firm, but would stay on and help me get through the end of the year and train any new employee attorneys I decided to hire. With the help of a stellar paralegal/office manager, we trudged our way through the third and fourth quarters of 2014, all the while I was enduring chemotherapy and surgeries to kill the cancer that invaded my body. By the end of 2014, my former law partner was gone, and she was replaced by two new associates. But, despite the new additions, tensions were high as my new associates clashed with my office manager as she attempted to manage the company in my absence. Even though the environment was stressful and I had boiled my practice down considerably, I was still pressing to go to court, bring in new clients and manage my company the best I could. Ultimately, we managed to crush our goals from 2013. This might sound like a great place to end, triumph in the face of adversity, but the story just gets better.

Tensions, however, did not get better. Eventually, one of my associates gave his resignation at the end of April 2015 and was gone by the end of the first week in May. By mid-May, I had suffered 24 weeks of chemotherapy, two surgeries, and more setbacks to my cancer killing. But by this time, I was officially cancer free! Shortly thereafter, the office manager who helped me navigate my company through the storm that was cancer also gave me her resignation. We had lost our mutual vision as to the direction of the company. Luckily, I was able to find a new lawyer to replace the old one. However, once I did, the second associate I hired at the end of 2014 gave her resignation at the beginning of June and the new associate I hired gave me his notice to quit two days after he started working at the firm.

Finally, when I found someone with the same vision as me to sail across the rough waves and take over as my paralegal/office manager, she had to resign two weeks after she started because of health-related issues.

I think these events would definitely qualify as my “worst entrepreneurial moment.” But in reality, it was my “ah ha!” moment. I had beaten cancer. And nothing in this world is harder than that. And nothing was going to stop me from moving forward.

Business sages like John Lee Dumas, Jame Masters, Grant Cardone, and Gary Vaynerchuck helped get me through the most difficult time in my life. Their vision, energy, and hustle managed to open my eyes and inspire some amazing creativity and direction that I had been desperately seeking to regain. So, what did I do? I purchased a new building for my law firm and moved into it. I hired new lawyers and new staff. I started my commitment to bringing my knowledge of the law of business to small and medium-sized businesses and entrepreneurs everywhere, not just to my clients.

I was back with a new vision, but with ample amounts of work and people who need my help. I took on a new direction for my company and restructured it moving forward. The fire that rushed through my life over the previous year was gone. The brush that littered the floor of my forest was burnt away, and new growth poked through. New lawyers, new staff, and a new manager shared my vision and outlook to succeed. Our goals were aligned. It was a very exciting time!

Despite the setbacks of the company, everyone who helped the company through the most difficult time in my life deserves praise and thanks, regardless of whether they decided to stay the course with me for the long haul. Looking back at the way I felt, concerned about what my future looked like, the decision to throttle down and take control of the situation was the best decision I made. I tackled the difficulties of my business like I did cancer in my body — with passion and a relentless desire to survive.

I am the captain of this ship and I will continue to lead my clients through the rough seas and the narrows. Crews will change and storms will pound the hull. But my focus remains clear: I’m here to educate business owners on the trials, pitfalls, and legal problems that they and entrepreneurs encounter. I believe that if you desire to develop fundamental strategies for success in business, then learning from the legal pitfalls of others is essential.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m fortunate to have my office in the heart of the Baker Historic District. Built in the late 1880’s our victorian-era office space has been renovated from a residence, and shares its space with other historical buildings along the northern border of the Baker District, at 5th and Bannock. A random walk through Baker neighborhood, one can experience the warmth of the sun during the summer months, the falling leaves along the sidewalks during the fall, broken branches and dripping snow in the wintertime, and the cool rain falling on the budding trees. Neighbors walk their dogs, parents walk their kids to school, and small, budding businesses are surrounded by homes, new and old. Only a few blocks walk from the office a morning coffee shop (and afternoon brewery) bustles with patrons seeking their morning caffeine fix. In the afternoon a stroll down broadway can take you through a historic entertainment district, engaging your appetite at wine bars, donut shops, and several local breweries and distilleries. Everything down south Broadway is unique, from the Wizard’s Chest to the Myan Theatre, and beyond. Very few ordinary venues line the street. South Broadway, and its adjoining Baker Neighborhood, are vintage.

In the other direction, on the other hand, north along Broadway, you’ll pass across the dreaded 6th Avenue and Broadway intersection. A solid dividing line between the new Denver, and the old. Following Broadway north, one can experience the hustle of a major metropolis, its buildings stretching into the sky. New museums and cultural art centers line the avenue offering educational opportunities to those who desire it. The Supreme Court building, and its adjacent State Capital building form the cornerstone of Civic Center Park, and the great view it brings to the Denver City and County Building. Eventually, the path leads downtown, where the walls of corporate America take over, and further north into the restored RiNo district where vintage is gone and modernization has taken over.

These are two sides to the same coin. Denver cannot exist without these differences. When you’re hanging in Denver, running a business, the world in front of you is as big or as small as you decide to make it. Not a single ordinary moment exists along that several-mile stretch of history. Being on that dividing line between vintage and corporate is where we sit, offering opportunities for success to those who need it.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
To everyone who encouraged me, and stood by me. And to all those who are too scared to try:

It’s hard to believe I’ve been doing this law thing for over 25 years. Through this time, I’ve won cases I shouldn’t have won, and lost cases I shouldn’t have lost. I’ve had great victories and small victories, great losses, and small ones too. I have won, and I have failed. I’ve watched the law change over the years as new justices arrive while old justices fade away. I’ve watched wars begin, and wars end. I’ve had friends experience great accomplishments, while others suffered great losses. I’ve made amazing friends over the years and lost some very special ones. I’ve been married and divorced. I’ve been a single parent. I’ve been remarried. I’ve raised 4 amazing children over three separate decades. I’ve become a grandfather. I’ve been an employee, and I’ve been an entrepreneur and owner. I’ve started 5 companies of my own, all the while helping others build their dreams. I’ve had great years in business, and mediocre ones. I’ve had business partners, I’ve had employees, and I’ve done it all on my own. I have been a teacher. I’ve loved what I do, and I’ve hated what I do. I’ve been through two (now three) recessions, a depression, and a pandemic. I survived cancer.

And through it all, I’ve pushed forward relentlessly, searching for my north star, and looking in all the corners of the sky for it. The search and the adventure, being the captain of my ship moves me forward and I will continue to lead my clients and crew through the calm waters, the rough seas, and the narrows.

If I can do this. So can you. I can’t promise it will be easy, but it will be worth it.

What are you waiting for?

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